Mandala Medley

 I’m continuing my paint pouring experimentation in the studio and spent this last week trying out some different stencils of various mandala style art.  I actually like all 3 pieces which tells me I’m starting to understand what’s going on and how to work with the materials.

First up is the moody green piece that got some very favorable comments when I posted the background.  I found just the right swirling leafy stencil and I really like how it came out.  I’ll be doing more with this image and trying different backgrounds as I try out different ways to manipulate the paint.

Second in my opinion is this mandala which I have used before.  I like how the green of the mandala brings out the colors along the edge of the peach and blue.  I think a dark blue might also have worked well as a mandala color and I like the color palette in the background so I will likely be doing something similar in the future.  The blue ring is a bit more dominant than I would like so I will be changing that.

And last is a more subtle color combination with little tiny hearts.  I’ll be changing the hearts to just the v at the point so it’s more abstract.  Overall, they all came out okay and have given me lots of paths to take in future playing around.

Playing with Pouring

 My experiments continue with paint pouring and different techniques for manipulating the paint and then adding to it with silkscreens or stencils.  Big thanks to Olga Soby for her wonderful videos that have been a major inspiration.

First up are some pours I did with warm colors and then did stencils on top.  Here’s the one I’m mentally calling Rocket Mandala but that’s my wierd sense of humor.  It’s just a sample piece so I don’t actually have to come up with a real title.

Since I’m planning on doing birds or dancers, next I did an owl on a stump.  I think he really needs a moon in the upper right corner but I’m not sure yet.  That should be decided and done this next week.

These were both done with the ring pour technique for the backgrounds.  While I like the layering of the colors, I don’t think the technique is quite what I want so I started experimenting with blowing the paint around after pouring it.  I have multiple ways to do this and started with a blowdryer and the squeeze bulb I use with alcohol ink.  

This first one was supposed to be a mostly green backgroound with a lighter yellow spot in the middle for a hummingbird stencil.  Unfortunately, the blowdryer I used had a really wide nozzle attachment and blew paint everywhere.  I like the misty layering of the green but want more control.

So next I used the blowdryer on low.  This meant I had to practically touch the surface to get any paint movement so that’s not going to work either.   I tried blowing the paint in a swirl around the center color and that had some interesting effects that I think would look good with dancers.  In Space.

And last I used  my squeeze bulb.  This worked well and gave me good control but made my hand ache afterwards.  Since this was only an 8x8 piece, I need a different thing for larger pieces.

So I am now assembling things to try this week.  Another blow dryer and metal straws for blowing directly on the paint myself.  Here’s hoping I get something that works well.

My Preorder Faves in Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Romance

 I'm needing escapist books, preferably with a happy ending, and this led me to think about what I preorder regularly.  Then I thought others might like to know too as we are all coping with too much right now.  So, here's my list of things I almost always preorder.

1.  Ilona Andrews.  All the series, all the time.  They write about worlds in which magic is real and what varies from series to series is the how of it becoming real.  I like all of them and preorder them all.  I even recommended them to Kid2 and he now texts me comments as he reads.  

2.  Anne Bishop, The Others.  Fascinating departure from the usual shapeshifter tropes in a universe where humans are just another prey animal to The Others.  The Others are the guardians of the natural world and the dominant species.  I would really like to live in this world. 

3.  Nalini Singh, Psy-Changeling.  Did I mention I prefer shapeshifters to vampires?  And things with a psychic powers bent?  That explains why I adore this paranormal romance series.  

4.  Patricia Briggs, both the Mercy Thompson and the spinoff series.  I prefer the Anna & Charles ones because the vampires have a lower profile.  Great universe, with interesting political intrigue across all the species.

5.  Faith Hunter, Jane Yellowrock & Soulwood series both.  If there was a  new one in the Rogue Mage universe, I'd probably grab that real quick too.  Yes, there are vampires, and they are legal, but Jane is a shapeshifter in the Cherokee tradition.  Soulwood takes a branch off of Jane's story and is more earth centered spirituality in tone.  

6.  Shelly Laurenston, Pride series & the Honey Badger Chronicles.  These are 2 of 4 series set in the same universe but I'm really meh about the other 2.  The Pride and the honey badgers, on the other hand, I adore.  Class warfare in NYC by shapeshifters with great humor and good use of the classic romance tropes.  

7. Devon Monk, Ordinary Magic series.  Mythology, romance and a setting in coastal Oregon.  The sense of humor is just the icing on the cake.  

8.  Seanan McGuire, Incryptid series.  Again, humor, weird things happening and also shared with Kid2 who loves the mice.  Not so good on the happy endings however so keep that in mind.

9. Eileen Wilks, World of the Lupi.  Shapeshifters as a special army in an interdimensional war between ancient energy beings.  I've been waiting for #15 for a while now as the publishing date keeps getting pushed out.  This series has lots of romance but the plots are not tightly tied to the romances so I'd call it urban fantasy.  

10. Jennifer Ashley, Shifters Unbound series.  Set initially in Austin TX, the shapeshifters are out to the humans and kept in Shiftertowns.  Definitely paranormal romance as each book features a couple getting together but in a way that advances the series plot about the shifters working to be free from both humans and the fae who created them and want to enslave them again.