Thinking can be the mother of invention. And, as I reflected on work I had completed during the month of January, I had a thought: why not think about creating a different canvas shape for my final piece? And, bingo ... my triptych evolved. No cheating -- but actually just being creative and looking at my work from a new vantage point. I hope you agree! 
Thank you for supporting me through this exercise. 

Honestly, I am tired. This exercise has been exhausting as well as exciting. Imagine doing whatever you want! Sometimes the challenge is much harder than you think. But, I've gained a sense of comfort with exploring. The struggle and searching has allowed me to try a few different approaches when starting my paintings as well as working through an individual piece.
For this painting, I was comfortable in following the flow of the birch (again). I forced myself to repeat the solid lines of the structure of the collage figure on the left. I used various density of lines boldly, while in contrast I painted a very soft and muted background.

My work on this 30 paintings-in-30 days was all created on birch. And, it wasn't until getting literally almost to the end of the challenge that I decided to follow the birch for ideas. It was almost as if the real collage segments were the markings of the tree itself. But, after adding the actual collage in this painting ... I fell for the soft colors and the sense of space. Then I followed the rhythm of the panel and I depended on the bold graphic charge to give this painting momentum. 

A long day...tackled a collage, added paint creating flowers, manipulated the background and foreground and finished with a feeling of relief! The painting is complete, yippie! The underpainting actually includes a football player with lots of editing...oh well...the power of paint had a touchdown!

I had sweet thoughts throughout my preparing my collage and then while painting on top of the collage. The mixture of paper and paint seemed to seamlessly collide together making me think spring might be just around the corner ... or maybe a sincere wish for my New Jersey and New York friends whose homes and cars are buried deep in snow, and in some cases water.
I dedicate this painting to those working hard to take care of the shut-ins!

This was a difficult painting that started as a collage and then I added paint. This process always shares a new perspective on my work, and this time I found bits of the collage to be peaking out from under the paint that simply kicked me "upside my head." (A special childhood friend would say she might "hit me upside my head" when I was driving her crazy -- only as a term of endearment to put the fear of God into me. Her language worked well --  I behaved after hearing these words! ...Thus my alteration to her expression: "kicked me upside my head!")
Anyway ... I let the painting tell me where to go and when to stop. I simply followed the painting's request ... and I am very satisfied.

What a day...I really wanted to accomplish something different with my collage work...and I did, but I truly struggled with this creation. I fell back and forth -- looking for reality, but truly didn't think it was necessary. I tried new methods and materials for my collage additions -- including remnants of my husband's Hershey chocolate squares...oh my! (Truth: He was dieting. Not so! Somewhere, he was actually stashing a large bag of Hershey's with crisp rice --  maybe healthy??? -- but throwing the wrappers away in only one place. I ran across that spot ... and as my painting series continues, you can bet your "sweet" bippy that you will find more of his remnants...now that I have his "trash stash"!!!)

In painting, there really never is a dull moment. Each minute is consumed with staying in the moment, pushing oneself a little more, trying something different, or resorting to the same-old. Today, I started with collage; added paint; left parts of the birch un-attended to; and then began to extend or exaggerate the images I had included in this painting. And, in some crazy way, I think that Manny Faber was watching ... if you are not acquainted with the work of Manny Farber*, please look this artist up in Google.

* Manny Farber was one of the first San Diego artist whose work struck me to my core! And, I was fortunate to meet him; even more fortunate to purchase one of his paintings. And. I am equally delighted to count his daughter, Amanda Farber -- also a wonderful artist -- as another artful connection in San Diego.

It is interesting how a painting takes shape. This little gem started when I saw the opportunity to make use of salvaged orange, pink and yellow pages from a magazine. I loved the colors together and thought of the Marimekko fabrics my mother enjoyed throughout our home in the 60's.
This piece brought a smile to my face!