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Posted on 6/17/2024 5:09:19 PM
By Susan Gainen
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Really Wild Flowers pencil drawing in progress
Really Wild Flowers: Start With Wretched Excess and Scale Up
Between 1985 and 1992, when I gardened in Baltimore on a tiny (26x92 feet) plot of land that had a house on it, I developed a garden philosophy: "Start with Wretched Excess, and scale up."
If it had a striking flower or if the flower had a wonderful scent, I planted it. There was no room for the scentless (this means you, Peace Rose). If I could make a wildly whimsical statement, I did it, and threw a hundred crocus bulbs onto the front yard, and dug them in. The next spring and in all of the following springs, they came up before the grass. The little lawn looked wonderful.
Really Wild Flowers Meet Painstaking Exuberance and Acrylic Ink
This painting is a clear example of Painstaking Exuberance, my painting process: make a pencil drawing, cover it with clear gesso, using a tiny brush, paint inside the lines with acrylic ink, and, finally, outline each shape with carbon black ink from a Platinum Brand Fountain Pen.
I began this painting in 2023 and came back to it in early 2024 when I needed to focus on tiny shapes and tiny spaces and to NOT be in a hurry. (Left: January 29, 2024. Right: June 17, 2024).
Posted on 2/3/2024 12:42:57 PM
By Susan Gainen
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Spring Flowers 2024: Distraction or Obsession
Stress Free Space Because absolutely no one is stress free today, I feel comfortable in introducing Spring Flowers 2024, which I designed as a safe and comforting space for me to go to when I need to paint and not to think.
I used my favorite strategy -- Painstaking Exuberance -- making a pencil drawing and covering it with Liquitex Clear Gesso. I began in early December 2023, and put the first ink down on February 2, 2024.
How is this working out? At 2 am this morning (February 3), I woke up -- fully awake -- discussed snacking with myself, and settled on painting, which I did for an hour. Whether this painting with be a useful procrastination distraction or a complete obsession is yet to be determined. #artfun
Will this work for you? Probably not, however I urge you to find your own intersection of Distraction Street and Obsession Road. Much procrastination may ensue, but, why not?
December 15, 2023 February 3, 2024
Tech Specs: This is a 16x20 canvas, and the colors are from a 185-bottle collection (I just put them on a spreadsheet-- who is obsessive?) of acrylic inks and paints from Airbrush, Calli, Daler Rowney, Dr. Ph Martins, Golden Fluid, Golden High Flow, Golden Open Acrylic, Liquitex, Utrecht Fluid Acrylic, and Ziller. The pencils are General Pencil 6H and 7H. The best pencil erasers are Blackwing. My beloved PowerMe battery-powered pencil sharpener is a dream.
Future: Yes, there will be a coloring page so that you can make your own Spring Flowers 2024. Soon.
