6-25-2008

My latest artwork: hahahahahaha

http://graphjam.com
more song chart memes

If you haven't seen the funny that is graphjam.com I recommend giving them a look. After wasting way too much time there I couldn't get this stoopid song out of my head, so I did an exercise in purging via creating in CS2. I won't use my CS3 anymore. Well, what else are computers good for if not wasting a ton of time doing something we'd never do without a computer?

6-23-2008

Considering doing a larger one of these.

Cat sketches

6-19-2008

Oil Pencil and ink on paper - 4x4 inches


Back to a little sketch. I love doing little sketch type pieces it gives me a freedom I crave. I'm trying to just do something different here. In reading many artist's blogs I find that they have one "thing" they seem obsessed with and paint over and over. I always think it's wonderfull to be that free and driven, so completely in love with the beauty of an ordinary object. It's the heart symbol for me. I recently found Pierre Marcel 's heart series. They are fabulous! I felt a bit deflated at first, he's so brilliant. But, my hearts are my own, I love them. :)

6-10-2008

OK, so I tried to do something with that horrible background. Went for monochromatic, but this Wallis substrate is too inferior to allow me to acomplish two layers of oil pastel. So, there's still a sense of stipeyness. The other option being to crop in close as I have done below.:

Which suits me fine. : ) I've had more than enough of working on it, so it won't get cleaned up very much. But it was fun while it lasted.

6-9-2008

Croissant

Oil Pastel - 8x10 Wallis Museum Board

Wallis board SUCKS! I can only get one layer of colour down and everything on top of that smears or digs off what's underneath. Ampersand is STILL the clear leader for pastelboards. I might try actual sandpaper to get some mega tooth, but I boycott Home Depot because they force everyone to go through self checkout and when I paid with cash they didn't give me my pennies back. No biggie really except that they're a muti-BILLION dollar company and screwing customers out of their small change. That just really upset me, it's the principal of the thing, ya know? So I boycott Home Depot (& Sears).

Anyway, I've worked on this for days and the croissant looks much better here, I'm surprised actually. I guess I'm too used to seeing it 3 inches from my face. I didn't want the stripes perfectly spaced, but it doesn't look good like this. & Seeing it now, it reminds me of Friday's restaurant. So that may have just put me off of finishing it. I don't know about those stripes. I like the colour choices though. That Munsell dude helped me out.

pears in progress

Pears- work in progress
8x8 inches - acrylic on canvasboard

I really liked this stock photograph and wanted to paint it, as I worked on it I realized why I liked it so much: the pears are this pinkish neutral nothing thing, while everything else is wildly detailed, coloured and textured. Well, although this is visually appealing it's a bitch to paint! I'm not sure if I'll finish it. But this is what I've been working on for a looooong time. I first tried to duplicate the colours by taking it into photoshop and using an eyedropper to get the colour. Boy was that way off! So I learned to trust what I see more. Although I have tons of art education and a BFA, I have so many hangups about painting. Sure, it's all mental, but we're always our own worst critics, eh?

5-30-2008

Lime

Oil Pastel on 8x10 Ampersand Pastelboard

After the painting I wondered how it would be to do this in oil pastel. Much less inner critic talk happening. I like the painting better though. Oil pastels can't do details very well unless you're on a HUGE canvas. It's like painting with a lipstick. I really love the saturation and opacity of colours though. Paint gets so muddy sometimes. I worked on this off and on for about 2 months, with the bulk of the work being done the end of May.

5-9-2008

Orange - oil pencil on 3x5 index card

At this point I started exclaiming "Veins, veins, everything's about veins!" As that's all I had been seeing while drawing and painting flowers and citrus. Good thing no one can hear me.

5-6-2008

Lemon - oil pencil, 3x5 index card

Now I'm digging the lime scene and thought I'd do it in lemon too. teehee. I kept hearing Bono singing "Lemon" in falsetto while painting this. That bit amuses me to no end and I frequently squeak "Lemon" and then start saying crazy things like "lemon curry?" or "semprini" for a few hours, at least until I ruin it all with a chorus of "spam".

5-4-2008

Lime - 3x5 index card

Was working more on the 8x10 painting & did this sketch to more familiarize myself with the subject matter. Plus I wondered if I would be so challenged if I drew it, as drawing has always been easier than painting for me. I've never had any painting education, but loads of drawing instruction and practice. Started drawing when I was about.... born, I guess. Yes, I was born with a marker in my hand and my mother was a bit freaked out about that.

5-1-2008

pansy - 3x5 index card

4-30-2008

Flying Flowers - 3x5 index card

4-29-2008

Love 3x5 index card

So, after all the inner turmoil over subject matter, I decided to get back to just creating, and not caring about what or if it's a sellable career making piece. I guess I was anxious to have a future, and thinking I could even HAVE one is a really big thing for me. There was a time when it didn't look like I'd have much of a life outside of hospitals and Drs. and laying in bed whimpering. I'm so gratefull that the majority of all that is behind me now & I'm focusing forward into living again. I guess this Spring I'm blooming too? Awwwwww. puke. lol.

Anyway alot of these little pieces were inspired by Nicole Wong who does cute little drawerings. It reminded me that when I started making my Hearts in the 90's it was just to please myself. Thy were fun 4x4 inch things that were called whimsical by a friend. So I'm trying to get back to just doing something creative for fun, for joy, for art's sake. If anybody likes them or not tough titties.

4-28-2008

SOLD

Lime - 8x10 acrylic on pastelboard

I started this one in Feburary and worked on it off and on for a few months. I took some time off for health issues too. Delved quite deeply into the Daily Painters scene and lost much confidence and enthusiasm for my hearts. I kept thinking I should be painting more sellable subject matter. After all, I'm after a new career.... sorta. I'm still so resistant as getting to the post office is a MAJOR hassle I just can't deal with on a daily basis. Not that I'd be that good to sell every day. HA. Yet. But I undermined myself and the whole reason I was doing the Hearts. Which was to express love and joy. And lose myself in the creative process. Inner critic self talk is huge whenever one, er, I create, and it's always a learning experience to listen. haha. I still need to finish this up a bit before it's ready to go. And I realize my photography set up really sucks.