Summing it Up

 It sometimes amazes me how life can be terrible and terrifying at the same time that it's lovely and lively but I guess that's life these days no matter how old you are.

In my sixty plus very odd years of life I seem to have come nearly full circle with my art. I'm feeling young and discovering new things nearly every day.

I've got friends again and they're interested in the same things that I am. I never really got to have workshops or play days in my studio but I am sharing projects with friends and family in snail mail, e-mail, text and video calls and those ae going very well.

What made me happiest this week was this four by six inch multi media piece:

This tiny painting didn't really seem to be going anywhere and had apparently got too close to my adhesives and paper crafts. I found the results pretty entertaining and so did everyone who's seen it.

 

 I used 2 different paper bits for the rocket and a third for the planet. They were attached with acrylic matte medium and then parts of them were painted over or around until I was pleased with the effect.

I've been working on a number of other things too with various degrees of success depending on how you look at it or you talk to but the important thing is that I've enjoyed it all and can't wait to see what comes along next.

Projects sent out in the mail, cards and the donut sketch from the corner of an envelope. I barely got these photos taken before they were gone.

Quick! Before I go, I just had to show you this Pillow that I Designed with one of my sister Becca's paper cuttings. I thought it would be just the thing for her after a long, full day. I sure hope she likes it. What do you think?

Outgoing Mail, more fun with drawing, painting and collage

 

Here's a quick sketch of the donut I'm craving now that the local bakery has closed.

A card to one of my friends who is also frustrated that we can't go out like we used to. in the newspaper bits are comments on current events and how much recycling saves trees and uses up our junk mail.

This was made as an easy exercise in just using the weekend "throw away" paper. I did it as a potted plant to remind us to plant more trees.

This was made from parts of a nice card and envelope. As you can see I used part of it for drawing practice as I was writing one of my cousins.

Vintage Valentine Collage

 I was gifted a small stack of vintage valentine cards a year or two ago and decided that now would be a great time to do something useful with them.

I'd already been using them as is for a couple of years but some of the verses just weren't going to be suitable going forward so the idea of doing a collage entered  my mind.

Here's the stack of cards that I had to work with.

I laid things out and began to cut and tear them to fit.

Next I glued and weighted things in place.

Finally I put two coats of matte medium over everything before painting in some extra vines and flowers to unify the design and a bit of gold to enhance the edges.

What I Love about Eunice Parson's

 I've never met Eunice Parson's but last night I discovered an old video called "In the Studio: Eunice Parsons, Portland Community college."

It was about a 90 year old collage artist that couldn't wait to climb the stairs to her artist's studio in the attic everyday.

WHAT STRUCK ME ABOUT THIS WAS THE DIFFERENCE IN PERCEPTION.

Sitting comfortably on the floor with an absolute glow of happiness in the center of scattered papers and art supplies it's obvious that she has found her bliss in what to her is her best place in the world. At that time she'd been doing that for 60 years and expects to keep on doing it.  It was clear to me that her art was what was keeping her young and agile. I've got to say that I envy her.

TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD or the casual observer they just see a poor, possibly lonely old lady sitting in a pile of trash.

WHAT SHE SAYS AND WHAT THEY SEE ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS

What stuck me most was how lively she was at 90, sitting comfortably on the floor tearing papers and working away.

WHAT MORE COULD ANY ONE WANT OUT OF LIFE THAN HEALTH AND HAPPINESS UNTROUBLED BY THE CARES OF THE WORLD.

Experiments in Mixed Media

This card was put together with some odd paper bits for a fellow sci fi and robot enthusiast. After I got the paper bits done I did a bit of painting on it to tie it all together.

This is another mixed media piece. The inspiration was a number of videos that I had watched on "art journals". it's also mixed media but working it in my sketchbook broke the binding because of the bulk.

I plan to keep further projects like this on single surfaces and away from my sketchbooks.

This project brought me back to my child hood when often stacks of old magazines made for hours of imaginative play, sticky fingers and silly looking art projects.

No expensive art materials then, just the joy of simple things it's easy to get away from that and loose our way creatively. You are the guide of your own journey, don't let yourself down.

A DESIGN EXERCISE:

Todays inspiration was catalog images of 2 different sets of dishes. Examining both images and mixing elements of both.

I'm using card stock, colored pencils, watercolor and guache to see how well each of them works in this       situation.

When I finished the drawing and painting I began outlining  with a micron pen to see how much that would change things.

This photo was taken early in the project and you can see some of the materials used.

 

 

Painting Again

 

This session has been really interesting and appears to be shooting off in a number of different directions. It started with four , 4 x 6 inch canvas panels taped together from the back because I couldn't decide whether I wanted to do one large image or a number of smaller ones. I just set up and dived right in.

As you can see here I kept making changes and trying to resolve those issues. The change I liked the best was getting rid of that white base under the stripe on that vase.

At this point 3 of the canvas panels remained attached together and were being worked as one.

This photo was from early in the project after I had toned the panels and begun applying paints.

This was the first finished version of the vase. I didn't like the way the bottom of of it looked here, or the background.

This is where things began to come together. When this board began to suggest a vase I detached it from the rest and began to work it on it's own.

When I looked at this end of the long one this morning it began to suggest a person so I separated it and began to follow it's path.

I saw a person in there so I tried to develop that.

Here she is? This old gal will be the face of some senior message cards in my greeting card line.

All in all this is the most productive 36 hours that I've spent painting in a long time.

Learning To Draw Dogs For Free

 I've been using videos and old greeting cards to teach myself and friends how to draw dogs. It's been interesting and a lot of fun as well.

The top of this was clipped from a greeting card. I put it on her card and then attempted to use it as a guide for my drawings.

This was part of a greeting card that I cut out and reattached to another card that I divided into boxes for myself and the gal I sent it to to practice on.

This was something we found on the internet and worked with too. you never know where you will find useful images. Keep looking and drawing. It doesn't cost anything and eventually you will learn how to draw a dog that you like.

Learning to Smile Again

 It's been a rough few years in the country that I call home so I've got to say that it feels good to get a breath of fresh air and a clean start.

It feels like a new world after the darkness and everything seems possible again. In my art, in my life and in my future. But...where do I start?

Today I just got out my colored pencils, pens, permanent markers and stickers and had glorious fun writing and answering letters both wildly colored and illustrated. The feeling of freedom was exhilarating and the nap I had when I'd worn myself out was glorious.

Soon I'm sure I'll be feeling like painting again.

There's the fabulous scent of blueberry muffins wafting in here from the kitchen and makes me sure that I'm really ready for a coffee break. Won't you join me?