Acrylic paint, paper and a gel printing plate...

 Winter is a drag, and it's been bitter cold....but at least it is pretty at times...this is a picture of frost on my window.
I mostly stayed in this weekend and had some fun painting paper.
I got a new item, called a gel printing plate, to make mono prints with... I had fun experimenting with it, using paint, stencils and other items to make textures and patterns in the paint.  It's always a new surprise when peeling back the paper!

 It's going to take me a while to figure out all the different techniques I can create with.

 For now... I had fun mixing colors and rolling paint on the gel plate.. not really going for anything finished.

 I liked this one, and drew leafy designs in ink following the pattern in the (dry) paint....

I cut out some leaf shapes from my other pieces of painted paper and pasted them down with gel medium.  I didn't really have a plan, but I thought I should just do something and see what happens.  I'll have to remember, that even tho the drawing ink I used was permanent, it didn't set well over the acrylic paint, it smeared when I brushed the medium over it.  So, I only brushed it where there was no ink. 

New and Interesting things....

Some handmade decorative papers I'm collecting to use in projects

For some time now, I've been very intrigued by mixed media arts.  Most of the time my love for oil painting over rides my taking the time to try something new.  But,  I'm really wanting to start experimenting with acrylic paints, painted papers, collage, and print making.  Also using some hand made and store bought stamps and stencils to create unique designs.   I'd like to create abstract images, and also recognizable images too, such as flowers, butterflies, and things using a combination of paint and collage and drawing.  I'm not quite sure yet what I will come up with. 
I have collected many little bottles of acrylic paint, and other supplies during a time a few years ago when I was into doing interior painting and murals. ( I'm done with that now, traveling and carrying equipment, and working on a ladder just isn't me.  Plus, working that big isn't me either :)   So, I might as well use them for something.  I've been enjoying the blogs and websites of many collage and print making artists, and it's piqued my interest even more.  I hope to spend some time on this every so often.  ... in between oil paintings.  I think the freedom of mixed media will be a nice contrast to the more controlled oil painting I do... and maybe give me new ideas to use in my oil painting, you never know.

Last night I had some fun just abstractly painting paper.  Paper that can be used in collage or something later on.  This is the second time I've done this, and it's alot of fun.  You never know what you will end up with.   I chose a few colors to work with and sponged, stamped, stenciled, and spattered some white drawing paper, and tissue paper...

 After I was finished... I thought the paint I had been putting on the palette was just as interesting as anything else I had made.  I used a couple of cut mats to "frame out" and find cool looking compositions in the mess of paint on there, and on my papers too.   They could actually be little works of art all on their own!  The possibilities were endless, and exciting to find!!  Here are a few....