recycling paintings: creating new from old

today i spent some time in my art studio creating a new painting from 2 older paintings that i have done. this is something that i do sometimes. sometimes i end up having paintings that i've done that either i never really liked or they just don't seem finished...like the concept is good but needs to be re-worked somehow. so sometimes i will cut them up and use bits and pieces of them to create a whole new painting. or sometimes i'll just paint something new right over the already existing painting. i did both today. i had a painting that i did 7 years ago that i never really liked (it was an oil impressionistic landscape painting of a calm lake)...so today i used that canvas and painted right over the top of what was already there. i also had a painting that i did 3 years ago and i really liked the concept of it but i just didn't like how the painting turned out (it was a mixed media abstract with some tiles fixed to the canvas)...so today i cut that canvas up in pieces to fit bits here and there within the new painting. i was able to elaborate on that concept and create (what i think) i really intended.

this new painting is a 16x20 that i have titled "STRONG TOWER" and i base it on Psalm 46:1-3 and also the song by the same title written by the band Kutless. i used oil paint, latex house paint, acrylic paint, images printed on paper, text (song lyrics, Scripture, words), tiles, and the cut up canvas of a previous painting to create this new abstract expressionist collage. the photo of the fortress is one that i took last year when i was in Ireland. its of The Rock of Cashel (located on a hilltop, it had been a castle, a cathedral, and a monestary. It was a major center of refuge for many during the 12th & 13th centuries).

Psalm 46:1-3

from The Message

God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him. We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in the seastorm and earthquake, before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift the mountains. Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God of Angel Armies protects us.

Strong Tower

song by Kutless

When I wander through the desert.And I'm longing for my home.All my dreams have gone astray.When I'm stranded in the valley.And I'm tired and all alone.It seems like I've lost my way.I go running to Your mountain.Where your mercy sets me free.You are my strong tower.Shelter over me.Beautiful and mighty.Everlasting King.You are my strong tower.Fortress when I'm weak.Your name is true and holy.And Your face is all I seek.In the middle of my darkness.In the midst of all my fear.You're my refuge and my hope.When the storm of life is raging.And the thunder's all I hear.You speak softly to my soul.Now I'm running to your mountain.Where your mercy sets me free.

I plan to submit this new painting to the upcoming juried/themed VineArts Gallery Art Exhibit titled: REFUGE IN YOU that will run from August through October.

Creating Memories

i finally created a scrapbook documenting my trip to Ireland that I took a year ago (May 2008). i wanted to do something different than just a normal photo album or even a normal scrapbook. so i "revved" it up a wee bit.
i used a normal composition book and printed off my digital photos on normal computer paper. using the same abstract collage painting techniques that i use in my canvas paintings...i created a unique look for each leg of the trip.

to help tell the story, i used the blog posts from my Ireland blogsite:

http://www.uiscebeatha-wateroflife.blogspot.com

with some of the pages i was able to almost create a themed landscape painting with the photos and paint and a little embellishment of writing or sketching.

now i can look through the scrapbook and remember the trip on so many levels.

these are just a few of the pages. i had so much fun creating this scrapbook. i plan to do one for my trip to Paris and for my trip to Germany that i took last fall.