Update in the Art World

My paintings are coming along nicely.  I have yet to add to the completed first damask background, because I have been so focused on the second background.  It turns out my "eyeballed" measurements were not quite accurate to the original, so I had to improvise a bit, or start over, and we all know that was not about to happen!

I finished drawing the pattern, and had to choose colors for it.  In order to do that, I had to choose what animal I was going to paint.  The wonderful thing about sea creatures is that a great number of them have unique and specific instinctive behaviors, so I really can't go wrong.  I thought of a creature that would stand out against my pattern, and I thought the mass of the clown fish would be nice to balance out the fine line work in the damask.  The clown fish also provides an opportunity for the subject matter to interact with the background.  I am beginning to think that will be necessary of each piece.

I want to reflect the natural environment of the animal portrayed.  For the seahorse, I pulled background colors directly from the reference photo, so I chose to do the same for the clown fish.  After digging through pages and pages of photos on the web, I found one that struck me.  The fish were in their anemone homes, but the light was cool, and set off the orange of their scales beautifully.  There is my color palette!  The background is a lovely indigo, the foliage designs a warm medium value lilac, and the flowers are a light bright blue with peach centers.  I just could not choose between the two colors for the flowers, so I had to use both.    It is hard to pay attention to the piece for very long, but given its requirements, I got quite a bit accomplished yesterday.  I will have to work on an animal and a background at the same time to make good use of my time.

Also in the artistic world, my dad and I made some screen printing stations so that I can make shirts.  These will be commissioned, and will also appear on my Etsy account! (Coming soon!)  I have not set up shop yet, but I intend to sell prints, sewing projects, and anything else I have, really.  The fact is I have a way of collecting supplies, making stuff, and it piling up in my home. Hopefully other people will invite them into their homes!