Carol Wiebe

It will be 18 months, at the end of this month, that I have been posting every single day. It was part of my goal to also post at least one image every day. In that time, I have created many digital images because they were the easiest way to express myself. However, they are just the tip of the iceberg. I have been painting, but I can’t make a painting every day. Some artists are expert croppers who can show you parts of a painting, or stages of a painting, and thus get a lo

Sometimes we are fortunate enough to encounter something ~ a book or a painting, a thought someone shares with us ~ that contains so much, has such import for us, that one can only marvel and laugh. Why laugh? Let me explain it this way. I have two marvellous grandchildren who continually astound me with their creativity and the observations they share about what goes on around them. When an especially apt comment is made, my first reaction is to laugh.  My granddaughter once

I took the painting from It’s Never Just Black and White into my favorite program, Photoshop Elements and we did a little dance routine. Once again, I see how very simple paintings can be layered into complex designs. These are a few of them: Just Say It One Both Lit From Above Faded Glory These designs were built layer by layer, from that simple beginning to a more complex outcome. Sometimes the layering leads to greater sophistication, interest, attractiveness. Sometimes, t

I painted this today. Don’t ask. I don’t know. Wait . . . . I take that back. I still don’t know, but I love it when you ask! #painting #CWWOL20110520 #arms #blackampwhite #acrylic #red

On May 5th, I showed you this painting: Quite a few layers have followed, and this is the latest result: Finding a Door to My Secret Garden Viewing it on the screen like this, I can see I’m not done yet. #painting #door #CWWOL20110518 #garden #secretgarden #FindingaDoortomySecretGarden #stitch

I painted 4 little paintings last week. I should say that they are painting starts ~ that would be more accurate. This is my favorite one: Burst of Spring Tomorrow I’ll share some of the digital byproducts. #painting #paintingstart #burst #CWWOL20110411 #spring

I’ve been thinking about the differences between collage and painting. When I use paint, and only paint, there is great excitement involved in anticipating the outcome. Risks are high. Once I have painted over something, what lies beneath is gone. With collage, I can see exactly how colors and patterns go together. I can place a collage element here or there, and know that when I place it, it will look as good as my eye judged it to be. There is less guesswork. Soon, however,

It seems to me that a stitched painting will be enhanced by a stitched matte. If I stitch it myself, I have so many options for enhancing the matte to be a good fit for the painting. I have painted the matte black. If it looks a little wonky, that’s because it is quite thin and sitting a bit unevenly on the floor. Once it is dry, and seated in the shadow box my husband built for me, along with the painting, we’ll both be able to see if I was right. Stitched Matte Now I have t

My Journal page start has undergone a sea change (full fathom five). I now call it Purple Heart. Purple Heart A brave heart has a spillover effect: in its presence, others find courage, too. #painting #fullfathomfive #purpleheart #seachange #CWWOL20110306 #stitch #acrylicpaint

STOP, already! Do you think I’ve been carried away a bit? I just have to laugh. Next, I start painting again. Don’t worry, those edges will get covered. You will also notice that the thread pulls at the paper a bit (and makes visible holes), but when one knows one will be adding paint again, it doesn’t matter. You’ll see! #acrylic #painting #paper #stitch

Here’s another “using up the paint” painting. Another left over paint painting I am now stitching it (after adding a little gold paint). Instead of stitching the paper directly, as I usually do, I glued it to felt with a glue stick  and am creating lines with stitch. When I feel I’ve stitched enough, I’ll add more layers of paint. Stitch detail #painting #stitches #leftoverpaint #stitch #acrylic #polyesterthread

A crow suddenly flew onto my page. Crows frequently do that around me. You can see a bit of the Inside Front Cover (version 4) page to the right. Tomorrow is another day. #painting #paint #slapdash #WiebeWayApplique #editallowaccess #mantra #crow #Spirithouse #Artjournal #Artbook #leftoverpaint #paper #words #stitch

Today I was at work from 8am until 6pm. That is not unusual. I did manage to make a leftover paint painting. Whenever there’s leftover paint from another project, I use it up in a slapdash manner. It’s amazing how many of these become the basis for a painting I really like. I also take pics and use them in digital design papers. Left over paint painting #leftoverpaint #paint #painting #slapdash

I have gone again and again to this post about feathers, on Art Propelled. Robyn Gordon has such a magnificent eye, from my perspective. I am in love with how she chooses a theme, then finds different artists’ works to illustrate the feelings/ideas she wants to express. None of her work is featured in this post, but it is well worth exploring. She could have added June’s Angel to the mix . . . June's Angel ~ by Robyn Gordon or Broken Angels. Broken Angels ~ by Robyn Gordon An

I was thinking about what I wrote yesterday concerning my updated art journal pages. Yes, I do “read” paintings like dreams, but did my catalogue of symbols remind you of someone pointing to the clouds and squealing, “There’s a rabbit. Oh, can you see the elephant? And there is a shoe!” This method of seeing what symbols are in my paintings arises out of my study of dreams and interpreting dreams. Dreams can be quite literal, but it is the lateral thinking I am really interes

On my last post, I said I’d show how my journal pages had “progressed.” I specifically mentioned tomorrow, but it came and went. (What does tomorrow mean in blogland, anyway? It all depends when you read it.) Why did I miss my deadline? Because, of course, as soon as I saw what I had painted the night before, I had to add another touch here, and there. Anyone who paints knows that a slight touch-up can turn into hours of painting. In fact, a slight touch-up can result in an e

If you are NOT subscribed to Robert Genn‘s The Painter’s Keys, I think you are missing a lot. I have been receiving these letters for a number of years, and they provide much inspiration, as well as valuable teaching tips for artists. Here is a case in point: For visual artists, directing the torch of our imagination is our main art. Art happens when alchemy is found. One, two and multi-step systems modify reality and create what has come to be called “style.” Art without sty

Last night I got home from work and found a BIG box from Amazon sitting on the inside step. My heart performed a little leap. I waited until supper was done, made myself a soy chai latte, and sat down to immerse myself in the inspiration that art books can deliver. I was not disappointed. In fact, my thoughts were racing with possibilities and the longing in me kept shooting upwards, like one of those carnival high strikers that you hit with a large hammer in order to test yo

Flora Doehler is one of those artists whose work gets your attention, and then you fall in love with her life. Or the other way around. Either way, if it hasn’t happened to you ~yet~ I feel compelled to warn you that Our Bear River Adventure is an irresistible read. If Boz (otherwise known as Charles Dickens) was alive today, I’m sure he would subscribe to Flora’s blog. Charles Dickens It all begins with this compelling précis: In the fall of 2007, Flora and Larry moved from

With the full power of the moon behind her, this woman invokes clarity. But clarity does not necessarily arrive quickly, in an easily discernible package, hovering just above our gaze before wrapping us in its bright tendrils. Rather, we piece all the various small revelations together, and begin to fathom a more spacious vision with each shining quilt, painting or poem that we “complete.” Perhaps “completion” is not the direction we want to move towards, with its suggestion