A pause in the travelogue

I have more photos I want to blog about from our California trip, but I thought it might be good to talk a little about what I am working on right now.

Over the years I have used pastels and paints and colored pencils to add depth and richer color to the commercial prints I like to use. Lately I have been adding even more paint and while we were traveling I was thinking about that. I love the way my mind wanders while I'm driiving. I get some of my best (and not so good too) ideas in my car. I wondered it work for me to use even more paint, in a freer, more painterly way on top of my commercial prints, after they have been cut and fused in place. Before I left I made a small sample for a nasturtium piece I had in my mind. I wasn't very satisfied with it. It seemed pretty flat. So when I got home I added paint to it. Here is the result.

It still isn't great, but I liked what the paint added. It is there, but the fabric and the original prints still show through. So for the past two days I have been putting together a much larger piece and planning it with the idea of painting more into it after the initial fusing is done.

I think this will be an interesting experiment. I am looking forward to seeing if it works!