Wednesday 6 April 2016

Flower Power

"Flower Power" is the name I gave my newest watercolour:

"Flower Power", 14" X 11"
transparent watercolour on Arches CP paper
 
Remember that time? Tie-dye, bright colours, flowers adorned not only clothing but also vehicles. A favorite vehicle being a VW van like the one I have used in my painting. I didn't have a photograph of one so made this one up. Hope it reminds you of that time.
 
 
"Flower power was a slogan used during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of passive resistance and non-violence ideology.  It is rooted in the opposition movement to the Vietnam War. The expression was coined by the American beat poet Allen Ginsberg in 1965 as a means to transform war protests into peaceful affirmative spectacles. Hippies embraced the symbolism by dressing in clothing with embroidered flowers and vibrant colors, wearing flowers in their hair, and distributing flowers to the public, becoming known as flower children." Wikipedia
 
 
The tie-dye sky effect was created by dropping colour onto wet paper, swirling and then when the paper is still "shiny wet" sprinkling it with sea salt (large granules) and leaving it to dry completely.
 
"Santa Anna"
 
The salt creates snowflake like patterns as in the Christmas image above. How? Well as the salt absorbs the moisture in the paint it pulls the colours into abstract patterns. It really works well for a snow effect but it also is good to create texture in a landscape (using a finer grain salt). 
 
 
 
Here is a You Tube Video for you, sorry that the cover image is a bit risqué.
 
Best Hippie Songs Of All Time:
 
 
 
 This painting almost completes my "Out in the Field" show at Image West Hair Design (2885 West Broadway).
 
Flower Power can be seen with other paintings:
 
 
Cards and Prints are available at:
 
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 That's all for this week, happy Wednesday, with whimsy,
 
Gillian
 
I love to get your comments.