Wednesday, February 18, 2009

ocean view

"Come to the edge," he said. They said, "We are afraid." "Come to the edge," he said.They came. He pushed them and they flew. - Apollinaire





Last year at this time I was gearing up for my month long hiatus on Vancouver Island. With the recent chill in the air telling me it was definately still winter, I found myself missing the ocean (and the fabulous diffused lighting for photos). I have a zillion photos from my trip, and I opted for four of the best to be blown up for the wall of the Studio. I'm not sure they're helping the winter doldrums or not! ha!





I picked up a bunch of frames today and am attempting to frame a variety of pieces, and am having the challenge of how to ensure a piece will stay 'floating' inside a shadow-box frame. Super-glue here I come! (I hope I don't glue my fingers together in the process - I'm not the luckiest with strong glue.) :)

Monday, February 16, 2009

please excuse the name

"When angry, count to four. When very angry, swear." Mark Twain


Last summer, I was about to do a neat little project with some squeezie paint bottles. I had my fish image ready, a transparency ready, and darn it all to hell - my paint wasn't squeezing out of the squeezie bottles! I didn't have time at that moment to reconsider my options with this thick paint, but I knew I wanted to smear it all over a large canvas.
Just recently, having had a troublesome house guest, I was quite angry and I grabbed the black paint, cut the whole bottle open and went wild with a palette knife on the largest canvas in the Studio. I waited a while for the back to dry a bit, and then stabbed the red bottle with my kitchen scissors and spread it out with reckless abandon. I was going to finish the job with the remaining colours that wouldn't squeeze out their bottle tips (lime green, pearl, white, and gold fleck) but when my husband saw the painting at this stage, he was impressed. And I looked at it and said "angry bitch" and considered it complete. And so, that's the name of the piece. I think it suits it really well. I've yet to apply the gel medium to protect and seal the painting, because I'm still waiting for it to dry completely (it's really thick paint!)
Even with the bold title, tinged with a little negativity, every time I look at it, it makes me smirk.


Friday, February 13, 2009

Art Deco

"The Studio - an illustrated magazine of fine and applied arts. Should be read by architects, artists, designers, students and all lovers of art." price - six pence monthly
I found this book at Mona Lisa's art supply store (Treasury of Art Nouveau Design & Ornament selected by Carol Belanger Grafton) and I simply love it! I didn't notice before, but I am drawn to everything Art Deco. Most of the book is samples of bookplates, but there is one prodominant word throughout - Studio. From what I can tell, there was a magazine called The Studio from 1894-1920 for artists (and it cost a six pence). Too neat. This image with the owls is from that magazine.

I'm not sure yet how I'm going to use this lovely book, but I'm glad I found it!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Valentine's Day

"Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same." Emily Bronte


Okay, so it's not quite Valentine's Day, but I was cleaning up the Studio (shocking, I know) and I found a space on my drafting table to create a little card for my husband. I had an extra quote from one of the wedding invitations I'm making, and it fits us so presto! card made. (Sorry Hallmark.) I'm contemplating cleaning up more, or just fiddling around with more cards. I have a schwak of silver note cards and I have a hankering to design with them. hmmm. I have a sense the cleaning will have to wait!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

bubble wrap

We have circled and circled till we have arrived home again, we two. - Walt WhitmanWho knew bubble wrap could look so cool? I found this quote and then literally tripped over some bubble wrap from something my sister sent up, and thought.... hmmmm. I was finishing up with the wedding invitations for the couple this painting is destined for, and so I used the blue and brown of their invitations as the basis, and then just piled on the paint, Glimmer Mist, and Mod Podge. The vellum the quote is printed on is left over vellum from making their invitations. The block (it's all adhered to a block of wood) is going to sit nestled in a tangle of the clippings from the ribbons from their wedding invitations, and then it will all be mounted inside a cream shadow box frame with a cream mat-board (or is it matte board). Anyhoo, I think it's going to be great! I'm already playing with the photograph and the scans I've done of this piece for future projects! Can you tell I'm excited!?!!!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

votre cousin

"Out beyond the idea of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there."
-Rumi

Under the layers and layers on this painting is a bunch of pieces from a French lesson book - a part of which says "votre cousin" - it's to the left of the tree foliage, near the top. I think you can just barely see "votre" now. Anyway, before painting I had the idea I wanted to add a quote to it. And I painted it after a visit with my cousin - so it sorta fit together really well, since he is an introspective kinda guy - much like Rumi's quote. The green of the tree is done with alcohol inks on top of a pile of dried up gesso chunks and acrylic paint. I've added ripped up bits of the French lesson, some blue mulberry paper, a little vellum (onto which the quote is printed), and a lot of mod podge to seal everything together.
I had so much fun with this painting, I'm going to have a hard time selling it.