Landscapes and Atmosphere

It's been about a hundred years since I last posted, but I'm still here!

I'm working really hard to improve my art work, focusing a lot on putting my subjects in a space with some depth, and atmosphere.  I spent about 40 minutes doing this sketch, and it's the first woods scene of my life that actually achieved that.

Drawing from life or photos of scenes has helped a lot.  Especially when it comes to the texture of plants, though I know I've got a long way to go.  For this one, I used the value almost exclusively.  The limited light source really helps you push things into the background. 

Color-aid Paper and Colored Pencil - A Great Pair!

Well folks, I have been busy! I've done a lot of work on the house, a lot of family related stuff, and lots of drawing!

My sister had this big stack of Color-aid paper.  If you've never seen it, the color is rich, incredibly even, and has a very fine tooth.  We were going to try some collaborative exercises, but we've both got a lot on our plates and it hasn't really worked out.  What did happen, is that I found out I LOVE to draw on it with colored pencil!

I've always really enjoyed drawing on toned and colored paper, but this stuff is fantastic.  It's small, so I don't usually spend more than a couple of hours on a drawing.  It's a lot of fun to let the colors come through in the drawing.  This is made extra challenging by the fact that it doesn't erase well.  In fact, you'll probably lift the color off the page before you lift the marks you want to remove. 

The best way I've found to work on it, is to start with a low-contrast pencil, and draw lightly.  For these bird drawings, I've been lightly blocking in the whole bird, and slowly building the colors.  It was initially developed as a backdrop for photographs, but since when did artists ever use things the way they were intended?

New Scanner!

A Scanner Darkly: It might be the name of a really weird movie.  It might also be the addictive behavior of a person who just purchased an Epson Workforce 7510. 

We bought it for the large-format printing and scanning ability.  Now, I'm not planning to make art prints for sale with this thing, though I hear it does ok with that.  I was really interested in the scanning ability.  The reviews were great, and I've been a scanning fiend since it arrived!  It's got an 11x17" bed, and prints up to the same size.  It's not a plug-and-play scanner, but the software and network setup is not complicated, and the directions were quite clear. And all of that setup comes from it being WIRELESS!  Here's a fun feature: any apple mobile device connected to the same network can print without any setup!

Check out the detail it captured in one of my new drawings:

Primary - Female Eastern Bluebird

I'm still tweaking the color settings.  It seems to read white as white, without letting its natural transparency appear.  Much of this can be corrected in Photoshop without too much effort.  I did change the gamma setting, which helped a great deal.

I also prefer to start my scans through the PC application, because you can crop out the extra scan area before the image is captured.  If you use the buttons on the scanner itself, you cannot perform this function. 

Yes, I've only had this thing for a few days, but I really could not be happier!  Scanning is so much faster than setting up a photo for these small drawings!

The Tall Man

It was a dark and rainy night.  My energy was all but spent, but I had not touched a pencil.  I asked Rachel who I should draw, and with my last efforts of the day, completed her request.

The Tall Man, Angus Scrimm.  

I had some trouble getting a good photo of the drawing, given the reflective nature of graphite.  I'm. Going to give it a try with a scanner later.  It should yield better results.  

The Iron Lady

It seems like I need two tries to get these portraits right.  I get no less preactice by painting the same face twice.  That's why s o many artists have zillions of self portraits!

Margaret Thatcher

A Knight's Likeness

I've been practicing my likeness drwwing skills.  A good way to do that is draw very familiar faces.  I've been practicing on celebrities.  It's just been a few days since I started this practice, but improvement happens so quickly!  (It's very satisfying.  Try it!). Today, I give you what is actually my second shot at the face of Gandalf and Magneto: Sir Ian McKellen!

I worked small, and in gouache to help me work fast.  I'm fairly unfamiliar with gouache, so part of this piece was just figuring out how it works.  In real life, it's very flat, but it photographs with more fidelity than oil, as there is no tranparency to lose!  

Summer Reading

I love reading, for entertainment or for knowledge.  I was the kid that was not at all troubled with summer reading assignments.  I was going to read something anyway.

You might have seen me mention that reading about art can give you almost as much knowledge as the process of actually making it.  Well I just found a pretty rad reading list on the portraitartist.com website.  It's not an enormous list, but it breaks things down by topic, and includes instruction books, historical, books by movement, there's even a section on the business side of art.  Check it out here.  All the usual places sell these books; Amazon, Barnes & Noble.  I'll be visiting my library with this list in hand soon.

What Do I Call It?

Lately, most of my energy has been put into fixing up my house.  I mean, dark paneling and hearts-made-of-flowers border are nice and all, but not really my style.  Check out the transformation so far:

Last night, I had some free time and broke out my art brushes.  I paid very close attention to my values this time.  This is something I have struggled with in the past.  The result is a much ore interesting painting than just a likeness.  At least, I think so.

The last step is coming up with a title, which is never much fun for me. I even struggle to title my blog posts.  How do you name things? 

Color Experiments in Screenprinting

I did it.  i finally listed some prints I've been hoarding for a while.  It was a fun series of silkscreen prints I did in my last quarter of college.  My teacher encouraged me to keep printing.  Silkscreen is one of the easiest print techniques to pull off at home, you know.

No two prints are exactly alike.  I printed something like 10 big squares of background color, just a couple of each.  Then I printed a couple of each face color on each color of background.  Each fire and brain color was printed on each colorm ariation after that.  The only color present on each is the black.  Looking at them now, I might have arranged my layers differently.  I probably should have found a way to print the black last, for example.  But hey, that's what these experiments are for!

Check them out on Etsy.  One is framed, and 5 of the remaining 6 are posted here.  

Studio Buddy

Hazel decided that she needed to be part of my creative process last night. 

Think I could train her to be a paperweight or registration guide?

Playing with her after I finished gave me some inspiration.  It's difficult to find appropriate toys for a dog this size, especially toys without squeakers.  She happens to HATE squeakers.  So I think I'm going to start making tiny dog toys!  I'll be doodling some ideas today.  Can't wait to share them with you!

Etsy Overhaul!

I am in the process of giving my Etsy shop a MAJOR facelift!  I went ahead and listed a whole bunch of new things, including some folk style paintings, and a couple of prints.  I'm aiming to get back to my goal of one new item each week! 

Check it out here!

Logos and Free Programs

Designing logos is very specific work.  One must know exactly what to say with a single, iconic image.  I have been working on one for myself for a long time, and I think I've finally got it!  The idea blindsided me yesterday while I was at my day job, waiting for a meeting.  Funny how that happens, isn't it?  I did a nice clean drawing last night.  The only thing left to do is digitize!

My computer with Adobe CS on it happens to be 1,500 miles away at the moment, so I'm looking for free options that might do the trick.  I came across this list of 12 free design programs.  Has anyone tried any of these?  How do they compare to Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Draw?

DIY Studio: Screen Exposure Unit

Screen printing is not only amazingly fun and versatile, but one of the easiest print mediums to do from home. There are tons of videos on YouTube on making everything from your actual printing station to vacuum exposure units. Yes, let me repeat that. DIY vacuum exposure units! I think I found a new project for spring!

This one is my favorite so far, but a quick search will yield many versions!

Snowblind

Unfortunately, this post has nothing to do with actual snow.  It's 50 and raining here in the Midwest.  Whatever that's about.  Fortunately, this post is a handy painting tip I just learned from my sister.  My sister who hates painting.  Why this didn't come from anyone else I know, I have no idea, but it's good so I'm sharing!

Back in school, I was taught that white paint was pretty much evil.  It killed all the transparency in an oil paint.  Rather than mixing it with other paints to make them lighter, one should lay out all the values on your foundation layer, lay down thin glazes of color letting the lightness come through where necessary, and hitting the super bright spots with white at the very end of the painting.  This is a very traditional way of painting, and somewhat similar to a watercolor approach.  I tend to like my paintings to have more energy, be less polished, show more brush strokes.  Doing both is a pain.

But my lovely sister gave me this clue:  use Zinc white instead of Titanium white.  Think about it.  What's in  natural sunblock?  Titanium oxide.  The stuff blocks light.  But not Zinc!  Mixing with this will lighten your paint, without making it pastel and opaque.  (I can't tell you how many times she said "I can't believe you didn't know that!")  But now I do, and so do you!

There are many other white pigments as well.  Windsor Newton even has this article on the subject:  Choosing the White that's Right in Oils.  I think I'm going to pick up small tubes of various ones and test them.  What have your experiments taught you about white paint?

Ritual Reset

The beauty of having a dedicated work space is that all of your supplies can be out, within arms reach at any time.  You can throw scraps of fabric on the floor, leave your easel set up, leave brushes and paints out, so you don't have to spend an hour prepping for work the next day.  But when the project is complete, things tend to look a little.... chaotic.  I find that this state of disorder makes it nigh on impossible to start a new project.  I get distracted by the mess, or the old thoughts.  To solve this, I have a little ritual I call "resetting."

By reset, I mean clean.  I don't like it, but it helps.  See, I really do like when things are tidy.  The process is not enjoyable, but the result sure is!  So things look nice and fresh and inviting when I go into the studio.  It also clears the residue of the last project, physically and mentally.  Taking a break from the creative process lets my brain rest, or start planning the next project.  And in those difficult starting phases of a new project, there are fewer distractions.

In my last reset, I found some missing nail polish, a box of Redbull, and a couple of missing sketchbooks.  It's like finding treasure!

What sort of rituals have you found in your work?

Making Madness

What have I been making lately?  A lot, actually!  My own deodorant (after a terrible breakout from the one I bought from Lush,) a new purse, a lot of artwork for my friend's movie, a corset for another friend, and food.  Lots of food!  Friend, memories, and plans to travel to NY.  So here's to marathons of crazy busy madness, because sometimes you need it.

iPad Painting

We finally broke down and boughty an iPad.  It's almost like we're as savvy as people our age are expected to be!  Naturally, we downloaded all the social media apps and games first.  But shortly after, we started the hunt for painting apps.  So, I present to you my first ever iPad painting!

I'm still figuring out how to do everything.  (I'm a PC person.  Shh, don't tell!) I'm super excited to have a reference image provider in my studio now.  I have a sneaking suspicion you may see a lot more posts about art from me now.  I feel really good about that! 

Happy Saturday! 

Returning to Paint

So, there was only like... four months between these two photos.  But I'm painting again, and it feels FANTASTIC!  I might be taking a break from sewing.  Or I might just have to finally figure out how to balance them.  Like sew tomorrow night, while this thing is drying.  But painting, it's seriously awesome.  :)

1911 Corset Progress

As you know, I have been extremely excited to be part of the 1911 Corset Sew-Along over at Bridges on the Body.  It's been rather educational to look at everyone's work.  We have several experienced corset makers, and some first time sewers (amazingly ambitious ones)!  I managed to fit mine with relatively little trouble, and miraculously no frustration!  Other than the difficulty of getting in and out of the mock-up before the front opens.  (Rachel had to help me more than once.)  This is in no small part because of Jo and other members' advice, and the fact that Jo has broken everything down into such manageable bites.

Here's my ridiculously pansy-covered mock-up. (Thanks Oma, for the million yards of this fabric!)

Front

Back (forgive the self-photo)

Tonight, we cut out the real fabric, and I'm SUPER EXCITED!  I'm also looking forward to to shaping my seam allowances, which seems pretty easy.  Actually, it seems like it should be much more difficult than that.  Anyway, check out everyone's progress on the flickr group's page.

Surfaces

The best thing about art is that there are no rules.  You're free to experiment with everything, even how you prepare your painting surface.  My preferred surface is panel; specifically MDF (medium density fiberboard).  It's already smooth, sturdy, and won't warp.  I love the process of getting to know the materials before the actual work begins.  I love graining stones for traditional lithography.  There's something wonderful about the physical act of making.  Is there any wonder why I haven't gone digital?  The problem is that I like a very smooth surface, but I hate sanding.  It's dirty, it's tedious, I tend to scratch as much of me as whatever I'm trying to smooth...  It's just no fun.  So I did a little experimenting, and found a way to avoid it!

I take a big brush to apply just a little gesso at a time, working in a criss cross pattern until it won't spread out any more.  This is a really thin coat, and virtually eliminates brush marks.  Do this until you've covered the whole surface, blending all the while, like Bob Ross would use to lay in his background colors.

Photo from bobrosslove.com

Then start back at the section you first started.  It's probably a little tacky yet, but that's ok.  You'll buff it nice and smooth!  I did about 3 layers in this manner, and let it dry overnight.  It's minimally textured, almost soft to the touch.  I'm very pleased with the results!  Traditional methods be damned.