Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Art All Around

As you know, I've been painting every spare moment lately, getting ready for the art show in September. Well... I'm not the only one... art is in the air.  Check out Artsy Mama's blog to see a whole slew of links to other artsy things going on in the blogosphere.

Meanwhile, I've had some questions about the art things I've posted in the last few days, so this is an opportune time to answer them.

1. The ornaments were bought clear at the local hobby lobby. However, if you want to use ones that are scratched or otherwise no longer appropriate for display I understand you can soak them in a strong beach solution and it will remove the color. Then you can add your own. However, I have NOT tried this. I just buy the clear ones to begin with. But it seems like a good way to recycle ornies that have lost some of their luster.

2. The paper used for the quote on this journal is not something you can buy. It's a standard paper that I've added to. I use stamps I've carved to give some "texture" to the background on this particular one. I also added a little gold highlighting on it - very delicately. Each one is different - some are on paper I've dyed - but that was what I used on this.




3. The paint is acrylic and I use different techniques to get the different looks. Just play! I've been doing this for a few years now so I've learned what's going to happen depending on the thickness of the paint and the various tools used. But just play and you'll come up with cool things on your own. I sometimes add glitter or beads or other embellishments - the one on the right has some glitter and beads if you look closely.



OK... I'll answer more questions as they pop up! In the meantime, check out other artsy things going on by checking the links at Artsy Mama's blog.


Cooking and Painting

I spent the day cooking and the evening painting - like every day lately. All I really want to do is paint - all day, every day. But, unfortunately, no one is paying me to paint. Yet.

Tonight I was leaving the studio to come downstairs and fix some dinner when I decided to paint just a couple of the ornaments I bought the other day. Well, 24 ornaments later, I came downstairs. I like the look of these smaller ones even more than the larger ones I was doing earlier.

I made a couple of other things tonight that I really, really liked. Unfortunately, my camera battery died before I got a good photo. Maybe in the next few days I'll share.

Jocelyn gave me some good advice the other day - to think about how many people you want to sell something to at the show and then make sure you have that many whatevers to sell. I am getting a pretty nice little stash of journals, and I'll have a nice mix of ornaments once I finish all I've got started. And I'm working on some other things.

I don't think I'll have anything large done for this show, but that's OK. I like to do the smaller things, anyway. I am always drawn to the detail in things.

I first recognized this about myself when I was hiking in Muir Woods near San Francisco a couple of years ago. It was an amazing morning - I arrived before they were open, but they allow you to go on into the park. It was many hours before I heard or saw another person. It was very close to paradise on Earth.

I realized that morning as I was taking photos that I was always wanting the detail - the fern on the log instead of the log in the water. I wanted the moss on the tree instead of the overview of the trees. Unfortunately, the camera I was using couldn't capture those details. It was one of the reasons I got the camera I use now - it does a much better job of close ups.

Of course, I will need to figure out what to put in the background of the booth - that will be a trick. But I'm sure I'll think of something appropriate.

My fun part of the day was seeing Trish for lunch. She was on a tight time table after the city council meeting and before an appointment, but we managed to get lunch in, which was great. Trish and I always connect with on a very deep level. She and I are both feeling the urge to GO somewhere.

Well, the only place I'm going tonight is upstairs. And I'm going to try to stay out of the studio so I'm not up for an extra two hours.