The Art of Joy Alyssa Day

Last summer, I went through the most frightening thing I have ever experienced, the California Basin Complex Wildfire that chewed through much of Big Sur.  I had seen wildfires on TV, but had never experienced one in person until then. My partner, BJ, detailed the advance of the fire in photos on his blog as it was happening. We were advised to evacuate, but as we tried to figure out what we could take with us and what we could continue to do as the kind of artists we are if we were to leave, and especially if our studio did not survive, we decided that we needed to stay here and defend our livelihood as best we could.

I really wish I had more time to myself to paint these little watercolors. I am quite enjoying them. I think it’s not only the learning a new process thing, but also that I don’t have to make them look like anything. Most of our art pieces have to end up looking like something (a rocket or portrait…)  or performing some function (like holding up a table). I have always wanted to be more loose in my paintings, to paint or create more abstract or impressionist pieces, but that so rarely happens.

I am trying new techniques in my watercolor paintings. The result I’m hoping for is to figure out which would be best for an upcoming childrens’ book that I’m writing. It has a lot of flowers and bunnies and such in it, but the simplistic, very muted colors that I see in most bunny childrens books just doesn’t do it for me. I want vivid, rich, beautiful, so I’m trying various things with these ACEOs to see what I like best for my new book.

I‘ve been having fun with both the small format of ACEOs (art cards), and also the watrcolor techniques. Since most of my paintings are usually done with acrylics on glass, having the white paper as a start and then having the paints absorb into it are new for me. It takes a lot of getting used to.  The biggest thing is getting used to working from back to front instead of details first like I have to do in my glass paintings. I find that I keep putting details down and then they get overrun or covered completely when I have to lay in a bigger wash of color. There are a lot of D’Oh! moments learning a new medium.  But it is fun too.

Well, I said I was going to do it… It just took me a bit longer to rev up the time to sit down and actually get started. In my defense, though, we had that huge conference that takes over the whole studio for a good month or two – getting ready, getting stuff shipped, going and then the two weeks of recovery because I always seem to catch some hideous disease there or on the way back.

I‘ve gotten a great response for the little watercolor I posted of Shadow, so here is another one I did a bit ago. This is of Larry, our beautiful Maine Coon tuxedo boy. He is from a kaboodle of 5 abandoned kittens we rescued (yes, we’re suckers for cuties….)

This piece is only 6 inches wide, and really captures his eyes. I really like the super closeups, if I can get them to pose for that long, but Larry happens to be one of the most easygoing cats I’ve ever had, so it’s easy. I just have to tell him he’s adorable, and he flops down and goes into some really cute pose.

Isn’t she beautiful? This is a portrait of my cat Shadow getting sleepy for a nap. You can see the comfort and love in her eyes.

This is a new series of small watercolor paintings I’m working on. With the economic downturn, I’m looking at expanding my horizons and have always wanted to do watercolor paintings. These smaller paintings can be squeezed into little chunks of time I have between the bigger art pieces when they’re drying or casting or whatever. I tend to get a half hour here or there – not enough to really get started on another section of the big sculptures, but just right for these, and much better than watching TV or playing a video game (although Oblivion is a lot of fun…).

Another little gem for sale.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250298789610

These little paintings are so much fun to make. They’re reverse painted on glass, which means that I have to work backwards — painting the details first, like the stars and clouds and then working my way back to the final background black coat. It’s opposite the traditional way of painting on canvas, where the artist puts down the background first and then works toward the details in the forefront.

It’s an original miniature painting, reverse painted on glass. It shows a water planet surrounded by dark nebula. It’s about 8 3/4″ wide by 3″ tall and is for sale!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250298343895

Reverse painting on glass is an extremely old technique, but only a few people practice it anymore. I find that the colors are richer and deeper when reverse painted, making the piece really glow and shine. This one comes with it’s own little wooden stand, so it can stand up on a desk or shelf. It is not stained glass, is not transparent to hang in a window. It’s a solid painting, like oil or watercolor, just on the backside of glass instead of on canvas.