Do you have “Crazy Monkey Mind” too?

I’m continuing my yoga inspired painting series.  This is the third painting in the series, titled “Chitta Vritta”, that translates to “restless mind” in Sanskrit.  A past yoga teacher of mine liked to call this “crazy monkey mind” instead, describing the wandering of our thoughts while we are trying to meditate.  The top of this painting depicts this “monkey mind” where thoughts are pinging all over the place.  As our breathing kicks in and our minds still, we allow the calm into ourselves and it blankets this space with stillness (the bottom of the painting).  I love the beginning of a yoga session as my pace slows down and my mind quiets.

I’m thinking of doing at least five more paintings in this series.  What yoga inspired idea would you like to see me paint next?

“Chitta Vritta”, acrylic and paper, 20″ x 16″

My Version of Yoga

I’ve started a series of Yoga inspired paintings.  The first painting in the series (see March 17, 2014 blog post ) titled “Akasha”, represents “inner” space, that is, the space of consciousness.  My second painting, shown here, titled “Hamsa” refers to the breath as it moves within the body.  What is your favorite part of your yoga practice?  Mine is Savasana, a pose of total relaxation where I get to lay on the floor and not move. You can see I’m not much of an exerciser :).

“Hamsa”, Mixed Media on Panel, 20″ x 16″, $600

available at http://www.kathyfergusonart.com

Letting my imagination go wild

This week’s class assignment was to work without a reference.  Yay!  None of that pesky realism to get in the way of creating art =)!  I started with the idea of a basic T composition and a color palette of analogous blue/green/yellow and added a loose drippy under-painting with acrylics.  Then I pulled out my new Gel Printing Plate I got for Christmas and made some prints on dry deli paper.  It was fun to stamp, spray and splatter, printing several layers over each other.  I adhered the paper to the panel to block in areas of color and texture. I continued to push and pull with paint to create this version.  Though intended as a pure abstraction, does anyone else see a person doing yoga?  Our minds try to force realism on us even when we aren’t looking for it.

“Akasha“, mixed media on panel, 20″ x 16”

Push Myself to Use Pink

I wanted to create a companion piece for the previous painting that used a similar composition but changed the type of circle and the entire color scheme.  I’m not generally a “pink” person, but it was fun to push myself out of my comfort zone to make this picture.  I’d love a little help with the title again.  I was so pleased by all the great suggestions from you folks for the blue circle painting which ended up with the title (courtesy of Aspiring Dana), “The Calm and the Storm”.

“Resting on One’s Laurels”, Mixed Media, 20″ x 20″

Saatchi Online is selling prints and originals of my paintings

Saatchi Online, an online dealer of original paintings and prints, just started carrying my work.  I sold my first print this week (“Hide and Seek”) through their website.  Though the original of this painting is 48″ x 48″, they sell prints of this painting in 14″x14″ and 16″x16″ sizes.  They do a particularly good job with framing and mailing prints at a very reasonable cost.  So if you’ve always wanted to own a “Kathy Ferguson” painting but it didn’t fit within your budget, buying a print is a great option.  Plus, at www.saatchionline.com, there are hundreds of other great artists to view and find something perfect for your walls.

“Hide and Seek”, Mixed Media on panel, 48″ x 48″

I could use a little help here.

I just finished a new painting and I’m loving the simple blue and tan color scheme.  However, I’m completely stumped on a title.  My oldest daughter said it looks like a hurricane but with the recent devastating typhoon in the Philippines, she suggested that idea was a little inappropriate.  I would love any suggestions or ideas. Please leave me a comment if you think of something.

“Untitled”, Mixed Media on canvas, 20″ x 20″

Collaged Botanicals

Continuing to work on a smaller scale, I created two more 8″ x 8″ mixed media paintings on canvas.  I am working toward adding some recognizable images (flowers in this case) without losing the colorful abstract elements.  These two paintings use one of my favorite color palettes, the analogous blue-green-yellow hues.  I’ve also added paper collage elements, some pen work, cheese cloth and raised texture using an acrylic molding paste.  I am liking the direction these are going.

“Dogwood”, mixed media on canvas, 8″ x 8″

“Pompoms”, mixed media on canvas, 8″ x 8″

Stamp Carving

I have wanted to learn to carve by own hand designed stamps and incorporate these stamped images into my work.  I designed two stamps today of “botanical doodles”.  I created them using Speedball’s “Speedy Carve” foam and linoleum carving tools.  You can see that carving stamps is messy work, but I love the results.  I’m looking forward to carving some larger, more intricate stamps in the near future.

Small Gems

I played around with some smaller painting sizes this week. These two paintings are 8″ x 8″ and I used acrylic paint and hand painted collage papers. It was fun to work a little more abstractly as I feel like my last painting was too literal and I wanted work my way back into abstraction.

Linked Loops-Blue, Mixed Media, 8″ x 8″

Linked Loops- Purple, Mixed Media, 8″ x 8″

Seed Pods

I just finished a new work titled “Seed Pods”, mixed media, 32″ x 16″ on panel. I tried out some different techniques that gave it a more illustrative look than my earlier work. I used translucent rice paper, layering the many hand painted squares to create multiple new colors from the mixing of these layered papers. The added bonus of being able to see the my early drawings under these papers was also a bonus.

I also experimented using the Eddy Rost stencil by Mary Beth Shaw from StencilGirl Products. Check out her great stencils and others at www.stencilgirlproducts.com. I liked the pattern so much, I used it again for the tangled roots of the pods.  I’m not sure if  I’ll continue working in this direction, but experimenting with new materials and techniques gets the creative juices flowing.