I received such a positive response to my mixed media paintings at a recent show, that I was encouraged to expand on the idea.  "Amethyst Shores" is very textural, which is part of what attracted so many comments.  It was inspired by the rocky coastline of the Monterey Peninsular, where I lived for a few years. 

The painting includes several textured mediums, as well as sand and pieces of seashells from the Asilomar State Beach in Pacific Grove.  I originally wanted to include semi-precious gemstones, in this case amethyst - but was not confident about the type of glue to use so that the stones would hold fast to the canvas, and not be drowned by the glue.

I was glad to be able to spend most of last week experimenting in my studio, after several weeks spent ploughing through a daunting “To Do” list of show preparations and other business/marketing tasks.  I realized how important it is for me to have a balanced mix of left brain business and right brain creative activities scheduled into my calendar.  Too much of either throws me off.

After my experimentations, I am now satisfied with the glue issue in using semi-precious stones in future mixed media paintings.  I also played with iridescent and metallic paints, and purchased more semi-precious stones for my tool box.  It is wonderful what beautiful things nature creates for our enjoyment!

The overall result is that I am now in the process of producing a group of paintings with the intention of creating "jewelry for the walls", which I find quite exciting!