Grit, concrete, rainy days inspire new vision

Black iron, copper, gray, titanium white and sand

12×16 Abstract 1267

Rainy days make the city feel more like concrete: gray sky, gray buildings, gray sidewalk. The graffiti painted over haphazardly with an off white. Lines beneath are ghost writing – visible in spite of the cover. Layers of patches and paint leave a gritty surface.

Etching stars into a gritty surface

The 12×16 Abstract 1267 has layers of black and silver with black lava, black and iridescent pearl underneath the top surface of unbleached titanium, gray and black. The shapes of stars were cut into the thick wet top coat to resemble the effect of cutting wet concrete or peeling paint.

Infinite love

Working with black iron metallic paint underneath gray and titanium white, the coarse, wet metallic bleeds through. I used a rust activator to bring the rust to edges. I used a copper metallic paint through the top part of the work and a blue patina aging solution brings out a bit of blue. This painting was inspired by the colors this past

14×18 Infinite Love

week on some cloudy days. The cliffs of Santa Monica appear to rust in the rain and water takes on a sandy gray color to blend with the beach. The sky boils with charcoal, gray, and small holes where I can see a hidden blue sky of a sunny summer day. This part of the year is full of weather transitions, turning winter to spring with brief reminders of how summer feels.

Valentine’s day

The painting also expresses a concept of unconditional love. I hope you have a good Valentine’s Day. Although the day is a contrived event designed to benefit businesses selling flowers and candy, I hope it can also be a time where people express love. On a dark and stormy day, the deep interior can still be warm.

New travel plans: New Zealand and Australia

This time of year is the best time to take a trip. I am hoping to find some summer weather or maybe an early autumn. I am heading to Auckland, New Zealand March 22nd to spend a few days seeing the area. This will be my first visit to New Zealand. I will fly from New Zealand to Sydney, Australia. This will also be my first visit to Australia. I picked Sydney because I have heard there is a big art community in Sydney. My visit to Portugal inspired my new work. I hope New Zealand and Australia will also be a source of inspiration. If you have any suggestions for what to see, let me know

Thanks for stopping by…

I appreciate your feedback and have been inspired by blogs kept by everyone who has stopped by. Travel pictures and experiences shared by you inspired me to choose New Zealand and Australia for my next trip.

Copyright

All work is copyrighted by me and is for sale. If you are interested in purchasing work, you can contact me at trishfalin@gmail.com. I am still researching how to sell work online. If you have a suggestion of a site or method that is working for you, let me know.

Other works inspired by Portugal… these are cell phone photos. I didn’t get a chance to photograph these five before they were went to their new home.

20×16 Abstracts hanging in their new home

20×16 Abstracts in their new home

Framing a bit of serenity

Finding some peace

The first work after returning from the funeral came out looking like spring after a hard winter. I took this painting to be framed before I took a picture of it, so I leaned it up against my car and took this shot with my phone. I chose a floating black frame … one I like to use on my work.

Painting a bit of hope

I hope that my Mom found some peace after all the suffering. I think that painting is a form of expression of what’s inside that can’t find words. I started with a light green on the canvas and then let the colors fall through the layers of blues, greens, browns and purples. Although it has been foggy often lately, I have been painting a bit of spring color on my canvases. This one is 18×24, which is large enough to create complexity.

Thanks for stopping by …

I love the feedback on WordPress and I also like visiting other sites. I have been checking out a lot of travel blogs as I thought about where to go. I booked a flight to Lisbon in December. After reading so much about it on other blogs, I thought it would be a good place to go right now. If you know of any great art galleries there, please let me know. I know there will be plenty of good food and melancholy music. I’m sure it will inspire new work.

Copyright

All work is copyrighted by me and is for sale. Please ask permission before using images posted here of my work. If you are interested in purchasing work, you can contact me at trishfalin@gmail.com.

A Study in Color at The Art Center in Carpinteria

48 x 24 inches

A Study in Color

This painting, which will be part of The Art Center’s new show opening November 17th, seems to have every color I could find layered throughout. Photographing it was especially challenging, to capture the impact of a two foot by four foot piece and view it on a screen is not even close to seeing it in person. If you have a chance to see The Art Center’s show “A Study in Color,” then you will understand. The Art Center is located at 855 Linden Ave., Carpinteria, California. The opening reception will be November 17th from 2 to 4 pm … The show runs until January 6th.

Start of a New Trend

In many ways, this painting was the first of a new trend for me. The coloring is different, as well as the texture. Blending so many colors over such a large space takes time and patience. I was lost in the creation of this one for some time. Then, it took two weeks to dry. I actually completed this piece in August but hadn’t posted it yet. I have several pieces yet to post.

Bright Spot in November

The show is a bright spot for me this November. My mom passed away last month after battling cancer for more than a year. She loved art and had a special affinity for texturized acrylic works. She inspired my switch from watercolor to acrylic when she purchased a piece from an artist in El Paso, Texas. She gave me the painting and I still find it very inspiring.

Thanks for stopping by …

I appreciate everyone’s feedback … it is inspiring to hear from others and also to visit your blogs to see and read about your experiences. The best part of having a WordPress site is that you can interact with people. It’s the main reason I decided to use it to display my art. Your notes on my last post helped ease the stress and emotional ups and downs. Unfortunately, cancer strikes many and its damage is devastating to watch and painful to experience. I have a large family and very little experience with death. I don’t really know how to process it other than to paint.

Copyright

All work is copyrighted by me and is for sale. Please ask permission before using images posted here of my work. If you are interested in purchasing work, you can contact me at trishfalin@gmail.com.

Small view of coastal color

Small view

The beach in Santa Monica is layers of land, water, brown cliffs, and the green of trees and grass. On these beautiful fall afternoons, late afternoon, when the sun is starting to set, the colors blend in my mind. This abstract, inspired by the beauty around me, is only 8 inches by 8 inches.

I wanted to create a small work that I could take with me when I went to see my Mom who is fighting cancer. (She lives out of state.) She has a particularly aggressive cancer that started with a tumor behind her eye. She is blind in that eye and now has another tumor in the root of her tooth. It is difficult to see my Mom this way but also it was good to see her. I have been lucky enough to have my Mom in my life for many years. My Mom loves acrylic paintings with texture, so I created this one for her because it is small enough for her to hold to touch and look at closely. My time is short with my Mom and it felt good to share something with her. She is not able to travel to see my studio so this is the best I can do.

Art reflects life changes

I have been settling in my new place in Santa Monica and painting where I live while I search for a new studio space. The change in work space has inspired different approaches to my work. I also have been trying different brands of paint, which has also changed the outcome. If you paint with acrylic, then you understand the nature of working with it. Some brands produce a thicker paint that lends itself to the type of work I like to do. These works were done with the Blick brand of paint. It tends to be more liquid than what I have used in the past. I have been mixing it with different mediums such as glass beads, pumice, iridescent, crackle paste, and a few others to thicken it up. The work to the right is only 5 x 7 inches. It can be challenging to work on a small canvas…this one just happened. Often painting is almost an out of body experience – I am lost in the creation. I spent days afterword waiting for this one to dry. About a week later, when it finally dried, I still wasn’t sure what I thought of it, but it has a combination of some of my favorite colors of blue. It feels like late evening, last light of the day, the blue period before dark and the sky blackening behind stars.

Thanks for stopping by …

I appreciate everyone’s feedback … it is inspiring to hear from others and also to visit your blogs to see your travel pictures, artisitic photographs, design, art, and read about your experiences. I think the best part of having a WordPress site is that you can interact with people from around the world. I haven’t been able to travel outside the country for a bit and so I love seeing and reading about your trips. I will be going in December/January somewhere… I’m hoping to explore a country I haven’t see yet.

Copyright

All work is copyrighted by me and is for sale. Please ask permission before using images posted here of my work. If you are interested in purchasing work, you can contact me at trishfalin@gmail.com.

Color of August

12×12

One Hot August Afternoon

I finally made the space to start painting again in acrylic. I had taken up using charcoal and a pad of paper for a bit during my move to Santa Monica but it doesn’t compare to working with a tool to create a three dimensional piece such as the one I’m posting today.

Colors collide

I wanted to use a hot pink with a green and white, and so I began working on this piece. Just laying the colors next to each other created a glowing affect. I mixed in several other colors to increase its complexity. I used five mediums in this one to add some variation in the surface. Glass beads are one of my favorites, but this jar contained smaller sized glass beads so the result looks different than previous works.

This photograph

It’s difficult to see all the color in the darker area but if you click on the photograph and enlarge it, you will probably see it much better. I was using diffused natural sunlight to get this photograph. Usually I set up bright white light to increase the detail in the picture, but I thought I’d try the natural light that floods into my workspace. I also tried a different type of acrylic paint that takes quite a long time to dry. I have my floor covered with several pieces that are drying – one two by four foot piece is probably going to take over a week to dry.
Thank you for stopping by …

As always, I appreciate comments and likes… it is very motivating to have some interaction. Painting can be a solitary activity. I’m not saying that is always bad because it also is a great way to take your mind off all the frustration and stress our world can bring on us.

Copyright

All work is copyrighted by me and is for sale. Please ask permission before using images posted here of my work. If you are interested in purchasing work, you can contact me at trishfalin@gmail.com.

Texturizing water and sky in acrylic paint

15×30

Got Color?

The spread of color in texture gives the water depth, although it’s hard to capture all that color in a photograph. I had intended to write about this painting earlier this week but I have been distracted by life. I will be moving my studio during the next three weeks to somewhere in Los Angeles. So, I’m not going to say a lot about this painting … I’ll just post it and get busy with the details of moving.

Transit of Venus inspries a passion for purple paint

10×30

10×30

12×30

Planetary Push

Last week, as Venus made its way across the sun, I found myself picking up purple, red, orange, and pink. My work took on a different tone with this choice. The first piece – Water 30, which is an 10×30 very vertical canvas had a coat of red on it. (Click on the image for a better view.) I took black, mixed it with a glossy medium and water to coat the red in a thin layer of black. I began working on the painting with a wet canvas. The lower half took on a darker shade with Prussian Blue, Black and Violet (and a few others) and the top half took on a fiery orange and pink look with yellow oxide, pink, raw umber, and light yellow. The black bleeds through the painting and this is most apparent on the top half. This painting was tough to photograph because of such a great contrast. There are colors streaked through the black that have disappeared slightly. Black and other dark colors are very difficult to photograph.

The second painting, Water 31, also 10×30, I started with a purple coat on the canvas. I used water to keep the lower half wetter than the top half. The effect on the blue and black was to create the look of water that is more still. Sometimes the water can be flat out here, which tends to create swirls of color.

The third painting in this series, Water 32, a 12×30 canvas, was a little lighter overall than the first two. I started with a dry aqua green canvas and painted a thin layer of pink over it. After that, I added almost every color I had in the studio, including: Dioxazine purple, deep violet,  quinacridone  magenta, alizarin crimson hue permanent, primary red, cadmium red deep hue, primary magenta, cadmium orange and cadmium red light hue, mineral orange and organic orange, raw sienna, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, red oxide, yellow oxide, organic yellow, flash gold sheer, naphthol crimson, cadmium deep red, wedgewood, bright aqua green, bright yellow green, cobalt blue, prussian blue, manganese blue, hooker’s green, permanent deep green, permanent green light, light blue permanent, phthalocyanine blue, cerulean blue, light blue violet, titanium white, iridescent medium, glass beads, gloss medium varnish, copper, gold, silver, green-gold semi opaque metallic paint, black lava texture gel, ivory black, and carbon black. The use of so many colors is an attempt to have each stroke hold a rainbow of color. I changed my approach to texture with the third one using thicker but thinner layers.

All work is available for sale. Copyright is retained by Trish Falin. Images are available for use under the Fair Use guidelines. Please credit Trish Falin at www.trishfalin.com. Inquiries about commercial use or purchase can be directed to trishfalin@gmail.com. I appreciate feedback from everyone. Thank you for stopping by!

Almost summer at the beach

Water 27 on 18×36 canvas

June gloom?

Summer is almost here as the crowds begin showing up at the beach, but this also means the sun light is brighter which creates lighter colors on the water. The layers of color from the summer sky contrast light and dark with shadows from life underneath the water’s surface.

In this painting, I tried working with several colors in each stroke you see on the darker, more texturized lower half. I started with a base color on the canvas, as well as a layer of texture. Three colors used on the base underneath the final painting included a dark purple on the bottom third, a medium shade of blue in the middle, and red on the top third of the canvas. The textured lower half of the final work includes a dozen different colors blended with a tool. In some strokes you can see four to five colors.

The top half of the painting was produced through combining a pouring method with the same texturing used on the lower half. The intent was to mimic a sky that has a swirling colorful cloud cover penetrated by sun. The summer afternoon with its puffy clouds becomes a mix as the sun begins to set and the marine layer moves in.

Some extra features in this painting include an iridescent/pearlescent tinting medium and some metallic mediums to give the water and sky a shimmer found in summer days. The dreamy quality of summer days makes me want to take a towel down the street to the beach for a little break from work. I usually get a little beach time before I begin work on a new painting. Many days what I see ends up influencing my work.

The play of color between water and sky is part of the vision for color here. This painting is also an effort to produce the effect of a wet rainbow on a canvas. Water is a darker shade, the sky is the lighter shade. Huntington Beach usually is locked in fog for most of June, but the first three days this June have been sunny for part of the day. It’s a taste of summer a little early… add a little watermelon and it definitely feels like July.

Thanks for stopping by to look at my work. I’m a little behind on posting pieces I’ve completed this past week or two, but sometimes it takes time to capture the work in a photograph. This one in particular was difficult because of its size and contrasting shades of color. I used natural lighting and a wall in the gallery where the light is less direct. The early evening fog helped to create the perfect lighting to capture the color and not be overwhelmed by the shimmer of mediums used.

Light reflection

20×16

It’s difficult to capture the way light reflects on water when it is in constant motion. Here in Huntington Beach, the sky and water are changing rapidly throughout the day. It may be sunny and bright one minute and then a fog rolls in to blanket everything in gray. Or a dark cloud comes in and the sun shines brightly through it. Some days, a few clouds turn the sky tangerine or a ghostly plum.

This painting is framed with a black frame I put together. Since my paintings are done on a primed canvas stretched on a wood frame, I usually don’t frame my paintings. This is a simple frame that could be removed. I modeled it after a frame on a painting I’ve had for several years.

The photograph I posted here seems dark on my screen, so maybe it is a greater challenge to capture a painting with a camera. I use a Canon Rebel and take shots in a large format. The original files can be as large as 30 MB. The ones I post are between 1 and 10 MB. If you click on it, you can enlarge it. Images posted are available for use under the Fair Use guidelines of the copyright law, but please give me credit and refer to this site. Contact me if you want to use my images for commercial purposes. All artwork posted here is for sale.

Thanks for stopping by.

Glass beads in sky

11×14

The water is a mix of a few colors spread with a tool in smooth long strokes while the sky is a choppy mix of color resembling a turbulent, windy day. I mixed glass beads into the sky to enhance already chaotic clouds. A little sun peeks through.

More than blue

Not available

When I look at the water, I see more color than blue. Very rarely does the water just appear to be blue. Some days the sun is very bright, the sky is a bright white and the water is a sparkling silver that is almost blinding to look at. Other days the sky has a mix of color that is reflected on the surface. This painting is from one of those days when the sky and the water were both full of color. The sun and clouds reflect across the water in patches of color that move with the current. The beach here is just flat sand, except for an area with rocky bluffs. There aren’t any trees to affect the color.

I took a photograph of this painting before I put a final clear semi-gloss finish on it. It’s difficult to get a good photo that shows the detail and doesn’t have the glare of the lighting I use, so often I shoot a picture before and after I apply the final finish.  I didn’t have a chance to shoot another picture of it with the finish on. I usually let paintings dry for a week after applying the final coat of finish. After the first 24 hours, I hang them on the wall in my gallery space. This one wasn’t hanging on the wall for long before it was snatched up. I like to imagine its new owner finding the same kind of peace I do when I look at the water.

Small Work

Working on a small canvas can be interesting. These three acrylic paintings are only 5 x 7.

Sunny Day

I’ve been working on smaller canvas lately (16×20), concentrating on the color and texture of these beautiful sunny days. This piece, Water 8, is still wet … I took this picture right after I finished it. It takes almost a week for it to dry completely. During the week, more of the black behind all this color will show through. The colors blend a little and some become more pronounced. Often a color that I have hidden underneath appears more brightly. I will post the finished work soon, along with other new works. Thank you for stopping by to take a look.

Splatter and Pour

30×40

Not available 30×40

30×40

36×36

Some work requires putting down plastic to cover the floor before getting started… these pieces are larger works in which paint is applied by pouring, splattering, or otherwise propelling paint at canvas using various methods.