Forgive me, friends, for friending Facebook and forgetting to blog.
Forgive me also for returning, in a faltering way.
You see, I am a child of traditional media, and I don't know where I belong.
I know there are many of us! Even children love the rough touch of paper and that inky smell. Some of us remember being paid a living wage to write words on paper. Now we feel unloved. But I still want to do it: write on paper. So I've returned to an actual notebook for the pleasure it gives as it helps clarify my thoughts. I have begun writing notes and some of them will appear here. Don't worry -- I'll interpret that small writing!
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| Trying Beatriz Milhazes' technique: steps 1-6 |
With this experiment I am ending my series inspired by Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes. I realize I love her colors most of all; they remind me of South Florida's brilliance. I also love her layering of colors and designs, and her lack of focal point -- her pieces jump and dance, with no resting spot. But Friday I threw my final (16" x 20" Kona cotton on duck) experiment into the trash. I used her basic technique: cut shapes from plastic, paint that with acrylic, let it dry, then glue it down. At first I couldn't get the paint to stick to the surface, but I discovered a video that shows Milhazes actually holding the plastic. It looks like dropcloth, so I bought one at Home Depot. With the help of Elmer's Glue-All, it worked! (I can't show you; it's in the trash.) I hated the results! It looked like plastic tape, so shiny and fake! Milhazes doesn't like the mark of the brush or hand, but I do.
Thank you, Beatriz, for your guidance! I may return to our technique some day.
(I'll gladly go into more detail about the steps. Just ask me!)
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| I was working with these colors. |
