beautiful composition and color blends...

Thanks so much, calico-jester.

Simply gorgeous Carol!!

So glad you like this, Shroom. :o)

Gorgeous

Thanks so much, ArtistKimberly.

Lovely pastel colours. xx

Thanks so much, jendellas. I once had a bathroom with a seashell theme decorated in these colors.

You've been doing this new style for not-very-long, and already you're finding several styles within it. After the explosions of the last few images (and btw, I never did comment on the white-background version of your last image---sorry! I'll get to that soon), you're posting this, which has explosions in it, but a more subdued palette of less saturated hues, more 'transitional' hues, and shapes which are more restful and introspective. And while this is a flower/plant, the image bursts with seashore-imagery, very fitting for your theme. Carol, I love this! When I try a new style, I come out with something maybe 1/20th of what I'm comfortable with, I need lots of time before my 'voice' comes through again. But this still early-effort with alcohol inks is so you, and it shows your huge range as an artist.

The greens, for instance, flow from darker to lighter, blue-tinged to aqua-tinged; and they flow almost brittle-y, as if they were made of foil. And then you have these bubbled-up 'cells'---more of your pods and bubbles and cellular lives that have populated this new style with an explosion. They bubble up everywhere here, in your green stalks and backgrounds. Then your pale pinks---on our left: You have these bubbling watercolor-wash things, these blobs of color that seemed to have bubbled up from a primal place---they're on the top and bottom---and you've allowed the shapes to bubble 'over' each other, letting them grow on top of each other in layers. Some forms look like starfish (to continue your sea theme). And these blob-like forms are found throughout the piece, esp on the peripheries: On our right, you have little squiggly microorganisms, pink and pale blue and pale red. Pale seems to be a big part of your peripheries---while some of your past peripheries are doused in deep saturated hues, these peripheries are made of gentle washes and gurgling light-weight hues, fragile 'transitional' hues. And in the center, in addition to your leaves you have---well, what appear to be gatherings of tiny seashells inside petals---I love that this is a flower, because those tiny seashells are like the dream a flower has of the sea, or the life inside the flower itself. (This is a long comment, ya know that? I mean, you probably had to cancel all your appointments...send me a bill!)

It feels so much like a collage, made of tiny pebbles and real leaves and foil and shells. I know it's a painting, but you've created a very visceral environment of it. And, as different as this is from your many of your pre-alcohol-ink works, it still has 'Carol' all over it, ie, a sea and explosion of energies, lights and passions. And I love this as much as I did the last piece (which had bolder hues, less pale-ness, and more sharply defined shapes, etc). It's like this is its quieter sibling, the one who "doesn't say much" but everyone agrees is just as deep. ("When you get to know her, trust me, she has just as much to say...") Just beautiful, Carol. A literal quarry of a painting...

Enjoyed your comment, so much, Mark. Quite honestly I'm having major insecurities about this new medium, as most of the time it feels so out of my control and well .... organic. Your critique truly inspires me to keep experimenting and to keep growing, like the blogs in this painting. They're very odd and yet somehow they make sense. Alcohol ink is not for the creative spirit that wants to know where they are going with their painting, a least for me. I start going one way and end up another. And then I have to look and listen to the ink, the shapes, and find something there. It kind of reminds me of writing. When I created characters they took on a life of their own and ended up telling me what they wanted to say. This often surprised me and always delighted me. The 'delighted' part with ink painting is still in the OMG stage of ... why did it do that and what am I gonna do about it?? It's an adventure that is forcing me to literally 'go with the flow'. The other day you should have seen the amazing colors of purples and violets and dark blues I had. Unfortunately it was on my hands. :o) And the purple heart I was trying to create on the yupo paper was a total bomb. So I do thank you, Mark, for taking the time to look and comment in such detail about my early efforts in this medium. Your encouragement and enthusiasm inspires me to keep experimenting with styles and colors and allow myself to be a kid again, enjoy the process and just let it happen.

Outstanding work. God bless.

Thanks for your lovely comment, kgb224.

I love this medium!!!!!

I do, too. It's fun and very different. Thanks for your comment, drifterlee.

I love what you are doing...so beautiful

Thanks so much, driftrat.