Archives for category: Garden art

Remembering Caribbean Nights

August 12, 2014 //

This week I’m feeling confident in my resining techniques and comfortable with my full-sized propane torch, so I’m trying my hand at some larger pieces. This one measures 6″ x 12″. If that doesn’t sound large, try a few steps of the resin dance yourself and you’ll see it my way. The working window is only about 20 minutes from the first pour to removal of the last bubble and I work with up to six pieces at a time. Still, I’m on the march and have larger panels waiting in the wings.

For the real plants in the foreground, I chose a mix of weeds and garden plants — wild grass seed heads, a piece of Japanese maple, and a little leaf of curly coleus.

Tags abstract art, botanical art, botanical collage, lois lawrence, mixed-media, my stonington garden, pressed flowers, providence artist, stonington artist, stonington connecticut, stonington ct

Categories acrylic painting, art, botanical, botanical art, botanical collage, botanical painting, collage, Garden art, Gardening, graphic art, mixed media, multi media, nautical art

Summer on the Salt Marsh

August 11, 2014 //

This is typical of scenes I pass by every day in and around my home town of Stonington, Connecticut. As summer goes into its third act, I wanted to spend some time celebrating the sea and the shore. This little piece is just 4″ x 6″. My next piece will be a night scene looking across the Caribbean at the lights of villas and boats on a tiny island.

I’ve been busy perfecting my technique applying resin, graduating to a full-sized propane torch for bursting the tiny bubbles that form in the mixed resin and need a little help rising to the surface. I started out using my husband’s little kitchen torch meant only for crisping creme brulee, but sadly, too much handling with sticky resin-covered gloves quickly rendered it kaput. The good news is that I have become sufficiently adept at applying resin that I can work on up to six pieces in a session. Considering all the prep for any given session, this is a real time-saver.

Categories acrylic painting, art, botanical, botanical art, botanical collage, botanical painting, collage, Garden art, Uncategorized

Foam Flower Plant Has Better Leaves than Flowers

July 25, 2014 //

Foam flowers or Heuchera, are fuzzy little white stems that don’t make themselves particularly useful for purposes of floral composition. The leaves of this hardy plant, on the other hand, still look three-dimensional even when pressed flat. I love the depth of color around the veining and I especially love the asymmetrical and somewhat tattered look of the outer edges. I added some abstract ‘framing’ to this one with touches of sap green, cobalt blue and gold and I popped on a couple of dew drops for fun. The edges are painted in the same colors and style and the whole 5×5 piece is coated in three layers of glossy resin.

Tags botanical art, botanical collage, connecticut artist, foam flower, garden art, heuchera, huechera, lois, lois lawrence, stonington garden

Categories acrylic painting, art, botanical, botanical art, botanical collage, botanical painting, collage, Garden art, Gardening, mixed media, pressed botanicals, Uncategorized

A New Series of Landscapes

May 29, 2014 //

At the VIRTU Art Festival in Westerly, Rhode Island, last week, my little 4 x 4 landscape was the first to go so I felt emboldened to try my hand at an 8 x 8. The real botanicals in this piece are all in the immediate foreground. I used feathergrass against the white of the reflection in the water, added just the tip of a ginkgo leaf on the lower right, and a few individual sections of a Japanese maple leaf just for some added drama and color. As it turns out, feathergrass tends to lift a little on the first application of resin making it hard to reach a glass-like finish in less than three coats, so I had to wait a full 4 days to see the finished product. I think it was worth it though. Next in line for the resin bath is a farm scene in which I use only my ferns at the edges of a field.

Tags affordable art, botanical art, landscape painting, lois lawrence, pressed botanicals, providence artist, stonington artist, stonington garden

Categories acrylic painting, art, botanical, botanical art, botanical collage, botanical painting, collage, Garden art, mixed media, pressed botanicals, real botanicals

Making the Most of Miniature Supports

May 9, 2014 //

Having a great time with my new project but there’s a lot to protect. Note the latex gloves, and the waxed paper to protect my counter. Then there is the issue of my lungs. Need to upgrade to a full-on gas mask even though there are hardly any noticable fumes from the Envirotex two-part resin system I use. Better safe than sorry and I’m so happy with the process and results that I plan to gear up for a full series. This little guys are just 4″ x 4″. The abstract features azalea leaves and carnation petals, while the little landscape sticks to tried-and-true ferns. My next piece will be a boat at sea. Haven’t settled on what plant to use to represent land flora and sails. Last season, raspberry leaves made great sails, but, alas, my raspberry bush is not yet prepared to supply me with more.

I’ll be showing these at Lippett Park in Providence on May 17th, weather permitting, and at the big VIRTU art festival in Wilcox Park in Westerly, Rhode Island on Memorial Day weekend. Meanwhile they’ll be in my Etsy shop.

Tags connecticut artist, lois lawrence, pressed botanical, providence botanical artist, real pressed flowers, stonington artist, stonington garden

Categories acrylic painting, art, botanical, botanical art, botanical collage, botanical painting, collage, Garden art, graphic art, mixed media, pressed botanicals, pressed flowers, real botanicals

Tucking Real Plants Between Original Art and Resin

May 5, 2014 //

Resin is a wonderful way to preserve and enhance real botanicals, so I decided to try a few pieces on wood panel in order to provide the best possible surface for the ice-smooth resin coating. First, I painted my background on a 5″x 5″ panel. Then, I chose a plain mustard yellow for the 7/8″ sides of the cradle, and mounted my two sweet ivy leaves. Before coating the work with resin, I couldn’t resist adding a tiny ‘droplet’ of water on one of the leaves using more acrylic and a tiny signature brush.

Tags abstract botanicals, lois lawrence, my stonington garden, plant art, pressed flowers, pressed plants, providence artist, real botanical art, stonington artist

Categories acrylic painting, art, botanical, botanical art, botanical collage, botanical painting, collage, Garden art, mixed media, multi media, pressed botanicals, real botanicals

A Different Take on the Carnation

March 30, 2014 //

This is the second time I have added a touch of acrylic paint to my printed graphic in order to add depth and contour. Just the sky is left untouched. To bring it to life I added just the top of a pressed ginkgo leaf and a carnation petal as foreground and to lend perspective, I also added some fern ‘trees’ in graduated sizes.

With the start of the show season just weeks away (my first show will be Craftopia at Hope Artistes Village in Pawtucket, Rhode Island on Sunday, April 27) Meanwhile, this one is the latest addition to my Etsy shop.

Tags botanical art, carnation, collage, connecticut artist, ginkgo, lois lawrence, mixed-media, my stonington garden, providence artist

Categories acrylic painting, art, botanical, botanical art, botanical collage, botanical painting, collage, Garden art, mixed media, pressed botanicals, pressed flowers

‘Watering’ my Plants

March 13, 2014 //

I’ve recently made a few pieces that include water drops in the background including this little composition using real ferns so it’s not that big a leap to work directly on a leaf. This dramatic sweet potato leaf made the perfect canvas for this experiment.

Tags abstract art, botanical collage, botanical painting, dried plants, ferns, garden art, graphic art, lois lawrence, original paintings, pressed flowers, pressed plants, sweet potato vine, wedding gifts

Categories acrylic painting, art, botanical, botanical art, botanical collage, botanical painting, collage, Garden art

Getting Ready for the 2014 Show Season

March 12, 2014 //

Just over a month away from the beginning of the 2014 show season has me excited to move forward. This year it will be in three directions. While I am continuing enthusiastically with my graphic-based botanicals, I am equally excited to be working simultaneously on leaf painting in acrylic and on real pressed botanicals mounted on original watercolor and acrylic painted backgrounds. This is my latest example of the last group. Come and see it in April at Craftopia or grab it first on Etsy.

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Categories acrylic painting, art, botanical, botanical art, botanical collage, botanical painting, collage, Garden art

First New Work of the New Year – Feathergrass on Water Drops

January 1, 2014 //

While I plan to continue designing lots of fun graphic images for my pressed botanicals in 2014, I am also enjoying working with watercolors. This simple background of water drops on a pink and coral wash provides the support for one of my favorite plants for pressing – Mexican feathergrass. I have a second one in the wings and some thoughts of painting insects to hover above the a feathergrass meadow. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, I popped this one into my Etsy shop this morning. Happy New Year to all my friends and followers.

Tags abstract art, botanical, botanical collage, connecticut artist, etsy, lois lawrence, original art, plant collage, pressed botanicals

Categories botanical, botanical art, botanical collage, botanical painting, collage, Garden art, watercolor