Tag Archives: Acrylic

The Juggernaut Begins! Acrylic painting on text collage on canvas, 6"x6"

Oh, you thought I was talking about the relentless march of the holiday retail machine? Nope, that’s last week’s news. Now it’s time to brace yourself for this year’s mighty, unstoppable A.Word.A.Day illustration series!

Today’s word is “juggernaut,” “a massive relentless force, person, institution, etc. that crushes everything in its path.”

Though the word’s origins lie in Hindu tradition, my thoughts went immediately to Godzilla, then back to earlier rampaging Asian monsters. A gigantic golden dragon could certainly destroy a city, while forming a fairly convincing curiotype letter “J”!

This painting & prints thereof are now available while they last* in my Etsy shop. So I guess now we’re back to the holiday retail theme. ;-) *Original art SOLD… wow, that was fast!

More A.Word.A.Day art to come! Tomorrow some kitschy cluckers clutching coffee. Can you guess the word?

Fallen Acrylic on collaged text on canvas, 6"x6"

Do you suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder? I do, & at this time of year, though I love the colorful turning leaves & the crisp weather, I always begin to feel anxious & guarded, knowing the gray days & long nights are coming.

This painting was inspired by a song that perfectly evokes that feeling, “Rake” by Optiganally Yours. (I’ve just added archival prints to my Etsy shop.)

I love the wildly twisted Arabesque shapes & subtle muted colors of dead leaves, even though they make me sad. The text in the background comes from a vintage Russian algebra book. Not sure why this seemed right for the subject, but it did!

By the way, I’ve experimented with several methods to help stave off the SAD. The most effective seems to be a daily walk outdoors, no matter the weather, no matter how short. If I miss a day or two the gloom comes rolling in.

Scary Acrylic & ink painting on collaged paper on canvas, 7"x11"

This painting has been an adventure in itself. I’d originally created the design around a wonderful quotation, but alas, I was unable to get permission from the writer’s estate, & that took the wind out of my sails for a while. Then it occurred to me that I could make up my own message, so I was back in action! It isn’t as perfect as the original, but it gets the point across.

Just as things were finally rolling again, I had to put the project on hold for quite some time to finish a massive rush job. Such is the freelance life. But I’ve been able to get back to it at last & I think it’s almost finished! Though I’m considering offering personalized messages in the bottom scroll area where I previously had the author’s name & now have “Enjoy the journey!” Anybody have any ideas?

More Mini Monster Menagerie Detail of acrylic on collaged paper on canvas, 9" x 12"

Coming down the home stretch on Scary– these guys are hanging out in the letter R, & at least one of them is sounding it out: “RRRRRRRRRR!” (The better to scare you with!)

This section of the painting is only about 2.25″ x 2″ (5.715cm x 5.08cm)– but just because these critters are small doesn’t mean they’re not dangerous.

Continued Scariness Detail of acrylic on collaged paper on canvas, 9" x 12"

More denizens of my painting-in-progress! This section is about 2.5 inches square.

I’m excited about this piece because it’s the first of a series I have in mind that will center on words & creatures. Next in line is the word “Explore”– do you have any favorite words that you would love to see invaded by odd beings?

In Progress: Scary Acrylic & ink on collaged paper on canvas, 9"x12"

Just a little sneak peek of the painting I’m now working on: a Halloween offering-to-come for my Etsy shop! Apologies for the image quality– this was taken with my phone.

Longma Golden Dragon Horse

This isn’t a new painting, but new to this site, & the process gif below is also new. It shows my technique with acrylic on paper fairly clearly– glazes, scumbles, details & highlights over archivally printed text. I painted this one entirely on the paper before mounting it to canvas, which is not my usual process, & usually the background doesn’t disappear quite this thoroughly, but otherwise this is pretty much how I do most of my paintings.

The subject is Longma, the Chinese Dragon-Horse. It’s still the Year of the Horse, right?

Acrylic on text scanned from Young People’s Natural History, 1901. Prints of this image are available in my Etsy Shop.

Heart-flower Hand-painted miniature, acrylic on paper in glass & copper locket

Back in the day I did a lot of greeting card & wrapping paper art in the hearts-&-flowers vein. After a few years of that I had had about all the sweetness I could swallow. I called it a quarter-life crisis… & my art has been getting weirder ever since. Someday maybe it will catch up with the rest of me… then look out! ;-)

But speaking of hearts, flowers, & veins, this little anatomical-botanical curiosity popped into my head recently, & I thought it was a perfect candidate for occupying a small empty locket I’d purchased on Etsy. And to continue the wonky circularity (or should I say circulatory system?) of the tale, it’s now available in my shop!

It’s about an inch wide by two inches tall if you count the bail. The picture shows both front & back. The text was borrowed from an old dictionary.

Nimiety Acrylic on collaged text on canvas, 6"x6"

This is the final image for A.Word.A.Day— it appeared last week but I forgot to post it here. This fellow is certainly dressed for excess! It was really a hoot to paint.

The original is sold, but prints are available in my Etsy shop.

Goodly Creature Acrylic on collaged text & diagrams on six canvases, 6"x6" each

Finally I have prints of this piece available on Etsy! Individual parts or all six elements in a bundle, in case you’d like to genetically engineer your own example of Zoorobotany!

p.s. If you’re interested in how this piece came to be, there’s a slide show on my process page.

Leah Palmer Preiss ~ Curious Art

Art, Lettering, Oddments & Curiosities