Many at Once

I have discovered, as any mixed media artist does, that you HAVE to work on more than one canvas at a time.  I have yet to buy a heat gun to speed up the drying process between layers so I have to put one aside after just a little bit of work.   Sometimes this is only after just a few minutes of work, so it is good to have something else to work on while I'm waiting for one to dry.  (I have tried to go with my impatience and push the drying process, but I have ended up with a mess, so I am trying to resist.)

Yesterday I found myself with a bunch of time and had five prepped canvases at varying stages of beginning.  The first one may be my favorite so far, maybe because it is so colorful and because it was such fun to do.  Here is the early stage with just some collage and paint added.

 As   you can see, this is the "ugly stage" and one has to proceed in faith that it will get better and something good will emerge.  I think it was Modigliani who said, "Art is never finished, just abandoned".  While that could be true, I think there is something to be said for knowing when to quit.

 Ain't she pretty?  I like the map in her face.

Here's another background that I was kind of happy with.  So far I've used acrylics, stamps, ink, a patterned tape and modeling paste.  I read about using this paste over stencils to create texture in your work.  Fun!

I'm not sure I am done with this one, but here is what evolved.

oolala.

Weird thing.  When I uploaded these photos, the texture from the modeling paste is reversed.   The indentations are really poking out in the real painting.  Weird thing.  

More later.