Playing Favorites: nature walk

Bridgette Guerzon Mills
http://bgmartjournal.blogspot.com/
http://www.guerzonmills.com/

"Forever Constant" is a very recent encaustic painting that I made. I chose it because everytime I look at it I remember the excitement I felt during its creation. I was experimenting with plaster and wax and having so much fun combining the two mediums. I had just taken a plaster workshop with Stephanie Lee and learned how to make crackle using plaster and burlap. I had my little piece of cracked plaster and burlap and wondered what I was going to do with it. When I added my paint, my wonder grew at the beautiful texture before me. I knew that I wanted to use the burlap crackle to represent the earth and rootedness. When I began playing around with layout, I turned to a journal entry I had created a few weeks earlier and used that as an inspiration to the piece. Adding encaustic to the mix spurred on my excitement as the piece came together. It all just fell into place. You just can't beat that feeling.

"Memory" I see this painting as kind of a milestone for me. This was my first big oil painting I had done after years of not painting large or in oils. I had just started painting again, but I was painting tiny 4x4 inch canvases. So this was a huge leap, but one that I was so excited and so ready for. And so scared for too. I remember the hesitancy of the first brushstrokes in the beginning and then the feeling of excitement as the painting developed. This painting represents so much for me. In a sense, it even represents me. A metaphorical self-portait.
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Gillian McMurray
http://www.gillianmcmurray.blogspot.com/

This is my favourite painting because it was the first piece I painted that was not in my conventional style. I usually paint animal portraits and buildings in watercolour and pen and ink and this was a huge departure. In painting it there was no pressure, no stress and no high blood pressure. In using watercolours everything has to be planned and one mistake can mean ruination of the work. This stresses me out no end. For this painting there was alot of splashing around paint and ink, rubbing, sponging and just having fun. The change in style actually came about due to the end of a friendship. After that issue I lost all desire to paint and the only thing that kept me going was making cards. From cardmaking came the desire to paint my own background papers with acrylic paints. In turn that evolved into this style of landscape with Medieval birds swirling across vibrant skies. I painted a few of them in a variety of colours but this was my first and is still my favourite.
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Jessica Gonacha
http://www.jessgonacha.com
http://www.jessgonacha.etsy.com
http://www.jessgonacha.blogspot.com


The Forest: this is my favorite piece from 2007. I
love green and orange together, and this piece just
speaks to me. It is the first piece in which I used
sequins as texture/color, and also the first piece I
framed in white. I love the shapes of the flowers and
also the kelp-y vines on the right side. This piece is
hanging above my kitchen table right now!