Heather Syren, Artist of Sorts

This is now for sale. If you’d like a quote please email me through the links provided or leave a comment. I can charge through PayPal via email and ship it however you’d like.

But For The Trees

I swear I just posted two days ago. Wow. Three weeks? Really? I’ve been busy, that I can attest to. If you’re craving more regular updates I keep the Facebook page flush with new photos when I’m working not to mention I ask fans about color choices, inspiration for subjects, as well as keep everyone updated on other artists and local bands/events I love. So, please, hop on over to Heather Syren on Facebook, click “Like” and join in the conversation!

Yeah, sometimes things come off without a hitch and other times the hitch is interesting even if it’s not what I wanted. I was shooting for gently blended colors for sunset clouds… This is what happened as a result of too much movement. Everything slid around and made these neat waves…

Cloud test #1 with yellow light

Cloud test #1 with natural lighting and shadows

Sometimes I will write things, others I won’t. I think I’ll update more if I don’t think I HAVE to write. I will on the bigger pieces but on test tiles and experiments I don’t think I will. At least, not in huge, flowery detail. If you know me in real life you know that I’m HUGE on talking… unless I’m painting. Then I just want you to talk amongst yourselves.

I have been spending a lot of time testing new media the last few months. Watercolors, sheet acrylic, opaque paint markers, overhead projector… a LOT of new stuff. I think I’ve gotten this down to a permanent set up. No more fading due to exposure to air or light. Much easier to clean without worrying about wiping off the black lines. I’ve been looking into efficient illumination like LEDs and EL wire. I’ve even been thinking about embedding the EL wire into the glue itself… But that will take time to learn. I’m getting there though…

So without the flowery… This is only a test.

Oh! I should tell you that if you’d like more information about the paintings on a regular basis (sometimes daily) I will try to put captions on the photos on my Facebook page.

The Ripple effect, with better sound. As in, you can actually hear me.

This man is a friend of mine. He is a good human being with a huge heart. Please, repost this in any way possible. Blog, Facebook, email, whatever. Let’s all do what we can to help being a Mom home.

http://journalstar.com/news/local/article_7472c18f-4641-5728-92a6-76a8fd129a2a.html

So the sound is awful. I had Yann Tiersen playing, quite loudly, when I filmed this. Then, since I could hear myself in my head, I decided to try and tell you what’s going on. Basically, when I turn the fan off you can see the glue collapse.

One of the best things about this endeavor has been the freedom of experimentation. I learned so much by playing with food colorings, including the fact that blue food coloring hates sunlight and would rather not exist than hang around with it. So I’ve started my search, grand and wide, to find a lightfast way to color the glue.

I started with ink. I thought of how beautiful it looks on rough paper, like milk on a tongue. I thought it would be transparent. Turns out not so much…

Stretched Out, Ink test one

Here you can see one of the suncatcher designs, Stretched Out, with a nice purple ink tinted glue. You can also see how much i care if my nail polish has chipped. Anyway… You can see that there is some amount of light getting through but nothing like what I was getting before with the food coloring. I wanted this shade, which is good, it means I understand how the ink mixes, but the solid particles of the pigment block out the light.

Stretched Out, backside

Here i was looking to get some of the splatter and bleed effect i got previously from flicking droplets of food coloring onto the glue’s surface. As you can see here, the pigments don’t bleed. I’m guessing it’s from the solidity. It just rests on top, flecks here and there, without spreading at all.

Angel's Morning, Ink test one

Here it is even more evident. I used straight white glue for the wings then dragged a little of the blue tinted glue through it to attempt a shading technique. As you can see, the blue pigment reveals itself as specks.

Angel's Morning, wing test

Fortunately, for me, it works quite well on this piece. Both of these techniques will not be thrown out completely. I think it’s wonderful that now i know how to create these effects should I need to!

Chani, Ink test one

Here on Chani you can see where gravity has decided to instruct me as well. I can see that if I would like thin layers of pale colors then i can utilize the inks just fine. Too bad I love the intensity that color brings.

I have also tested two different types of watercolors, to be expounded upon soon. After that I’d like to see what black ink does…

SO for the next round of paintings i decided to not be so willy nilly about the whole thing and, oh, I don’t know… Maybe actually PLAN a little? HA! So, first thing’s first. Line paintings in the new studio space. None of these have color schemes yet, just lines…

Dryad, approx 3'x4.5'

This is just being called Dryad for now. The drawing pad beneath it is 2′x3′ so the measurements above may be off. This is being made out of two panes of glass and I plan on framing them together. I just love the tree reflected in the glass in this photo. I know you can’t see it all too well but, have faith, you will soon enough.

Bored Boy, approx 1'x4'

Again, temporary title. Bored Boy was something I sketched out of my head… I love having the center of focus off center. I am telling you this just in case you’ve been reading and missed the obvious. (Just teasing…)

Chani, 4" square suncatcher

I am going to be doing a series of sun-catchers. Alas, in true Syren form, they will not be for everyone’s kitchen window. I’m doing a series of nudes first and maybe later I’ll consider something G rated. This is from a doodle from about 10 years ago.

Flight, 4" sun-catcher

Another one from the same day’s doodles… At first I thought she was falling. Today i saw the direction her hair was going…

Girl/downup, 9"x12"

From a speed sketch I did today. I’m testing new brushes and the non-concrete form of the sketch let me play a lot.

Lonely, 9"x12"

This is a teeny tiny painting on a 9″x12″ piece of glass, off center of course…

Cliff Tree, 9"x12"

Now this one I’m incredibly excited about. I plan on blowing the sketch up and making it into another two panel 3′x4′ like Dryad. I plan on experimenting with a bunch of different color schemes so you can expect to see this one a few times. I really like the way this medium is set up because I have the freedom to experiment with the same image, over and over. Also, if someone wants one that’s sold or wants something in a different color all they have to do is ask and 9 times out of 10 I will be able to do it.

Angel's Dance, 4" square sun-catcher

Another nudie sun-catcher. Funny thing, once I had a not-so-sober epiphany during a barbecue that if you watch the way light hits our skin you can see how it actually penetrates a few layers making us all into giant sun-catchers who dance in the light we make. It was an awesome barbecue.

One last thing to mention: I can’t seem to find a proper stat counter! If you know of one that lets me know how many hits I am getting, please let me know in the comments! Heck, comment anyway!!