Back in the Saddle

I'm trying to get back into the mood for drawing, but it's been hard lately with the stuff going on in my family combined with working an 8-hour per day job and trying to spend time with my boyfriend and friends. Still, I'm happy that I did something productive tonight, and I like the result very much. (That might change tomorrow when I look at it with fresh eyes.)

Materials: 9 x 12 inch pastel paper, Prismacolor colored pencils.

A Poem for My Grandfather

I don't think that art is relegated to only the visual (does anyone?), which is why I decided to share this poem with you on my art blog. I used to be a voracious writer, but I haven't kept up with it very much in the past few years, and only occasionally do I sit down to write something.

My grandfather has had Alzheimer's for a while now, but it has gotten to the point where he must be sent to a nursing home. I don't think I need to tell you how devastating that has been for the entire family. Alzheimer's is the cruelest of diseases, stripping the mind of memory and logic. It has been a drawn-out and sad experience to watch my grandfather slowly disappear, and I felt like penning something about it.

Sometimes
His mind shutters
And blinks
Before settling on a soft, ribbony cusion of Nothing.

To watch him crumble,
Stripped away of memory and dignity,
An endless loop of questions ever-present on his lips,
The shadow of who he used to be
Captured forever inside a faded photograph,
Is almost unbearable.

And he will be locked away,
Confused and isolated,
Unable to fumble with buttons or smile at his wife.
I wonder
If he will know his pain
--if only for a second--
As a helping hand raises a spoon to his mouth.

Liquid eyes
A mind of Blank
Seasons past lost forever
Leaving only a searing string of ache.

Masked Trogon

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas. I painted the above painting during my week off work. I really, really like it. Basically I wanted to take the idea I had in my previous post and take it to the next level. I wanted to limit my color palette to cool tones, focusing mostly on blues with a little bit of teal thrown in for warmth. I love how it turned out: a little bit funky and striking.

Update: This painting has SOLD!

Materials: 9 1/2 inch by 9 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch wood, acrylic paint, gesso.

Working Hard On Vacation

I've been off work all this week (well, it is just Tuesday) and have been determined to spend my time away from work painting, drawing, and generally being as productive as possible. In that vein, I present to you my new painting: the Coal Tit. (Stop laughing. No, really.) I wanted to try something a bit different with this image by limiting it to two colors. I rather like the outcome and I think I will do more birds (and possibly flowers) in this method. I think that some will have thicker lines and others something a bit more nuanced, but I am excited at the possibilities.

As (almost) always, you can find this item in the shop.

Materials: 9 x 6.5 x 1 (inches) beveled wood, acrlyic paint

Revisiting the Cockatoo

You may remember my previous attempt at drawing a cockatoo. I felt like revisiting that image tonight and making it into a painting. I rather like it. I continue to enjoy my drafting table, and am proud to say that this little guy was painted on it. I was very conscious of my brushstrokes, and let many of them show instead of blending them for smoothness. I continue to struggle with how to paint feathers, but hopefully with a little research and trial-and-error, I'll get it down.

Edit: This item is now available in the shop!

New Drafting Table and Painting

I've been wanting a drafting table for a while. For ages, I've done my painting and drawing while sitting on the couch, the floor, or at my kitchen table (which is covered with paint). My parents and I found several nice drafting tables at Hobby Lobby, and armed with a 40% off coupon, they got me one for Christmas. I begged for them to let me have it early, and this weekend they agreed (thanks to some sly maneuvering on my part at the extended family Christmas event this past weekend in which I stole a Dirty Santa GPS system for my Dad from my cousin). My boyfriend spent a while yesterday putting it all together, and as you can see from the above, it's all kinds of awesome. The tabletop can extend upward to a 45 degree angle, and there are lots of storage areas attached to the sides of the tabletop and the legs. It even has a padded foot bar so you can rest your feet on it without them getting cold from the metal.

I gave the table a whirl for the first time last night and painted the below Blue Jay. I did it pretty fast, and I'm fairly pleased with it, although I have plans to do something that's a bit closer-up and more detailed. Still, it was a great way to break in the table!

Edit: The below Blue Jay is now available in the shop!

Time for Christmas Cards

Yes, it's that time of year again. Time to frustrate myself to no end creating Christmas cards. This year I wanted to do something a bit different: no traditional colors or immediate "Christmasy" themes. I guess I ended up with something a bit more masculine than I'm used to creating, but I like them just the same. I made 35 cards, which took me about six hours over the span of two evenings. By the end, I was covered in glue, and for days I found small pieces of gold stickers on my clothing. Next year I may just buy cards again. While I was in New York, I saw so many superior cards at the MoMA that I wished I had just bought some cards instead of making them myself!

Cascading Flowers

Since I have a long weekend (thank you, Thanksgiving!) I decided to be proactive and do some more painting. I've had lots of fun ideas swirling about my head, and this one actually came upon me by accident. I painted the blue square background a few days ago, but wasn't sure what I was going to do with it. I had decided to paint some flowers on another canvas, and absentmindedly laid them down on top of the blue background. I took one look at the way the real flowers broke through the stark blue and was inspired to paint them on this canvas instead. I'm actually really happy with it. I used a lot of very watery, light washes to get the petals just right, building them up in many layers. I think the decision to leave the bare outer layer of wood untouched was a good one.

You can buy this little gem (and see more pictures) in the shop.

Materials: Acrylics, wood panel (9 1/2 inches by 9 1/2 inches by 3/8 inch)

More, More Shoes

I've been inspired by my last painting of shoes, so I decided to paint some more. The above image is actually a digital print I made of a painting I finished earlier today. It's a view of stilettos from the back, if you can't tell. The lighting right now isn't very good in my apartment, so I'll have to post a picture of the final painting later. Basically, I took a not-so-good picture of the final image, and then imported it into Photoshop, where I went over it with vast, bold colors. I kind of like the result.

Shoes!

I just now finished the above painting and boy, are my fingers tired! This was actually my second attempt: I will spare you the first one as it was horrible and all wrong and embarrassing. Anywho, I painted this for my friend Dana for her birthday, which was earlier this week. I'm almost positive she doesn't look at this blog (and she's not on Facebook, where I posted a link), so I feel pretty good about writing about it even though I have yet to give it to her. If you know her, SHHH!

My first attempt was terrible in many ways; the shape of the front shoe was all off (not tall enough and too wide where it shouldn't have been) and I had a lot of trouble making any straight lines. I spent a day or two thinking about that and why I had those issues, so when I sat down earlier tonight I had a plan of attack. I decided to use a lot of water with my acrylics, which would give me a nice, smooth, inky edge. It worked quite well. I used a very small brush to achieve this, so my fingers are sore now from gripping it so tightly and from being so tense and focused on making things straight. It took me quite a while to finish, but I'm really QUITE happy with how it turned out and I can't wait to give it to Dana!

Materials: 9 x 6.5 x 1 inch beveled wood, acrylic paint, lotsa water