Helendale swap meet - our test run for art fairs of the future

Some of you may know about my plans to participate in art shows and street fairs. Well, last Saturday was our test run. We got everything (or, rather, almost everything) together and went to a local swap meet. It was great! No, I didn't sell anything - but it was still nice to have our own booth, to talk to people, and to paint outside. A small local news website mentioned me in an article. Here we are(minus my husband who took the picture) in the morning, just finished setting up:

And me painting our dog from a photo:

We still have some things to add: a print rack (my husband is making it), a card rack, table cloths (I am making those), and other details. Next Saturday we're in Barstow, and the Saturday after that...who knows ;)

Girl with grape vine revisited - watercolor and some gesso

Remember the girl with grape-vine? Well, I did not finish that painting. At some point, I just decided I disliked it enough to start over. My main issue was the fact that most of the shadows in the reference photo were not really there - thanks to the flash. So, after having it on hold for several weeks (or was it months? ;), I picked a different photo as main reference and started all over. This time I completed it!

I wanted to try gesso in a watercolor painting ever since discovering Jean Pederson's "Expressive Portraits: Creative Methods for Painting People". This was a perfect case for it. I tried a dark background and didn't like it. So I went into my parents' backyard, picked some grape leaves in several sizes, put gesso on the leaves and pressed them to my background with a brayer. When it all dried out, I applied a little color, and voila! (the background is still my favorite part in this painting...)

Here are some in-progress photos:

 

Art Impressions from Sacramento

So I am back in the land of hot sun, strong wind, snakes, and non-existent art stores. Regardless of the fact that this place sounds so horrible, it is good to be home :). Sacramento was nice, especially those few precious mornings when I was treated to an hour or two of extra sleep! I also managed to attend the Second Saturday Art Walk. If I had a thousand dollars on me that night, I would have spent it without regrets. I fell in love with dreamy and foggy abstracts by Bernie Weston, a Citrus Heights artist who is, alas, practically absent from the web. He uses a unique process where he builds up multiple layers of plaster and wax colored with dry pigments. I'd love to know more about it and see how it's done... Here are the pieces that I covet:

The 20/20 show at the 20th Street Art Gallery was also rather engaging. The idea was for 62 artists to "create a body of work consisting of 25 small square panels, 20 of which will be displayed at one time. Each 8"x8" panel will incorporate a cohesive theme in the artist's chosen medium." I was pleased to see some good quality art (and even one series on Yupo - although that one, in my humble opinion, would not qualify as good quality art).

I also met with Sandra, a fellow EDM (a sketching/art journaling Yahoo group) artist and a nice person who allowed me to sketch her:

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A quick update

We had a lapse in internet availability (following a very unpleasant situation with Sprint who excellently illustrated the expression "hidden charges"), hence my absence from the online world. On the positive side, no internet somehow often means a ton of time for painting and other wonderful things (books!).

Last weekend, we also went out (without the kid!) to celebrate our wedding anniversary (which was yesterday). It was great...We went to the Carlsbad Fair. I got a beautiful "Phoenix Fire" silk scarf. We also stopped at an art store (always a treat!), beach (same!), and the flower fields. I am expecting some paintings ;)

And tonight I'm flying to Sacramento to visit my family - but mostly to bring Elijah to his grandparents. And maybe get some sleep...

The sketch above: some negative watercolor painting in my LamaLi sketchbook. Elijah from the back. Also, EDM 266 - something I cherish :) Or someone!

Monthly sketch project - macaw watercolor

So this crazy stuff is actually my interpretation of the photo from Monthly Sketch Project :). It is a 13x20 watercolor on yupo. It is also the second attempt at interpretation, as the first one turned a bit too boring. Here, I used mostly palette knife and a big round brush . I don't think I'm going to keep the painting (it is still lacking a lot) - but it was a fun experiment. Turn it upside down - and you see some weird flower...

Virtual Paintout - April 2010, and hello to Aquabord

This month we (the diverse bunch of artists participating in Virtual Paintout) went to Canary Islands. Thanks to this awesome monthly project, the list of places that I have to visit, keeps growing...And I get to paint street scenes - which is not very feasible when you live in the middle of nowhere and have a small baby.

So, this is Aquabord. I'm not sure yet how much I like it - but it definitely has some advantages. First, it is a board. It is rigid. It does not require matting and frame is optional. It is super easy to lift watercolor (ink too, but I found that to be a little harder. You can end up with grooves on the surface). What I'm not so happy about is that, using my normal amount of water, the paint dries way too fast and doesn't really run and blend and do all that watercolory stuff. Maybe I just need more water.

Detail

Another detail.


For the young who want to

by Marge Piercy Talent is what they say you have after the novel is published and favorably reviewed.  Beforehand what you have is a tedious delusion, a hobby like knitting.

Work is what you have done after the play is produced and the audience claps. Before that friends keep asking when you are planning to go out and get a job.

Genius is what they know you had after the third volume of remarkable poems.  Earlier they accuse you of withdrawing, and ask why you don't have a baby, call you a bum.

The reason people want M.F.A.'s, take workshops with fancy names when all you can really learn is a few techniques, typing instructions and some- body else's mannerisms

is that every artist lacks a license to hang on the wall like your optician, your vet proving you may be a clumsy sadist whose fillings fall into the stew but you're certified as a dentist.

The real writer is one who really writes.  Talent is an invention like phlogiston after the fact of fire. Work is its own cure.  You have to like it better than being loved.

Found and loved thanks to Late B(l)oomer

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The secret language of art

I've been thinking (at this beginning of a conversation between me and my husband, at least one of us usually feels a little uneasy :). So, I've been thinking: Why is it that people keep saying that my art is "happy" and "joyful"? Why do I make bright, saturated colors and soft textures? Anybody who knows me will agree that I am not a happy, joyful, and colorful sort of person. Not typically, anyway. Maybe the saying "Tell me (what kind of art you make) and I'll tell you who you are" does not apply to art. Or maybe we don't really know ourselves and our art shows the true nature, or just another side of our nature? Are my colors an expression of a secret desire to be flamboyant? That's what I've been thinking.

And then there's art-we-make versus art-we-like, also. I often feel that the art I like (usually other people's art, of course) is a better expression of who I am than the art I make. Paradox.

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I have been ta...er..awarded

Sandra of Sandra's Mixed Bag surprised me recently with an Over the Top Award:

Thanks! I definitely did not expect anything like that...And I don't exactly know what it means or where it originated from. It just gives one a nice feeling, like a pat on the shoulder and a  "Hey, I like what you're doing. Keep it up!" So, in the same spirit, I would like to present the following people with the Over the Top Award:

  • Evi of E*PHI = LOG, whose sense of humor instills me with hope that not all is lost for this world :)
  • Andrea Joseph of  Andrea Joseph's Sketchblog, who makes fantastic illustrations and probably already has a dozen of Over the Top Awards.
  • Lisa Thayer of L.K.Thayer's Poetry Juice Bar , who probably will not care much about all this blog award business but whose abundance of good food for thought and candy for eyes is worthy of more than a friendly pat on the shoulder.
  • Katie Hoffman of Paint Fumes, whose paintings are...well, you'll have to see ;)
  • Alex of Bare Knuckle Flash, whose synthesis of photography and writing is thought-provoking.

According to the "rules" of this award, you now need to pass it on to five people and answer 35 questions with one word, like I have finally managed to right here:

1.  Where is your cell phone? bed

2.  Your hair? blond

3.  Your mother? strong

4.  Your father? kind

5.  Your favorite food? toast

6.  Your dream last night? scary

7.  Your favorite drink? tea

8.  Your dream/goal? truth

9.  What room are you in? den

10.  Your hobby? photography

11.  Your fear? communication

12.  Where do you want to be in 6 years? away

13.  Where were you last night? home

14.  Something that you aren't? easy

15.  Muffins? apathetic

16.  Wish list item? #14 sable round

17.  Where did you grow up? Ukraine

18.  Last thing you did? babysitting

19.  What are you wearing? glasses

20.  Your TV? absent

21.  Your pets? dog

22.  Friends? missed

23.  Your life? improving

24.  Your mood? sarcastic

25.  Missing someone? yes

26.  Vehicle? Outback

27.  Something you're not wearing? earrings

28.  Your favorite store? art

29.  Your favorite color? ultramarine

30.  When was the last time you laughed? today

31.  Last time you cried? unsure

32.  Your best friend? Lara

33.  One place that you go to over and over? ocean

34.  Facebook? whatever

35.  Favorite place to eat? mom's

Yea...All the important truth you've been dying to learn about me.  Anyway, with every recipient of the award being required to tag award five more people, at some point in the future, every blogger should get one (granted the recipients are diligent and not too many people receive the award multiple times...). And what a friendly world this will be. Cheers.

Monthly Sketch Project and my first ACEO

Latest Monthly Sketch Project has a beautiful reference picture and I just had to paint it. I have also been contemplating ATC/ACEOs (Artist trading cards/ Art Cards Editions and Originals). So this is my monthly sketch project entry which happens to fit the size of an ATC:

I might do a larger one, too. The drawing here is the result of another experiment. Somebody on WetCanvas suggested using wax paper to write one's signature if it will be in a dark area of the painting. Before you paint, you put a piece of wax paper on top of your watercolor paper, sign the painting, and then when you're done, the signature stays white against the dark background. That gave me an idea to try this method instead of crayons!

Pros:

  • easier to achieve finer lines
  • you have a drawing on the wax paper that you can refer to (since it's hard to see the white lines on white paper!)

Cons:

  • almost impossible to see the lines
  • easier to wash off than crayon. Not a good thing if you want your lines to stay where you put them.

Speaking of trading cards, I couldn't find any well-organized place to exchange with other artists. Anybody interested? Here is another one that I listed on Etsy:

Some pretty interesting effects here I think...

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Tomatoes and watercolor, my love!

I love tomatoes and tomatoes love me back :)

Tried two things here: drawing with a crayon ( I intentionally left gaps in the lines, so that the paint could flow from one area to another) and printing with the back of a corrugated cardboard cup holder. The latter idea I borrowed from the beautiful "Expressive Portraits" by Jean Pederson.

Painted on Yupo, of course (will I ever go back to traditional cotton rag paper? I think I will). 10x13 inches. I listed it on Etsy - but I won't be too disappointed if it doesn't sell. I kind of...like it. A token of my undying love for the juicy, fleshy fruit-vegetable that a humble tomato is. The golden apple.

On a somewhat different note, I forgot to mention earlier that I went to the Fallbrook Art Center, which was hosting the "World of Watercolor" exhibition. It was pretty good in general - and even it weren't, it was worth driving 120 miles to see this in person:

It took the Fallbrook Art Center 2nd Award - though I think it should have been First. So much mystery and beauty, and such a unique technique. I loved the light blue line that appeared here and there, and the glimpses of gold. Here is the picture of it that I took at the center (ouch! Shame on me! But couldn't not take it - I was in love!):

And this one was my son's favorite:

:)

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Failure is your friend?

When I was reading Nita Engle's "How to Make a Watercolor Paint Itself" I noticed how lightheartedly she talks about "failed" paintings and unsuccessful attempts. Her "failed" paintings look like my greatest ambitions. Same with a lot of other wonderful painters that I found on the web: they seem to be quite fine with admitting that they, too, fail, and moving on. So what is the secret? The more work you produce the easier it is to discard one of so many? The better you get at what you're doing, the higher your standards get and so you push yourself to do better and dismiss weaker art?

I like getting things right the first time but this painting below is actually a second, and almost third attempt. Almost third - because while working on it the second time, I struggled through a time or two when I wanted to wash the paint off yet again and start over.

I'm pretty happy with the outcome though. Already sold it on Etsy, too!  Everybody likes cherry blossom I guess :)

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New sketches, and more paint chips

Virtual Paintout - Stavanger, Norway:

I misspelled the name of the town...such a shame. The sketch is on Yupo, around 6.75x7 inches. I really do enjoy virtual paintouts. I feel like some tourist-treasure-hunter when my little yellow Google guy hits the road in search of a nice view. I also read about the place.

This is my ex-neighbor's horse Dezel (pronounced as "diesel"), which happens to fit EDM 44 - an animal. A very beautiful animal. Oh yeah, I misspelled his name, too.

And EDM 109 - a clock!

Another paint chip :)

Four Oranges - Yuppppo-po!

Ah, Yupo...I love you.

Some areas in this particular painting remind me of fused colored glass. The key to making the paint flow as it wishes on Yupo seems to be a lot of (but not too much - or the color is lost!) - surprise - water.  Even the very process of painting on Yupo is kind of exciting. Should I make a video or something? I would probably have to have two cameras: one for the painting and one for my facial expressions, stuck out tongue, and crazy blissful smile.

By the way, I tried a heavier sheet of Yupo (144lb). It feels solid and serious when handling, but I did not yet notice any difference between a 74 and a 144 lb when painting.

And some less exciting sketches:

(EDM 93, egg carton) - drew this one on a paint chip. After hours spent picking out paint for our walls, I have a ton of them in all kinds of colors. I think they're great for little sketches like this.

This one is another result of experimenting in my Moleskine :)

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