2012/365 - Day 148

practice, practice, practice...

Today while working with paint on canvas #4 I decided it was time to make a decision regarding the two upcoming shows with the closest deadlines.  I care more about one than I do the other (submitting-wise) and I think I am probably pushing too hard to fit into the "other".  I am going to drop submitting something to that one although I really want to go and see the exhibit during its run.

The biggest reason is that I am not a painter...I am someone who stumbles onto things on occasion that work out at that particular moment.  It can be a bit frustrating at times, but mostly I am fine with that.  I really do understand that it is something that I can learn and it is something that takes lots and lots and lots of practice -- especially for someone that it just doesn't come to naturally.

LOL -- I think I like the idea of painting much more than the actual process of painting.  I sure know I enjoy acquiring paint and looking at the tubes all spread out.

This is an area of the foxish-creature's face before I tried to add shadow to it.

This is the area after I was done (for now).  It isn't horrible, the problem is that is the best area...the rest is pretty messed up.

However...

I did manage to mix some colors together that I added over the top of his hat and over his shirt.  You can still see through it in person and I really like the color.

 

But now I am back to several of my "normal" painting dilemmas.  Again, I realize this is a problem mainly for me and it is probably not as bothersome to the viewer.

• I feel like the more I add to the piece, the even more I will need to add...color-wise
• Now I feel like the color I added to his hat and shirt draw my eye more than I wanted
• I am thinking (now) that he probably needs an eye color -- how do I choose one that isn't too distracting but that stands out enough to distract from his shirt and hat?
• he still needs all sorts of shadow work

An artist friend is coming for a working visit during June.  I think I will set this canvas aside until them and perhaps he can coach me with the shadowing.  We'll see...

In the meantime, it will be a plaster cloth (and then painting) crazy place around here while I pull things together for the show I care more about submitting something to.

2012/365 - Day 3

back to the monster and two ghosts painting

I have been thinking about this ever-changing painting lately. I haven't liked that ghost on the left for some time now. I wasn't sure how to alter him.












I like that you can see through him, but I don't like those spots and the colors are bothering me.

That metallic turquoise is very very shiny.














I remembered I have some glaze. I thought I'd give that a try.















I hope it dries eventually...LOL.

I like him more than I did, but I am still not happy with him.

This is a start, though.









Oh -- and no Animal People collages today.

365 Day 263

another Experimental Art Night with Shaqe Kalaj

Whoa -- that was a F*U*N Experimental Art Night at Art & Ideas Gallery in Plymouth with Shaqe Kalaj.

If you know me, you know how much I dislike ANYthing to do with acrylic paint and painting.
This was pretty cool, though, and I am sure a lot of it will carry over to other projects.

We had to choose one of the shapes on the table that Shaqe made for us, then mix six little pots of paint for ourselves only using red, white and blue.




These are the shapes we had to choose from.

There were four of us tonight and I wanted the others to pick first. You know I wanted that black arrow one.






Yay -- it was one of the two that were left!

Shaqe said she had me in mind when she was making it.

At first glance it looked to me like a weather vane, then an ornate hand of a clock...then what it turned out to be.





It was cool -- the paint was in big pump bottles like ketchup and mustard at a serve yourself place.
















These are the colors I mixed up...I couldn't figure out how to make the paint get darker...I really wanted a dark, dark, blackish purple color.


We were also allowed to use plain white that was on the table and we were allowed to use the paint we mixed and mix new colors on the little palette/tray.









With the shapes, we were to draw whatever we felt like, using as much or as little of the shape as we wanted. We could freehand draw, use a part of the shape, expand the shape, trace the shape -- do whatever we were inspired to do.


I traced my shape's outline first.




Then I added parts to it, repeated parts, etc. I freehanded the bird's head and the ball.












Then we had to paint the picture.

I needed more colors, so I mixed tiny amounts with the brush and kept trying to get it darker, but it wouldn't. It just changed the purple-ness.














One of the last purples I mixed up on the tray.














Taa-daa...my finished piece.

It is a long-legged bird with a colorful tail balancing on a ball. He's got a circus act and he is just coming offstage by rolling the ball forward. That is a set of sheer curtains he is rolling through. I think this guy is probably really, really tall.












detail of the face










detail of the tail --

I was trying to make each section a slightly different color, hoping it would look a little like the feathers were in front of each other.

I would've outlined each one with the dark dark purple if I'd had it. I could probably still do that or use black at home.





detail of the body











Shaqe showing one of the other pictures and the shape...the shape is dark green underneath the picture.











Here is another one...the shape is dark blue.













Here is another one and her shape.










And there is mine with the black shape.










You KNOW I would never ever try and mix colors at home on my own, let alone sit down and play with paint...but I will do it at Experimental Art Night with Shaqe Kalaj! And now I feel just a little bit more confident about trying it on my own. I am sure this will come in handy somewhere down the road...

365 Day 214 -- Another Experimental Night!

exploring pattern through floral and positive shapes

This Experimental Night led by Shaqe Kalaj at Art & Ideas Contemporary Gallery in Plymouth, MI was another pretty cool experience for me.

In her note to us, Shaqe said about this class: "This class to me is an experience that focuses on process and opening to new possibilities and ways of thinking and experiencing through our senses. I have many ideas to really bring out the best in you all. So last night I had everyone choose a sheet of newspaper. Then we drew silhouettes of flowers. The big idea behind the class is layering and thinking of this as collage. I like to isolate techniques so that you can think of using it in new ways and in your own work. Sometimes we work in certain habits and I like to open up new possibilities with it."


We started out with a bunch of silhouettes of floral shapes.












Then we chose a newspaper page from a pile that we would be using as the paper to work on.













Next we chose some of the floral images and drew our interpretations of them by hand -- just concentrating on the overall shape of the image.












Then we started to paint over the drawings...layering color over the words in the newsprint and building up the colors of the flowers.

While we were all working, Shaqe talked to us individually about our styles and what else we could bring to the piece to make it our own.

Shaqe suggested (strongly...LOL) to me that I could add one of my newly-discovered creatures. The page could be turned in any direction, etc.

If you know me, you know I choked...I didn't have my sketch book or tracing paper. Yikes...I was going to have to use the technique we were working with and add in a creature I made in my head on the spot by making a silhouette of the shape of the creature and then layering on the features.

Basically, I was not in the head space to "argue" with Shaqe or put up much resistance, so I complied and gave it a shot. And I am really glad that I did!

I started making a shape with a dark blue paint. I was trying to see it completed, and then work backwards. I over-think things too much. When I gave in to the process and just allowed the shape to happen it started to feel better. When I wasn't trying to force a finished product I was able to just allow the thing to make itself...adding triangles of color, a tail, tummy, and ears. I kept adding to the bottom of its legs. I dipped the brush into some really thick paint and dabbed it onto the creature and the brush made little dots that were really cool...it happened accidentally and I really liked it.






I like those dots a lot.








I am in no way trying to suggest that this is a masterpiece or that it is in any way even close to Lynda Barry's work...but when I was painting in my creature it was reminding me of something. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it was something familiar.

When I got home it hit me...I looked straight through the kitchen to the Lynda Barry "Bird" that was given to me by Francine Rossi. And it is funny, I was looking at this piece several days ago when I was looking at some of my collection in that area of my house.




I LOVE this piece so much.

It is such a joyous, happy, FUN piece of art! And I love crows so much...and a crow with a crown, bonus!















"Bird" is painted on a page from a book that was turned upside down.

I love the layering and that you can see the words through the paint.

I love everything about this wonderful work by Lynda Barry.



Find out more about Lynda Barry in this article from the New York Times. Watch the slide show -- it is really great.

I have one of Lynda Barry's workbooks, too...I need to pull it out and maybe combine the in person experience from Shaqe Kalaj's Experimental Night with Lynda Barry's teaching methods and see what happens!

365 Day 205

the story continues...

Okay. I was planning on doing a third large plaster cloth guy today but (thankfully) I couldn't find the smaller yellow ball I was looking for...it is in my studio somewhere. It actually is a good thing that I can't locate that ball because my back is reeeeeeeeeeeally hurting today. I guess I put myself into some bad positions while I was working on the other two plaster cloth guys and I am paying for it today.

So. Instead I will show the progress on the painting that I first started working on back on Day 39. Another layer was added on Day 41. Here is Day 133...this is the last layer I blogged about that I can find. I know I've worked on it between 41 and 133 but I must not have labeled it the same way.

Anyway. Here is the current version of the piece. The guy in the middle is definitely a monster now.








This is how he looked just prior to working on him.














Ooh...a nose and mouth. I rarely draw a nose. I like it a lot.















I have been viewing the stars as eyes up until now.

Then as I looked more closely I could see what looked like closed eyes.















So I inked them in.

To me it looks like he is either dreaming the two other guys in the painting or he is closing his eyes so he doesn't have to see them...not sure which it is yet.













I like the story line of both ideas.


And so the story continues...still not done yet.

365 Day 200

Experimental Art Night at Art & Ideas Gallery with Shaqe Kalaj

Wow -- what a blast! Can you imagine ME drawing, and shading and then --
* gasp * -- painting, and with color?!?!

At tonight's Experimental Art Night the theme was micro drawing. I had no clue but I really love the relief printmaking class I am currently taking at Art & Ideas, and I enjoy taking classes and meeting other local artists and trying stuff...so yeah -- I was "in"!

Shaqe gave all of us a sheet of archival card stock. Then she gave us all the same enlarged detail of a photograph...enlarged enough so that you couldn't tell what it was. She had us give our impressions of what we saw, what it might be, the textures, the shapes, etc.













Then we made a frame on the paper and started to draw the basic shapes of what we saw...then we began focusing mainly on the changes in the shading and the light vs dark, the positive/negative areas, etc.



Look -- I initially thought I had copied the picture pretty well...but I only had 4 triangle-shapes at the bottom instead of 5...LOL.










I picked up mostly on the way the light area to the bottom left of the detail looked to me like a bird coming out from behind branches and a rock or something.

I tried really hard to keep a light hand and make a difference in the shades and just stop trying to figure out what the big picture was. That was very difficult for me. After a while I started to let go of thinking and just colored...then my hand started getting graphite-y and I found I could smear the colors...LOL...so I did.

I forgot to mention there were five of us plus Shaqe.

Next we looked at all of our drawings and discussed everyone's individual and different take on the task. Everyone was so successful but so unique!

Then Shaqe had us put the drawing aside and give back the detail/reference picture. She told us we were going to paint a new version from our drawing...again, focusing on the shapes and shading...but using COLOR and PAINT...yikes!

There were so many choices and colors -- I was a little panicky. I knew there was nothing for it, but to just do it. I tried to make the paint act as watercolor-y as I could. I wet the paper, I put just a dot of color on and tried to do a wash...hoping the paint would shade itself. How was I supposed to choose colors that would go together? How was I supposed to give colors to something I'd only seen as grays?

After I fought with the paint for a bit and realized it was going to win, not me, I gave in and just started playing more with the color I was most drawn to. I decided I would start with what sort of worked for me in the drawing -- we couldn't draw lines first...we just had to paint directly onto the paper. So I did the same thing as with the drawing...tried to let go of my iron grip ideas and just try and paint the bird.


The more I let go, the better it got. I found I could keep going back and layering on color(s). There are about 4 layers of green(s) on the dark parts and a really light green is the light part. While I was working on it, I was really disappointed with the lines and eye -- but after I was done I decided it was a part of the bird, not a literal copy of the lines from the drawing...so I began to like it.

I couldn't get the yellow-y color to go dark enough and there were lots of colors within that yellow-y container of paint...including a peachy streak...so I took that as a hint and started layering on a peachy color from another container. I was so hung up on the shading needing to be the same color -- like two or three colors of yellow -- then the peach color kinda sorta worked and I was kinda sorta amazed at the result.

Then we all did a show and tell and Shaqe held our drawing & painting so we could see it from a distance. It was so cool -- everyone's was SO different...and SO different from their drawing, yet you could easily match up everyone's drawing to their painting.




This class was SO fun! And I really enjoyed meeting the other artists.

You can take these Experimental Art Night classes separately or buy a "pass" and get a discount on 6 classes that you need to use up within 5 months. I am definitely getting a pass!

Art & Ideas Gallery is located right between Northville and Plymouth. If you are ANYwhere near here, and you want to have some fun with art, you really need to come and take this class!

P.S. -- the all-ages student show is still going on in the gallery -- come by and see the great work by artists aged 5-65...including one of my relief printmaking class prints! Check the website for details.

365 Day 185

good gosh I hate to paint

There is only one thing I can say to express my true feelings about having to paint. I think it was originally said by the incredible canine thespian -- Lila -- "hah-buh-buh-buh-buh-hah-buh-hah", while tossing her head expressively. (I hope I quoted her correctly.)

I really, truly went into this full of hope and with high spirits. I did the base coats last week sometime with Montana Gold spray paint. I wasn't thrilled with the results (or the intense paint aroma), but it put some color down for me. It's not the paint, it's me. I am not totally giving up on the spray paint, but I am done with it for now.




how they started out with the base coat of colors

















this guy is going to end up with 30 coats of paint...I can just feel it...LOL
















a gray wolf-creature? dunno...probably not


















this cat creature guy looks like he is glowing
















I don't mind him so much, but I am scared to do the eyes.















Perhaps a collaboration (with an artist who actually enjoys painting) is in order???? Yeah -- maybe!

Okay...I have 100 Penciled In blocks to scan now.

365 Day 184

a little bit of painting and a lot of strange drawings

On and off today I was painting this guy's spots...



















..and going through my relief printmaking class sketch book looking for drawings within drawings and tracing the results for possible future carvings (while I was watching tv). It's funny...even as I was taking the photos just now, I was seeing even more creatures and objects in the same pages that I hadn't seen before. Perhaps this was because I was standing over them, looking down from a different perspective. I think Shaqe was pretty spot on when she said I'd be able to go back and keep finding more and more things in my "automatic"/intuitive drawings.




this sort of looked like a zebra-creature so I filled him in (image is on the far right of the notebook)









this looked like a leaf and a sort of woodland deity so I traced the head and added more of the leaves













some sort of really weird coloring book calf-ish creature?











a wolf/bear combo creature?















a guy and his talking dog creature?















some sort of little (red) riding hood owl-creature?












alpaca-ish guy













my nod to Portlandia's "Put a Bird on It"...LOL












sleeping kitty












the rest of these guys remind me of William Hessian's "Chubby Creatures" -- which I suppose is sort of fitting since William was the one who showed me this "automatic drawing" method












I like these guys but I like William's Chubby Creatures more














I probably wouldn't "see" these creatures if I wasn't aware of his, though













here are two versions of this guy --
this is version 1 -- running












version 2 -- leaping















I would call this one Prancy













this came from the same area, only with a different head






I pulled a lot of variations out of this area