Fantasy Fish

This is a 10"x30" triptych that I did using collaged papers on canvas, acrylic and a resin pour.  I had no idea what I was going to do when I started, as I started with a watery acrylic pour, and used "found fish" to create the painting.  I then decided to try something I had been reading about, and wanting to try.  Thank you Carol Nelson for your advice on this.  This has three successive resin pours on it.  Needless to say, it was a learning experience.  I love the effect that the resin gives the work, but it is hard to get a good result.  Or should I say, hard for ME to get a good result.  I like the collage and the intensity of the color the resin brings to it, but wish the resin pour were more perfect.  Fun, though.  It will be in my December show at the On the Alley Bistro in Georgetown.

Prickley Pear Cactus

The prickley pear cacti are in wild abundance here, so I decided to paint a series this summer.  Here are two of the finished ones.  All are transparent watercolor, and will be in my show in December.  Fun to go back to transparent watercolor after all the collage, acrylic, etc. that I had done this summer.  I have to have a variety to do.  Never boring that way!

Taos Road Adobe

Taos Road Adobe, miniature

Just to whet your appetite for fall, this mini should make you wish for crisp, colorful fall leaves and cool nights, which we have been having this week.  Fall is in the air, and it makes me want to be in New Mexico again.  But not this year.  This year I'll be taking two watercolor workshops, one with Ric Dentinger at the Williamson County Art Guild's workshop at the Dalhart Windberg Gallery, and one at Sun City's visual art studio with Nita Harding on Yupo.  You can see Nita's work at http://www.nitasart.com/Paintings.html  She is fabulous on yupo.  I haven't done anything on Yupo in years, so it should be fun, and her technique is very different than mine.  Ric Dentinger's work was on the June, 2010, cover of Watercolor Magazine.  http://watercolorblog.artistsnetwork.com/2010/04/08/New+Issue+Watercolor+Artist+June+2010.aspx

Both classes are here in Georgetown, so hopefully I'll make both of them.  Lately, I've had to miss a few things I had wanted to attend artwise.  Here's hoping I make both of these!!!!  Can't wait......

Taos Adobe with Hollyhocks

Barely back from Taos, and am so glad I have two miniatures painted to remind me of the beautiful hollyhocks and geraniums all around the adobe homes there.  Same place, different angle & interpretation.  Saw lots of beautiful art to inspire me, and heard great Chamber music from Music from Angel Fire.  More mountain pictures in the works.......

Garden Inspiration

Just back from New Mexico and Amarillo and Perryton visiting friends, listening to great chamber music, and loving the scenery.   My friend Penny's garden was lovely, despite the heat.  Mine had been suffering, but have this piece I finished just before we left to remind me that it was once blooming and lovely.  This is a mixed media piece with collage.  8"x8" paper adhered to  gallery wrap canvas.  $300 to purchase it.

There's Turquoise and Gold in Them Hills!

Still working on collages.  This is one I started about 6 months ago, had almost finished, and finally decided to adhere it to a canvas, add the edging and some highlights, and it was finished.  I really like it, probably best of all the collages I've done.  What a fun thing it was to do.  It is 8"x8" on a wide gallery wrapped canvas which is painted black.  I am still considering whether to sell it.  If I do, it will be $300.  It has a gloss varnish finish.  I want to do more like this one.  It was FUN in all caps!

The Saint

Well, a saint I'm not, but I can occasionally recognize one, and this painting looked like a saint to me.  So that is what she was named.  Like "The Diva" above, she is 7.5"x10.5", mixed media collage on 300 lb. watercolor paper with a gloss varnish.  She is available unframed for $100, but I do want to keep her to show in the December show if you purchase it ahead of that.  Contact me directly for purchase.

Thank you all for the kind words about the blog.  It was fun to get it started, and I hope I'll be a good blogger.  Some of you out there are bloggers that I follow, so you have set a good example for me and I appreciate it.  Suzy, thanks for the encouragement to "do it."  I did!  And I updated my website, built a whole new one from scratch.  It is simple so far, but maybe I'll figure out how to do a little more eventually.  Takes us oldies a little longer!

Premier of Jo Bryan's blog: "The Diva"

This is the first post for Jo Bryan's blog.  About time, I think!!!  Learning to market art via the web is one of my goals for this year, and this is step one.  Step two this year is getting paintings ready for a solo show at the Bistro in downtown Georgetown on the square for the month of December.  Since I basically sold out in Amarillo before I moved, I am starting fresh.  Most of the paintings I had remaining are gracing the walls of my house, and I've decided I want to keep them.  Some of them are my favorites anyway, so I rarely showed them.  Here is one that I have finished and is ready for framing.  It is called "The Diva."  It is 7.5"x10.5", mixed media collage on 300 lb. watercolor paper with a gloss varnish.  It is available unframed for $100, but I do want to keep it to show in the December show if you purchase it ahead of that.  Contact me directly for purchase.  JoBryanArtist@gmail.com