Mixed Media Gals, Contemporary Figure Art by Leada Wood, Texas Artist

Fun Weekend at Studio 20. Busy week so I decided it was play time! It is always a pleasure to just play with paint and not have an agenda...to go with the flow and see where the painting takes you.

What a wonderful diversion to smear paint around and make a color field painting...sometimes they turn out and sometimes they don't.  It's only paper and you can always use it for collage or gesso over it. I am a big believer in repurposing.

I decided to take it to the next level, so I drew free hand with gesso and a brush trying to keep it transparent enough so that the under painting would show through. I could have stopped there but nooooo.....I was having too much fun!

I brought her to completion with pan pastels, chalk paint pen, black fine tip pen, Tombow pens and a water brush. She is really a mixed media gal! It was a fun experiment and I want to do some more. Why don't you give it a try?

Artist Of Texas Show, by Leada Wood, Texas Artist

Happy Fall Y'all !  I am so excited to have three of my paintings juried into the annual Artist of Texas fall show, "Open Spaces".  Living in the Wild West I enjoy observing all God' s creatures big and small and that inspires me to capture them in my paintings.

"A Good Scratch" ©Leada Wood 2016

Some critters we don't see as much as we use too, like the Jack Rabbit. They use to roam the range everywhere, maybe it's getting too crowded and they have moved on. Whatever the reason I still love to paint them and get really excited when I spot one of the long eared fellows!

 "A Good Scratch" is watercolor on archival paper and won an honorable mention in the Art League of West Texas Foundation's Spring show this year.

"Mama's Lillies" ©Leada Wood 2016

We have Hummers darting around our yard from early spring to October when they make their long journey to warmer climates. They especially love the Red Salvia bushes and the Canna Lillies in the garden. Inspiration is all around when you can "see" and look with "artists eyes".

"Bird On A Wire"  ©Leada Wood 2016

Seeing a Scissored Tailed Flycatcher is a sure sign of spring in West Texas. I try to hold off planting my garden until I see they are back and the mesquites are out. They are quite aggressive and sometimes you will see two of them picking on a hawk or bigger big bird,  maybe their idea of fun. 

They like to spend their winters in Mexico along with the Hummingbirds and a lot of other birds. Who wouldn't love a nice tropical climate while the cold north winds blow.

The "Open Spaces" exhibition will run from September 13th until October 22nd. The Breckenridge Fine Arts Center is a beautiful gallery and the drive is certainly worth doing to see all the exceptional art. The reception is Setember 17th and I plan on being there so stop by and say howdy!