Friday, May 11, 2012

Treehouse II

15"x15" paper, bits of tile, copper clock hand, assorted pastes and gels, copper wire. A house usually shows up on my easel once a year and this one will be for 2012. Most of my houses are the same...either a front flat view or a back view showing the division of rooms...sometimes I've made homes with just doors, windows and floor plans. This one is a front view with a clock, a tree like base and ladder...no doors? I used a mix of acrylic & copper paints over heavy texture. I found corked tubes of bronze, gold, silver and copper powders at the bottom of my paint box...a gift from a friend a hundred years ago. I've been mixing them with matte medium. Has anyone worked with these fine powders and if so what was the experience? I used purple glazes and that was interesting over oranges and copper.

 I've been reading about metallic paints, iridescent colors, micaceous and true metallic colors having  metals such as stainless steel and mica flakes...I'm on overwhelm so I'll decide on a few interesting mixes and take my wallet to the art supply. I have a pile of narrow strips of paper cut away from larger pieces and I will try to use them with this metallic exploration and then put them together with glue or stitching. Still using the sample or storyboard idea for this journey.




18 comments:

  1. magical Mary Ann - such a light touch and sense of fun!! xo

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  2. Beautiful painting, beautiful treehouse. When i am troubled and find it hard to fall asleep, i always fantasize about a beautiful treehouse where i live with my love and kids. While fantasizing about it, it takes not a long time to fall asleep and start dreaming. :-)

    Sweet greetz!

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  3. I love this! It's so wonderfully quirky, yet strong and self-contained. My friends are planning on building a treehouse camp. Maybe I should show them your painting as a design idea. So much character in this picture.

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  4. I love this slightly wobbly, rambly looking old house. I'm thinking house in the English country side something warm and cozy and homey about it.

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  5. I'm ready to move in right away. I used to build dens as a kid and spent half my time on the look out for scrap I could bring into the design. There's something of the fairy tale about yours that I love.

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  6. I love treehouses. And when we're inside: a better view on the planets:).
    And that was a wonderful series!

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  7. I wish I could live here.

    re: metalic powders. be sure and wear a mask. I used powders for quite a while, mixing with matte medium as you say. I love them but when I started coughing chronically I wondered if it was from the powders. I say wear a mask but often I didnt. I have thrown away my powder paints now and only use premixed metalics however I dont think they are as flexible and vibrant. Of course my coughing could have come from something else too so not to "scare" you away, just something to keep in mind.

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  8. I like this one a lot Mary Ann. I like the shapes especially.

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  9. I like your tree house, can I come over to play!

    I've used lots of metallic powders, etc. The best thing I've found is the Golden's fluid (metallic) acrylics. You can dull them down or let them shine.

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  10. mansuetude, I'm so glad you like this tree house and so glad you stopped by to tell me!

    Jeane, Thank you...I'm a big fan of fun!

    Momo Luna, Nice to know the idea of a tree house is such a point of magic and peace!

    louciao, Thanks! Making a dream image into a reality...your friends are true magicians!

    ZDS, I like your take on this image, all wobbly and rambly and such...thank you!

    Annie, Building dens as a child...what creative fun! A tree house for me needs to stay in a dream image as I'm afraid of heights!

    CERULEAN, High praise...thank you! I so enjoyed the dream of the planets too.

    Suki, Good confirmation on using matte medium and I will take your advice on the mask!

    Suz, This tree house could be a good home for red tailed squirrels?

    Leslie, Thank you! These shapes are odd and quirky and I like them too!

    Marie, Thanks for your advice on metallic powders...good idea mixing them with the metallic acrylics!

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  11. Fantastic. Just gorgeous. Dazzling.

    I could keep going - but you get the idea!

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  12. Love it! I get the earlier comment on English cottage and somewhere it meets Tim Burton. No, truly it is your own unique creation -very fun!
    Hugs from London.
    -Karen

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  13. This is great! So glad you loaded it so we could click to see it bigger -- the texture is amazing.

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  14. I'm in total love, as I do believe this may be my favorite of your works I've seen.
    Tree house/bird house, metallics or no,,,everywhere I look, I like what I'm seeing. The colors are amazing. Like Suki, I wanna live there.
    The (to me) alternative staircase on the right side is mysterious, leading around to the back door.
    Oh yeah,,,,I love it!

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  15. Whimsically wonderful, Mary Ann! Tree houses have always delighted me and this one is particularly captivating.

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  16. Patrice, I love the word dazzling..thank you!

    Karen, Thank you for your take on Tim Burton meets English cottage...fun concept!

    di, Glad you like this one and yes, tons of texture!

    Babs, I just love your comment...thank you!

    Robyn, Tree houses for me seem up and away...safe...like a birds nest!

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