Diversions

Framed art

I'm at the very last stages of production on about four pieces. I'm dying to show them off but can't yet. Each piece has needed special attention and continues to need more work. The Bitty Bosco resin's face just wouldn't cooperate with me until I purchased new eye glasses. The Little Lonestar resin's hooves continue to give me fits and hooves are a no brainer for me, but not on this guy. By midnight tonight he will have beautiful hooves. Until then however, I decided to take a much needed "art diversion" and play around with a frame I purchased at a discount store.

This local discount store never ceases to entice me. There is always something fun to purchase that I can either manipulate or can use immediately in the house. Last excursion to said store produced those lovely paper boxes which are now holding all the artwork from my little "mouse adventure" (which will be picking up again shortly. I needed a bit of a break from it to gather my thoughts. Do I kill her? Do I let her live?)

In any case, last trip produced a very interesting frame which I felt could be used in conjunction with some really old bicycle posters I have been dying to hang somewhere in my home. One in particular was a poster of an angel with a bike. Angels are most welcome in my home and this frame was perfect for this one poster. In all honesty, you shouldn't pass up such stores as they offer wonderful opportunities to decorate your home in interesting ways and no one will be the wiser if you do it properly.

If you've never done anything like this before its actually really simple. Basically you just tear the back apart and then pop out their artwork and pop in your own. This took seconds. Now I have an angel picture for my fireplace room which has all the colors that are in my fireplace room which helps to further unify my room.

Tear apart backing
and push staples upward to release art

Oversized poster book (which was
falling apart anyway) had the perfect print

New art which caters not only
to my room decor by tastes.

"Intermission III"
Graphite and watercolor on paper
(I like drawing their feeties and she's
been needing lots more attention and snuggling.)

All Those Commercials And Stuff....

Brigitte Eberl's "Bjalla"
resin in progress

I watch zero TV.

Seriously.

It just doesn't hold my interest hence I don't have cable or a working TV. I do *have* a television in the house. It's this old set that has a DVD player and an old Nintendo 64 gaming system hooked up to it. If I or my son want we pop a DVD in the player and watch. Most days we either play board games or have adventures with his toys or we draw together. The TV cabinet usually remains closed.

Of course, the problem with this comes in when there IS something on that I do want to watch, like the Super Bowl. I love the commercials during the Superbowl. I find them most inspiring and rejuvenating and I just couldn't participate this year. I'm sorta bummed.

I thought about going up to my parents to watch, but neither my mom or dad watch sports, esp football. My dad is certainly not into sports and I never learned the game of football. I have no clue how it's played so I can't even pretend to enjoy it. No one has ever taken the time to teach me and hence I remain clueless. I guess a young woman learns such things mostly from male figures in her life. Well, I learned how to field dress animals and fillet fish from mine. I can field dress a bird without blinking an eye then cook it up for you how ever you want, but football.... that's GREEK to me and honestly a whole ball of messy confusion. But the few commercials that are circulating on Facebook did bring joy and inspiration. Perhaps next year I'll plan accordingly.

"Silent Admiration"
Graphite and Watercolor on archival bristol

"Silent Admiration" (detail)
Graphite and Watercolor on archival bristol

"Silent Admiration" (detail)
Graphite and Watercolor on archival bristol

"Age does not protect you from love, but love, to some extent, protects you from age." ~ Jeanne Moreau

It Took All Day...

Mini Haggis with his whites on

It took all day, but I finally got to finish on the Mini Haggis. This last step in painting Mini Haggis was simple (just add white) but very time consuming because of the intricacy of the pattern. In the end though it made for a very interesting piece. Overall, I'm very pleased with the way he came out and my favorite part are his hooves. They were nicely sculpted and great fun to paint. Even the underside of the one raised hoof was fun to add detail to.

Other side of the Mini Haggis

Hoof detail

And next....a Bitty Bosco
in buckskin going grey

"The Ribbon IV"
Graphite and Watercolor on archival bristol


"There is sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief….and unspeakable love."

Mini Haggis III

MIni Haggis ready for detailing

Previously on Mini Haggis II….

Fixatives crackled on the surface and most of the back and sides had to be sanded and repaired. After the repair was complete facial and coat details were then added using water soluble oils.

Water soluble oils are a breeze to work with because they blend like traditional oils, but clean up like acrylics. They can be used in conjunction with other media and dry quickly. I have also found them to be easy when I make a mistake. I just wash the unwanted area off with soap and warm water and start over.

Basically take a darker version of the main coat color and apply in small areas and blend using a dry brush. Color should blend smoothly. Add highlights last and let dry overnight. Repeat if necessary.

Previous posts on Mini Haggis:
Mini Haggis (Part I)
Mini Haggis (Part II)
Mini Haggis (Repair)

Apply detailing paint slowly

Darks and lights work
together to bring out sculpting detail

"The Ribbon III"
Graphite and watercolor on archival bristol


Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. ~Marcel Proust

Sunday Afternoons

"Arrival"
Graphite and watercolor on archival bristol

Sunday's are suppose to be a day of rest and although I try to calm my thoughts down a creative mind never seems to stop. Sunday afternoons have become a bit of a shopping day for me and my son. We have been enjoying several stores in the area and it's fascinating to watch his creative mind develop as we go about window shopping. Apparently he is just as enticed by the colors, shapes and textures of the house ware's section as I am. He can't seem to go past the colorful fry pans without stopping and admiring and I can't seem to get past that darned paper section without a complete melt down. We make a lovely creative shopping team. What a privilege to see the world through his young creative eyes.

Could I resist? Hell no! I think I could purchase every size box in that blue/brown combo.

More paper goodies
for the studio

"Joy"
Graphite and watercolor on archival bristol

"Joy is not in things; it is in us." ~ Richard Wagner

"Fall"

Pencil drawing of "Fall"

A quick technical sketch has turned into a 4 part project. I've decided to name this piece "Fall" and am going ahead with three more pieces that will illustrate the three other seasons. I didn't expect this sketch to inspire three more but sometimes that does happen. The recent portrait sketches I did have now found a home. Spring will be a woman and child and winter and summer will be represented by male figures. I'll probably start "Winter" tonight while "Fall" is drying. The bottom left portion is very mangled with the corn stalks and color but it will make sense once everything dries and things are allowed to pop.

Watercolor and acrylic layering

Adding oil paints for details

Sketches and notes for the
other three seasons.

In The Paintin' Mood

Quick shot of Acrylic on colored matte board
approx. 6" x 4"


Had a painting fit last night. It was like a fever that came over me. I can't stop thinking about moving paint on board. I fear I will loose another day on my wheel to pushing some paint around. Best to get this fever out of my system now. Although, I have to say that I love the results I'm having. The artist high this time around is mighty powerful and dare I say, YUMMY.

Heatwave

Pony cart ride at the b-day party

There's a heat wave going on here in NYC. Gotta stay cool and wet. That means this weekend has been filled with lots of water, drinks and a birthday party or two.

This weekend also found me sketching quite a bit. I guess you could say I'm warming up and getting ready for an illustration project that has been on my mind and is quickly letting me know it's time to come out. Thankfully, I've really been in the "mood" to doodle and it's been lots of fun keeping my nose in my book.

"Listen" in the beginning stages

I've also made strong steps towards finish on my rattie sculpt "Listen" last night. Was up till close to 3 a.m. just making adjustments. I have her hands left to sculpt and then I can begin the process of trying to figure out how to mold her. Eeek! I'll be honest, I'm rather nervous about this step. She will be the most complicated piece I've tried to mold so far. But, she is no where near as complicated as other sculptor's pieces so it is not impossible. I'll just make a silicone mold and keep trying till she comes out correctly.

But phew, I'll end it here. It's only 9 a.m. and it's hot already today! So, enjoy your Sunday! :)