"BURNISHED" 12006, acrylic copper geologic abstract © Carol Nelson Fine Art

Burnished

This geologic abstract has a mat that I painted with two shades of copper acrylic.  Since there is copper and gold paint in the painting, I thought it really enhanced the work.

The bevel on the mat was white.  I painted the bevel black and let the paint smudge out on to the mat a bit. It looks very much like the mat is made from copper metal.

For more information about this painting, click here to go to my website.

"BURIED TREASURE" 12002, mixed media contemporary metallic abstract © Carol Nelson Fine Art

Buried Treasure

This mixed media piece features multiple transparent washes over a copper-painted canvas.  The squares are wood covered with gold metallic origami foil.

The thin wood squares were flat to begin with, but became curved when they were embedded in gesso and acrylic medium.  I actually thought the curves they took on were a plus - another example of a happy accident.

Because of the metallic paints and foil, the light bounces around and gives the painting a warm glow.  It kind of reminds me of a warm fireplace.

For more information, click here to go to my website.

"COPPER ILLUSION 2" 11086, mixed media geologic contemporary metal abstract, © Carol Nelson Fine Art

Copper Illusion 2, horizontal

Copper Illusion 2, vertical

detail

This painting is going back to my geologic abstract series. What looks like copper plates is actually moulded aluminum foil painted with metallic paint to look like weathered copper.

I secured the foil to the surface with YES glue, but then added copper nails to enhance to illusion of metal being nailed to the panel.

This was a fun piece to work on.  For more information, click here to go to my website.

"IGNITION POINT II" 11003, daily painter mixed media abstract © Carol Nelson Fine Art

"IGNITION POINT II"

 

I'd like to see them try to copy this!  HA!!  This abstract features combusted metal foil AND there's lots of texture.  It is similar in concept and technique to "IGNITION POINT" (below) that I posted last month.

As you know, I love playing around with new things.  These were both done using my butane torch - AND I didn't even set off the smoke alarm!

I wish you could see them in person because they look SO MUCH BETTER when you can see the light dancing around on the metallic surface.

For more information, please click here to go to my website.  These WILL be at the Indian Market show at the Merchandise Mart in Denver next weekend.

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Do you want to add the copyright sign © to your posts?  It's easy.  Just type &-copy-; where you want the little c with a circle around it, but leave out the dashes.

"IGNITION POINT" 10168, daily painter textured metal abstract © Carol Nelson Fine Art

"IGNITION POINT" 10168

 I love this painting.  Remember my torch experiments from last week?   Well, here's what I created with three of the metal foil sheets I burned with my butane torch.  I just LOVE trying new things and this turned out really cool.

This is how it started

 After burning the foil pieces, I glued them to this 30x15 canvas.  It's hard to see in a photo, but I made the corners lift up using clear acrylic gel.

Closeup showing burned metal foil.

Side view

There's a site called photofunia.com where you can upload photos and do fun things with them.  I took this painting and manipulated the image so it looks like three paintings in a store window.  Fun, fun.

 For purchase information on this painting, click here to go to my website.

"CELEBRATION OF BLUE", mixed media abstract © Carol Nelson Fine Art

"CELEBRATION OF BLUE"

This mixed media abstract contains metals pewter and aluminum on a textured panel.  For purchase information, click here to go to my website.

Terra Firma 2, mixed media geologic abstract diptych, © Carol Nelson Fine Art

This commissioned diptych is sold. The client is the ideal person to work with. She has never seen my work in person, but studied all the geologic abstracts on my website very carefully. She told me the dimensions, the colors, and metals she was looking for.

She commented about what aspects of several of my previous paintings appealed to her, so I had a very good idea of what she wanted. She sent me photos of where the painting will hang. When you're dealing in abstract work, it's somewhat challenging to describe what you want in precise terms.

I did a series of bozzettos for her to pick a design that appealed to her. The final painting is actually quite close to the design she chose.

SACRED GROUND, 9114, geologic abstract by Carol Nelson © Carol Nelson Fine Art

This is another in my geologic abstract series featuring warm earth tones and metallic accents. I'm sorry the photo does not show the light reflecting off the 5 metal foil squares in the piece. If you're actually viewing the painting from various angles, the light bounces off as you move around. There are also passages having a soft metallic sheen that are also lost in photography.

I guess it's a good thing that a copy of this painting would have none of the drama the original piece has. That's another reason why I don't make giclee prints of my abstract metallic work - they just don't translate well in a print.

For purchase information on this 36x24 framed acrylic painting, please click on the title of the painting to go to my website.

PRECIOUS METALS, 9108, metals and mixed media abstract © Carol Nelson Fine Art

I love doing these mixed media geologic abstracts. This one has copper, pewter, and aluminum metals and gold and copper paints and foils. With all the shiny components, it appeals to my inner crow. That shiny little purple rectangle is purple colored aluminum foil I found in an art supply store and is made by a Japanese company. LOVE IT.

I showed it to my husband, seeking his suggestions for a title. His title was SOS, meaning Same Old S__t. Did I tell you he's not an abstract kind of guy? Even so, I thought that quite rude. After 16 years of marital harmony, I have developed a thick skin and his opinions are water off a duck. Quack, quack.

If you're interested in purchasing this painting, better hurry, because I'm shipping it off to my newest gallery, The Bradley Art Gallery, in Stoughton, WI. next week. For more about my abstract work, please see my website or email me at carolnelsonfineart@comcast.net.

GLITTER GULCH 2, 9093, textured abstract with metals and metal leaf

More squares. I don't know why I find squares recurring over and over again in my compositions. Maybe their conformity is comforting on some level. I used a rug hooking grid to create the little cubes with acrylic medium. Two colors of aluminum and one of copper were used in the metallic shapes. Of course, I always prefer earth tones for most of my work, so there is a dominance of copper, bronze, and gold tone metallic paints.
For purchase information on this 11x6 cradled abstract, please see my website.

CITYSCAPE, 9085, mixed media abstract of city architecture

At my recent Metals and Mixed Media workshop, I worked on this abstract featuring several metallic and textural elements. I didn't have time to complete it at the workshop. As a matter of fact, it was still in the "is this going to work" stage by the end of the workshop.
As is often the case with abstract work, I looked at it with new eyes the next day, and did sufficient tweaking to it that I am now happy with the result.
The inspiration for this painting came from Karin Jurick's Different Strokes from Different Folks blog. The minute I saw her latest photo posting for the challenge, I KNEW I had to do it as an abstract. Of course the composition's the thing and there are so many different compositions you could make from this awesome photo.
For purchase information, please see my website.

RECYCLED, 9081, abstract collage with recycled materials

This painting started out with a piece of rusted scrap metal I found in a parking lot a year ago. The metal sat around in my studio until I finally decided what to do with it. I think it came off a rusted car.
The support, in this case, is a cabinet door. It is actually a nice oak door and it was unfinished, so I first started out by gessoing the panel and painting the edge black. I textured the panel with modeling compound. Then I cut pieces of silver and gold colored aluminum metal foil and copper metal and cemented them on to the surface.
The grid is some metal mesh I found in my garage. I attached the scrap metal to the panel with screws and copper wire. The silver foil was too bright, so I painted over it with quinacridone gold, a very transparent fluid acrylic by Golden. The blue is Golden's primary cyan, which is also very transparent. Using transparent colors on a reflective surface allows the shine to come through.
For purchase information, please see my website.

PEACOCK RIDGE, 9077, mixed media geologic abstract with copper metal accents

When I was at my last outdoor art festival a customer asked me if I could do another version of an abstract I had for sale, but in a smaller format. The painting he was looking at was RAINBOW BLUFF, 9073. Scroll down and see my post from 9/9/09. I didn't/couldn't copy that painting exactly, but you can see that PEACOCK RIDGE (16x20), has many of the same design characteristics, which is what my customer was after.
Due to the metal and metallic paints, photographing the piece was a problem. The top picture was taken outside in the shade, the side view was taken inside my studio with artificial light. The blue tones in the outside shot are a little exaggerated, while they are minimized in the inside shot. Reality lies somewhere in between.
SOLD

METAL LINKS 2, 9074, mixed media abstract

This is a companion piece of Metal Links 1, 9071.

METAL LINKS, 9071, mixed media abstract

It felt so good to be able to work in my studio today. I have several paintings underway. I need to work on some little mixed media abstracts to have examples for my upcoming METALS AND MIXED MEDIA workshop in October.
This little painting (7x7 inches) has Venetian plaster texturizing the panel. Then I used copper and burlap strands for the design. It's very understated with the muted earth tones - looks good in the black wood frame.

Leaves 6, 9061, metal leaf abstract

Another example of my leaf series. The leaves themselves were cut out of gold embossing metal - I think it's aluminum- that I got at an art supply store. The cool thing is that the metal is gold on one side and silver on the other. The background is highly textured and the whole piece is covered with resin which gives it an "under glass" look.
I'm sorry that these photos just don't show the details very well. If I give it enough light to show the background well, the shiny leaves are overexposed.

Jigsaw, 9050, abstract, mixed media triptych

I am SO excited about this triptych. It is just so cool. Each piece is cradled MDF board, 12x12inches and about 1.5 inches deep. I used several metallic elements including stainless steel, silver art paper, metallic acrylic paints, a variety of brads, tacks, nails and paper fasteners. Each piece has about 50 nails, tacks, etc. and many of them had to have a hole drilled in the board before I could attach them.

But the REALLY COOL thing about this painting is that each piece was finished with a layer of epoxy resin. I have never done that before. The resin hardens to a thick crystal clear layer that seals all the pieces and protects the shine of the metals.

Honestly, I was scared to death to pour the resin on top of my completed paintings because they were a LOT of work. If the resin didn't perform properly, I would have a mess and a waste of many hours of work. It turned out perfect.

The photos cannot capture the shine and sparkle of these pieces. I will have them at the Downtown Denver Arts Festival this weekend. For purchase information, please see my website SOLD.

Tapestry, 9047, mixed media abstract

This painting features several metal elements. Copper, gold and pewter embossing metals were used. There is extensive use of metallic acrylic paints and acrylic modeling compound for texture. Because of the reflective nature of the metal components, photographing this piece proved to be a problem. The colors are somewhere BETWEEN the front view and the side view. Both photos taken with identical lighting, just me moving a few feet to the side for the side view. You can see what a different look the painting has depending on the angle you're viewing it from. It's maddening. For purchase information, please click here for my website.

Crossroads, 9043, mixed media abstract

This painting has stainless steel, aluminum, copper, and copper leaf embedded onto the canvas with acrylic modeling compound. In spite of the abundance of "cold metal" - the aluminum and stainless - it has a warm feeling because of the copper and the bronze and green acrylic metallic paints.

This painting did not evolve quickly. I spent the better part of last week working on it. As usual, there was a point when I was ready to trash it. I have learned not to despair or give up when all seems lost. That large bottom left section was blue at one time. And the vertical copper line was black. It was really cold looking then! In searching for a color that would warm up the blue area, I ended up with this "breen" - a combo of brown and green.

If you look carefully, you can see where I painted over the edges of the metal pieces with burnt umber. Two reasons I did that are (1) it softens a very hard edge a bit, and (2) it's difficult to get the glue and modeling compound completely off the surface of the metals so I cover up the imperfections. Maybe I should call it "Painted Lady."

Will someone call Grand Timber Lodge (where we have a timeshare) in Breckenridge, CO, and tell them this painting would look really good in their reception area? LOL (I wish.)
Please click here for purchase information on my website.