Filed under: painting, printmaking | Tags: art, Japan, Linocut, linoleum block, monotype, printmaking, temple, watercolor
Okay, it was 12 degrees this morning. Tonight, it’s supposed to be 6. Seriously. In spite of this cold snap, our lovely igloo that my husband made has melted. Here is what’s left of it:
It was right next to that tree. I took this picture yesterday when my son and I were playing out in the yard. I was frozen, and he was gleefully throwing snow around with a beach shovel. Here’s the winter light in front of our house:
Isn’t it amazing? I love that kind of light.
So, I managed to finish that linoleum block that I was working on! I just tried to hunker down and finish it. I like the prints, more or less, so I think that I may do more…in spite of the fact that I’m still not in love with carving linoleum. I also collaged some interesting Japanese papers into some of the pictures. The solid paper was a success…the patterned paper was a total fail.
Here is just the block print:
Here, I’ve added some red paper:
The red looks much darker in the photo above than it really appears. Detail:
Here it is with the patterned paper…not good:
I like this one, with the ochre paper:
detail:
That turned out pretty well.
I also finished that trace monotype with watercolor. I’m not happy with this. I may try to “help” it in some way. Suggestions?
I kind of like the colors, but the overall effect is blah. It’s kind of flat and boring. Thoughts???
Filed under: painting, printmaking | Tags: art, Linocut, Paint, Visual Arts, Watercolor painting
Not much to show since my last post. I have several things in progress. Nothing remarkable, but it keeps me busy. I’m working on a linocut. I am now realizing that while I love the way block prints look…I find actually carving the block to be tedious. I can only do it for a limited time before I get bored and have to do something else. I think that this is because I’m impatient. I want the image done NOW. Having to wait while I carve it takes patience and perseverance.
DOES ANYONE OUT THERE DO LINOCUTS? If so…do you find the cutting of the block tedious?
(i do)
Maybe I should just put on NPR, and the whole thing will go along more pleasantly…
The next images are of a watercolor and a trace monotype, which I’ll add watercolor to afterwards. I like watercolor. I don’t feel that it’s very easy, but I like blobbing around the transparent colors. I know. If I was doing a more complex picture, perhaps I would find it too hard to enjoy! Perhaps I should try a still life, or something. I’m certainly not doing anything en plein air. My paint would freeze. Yes, the warm weather is long gone…this morning it was a chilly 19 degrees. 19 DEGREES!!!
I’m lukewarm about this trace monotype too. The picture is of the back of the paper. I almost feel like the pencil drawing on the back is more interesting. I’ll see how it goes…I may have needed the ink to be darker. Who knows. You can let me know your thoughts when I finish it…
This is a bit of a random post. Here’s a paper cut that I did ages ago.
Papercutting is kind of interesting. It has tons of possibilities. Once again, I think that the process of cutting the paper is not as much fun as other stuff. It’s much easier than hacking into that lino block, though…I can see getting carpal tunnel from that.
This is school vacation week. We’ll have all the kids home quite a bit. I have a feeling that I’m not going to get much done, other than making meals/cleaning up from meals/putting away toys/tripping over toys/passing out on the couch from sheer exhaustion, etc. I’m going to have to try to do artistic things while managing the household…you know: dust kitty sculptures, junk mail collages, spilled cereal installation art…the usual…
Filed under: Drawing, painting, printmaking | Tags: abstract, art, drawing, image, printmaking, Prints, visual art, watercolor
Yesterday was a fabulously warm day. My son and I took several walks to soak up some sun and work on our vitamin D levels. It felt amazing to be out in the warm air. I was tempted to open all the windows in the house, but then I thought that might be premature.
Everything feels like it’s slow going. Every day, I hope for something I do to be “the thing”. By this I mean, “MY thing”. So far, what I’ve done puts a furrow in my brow. Sigh. Just the reality of where I am, and where I am not in my creative endeavours. I love seeing inspiring works by other people. On the other hand, it often leaves me with a bit of a pit in my stomach…knowing that I couldn’t possibly do what they do. I know. It’s supposed to be that way. I have to do what I do. BUT WHAT IS THAT? I wish that I knew…
Here are some odds and ends from the past week. Any comments?
I know. My search to figure out what to do will be a lifelong one. At the same time, so many people have figured out “what” their art is all about. I’m not there yet. It feels like it’s taking forever to figure out.
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts..., painting, printmaking | Tags: art, india ink, Ink, lithography, painting, pinecone, printmaking, pronto plate, Visual Arts, winter
Today, an odd thing occurred…I was driving along the highway, and, for a brief minute or two, there was sunshine. But this didn’t look like winter sunshine. It looked like spring/summer sunshine. I actually had a momentary feeling of it being summer. HOW BIZARRE. I’m sure that you know what I mean…there is just a feeling associated with each season. It was so strange to have that feeling of summer for a minute or two, in spite of the fact that it’s February and we’re up to our armpits in snow. It was like a deja vu: “Oh…this is so familiar, yet weird…” I know. Just keep my eyes on the road and pay attention! But still…it was SO nice! I wish that it didn’t disappear…
Well, I’m still experimenting. I’m starting to feel that I need to work on something “bigger”. Everything that I do has just been little sketches. Perhaps I need to try to tackle something…MORE. Who knows what that means. Can one get loopy from the smell of ink? gum arabic? banana bread? (I made some yesterday).
Here are some of my latest sketches. I’m trying to think of things to potentially make a solar plate from. The black and white ink sketches are some thoughts. The color image is my first pronto print at home! Yay! It sort of worked! It’s one of those procedures that is a bit temperamental. The first few prints went well…then for some reason, things started to not work well. The ink wouldn’t stick to the plate, so that later prints are more faint. Sigh. Well, not bad for my first at-home attempt.
Did anyone else see that sunshine today? It was hovering over route 95 in Waltham…
Filed under: Drawing, Fleeting thoughts..., painting | Tags: arts, chicken, Collage, drawing, Igloo, Ink, painting, Rainbow Brite, sketching, watercolors
Well, this just about does it. Apparently, we are getting MORE snow. I’ve heard between 4 and…21 inches??? What kind of estimate is THAT? Anyway, all of this snow has put me over the deep end. I’m bracing myself for two days of winter ugliness. My husband has possibly embraced this whole snow thing more than I have…this is the IGLOO in our front yard that he built for my son:
Yes, you know it’s bad when you have an igloo on your front lawn. Hey, at least I’m not LIVING in an igloo. Sometimes, I am so cold in the house that it feels like an igloo. I’ve typed the word, “igloo” so many times now, that it’s starting to look weird. Hence, I am losing my grip on reality with all of this ice-hut-building/snowball-eating/northeast-cursing/blood vessel-bursting/stir-crazy/cabin-fever weather.
I’m trying to fight S.A.D. by using obnoxious colors. I’m not sure that it’s working for me.
Do any of you remember the toy, “Rainbow Brite“? I feel like I’m channeling her…
These are my neurons when I heard that we were getting more snow…
Now, I’m completely regressing…
I did this ages ago, and never wanted to post it. Well…I think that this is the time to post such randomness…
If this week is a series of snow days…you may not hear from me in awhile. I’ll be holding a plastic Elmo figurine and mumbling to myself in the corner of the room while my son asks me to “make Elmo talking…”
Filed under: painting | Tags: left-brain, painting, right-brain, scarf, silk
Okay! Now, that I have given this as a gift, I can show the finished product. This is a silk scarf that I painted for a dear friend. I really enjoyed doing this, as the colors are so bright and fun. I LOVE doing these bright, messy projects! Such a change from my previous job. I’ve found that I am rebelling against the orthagonal and orderly, and am interested in the multicolored and messy. SO MUCH FUN! I just want to take a deep breath and say, “AHHH, WHEW!”
Don’t get me wrong. I love architecture. I loved being an architect, for the most part. I have discovered, though, since taking a “break” from the profession, how different it is from what I do now. I mean, I believe that I’m someone who has a fairly capable right-brain, and a fairly capable left-brain, but they do NOT work together well at all. For example, when I was working…if I needed to sketch something to show someone an idea about how to detail something like a window jamb, my drawing would always be terrible! Truly…terrible. However, I have been in drawing classes where my work is very strong…portraits that actually look like the person, etc. I have always wondered WHY I somehow lose all artistic abilities at work, and now I think I understand why. I believe that I can either be functioning in left-brain mode, or right-brain mode. But, I cannot use both at once. When I’m in a drawing class, or making something right-brained…I get into a “zone”. I think that this is fairly common, and not remarkable in the least. But things just flow in that zone…artistic things. However, as soon as I try to “think” more, i.e. bring in my left-brain, my work starts to get really terrible. The flow is gone. Similarly, when I was at work and designing/problem-solving/multi-tasking…I was in a similar “zone”, but it was all left-brain analytical. So, when I’d have to stop and sketch something, my drawing would be horrible. Isn’t that bizarre? Maybe this sounds like some long-winded excuse. I don’t think so, though. I think that this is just a quirk of mine that I’m only now starting to figure out.
The friend who received my scarf as a gift suggested that I try to show more “process” photos. Okay…I’ll see what I can do! The days where I can do my new “work” fly by, and I barely stop to eat. So, I’ll have to try to remember to stop to photograph as I go along, just to bring you along the way…
slightly wonky 
