Ojalá, Selah, Lateda

IF: Entangled

“After a while she got so entangled that all boundaries were lost.”

For Illustration Friday: Entangled
Collage of Pen & Ink Sketches

This piece started as a simple office post-it doodle on a pink square. It can still be seen on it’s corner in the center. Another, purple, post-it was cut in fourths and pasted to the corners and then all the pieces were placed on a larger yellow one. The transition between the different pieces was awkward until various swirls and a hand were drawn and cut out and pasted down crossing over the edges. A little black sharpie to bring up the contrast and it felt worthy of this week’s prompt.

Little Gesture

Two posts in one day is pretty amazing for me, but hey, I’m on a roll. I just wanted to share the glorified post-it note piece I made last night to give to a friend this morning.

I took a little pen & ink drawing on a post-it note and put it in a small frame with the glass removed and added some paint to both the drawing and the frame, then put it all back together and tied it with a ribbon. I really enjoyed the process, it didn’t take that long, and I got good response on it so far. I think I will try and make some more, maybe even see if I could get them to move on esty? Do you think they might sell?

Tie Dye Lady

The Canvas Project

I haven’t exhibited any of my art since I left Cancun (which has been three years now). So Im really excited about taking part in Atlanta’s Art House Gallery’s The Canvas Project Volume 2. It’s not a juried show, but it is a show.

The concept is a visual encyclopedia. They sent out five 3×3 inch canvases along with a list of 5 randomly selected, community generated words - one word for each canvas. The idea is to visually create a definition for each word on its respected canvas. From July 31 - September 4, 2009 it will be in the Atlanta Airport Atrium Gallery and then there will be a second show at the Art House Gallery on September 25, 2009.

My words were part, self-aware, kiki, Freedom Fighters and progressive. Last night I finished up painting the fifth one so I am ready to share. All of them are 3×3 inches, acrylic on canvas.

   Progressive

  Self Aware

  Part

    Kiki

  Freedom Fighters

IF: Contagious

“If only washing one’s hands and using a tissue could protect from contagious emotions and attitudes…”

For Illustration Friday: Contagious
Pen & Ink & Digital Collage

IF: Poise

For Illustration Friday: Poise
Pen & Ink on Post-It

I had plans to do a sensitive little watercolor of my daughter in her tutu for this prompt, but somehow it’s already Thursday and I’m out of time. I’ve been doodling this lady all week between tasks at work and she seems to be perfectly poised and sure of herself, so here she is. 

Another Post-it

Las Little Lollypins

So, there’s this new site called Lollypins.

They sell little pins with original artwork on them. As I had already made a lot of my post-it note doodles into circular formats for my magnets it was very easy to shrink them a bit and submit them here as well. It’s cool. Take a look….

Happy Halloween

I could probably write paragraph after paragraph about what it might mean that my doodling looks like this today. However I’ll save it for another post and let this just be a Halloween greeting. Happy Halloween!

Artist’s Way: End of Week 3 - Beginning of Week 4

I wrote the title of this post in a textedit window at about 6:15 this window. I made the window small in the upper left corner of my screen and started my work. I figured that throughout the day I would slowly build up a post. But its now just an hour from time to go and this is all I have. I think the problem may be that I don’t have much to say about week 3 of doing the Artist’s Way, but I didn’t want to go onto Week 4 without giving week 3 so much as a mention. Sooooo, let’s just get ‘er done.

Week 3 was difficult for me. I was in a bad mood most of the week. I thought it had to do with politics and the state of the world in general. I didn’t figure it actually had anything to do with the Artist’s Way process until I started reading other people’s comments on the hub. It made me feel much better to know that I wasn’t alone.I felt especially convicted by the statement, “Many artists begin a piece of work, get well along in it, and then find, as they near completion, that the work seems mysteriously drained of merit.” I have unfinished art work all over the place. I have a painting on my easel that I haven’t worked on in months, a pile of just started paper maché masks from January under the server in the dining room, and a at one time oh so promising relief in the garage, just to name a few. Apparently this is a “routine coping device employed to deny pain and ward off vulnerability.” Wow. So I’m going to be working on finishing some art. I am really really going to try and let go of worrying about whether something is going to turn out good or bad and just finish it and move on. I am going to try and focus on the quantity and “let God take care of the quality.” Illustration Friday has been great for me as far as actually finishing pieces. I’ve finished more in the past few months of doing IF than in the past 4 years combined. And I think this week of not reading is going to really help as well.

Today is my second day going without reading or listening to my podcasts. When I open my internet browser my feed reader comes up first so it has been really hard not to start clicking and reading. But I have been enjoying listening to my music and this morning I was in a great mood when I woke up. And I’m still feeling pretty good. I’m sure it must be related to the absence of political/financial news and opinion in my head. Ignorance is bliss? Back several years ago I wrote a couple of paragraphs about how reading a good book was just like recreational drugs. I’ve been trying to find it but I think it might have been in an email or a comment on someone else’s blog. I may have to try and rewrite it in honor of this week being on the wagon, literarily speaking.