800 Under the Sea (at the Shedd Aquarium)

I always have many paintings in progress, so that if I get stuck on one painting, I have something else to work on.  I find this prevents me from having any excuses for procrastination or frustration.  This painting began long ago as an "ink pour," which is exactly that----random pouring, dripping, squirting, tilting--- black ink onto water color paper.  I wish I had taken a photo of the initial image, but shown below is another in its beginning stage.  In the case of the seascape above, the jellyfish tentacles, the anemones, the long skinny striped fish, and the sea plants were all ink drips, and finally it made sense to me after a very long time of staring at it that it was a sea scape.

The hardest part for me is interpreting this and making it "something," sort of like a Rorschach test, which by the way, I was fascinated by as a child.   I made my own ink blots and tried to psychoanalyze my nieces and nephews by their responses.  That was really fun.  Sorry, I got off track.

Here is what the ink pour above turned into.

Sorry for the poor photo, but it is difficult to photograph glass.  The fun part about this painting is that it could have been turned in any direction.  The buyer liked it best in this orientation, and it looks beautiful in her home.

"800 Under the Sea (at the Shedd Aquarium)"
mixed media- 13x22 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/800-under-the-sea-at-the-shedd-aquarium-/480334

dianecampion.blogspot.com

647 The End of the Day

"644 Late Afternoon at the Harbor" was a mini version of this scene, 6 x 6" painted earlier in the week.  Many people really liked it, but I'll tell you now that I absolutely hate that painting, and it nearly ended up in the trash.  After all the time I spend on it,  I decided that I should post it anyway because not every day's painting turns out the way I want.  There is always something to be learned from the experience, and from that experience, I learned that for this artist, those big scenes require a bigger format.  This is the same scene, but is 20 x 16" and I am much happier with it.

"647 The End of the Day"
acrylic - 20x16 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/647-the-end-of-the-day/394917

636. Quiet Stillness

A friend of mine posted the reference photo on her Facebook page and kindly let me use it for this painting.  I enjoyed painting it, and I wish I had a rowboat and a calm lake to experience the quiet stillness of a summer or fall's late afternoon. 

"636. Quiet Stillness"
acrylic - 16x20 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/636-quiet-stillness/392172

461 Fish Creek Harbor

It was a dreary day at Fish Creek Harbor when we painted there, and none of the boats were sailing.  The paintings I made on that day were noticeably much grayer, but on a later, brighter day I drove by the harbor and snapped a picture.  I am fascinated by how the water color changes so drastically with the weather.

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/461-fish-creek-harbor/258918

206 Fishing Shack

Same fishing shack as in yesterday's painting, different view.  Pretty inviting, eh?

198 Marsh Grass

I just returned from a wonderful week-long plein air painting trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina.  We immersed ourselves (somewhat literally---my first kayaking experience) in an attempt to learn about the marshes' plants and sea life.  I found it to be fascinating.  The wildlife, the terrain, and the landscape are all so very different from anything we have here in the Midwest.  Painting the marshes was a challenge because they change so frequently with the tide and the light.  It took some getting used to.  I will continue to practice now that I am home.