The last day of March.....

 

I wonder when the last time was that Easter Sunday fell on the last day of the month.  My oldest son was born on March 27 and I remember, when he was about five or six, that his birthday was on Good Friday.  That would have made Easter on the 29th, still not the last day. 

We had a lovely day, the sun was shining and it was 75 degrees.....warm and dry, rare for this time of year in Oregon. 

But, now I guess it is time to move on to April......so no more April "fooling around"....straight to the calendar pages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not "in love" with either of these pages but they were both good practice.  The couple was my study of arms, I wanted to give the arm foreshorting and hand placement "a go".  I think it worked, don't like the cartoony faces much tho'.

I hope it is starting to show signs of Spring where you are and that your April will be full of good things!

Wishing you a Happy and Blessed Easter!

 

I notice my garden girl is flashing a little leg for the holiday!  This is my all purpose "scare-girl", she wears several season appropriate outfits and parties in my front yard!!

Contour drawing........

 

........how I love, thee! 

 

 

I'm pretty new at this exercise but it is so fun and liberating.  Normally, when are trying to draw a persons portrait you are trying to make it look exactly like that person with contour drawing you are concentrating on getting the "essences" of the person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The idea is you draw with one continuous line, you do not lift the pen or pencil off of the paper.  So, along with trying to replicate the line you are, also, having to figure out how you are going to get from say the nose to the eye to the hair and back to the other eye!

I recently purchased a new book titled " Expressive Figure Drawing" by Bill Buchman, which I think is a great book!

Here's are a few of his insights:

• Drawing is a simplification process, an approximation.
• Drawing awakens our vision.
• Drawing is a way of thinking-or, better yet, many ways of thinking.
• Drawing is not drawing. Drawing is seeing.
• A drawing can make an idea, a conception, or a feeling visible.  It can do all three at the same time.

In a couple weeks I'm taking a live model drawing class and I'm looking forward to that.  My goal is to draw with more expressively and with fewer lines and detail.  If one wants to grow and get better at something the answer is always the same.......practice, practice, practice!

A young man I've know for years is a cartoonist, a good one!  Cartoonist understand simplification and all the rules of drawing.....they understand very well how to...."make and idea, a concept and a feeling visible".  I so admire that ability.

Getting back to journal pages.......

 

I haven't done a journal page for a while....too busy playing with wax and printmaking, I guess.  This past week journal pages were all I wanted to do!

Judging from the photos I choose you'd think I was thinking about food, A LOT, but no, it was all about the colors.

I love the saying above: "Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly".

 

 

 

 

See it's all about food you don't believe the color part, do you?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, in the name of diversity I'll show one of my calendar pages for May....no food!

The favorite quote on this page reads: "You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream".

 

 

 

 

I really enjoy making journal pages, once I get started, I don't want to stop.

Printmaking.......

 

Been busy carving plates and making prints using a technique I learned from an article by Lisa Thorpe, a talented California printmaker.  This method involves stencils and stamps to make multi-colored prints.

Last month, I showed you one of the first ones I made.....today I whipped out a couple more.

 

 

After carving the stamp, you make the stencil.  This photo show laying down the turquoise background with the stencil masking the pear and the background.

 

 

 

 

 

After the background paints have all dried, you cover your stamp with ink and print.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The end result!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two more with an apple design using paint.

 

 

 

For these two I painted the background then I cut the apple from scrapbook paper and collaged it on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apple with painted background after it has been stamped.

 

 

The two above were stamped over the collaged paper apple, one using red ink for the stamp and one with black ink.  Finally......a print without color, just using the stamp and printer's ink.

Fun and interesting technique, a little time consuming but I like the results......even without color.

Learning to use apps!

 

I recently discovered a really cool app for my iPad.  I'm still learning to use it and I've read many mixed reviews, but I'm liking it.......Paper 53, is the name!

The app is free, you pay for the tools....sort of like printers, the printer is cheap, it's the ink that is expensive.  I have three tools: drawing, brush and additional colors.  I think I need "mix" which would blend the colors better (they say) because they look pretty "spotty" now, my cat looks like  a leopard.  Actually, most of the tools are only $1.99, that's not that bad.

So, here are some examples of my playing around......not great art but good practice!

 

 

Sleeping animals make good subjects!  Just be quiet and don't wake them!

 

 

 

 

 

You can see where I tried to erase inside of the slipper, I have not figured out how to make a smooth blend so I could fix it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The color selection is limited, that's why I think I need "mix", I was going for some green here and it's not working.

 

 

 

 

 

Another small problem, if you erase in the wrong place...you end up putting a sign over it to cover it up!! LOL, ya' gotta love it.

 

 

 

All in all, I've found it to be a positive experience.  I wish apps came with better tutorials, maybe some do, and I haven't found them.  So, it's all trial and error, baby!

The other app I like is SketchBookX.  What have you tried?  Which ones do you like best for art making?

Busy doing this and that!

 

While I was on my blog sabbatical I was very busy doing "this and that"!

I've gotten involved once again with a local art center and ,like every volunteer organization, there is always more to do than people to do it.  So I offered to help plan the spring term classes.  Now, that's done and the schedule is at the printers and it is on to helping set up for an upcoming show.  It's fun to hang with folks who appreciate art and want to learn more.

I and another woman have been teaching stamp carving and printmaking classes at the center.  That's always good.....you learn so much when you teach!  And get to meet some wonderful and talented folks.

 

I told you about the drawing class I was taking.  Geez, I should be practicing!  This is one I drew, I don't like the drawing but I loved drawing on the "toned" paper with charcoal and pastel pencil.

 

 

 

 

Now, I'm taking an on-line class offered by Christy Tomlinson called She Art 3.  I'm really liking the class just have been too busy to do much with it.....the class is in week 3.  I'm still in week 2, really more like week 1 1/2!  But, I hope to catch up next week.  I'm liking this class and I've learned a bit and that's always good.  So, far I've only made a couple backgrounds on which I plan to paint women's faces......next week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm looking forward to that little experiment.

Last weekend I made this.......

Very fun!  I used pieces of canvas covered with plaster, paint and encaustic wax to make this little sculpture that is supported by twigs from a walnut tree.  It is small, each panel is about 5 by 6 inches.  I really like the texture of the plaster with the wax over.

 

 

The other thing I like is Quinacridone/Nickel Azo Gold with Cerulean Blue......Yummmmy!  One of my favorite color combos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Close up of each panel and.......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think it makes an organic arrangement with the candle and rocks and gives the piece a little more weight.

 

As you can tell, I have very eclectic taste......almost the split personality kind of eclectic, sometimes!

Worse yet, I've never met an art, or a craft, that I did not want to try!  I think people who learn to do one thing well, and stick with it, do better in this world....but for those of us with short attention spans, I guess we need to try it all!

So, I'll just keep doing this and that and, likely, the other thing!

One Stencil, three ways.....

 

All three of these pieces were created with just one stencil I cut from an old file folder.  Just draw a simple tree shape onto a file folder, or other heavy paper, then use your Xacto knife to cut the design out......that's all there is to it!

This piece was published in the January/February issue of ClothPaperScissors but is just one use of the same stencil.  This one has a collaged background of tissue paper, stamps and small pieces of paper, all painted over with acrylics and then sprayed with spray paint.  Then I took a stamp, I had carved, and added leaves!

This two page journal spread shows two different ways to use the same stencil.  On the left side of the page I used the tree shaped part, that I had cut out of the stencil, as a stamp.  Putting paint on it and pressing it on to the painted page.  On the right side, I sprayed the yellow through the stencil.  Then I added hand carved bird stamping and some number rub-ons.

Another look!  Lots of red, still some turquoise and yellow.....tree was sprayed and textured with ink and the bird stamp was used again.

Some serious fun with an inexpensive hand cut stencil!  You should try it, if you haven't already.  Enjoy!

Calendar Girls

 

I'm a little late getting around to posting but I have finished my February calendars and I'm rushing into March.

The red piece of paper on the left is my husband's handmade Valentine....he makes the best cards for all occasions.

This frightened looking lady sees a mouse on the other page, can you see him?  This is the last half of February.  March is all about houses and trees, created with stamps I've carved.

March has come in like a lamb in Oregon......wonder what's going to happen at the end of the month!  I'm looking forward to some blue skies and sunshine and I know a lot of you must be too.