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.

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.

Capturing a sunset

 

Last week I received a photograph of the sunset that looked like two suns against a grayish sky over the water. After looking at it for a long time, I began working on this painting on a 24×48 inch canvas. The end result above is after coming back a couple times and adding to it. I threw water on it in the end and let it set. The water lightened the last coat and layers below it came to the surface. The effect makes me think of a view through a wet glass like looking at the window on a rainy day.