Friday, September 18, 2020

Fused Glass Abstract Landscape SUNcatcher

Abstract Modern Landscape Ornament Handmade Glass Fused Sharon Warren FlutterbyButterfly FlutterbyFoto Bullseye Frit Tack Fuse Painting
Fused glass abstract landscape.

Getting settled into a new workshop takes some time and leaves me feeling a little abstract. So I was inspired to create a very modern and loose interpretation of a landscape. These colors were inspired by my daughter's art, a color gradient of the layers of the earth as you move from the core to the earth's surface. When I looked at her brilliant color gradations, I was reminded of a landscape looking out to sea and beyond to the mountains. Art is always in the eye of the beholder. 

Abstract Modern Landscape Ornament Handmade Glass Fused Sharon Warren FlutterbyButterfly FlutterbyFoto Bullseye Frit Tack Fuse Painting
Bullseye glass frit in jars.

To create each mini landscape, I layered opaque and transparent crushed glass on a solid clear base. A strip of fiber paper was inserted between layers of glass to save room for a ribbon later. Each glass landscape is heated in the kiln to 1375 degF to leave textured and dimension. 

Abstract Modern Landscape Ornament Handmade Glass Fused Sharon Warren FlutterbyButterfly FlutterbyFoto Bullseye Frit Tack Fuse Painting
Fused glass mini landscapes before firing.



Sharon Warren Glass | sharonwarrenglass | sharonwarrenglass.com | FluttterByButterfly | Sharon Warren Glass Artist

Thursday, September 3, 2020

Urban Sketching Watercolors

Our daughter has begun college with a virtual freshman year while living in the dorms at Virginia Commonwealth University. It is all very strange but probably pretty normal for right now. Walking around VCU before going to visit her is beautiful. Everyone is masked and Richmond is such a clean little city. 

It's wonderful to have the opportunity to sketch in ink and then work to capture some of the local buildings in watercolors. I have been trying to limit a painting to a few color mixes but maybe my choices for this one were too strong. I used a mix of Indian Red, Permanent Red and Winsor Orange for the brickwork. The tree colors seem all over the place too.

Urban Sketch Watercolor Painting N Laurel Cathedral Richmond Virginia Building Home Historic Handmade Sharon Warren FluterbyButterfly FlutterbyFoto Painting
North Laurel Street and South Cathedral Place

Here is a sketch of just the porch of the same red brick building done in much lighter tones. Maybe too light this time. I lost the perspective of the crosswalk but gained the detail of the brick and bushes.

Urban Sketch Watercolor Painting 16 N Laurel Richmond Virginia Building Home Historic Handmade Sharon Warren FluterbyButterfly FlutterbyFoto Painting
16 North Laurel Street

Here is a different building just a ways down Cathedral Place. This time I chose to paint the brick in just a mix of Indian Red and Permanent Red for a more pinky and happier tone. More lemon yellow in the bushes also makes it feel sunnier.

Urban Sketch Watercolor Painting 808 Cathedral Place Richmond Virginia Building Home Historic Handmade Sharon Warren FluterbyButterfly FlutterbyFoto Painting
808 Cathedral Place

I'm not sure anyone would recognize these buildings from my sketches, but they are fun to do and an exercise in how much detail to include and what colors to choose and lots of other things I'm trying to work on. 



Sharon Warren Glass | sharonwarrenglass | sharonwarrenglass.com | FluttterByButterfly | Sharon Warren Glass Artist