About the Go With The Flow

Mixed Media Abstract Art

by Shirley Gibson

I love this process. I call it "go with the flow" because in creating the paintings, I allow the ink to flow and to move over, through and under the paper. I like to work wet on wet, with a maximum lack of control thus allowing the paintings a completely free range of expression. I offer the inks various obstacles and impediments, I confront them with "friends" and "enemies" and wait and watch to see what they do.

Some of the paintings are pure abstraction, while others contain a hint of realism. In creating these paintings, I have used a wide variety of media and a number of different objects and shapes.

I love using leaves to represent trees. It seems so appropriate to me. Many of my paintings contain moons. Some of the moons are created using iridescent medium and others are created with circular shapes cut from a variety of objects that range from cardboard milk cartons to vinyl shower curtains.

I love to experiment, and many of these paintings represent the happy accidents that arose from middle of the night experiments gone terribly wrong. I often use "failed" paintings to test new ideas and media that I have not used before. The one pictured on the left was actually the product of 3 "failed" experiments, thus confirming my belief that there are no failures - just "stuff" that's not done yet.

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The paintings are created on a variety of papers. My earliest paintings were done using student grade water color paper. I found that higher quality watercolor papers absorbed too much of the ink and the results were not very satisfactory. The student grade paper is thinner, holds up well under pressure, and these paintings are fairly sturdy.

Then I discovered 100% cotton marker layout paper. This paper is very thin allowing the ink to "float" on top. The paintings themselves are quite delicate, and are susceptible to changes in moisture in the air. As the paper is holding quite a lot of ink and other media, they do require special handling with regard to shipping. The extra trouble is well worth it though because these pieces are vibrant and textured and offer a depth that cannot be conveyed on a computer screen.

Rice paper is another type of paper I have used. It is totally different in that the ink travels through the paper as well as on top of and underneath it. It is more difficult in that the paintings can turn into "mud" in an amazingly short time. But when the effects are controlled, the results are amazing. These are the only paintings not created "wet on wet", and do not require special handling in shipping.

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In my quest for papers that were thin enough to allow the ink to float, yet sturdy enough to withstand a certain amount of pressure in shipping and storage, I discovered 100% rag resume paper.  This is the same paper you find at office supply stores for sending out high end resumes. I love this paper. Ink does travel through it, and like the rice paper, it is easy to end up with a page full of "mud". However, it holds up well to quite a lot, and some of my favorite paintings were rendered on this paper.

Some of my earlier paintings are signed on the front using my married name, Shirley Janner. I later came to a decision to sign my work either on the back, or along the outside edge. This was partly due to the difficulty of affixing a signature to some of my more textured pieces, and also because I found it interesting to experiment with different ways to hang the pictures. Some of my customers liked the look of their painting when it was "upside down" or "sideways", reinforcing my belief that there is no "wrong" way.

I sincerely hope you enjoy browsing the Go With The Flow Gallery, and I hope these paintings offer you an inspiration to "go with the flow" in your own life, to find your way through obstacles in interesting and effective ways, and to create the kind of life experience that brings you joy and the satisfaction of knowing that whatever might look like a "failure" in the present moment, is merely a project not brought fully to completion.

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We are currently in the process of stocking our online stores at Zazzle and Cafe Press. 

If you see an image anywhere on this site that you would like to have reproduced on a T shirt, Journal Cover, Coffee Mug, Greeting Card, Decorative Tile Box, or any other item available at Cafe Press or Zazzle, send us an email, and we would be happy to create it for you.

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