What do YOU See

Okay, this one didn’t take long, it’s not complex, but it was fun to do.  I love the crispness of the black and white.  Hence, I was going to fill the background with color, but decided I wouldn’t.  It works for me the way it is.  I see a number of things including a “g” in some interesting font, a sort of Spy versus Spy profile combination (I’m dating myself!).  I also see the entire shape as some sort of Dr. Seuss sort of animal with large bulbous lips.  Well, I’ve always had an active imagination.  Have a look…

 

Play Time

I have been spending some time lately truly “playing” with my art.  I try to let loose and not worry about results but just enjoy the process and the idea flow.  To make the process easier I started the two pieces below with exisiting pieces that I had started ages ago.  Ones with which I had never felt satisfied.  This allows me to avoid the blank white page when getting started.  They both seem a bit dark which is NOT the way I have been feeling!  Anyway, I thought I would put them out just for fun.

12″h x 9″w – Hands

16″h x 20″w – In the Eye of the Storm

Self Portrait Challenge

Here is my entry for the self portrait challenge on Linda Halcomb’s Blog.  Below is the original description from when I first posted it on 9/8.

It is done on a watercolor postcard in cray-pas.  I started with the color blue as I love that color and started to draw curvy lines because I love shapes that move and swirl.  I added green as that is also a favorite color.  The those colors and the swirls made me think of the ocean.  I grew up very close to the ocean and hate to be far from it.  I don’t think I could live happily in a state that didn’t have a coast.  I added a yellow center, sort of the sun and brightness and then added bits of red.  I like the color red but it also represents the fiery Irish in me that sometimes surfaces!  Then I started thinking about Autumn.  I love Autumn and so I drew in a bare tree on the right side and began adding fall colors to the bottom to represent leaves that had fallen.  I was swirling the orange and a pumpkin-like shape appeared.  The center looked almost like a rainbow so I added purple.  Who doesn’t like rainbows?  I smoothed the entire piece with a white cray-pas to soften and blend the colors together.  The “sky” portion looked a bit lonely so I added a bit of color.  I thought of all the sunsets I’ve enjoyed over the years.  And there you have it.  A piece of me  – not recognizable – but “me” just the same!

Summer melt

This is the third of my watery pieces that I created over the weekend.  Rather a strange name I suppose.  When I uploaded it and stared at it I thought of melting ice cream in the summer.  And really, our summer has melted away.  I started by laying down a layer of crackle medium.  While it was still somewhat damp I lay down swatches of yellow, red, and orange.  I again used lots of water to wash the shades together.  Once it had dried a web of crackle lines had appeared.  To bring those forward a bit more I used a bit of green and blue on those areas.  I love where in a few places the color bled into another shade.  Stop back later and check out some larger pieces I have been revamping and playing with that I am going to post.

Deep Sea

I kept thinking to myself, Deep Sea… Deep Sea…, but I couldn’t come up with the last word.  So I just stopped at Deep Sea.  This piece reminds me of pictures you see of the ocean depths where there is little light.  I see eddies and currents and mysterious life forms that can’t be named.  This piece started from a failed attempt at printing a photo.  If I remember correctly, my daughter printed a photo on the wrong side of the paper.  Consequently the ink didn’t adhere and the inks all ran together.  I was fascinated with the result and I kept it.  I found it this weekend and decided to base my miniature off it.  When I glued it down I got some matte medium on the top and in smoothing it I smeared the ink.  I then used my brush to make some sweeping strokes along the left side which I pressed with paper towel for texture.  I decided that water running through the ink should be interesting so I started applying water and turning the piece this way and that to make designs.  I also took a straw and blew at the water to get some finer lines.I like the lacy texture in the background that is a result of the original ink drying.  Voila, the second of my water series.

Magical Map

My miniatures for the next couple of days are dedicated to Creative Every Day.  That’s because the CED theme for this month was water.  I sat at my table yesterday creating these small works using lots of water and realized that I was using the theme.  Something I don’t usually manage to do!  This piece was created using watercolors.  I kept layering and layering the colors and mixing and layering some more.  I would continuously add water so the colors would bleed and blend into one another.  When I had finally covered the entire area and felt satisfied with the end result I left it to dry.  Today I used markers to detail the edges of the shapes that had emerged.  When I was finished it looked rather like a map to me.  A map to a magical realm.  It may seem that it would be hard to follow this map because there are no lines or words.  Ah, that is because you need ancient knowledge that few retain in these modern times.  It can only be read in a peaceful place with sun streaming over ones shoulders.  Then those that are trained in the old ways can listen carefully, with their eyes closed, and learn the path to be taken from the sounds of nature.  In their mind’s eye they will see the completed map and find their way through veiled mists to a wondrous place.   

Emerald City

I was having some fun with my scanner and I scanned some foil and green cellophane.  I printed out the scan and just glued the picture down.  Okay, not labor intensive, but I liked the scan.  Having just seen wicked last weekend (it was amazing!) the green made me think of the Emerald City.  The picture is not great.  I printed it on regular paper and my 900 printer, which isn’t my best.  Still I find the arrangement interesting.  Maybe you will too.

Spiraling Toward the Lights

This postcard is composed of a photo my husband took in New York.  I wish I could remember what building, but I can’t.  In any case, I printed two copies of it and glued them to the base to create a spiral.  I love the architectural feel to it and the monochromatic rendering.  Which window will the spiral take you to?

Abstract Self Image

A friend of mine, Leslie, once suggested that I do an abstract self-portrait that reflected the true me through color and shape.  That is what I have done with this piece.  It is done on a watercolor postcard in cray-pas.  I started with the color blue as I love that color and started to draw curvy lines because I love shapes that move and swirl.  I added green as that is also a favorite color.  The those colors and the swirls made me think of the ocean.  I grew up very close to the ocean and hate to be far from it.  I don’t think I could live happily in a state that didn’t have a coast.  I added a yellow center, sort of the sun and brightness and then added bits of red.  I like the color red but it also represents the fiery Irish in me that sometimes surfaces!  Then I started thinking about Autumn.  I love Autumn and so I drew in a bare tree on the right side and began adding fall colors to the bottom to represent leaves that had fallen.  I was swirling the orange and a pumpkin-like shape appeared.  The center looked almost like a rainbow so I added purple.  Who doesn’t like rainbows?  I smoothed the entire piece with a white cray-pas to soften and blend the colors together.  The “sky” portion looked a bit lonely so I added a bit of color.  I thought of all the sunsets I’ve enjoyed over the years.  And there you have it.  A piece of me  – not recognizable – but “me” just the same!

Time Slips Away

Time has certainly slipped away from me as has the wonderful summer.  My daughter is back at school and the nights are getting cooler.  Of course, that wasn’t the case last week.  We had tremendously hot weather and our A/C failed.  That meant that the second and third floors had no cooling.  So sleeping was difficult and art was out of the question.  My studio is on the third floor and it was an absolute oven.  So, no new miniatures or other art tidbits.  But, the A/C is whooshing behind me right now, my studio is cool, and I spent the weekend organizing my space.  My table is cleared and ready for me to jump into some new projects.  Can’t wait.  Stop by again to see what I get myself into!