Author Archives: Allise Nicole Noble

New Work

There Is An Aquarium In My Brain – New Work Preview!

So, this new piece is as of yet untitled (hence the goofy title of this post). But in all seriousness, I have drawn so many colorful fishies and detailed aquatic plants that I do indeed feel like there is an aquarium inside my brain. Not finished yet, but getting there! I still have to further detail the fish, complete the run of aquatic plants over to the right side of the scene, and add some shading with chalk over top to give the piece a truly “underwater” feel.

I think my favorite part so far is her jellyfish inspired hair-do … I’m jealous. On another interesting side note, my boyfriend fell down the internet rabbit hole one evening as we are all apt to do from time to time, and discovered that there is an actual fear of tiny holes, or even images that look like tiny holes such as patterns of contrasting circles within circles, called trypophobia. Oh-oh! My colorful little sea plants definitely fall into that category. Apparently it is quite common, and thought to be an innate protective mechanism since many dangerous animals are covered in such patterns. If my whimsical little plants horrify and disgust you, I suppose I will apologize in advance ;). I do not share this phobia in the least and actually love small, brightly colored circular patterns, and therefore am grateful I live in 2016 Michigan rather than a primitive hunter-gatherer society hundreds of years ago in the Amazon, or I would have had a rather short and sad life. Mainly because I would have tried to pet one of these …

In other news, Art Clash tomorrow! You know I’ll have pictures, so be sure to check back :).

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Interior Design

8 Interior Essentials For A Happy, Interesting Space

When I finally got a dependable, non-commission-based-or-freelancing-big-person-job last year, my boyfriend and I talked and decided after 4 years it was a good time to pull our resources and find a place together. Unfortunately, fall and winter got super busy and then it was the holidays and then it was march and we had visited ZERO houses. So, in order to not make a hasty decision about something super important, we decided I could chill in my one bedroom apartment a little longer and keep saving money until we found somewhere awesome to live. I have to say, the place has its benefits. Though extra space is not one of them, it is:

A) Within walking distance of Mooney’s Ice Cream. I don’t need to explain what an asset this is. In a list of cohabiting concerns, not being close enough to 30+ delicious varieties of ice cream  cones at whim was right up there with having stinky socks piled on top of my reading chair. So basically, a pretty big deal.

B) I’m on the second floor and have a fun little balcony that is just excellent for drinking wine upon at night on summer evenings. We call it the veranda … what are delusions of grandeur again?

I am very much a visual person, and can tend towards being as much of a perfectionist in the decoration of my living space as the creation of my art. I always worried with a space that was not-so-much-space, and with the fun apartment restriction of being stuck with stark white stucco walls, always stucco, I wouldn’t be able to truly express myself with my home, or get it to look as awesome as I pictured in my head. Add to that the fact that I studied Interior Design in college, and I place pretty fierce expectations upon myself. However, I found there are plenty of easy things you can do to bring together a small area and make your space stand out. The essentials are …

A teapot with personality. 

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Going back to the apartment thing; in a one or two bedroom apartment, it can be hard for your kitchen to really feel like a kitchen when it’s about 15 square feet. Oftentimes this space gets ignored. A brightly colored or fun patterned teapot sitting out on the stove top can wake it up a bit and make it a little more inviting, which is a good thing when you have just had the longest day ever and know you have to go home and cook ;).

Art from different times and cultures.

Another simple way to add interest is to mix in some vintage here and there, and add elements inspired by cultures different from your own. The collection above are all pieces I have up in my apartment. I have always loved retro 1960s illustration and art nouveau, and have been interested in asian culture since junior high. Your inspiration may be different, but either way including vintage and multicultural design will make any space more intriguing and inspiring to live in.

Glam lamps.

Especially in an apartment, you don’t get to choose your major lighting fixtures, and the ones that are up are usually pretty bland and unassuming. So, you have to express yourself with your lamps. You can’t always have a chandelier or some other eye catching fixture on your ceiling, but you can have it on your end table :). I had to include that unicorn one on the end just for fun.

Fun rugs.

When you have a small space with an open floor plan, rugs are awesome for visually dividing your space into “rooms”, different areas of function so that your space doesn’t just look like a jumbled sea of furniture. They can also add a bold design element, like art on your floor!

Neutral Pattern.

For someone like me who likes to change things up every other month, it’s a good idea to keep your main staple pieces a neutral color. Plenty of fun contrasting patterns keeps it from being boring. My houndstooth and zebra print accented sofa purchased at an employee discount makes my full year of misery working in sales totally worth it.

Colorful Vintage Glassware.

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I love vintage glassware. I’m an antique store addict, and swear I have accumulated enough retro goblets and wine glasses to open my own bar.Everyone needs a contingency plan, right? My favorite antique glass is LE Smith’s Moon and Stars design, shown above. Glass from the 20s through 80s comes in nearly every color under the rainbow so there’s something to match everyone’s favorite color.

Kids Stuff (Whether You Have Kids Or Not).

When we’re a kid, we dream about the day we will have our own place. We envision building a slide that takes us from one floor to the other, and an entire room that’s just a gigantic ball pit. Then we grow up and become boring. I am a big believer in injecting a bit of fun into the place you’re going to go to sleep in at night, and have no problem paying homage to a favorite cartoon character here or there. I have a spider-man plaque hung up in my bathroom, and for awhile even had his and hers matching spider-man loofahs (I was Spider-man, he was Venom.). Finally, he complained that they were too small and made for children and can he please have a normal cleaning apparatus for when he stays over! They shot water out of their mouths when you squeezed the vinyl character sitting atop the fluffy cleaning part, that is an important point to be made. His loss.

Attractive Storage.

I don’t know if these fun little patterned boxes have an official name, but all I know is they make having piles of crap look chic as hell – enough said.

What are some of your go-to’s for an intriguing living space?

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New Work

Who’s Really Teaching Whom? Allise Tries Abstract!

One of my favorite things about working with Express Yourself Artshop is seeing all of the creative ideas our students come up with. A few of them create abstract work, some of them just now delving into it for the first time. I myself work most closely to a surreal, whimsical, dreamlike aesthetic, but I have never been able to go pure abstract. For all those out there who say “abstract art is so easy, it’s just splatters and shapes, anyone can do it!”, I challenge you to go home and try making a piece. Of course it’s easy to make crappy, half-assed abstract art, just as it is easy to do anything that you don’t put effort or thought into. Making good abstract art that actually looks dynamic and interesting and makes people stop in their tracks is not simple at all. I had dabbled in attempts in the past, and grew so frustrated I gave up on the whole idea of even trying.

Heather Deogracia is a fellow whimsy-addict when it comes to art, and has been in many of my Artshop classes at Creative 360. She has begun creating pen and ink abstracts within the last couple of years, and her illustrations have a ton of movement and always stand out in bold, contrasting colors.

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Find this design by Heather Deogracia on Redbubble!

Another student who is in the Artshop classroom nearly as often as I am, Colleen, has always had a great sense of color when painting with watercolors. Our painting instructor this semester prompted her to try an abstract piece and see how she liked the process. She reacted much like I did the first time I tried to create something nonrepresentational; quite apprehensive and not sure where to even begin. It’s hard to wrap your mind around creating texture, colors, and pattern without the “anchor” of a specific end goal, a plan that your picture will end up looking like a, b, or c when you are finished. With the instructor’s guidance, she ended up with this beautifully balanced, interesting piece.

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Find Colleen’s design on Redbubble!

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In fact, I liked the design so much, I couldn’t resist buying a travel mug from Artshop’s Redbubble Store. It’s so nice to be able to stare at 3 of my favorite colors while enjoying my morning coffee.

I use watercolors a lot, and after seeing how much fun it was for the students to play with bright colors, letting their paints blend and bleed and drip into each other, I had to try it at home despite my misgivings.

I ended up with two pieces that lo and behold, I am actually pretty happy with. The first is inspired by caves, gemstones, and geodes. I had a pretty well curated rock collection as a child, so maybe that is where the inspiration came from :). The second is a female figure fading into the dark background. I wanted to use a lot more contrast in both lights and darks and color for this one. In both pieces, I started with a basic background first, and then added the details over that under layer based on what I saw in the design, sort of like when you were a kid and used to lie on the ground staring up at cloud shapes, finding pictures in them.

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Cave of Wonders, 12×18 Watercolor, Ink, White Prismacolor Pencil, and Metallic Acrylic. Design available on Redbubble!

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The Power of Invisibility, 12×18 Watercolor and Ink. Design available on Redbubble!

A last bit of Artshop news, our fundraiser last weekend was a success! Quite a few students sold some of their work, and we also received over $170 worth of donated art supplies – woohoo! Check out Express Yourself Artshop on instagram to see more photos of students’ artwork and what we are up to :).

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Books, Music and Film

10 Documentaries You Should Watch Yesterday

Not everyone thinks of documentaries when they think of “art”, but I believe they certainly fall into that category. Documentaries tell a story. They take facts and true events and make them dance before our eyes in an engaging manner that connects internally with viewers. My top 10 favorites cover a range of subjects : personal narrative, psychology, science, creativity, abuse, love.

Enjoy!

 

Monica and David

This documentary chronicles the romantic relationship of two adults with down syndrome in their journey towards moving in together and getting married. I love this documentary not only because it obviously pulls at your heartstrings, but it also takes the “otherness” away from disability. It is honest about Monica and David’s struggles, while at the same time showing that they aren’t that different from you or I in their dreams, hopes, and concerns for the future.

 

The Wolfpack

I just watched this one recently, and it stuck with me long after finishing. The story revolves around a group of brothers living in a family with an unstable father who for years would not allow them to leave the house or interact with others in society. Trapped in their own world, they turned to movies as a way to feel like they were living and experiencing the things that others outside did. They go as far as writing out entire scripts by hand (no computer/internet access) and then acting them out themselves, complete with amazing costumes and props made from things like painted cereal boxes. What they went through is horrible, but they have channeled their experience into something positive, and a couple of them ended up going into film production. The end of the documentary shows them working on a short film that you can view in it’s entirety, titled Mirror Heart, here.
We live in public

This documentary was absolutely fascinating to watch back in 2009 when it came out, and even more so when I think about it compared to how we interact with social media now in 2016. It centers around the life of dot-com entrepreneur Josh Harris, and his social experiment which was a combination of reality TV and a live action version of Myspace. His predictions of social media in the future were so spot on it’s eerie. Definitely an enlightening if not somewhat disconcerting watch.

 

Bergman Island

This documentary chronicles the life of legendary filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. Much of it is done in an interview style. He issuch a character, equal parts insightful and hilarious, it makes for a fun watch even if you haven’t seen a ton of his films (which you should go out and remedy now, by the way, if this applies to you :)).
Advanced style

This documentary was created by Ari Seth Cohen, who has a blog of the same name. The story centers on a few of the stylish older ladies he’s spotlighted. Cohen has always been interested in fashion, and grew up very close to his grandmother. Because of this strong bond, he always admired and felt closer to older women, who incidentally are systematically excluded from the fashion world. Thus, Advanced Style was born. These ladies are so much cooler than I, or anyone else I know, will ever be.

Honor Diaries

This documentary is an open conversation between nine women’s rights advocates with roots in Muslim societies working to change their communities. What makes it even more powerful is the fact that there are a variety of faiths represented. Though the documentary starts out by discussing the issue of honor based abuse abroad, it ends by bringing to light the fact that these incidents are not isolated to outside of the US. Contrary to popular belief, surprising number of these killings and abuse stories happen in the states, in the UK, and throughout Europe. As I watched the women discuss the mindsets that lead to this type of violence and extreme male entitlement, it was hard for many of those same dangerous mindsets I see present in my own society not to come to mind. People like to dismiss hateful or repugnant attitudes as “Oh, it’s just their opinion, everyone is entitled to their view”. But, this documentary shows the havoc “just an opinion” can wreak when left unchecked, and when it grows into a group mentality.

WAR: Women Art Revolution

As I explain in an earlier post about women in art, this documentary completely reeducated me on the subject of feminist art. I was born at the tail end of the 80s, and since growing up in school I’d always been given the impression that art was a “girl thing”, I never gave a thought to inequality in art. I never thought to ask why all the famous artists we learned about were all men. I just figured that those men happened to be who was best at art way back when. I had no idea the struggle and the war that those women artists who came before me had to fight simply to be allowed to practice their craft, to be allowed to show in galleries. Spoiler: the fight isn’t over. This is an important documentary to watch for anyone interested in art and creativity. Am I suddenly in love with the aesthetic of feminist art from the civil rights era? No, but I have gained a huge appreciation for those ladies who took a stand so that I can do what I do today.

Alive Inside: Music and Memory

I work with a lot of older adults teaching painting classes, and I’d heard about the benefits of painting in improving memory and motor skills in the elderly, but never music. This heart warming and inspiring documentary shows an alternative way we could be nurturing and interacting with our older communities.

PBS This Emotional Life

This PBS series explains scientifically why we experience emotions the way that we do, and the role different emotions play in our day to day lives and how we function. Explanations are simple and accessible to all, even those with no background in science or psychology. I have always been an anxious person, and understanding the science between what is going on in my body when I start to panic actually helped me deal with anxiety situations better. To be able to tell myself “Ok, your body is signaling a fight or flight response but you aren’t actually in danger right now … what you are feeling is just chemicals in your brain tricking you … don’t let a bunch of chemicals ruin your day!” helped me to calm down, silly as it sounds. It doesn’t always help, and it may not work for everyone, but this is certainly an enlightening series regardless.

Earthlings

Growing up, I’d honestly just never really liked the taste of meat compared to other things (It always reminded me of cardboard with seasoning sprinkled on it), and it’s origins always left me feeling a bit uncomfortable. This documentary is in part what pushed me to finally eliminate most meat from my diet (I still occasionally eat seafood). I understand the importance of the food chain to our ecosystem, but in our present day we consume far more meat products than we should for either our health or sustainability. To keep up with this demand (and make a higher profit – Greed continues to be the unifying reason for most questionable decisions.), some pretty horrifying, unethical farming and slaughtering processes are being put to use. If you haven’t heard of Temple Grandin, she is an amazing woman on the autistic spectrum who has done groundbreaking work towards animal welfare in the food industry.

I think using animals for food is an ethical thing to do, but we’ve got to do it right. We’ve got to give those animals a decent life and we’ve got to give them a painless death. We owe the animal respect. – Temple Grandin

I hope this list helps pass the time on those rainy Spring days coming up, and that something here stirs or inspires you. What are some of your favorite documentaries that I should add to my “Watch ASAP” list?

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Artists To Know

My Top 10 Favorite Shops On Etsy

I love Etsy. Though I myself have found far more success selling my own art on ebay, I do a lot of buying from Etsy ;). Around the holidays and birthdays, I try to get a lot of my gifts from places like Etsy or Ten Thousand Villages, or any local handmade shops because handmade items are always going to be unique, made well, and your purchase will actually brighten someone’s day and be an encouragement to the actual artist behind the product. Without further ado, here are my personal 10 favorite Etsy shops.

Nuptse

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This shop features beautiful, detailed bead-work all handmade in Kathmandu, Nepal as a way for the women there to be able to support themselves and make an income. This handmade business has also recently made an alliance with Hoste Hainse, a non-profit that focuses on women empowerment and sound working conditions for women, as well as education and daycare for their children.

PixieColdArt

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This shop offers super affordable prints of gorgeous artwork in the artist’s bold, colorful, high contrast style. These often surreal female and animal portraits are captivating, and definitely represent my personal favorite style of art.

SparkleBeastDesign

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Can you tell I like bright colors yet? The jewelry found at Sparkle Beast is like an elementary school art room closet collided with another closet full of “night at the opera” evening wear. I mean that in the best way possible. It’s like an upscale version of let’s-play-dress-up, and it is amazing.

nashpop

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Again with the bright colors, this shop takes old chipped, damaged, or otherwise hideous figures from secondhand stores and spray paints them in brilliant colors to turn them into fun, modern, pop art decorations. I am the proud owner of one of the most epic nativity scenes I’ve ever seen, shown above, and it is my favorite Christmas decoration I own.

CrimsonEtClover

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Crimson Et Clover is the wonderful inventor of the modern marvel called “bEARwarmers”, which I am rocking in the above picture. I’m a big fan of how they keep your head warm without messing up your hair. Also, the whole bear ears part.

MarisolSpoon

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This artist’s paintings just make me happy when I look at them, simple as that. She incorporates a lot of nature and vintage-style imagery into her pieces, which are two things I cannot get enough of.

berkleyillustration

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And the same to you, Sir Cheetah with an eye patch. Berkley illustration is one of the most fun shops around. Their personified animals aren’t just hilarious, but so detailed, realistic, and well done. I own the above bottle opener myself, because who would pass up the opportunity to toast with a swift jungle cat?

ohgoshcindy

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This shops features spot-on watercolor illustrations of pop culture icons, coupled with their well-known quotes and catch phrases – a dream for any tv or movie lover.

CartBeforeTheHorse

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This shop’s contemporary folk art has such a distinctive and unique style, I’d recognize it anywhere. I think it’s the faces that first drew me in. The designs are whimsical and fun without looking childish, and incorporate a vintage touch.

JooSweetie

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Look! She even has a hair bow. What could be better?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This shop styles lovely jewelry pieces around the artist’s adorable hand-painted faces. I raved about her artistry in an earlier post, and as of right now own one of her pieces (notice I said as of right now 🙂 … more to come!).

There you have it. It was unbelievably hard to narrow my list down to just 10. If you want to see more of my favorites and collections, you can follow me on Etsy. If any readers out there have Etsy shops of your own, feel free to leave a link in the comments and I will check it out! I am always looking for more shops to peruse.

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Exhibitions and Other News

Exciting News From Midland Artists Guild Exhibition 2016

Time has been flying, and I can’t believe the Midland Artists Guild annual juried exhibition has already came and went as of last night. There was such a diverse collection of amazing work. I think the shows get better every year, and if you are in the Midland area it is worth stopping by the Grace A Dow Memorial Library mezzanine to check it out. I was beyond excited to find out my piece “On My Mind” won one of the Merit Awards!

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This art nouveau inspired mixed media was so much fun to work on, and you can visit one of my previous posts to view the  step by step process .

My two other pieces that made it into the show were “Wonderland” and “January: She Is Far Away“.

11×14 Prismacolor Pencil and Mixed Media

All of these designs are available as art and ACEO prints in my ebay store, and prints on mugs, bags, pillows, notebooks, and all kinds of fun stuff in my redbubble shop. Next up, the Express Yourself Artshop fundraiser show and the Saginaw Township annual juried exhibition! Of course there will be many, many pictures :). Follow to stay in the loop!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I know I will be enjoying the rest of mine by drinking copious amounts of tea and not leaving the house.It may be Spring everywhere else, but not in Michigan! In fact, we’ve had four snow days in the last two weeks :P. So long for now!

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Techniques and Tutorials

10 Ways to Make Your 2D Art More Interesting

I have always been a 2D based artist, not for lack of trying to branch out. I can make a 2-dimensional plane on paper look 3-dimensional, but when it comes to actually constructing a 3-dimensional object … my brain just does not work that way.

vernacularvillageroofI studied interior design in college, and I remember dreading the 3D model portion of each semester-long project. This is the one and only photograph I have of any of my models, and it is taken in aerial view because that was literally the only acceptable angle I could manage. At least this one wasn’t cut out of a Lucky Charms cereal box. Yes, I really turned in a model covered in pictures of colorful, Leprechaun themed marshmallows. Yes, it was sad. Now they have 3D printers for this crap.

For other artists out there who only travel in the world of 2D, it can be easy to feel stuck in a rut materials-wise. After all, you can make sculptures out of anything. 

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No, really, I mean ANYTHING …

 

If you think outside the box, “flat” art on paper or canvas doesn’t have to be limiting. Here are 10 ways I’ve found that can spice up your current drawings or paintings, no matter what style you enjoy working in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Add Text
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Transformation, 18×24 Mixed Media, Do-All of Bay City’s Annual Art Clash Award Winner

Adding pattern based text, small print from books, magazines, or the newspaper, automatically adds not physical but visual texture to a piece. It is a simple, intriguing way to add the appearance of greater detail to your piece, whether it is ripped and layered in the background or cut into shapes to fill in focal objects in the foreground.730a10c1435c579f6052846f164896a9

The meaning of the words don’t have to be important. Or, you can choose theme appropriate text and emphasize certain words to add to your piece’s meaning. This is a popular technique borrowed from art journaling and found text poetry.

 

2. Include Texture
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The Dance, Awarded Best 2D in Creative 360’s Piece By Piece Exhibition 2015; 18x 24 prismacolor pencil, ink, watercolor, fabric, book pages, embroidery thread

2D doesn’t have to mean completely smooth and flat. Oftentimes painters paint with a palette knife, slathering on thick layers of paint to create an uneven surface that raises and dips to create visual interest. Gesso can also be used to build up an uneven surface on canvas. Another option is applying mixed media elements to paper to create a textured surface. In the piece above, I crumpled white fabric and dipped it in glue, applying it to the surface for the ground. I crinkled and rolled strips of book pages for the raised texture in the tree trunks and branches.

3. Accent With Metallics
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The Peacock, Awarded Best 2D in The Midland Artists Guild 2015 Juried Exhibition, 11×14 prismacolor pencil

Varying the surface sheen in a piece is a way to once again increase the visual interest, thus drawing viewer’s eyes and keeping their attention. Metallics are definitely something you want to use with restraint, but when not overdone they can really elevate a piece. It is harder to tell in a photo but in the drawing above, I used silver prismacolor for both the sleeves on her dress and the streaks in the pattern on the brim of her hat.

4. Include Pops of Color
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Hopeful, Award of Merit in The Midland Artists Guild 2015 Juried Exhibition. 11×14 Prismacolor Pencil 

Adding elements of color amongst an image of mostly black and white is a technique inspired by photo-manipulation. Photographers have been tinting black and white photos since long before Photoshop was ever conceived.

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Our eyes are naturally drawn to contrast, and including a bright color or two within a sea of black and white provides a “surprise” for the viewer.

5. Draw Viewers To The Eyes
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Possibility Uncovered, Acrylic

I may be a bit biased because eyes are my favorite part of the face to draw or paint, but then there is that famous saying, “eyes are the windows to the soul”. There are quite a few articles floating around online about a scientific study that found that staring into someone’s eyes for 10 minutes straight can even cause hallucinations. All this suggests that eyes themselves are something of an intense element. Whether depicting people or animals, using visual elements in your piece that guide the viewer’s eye to meet the eyes of your subject is sure to keep viewers locked on your piece longer, and to create a more dynamic composition.

6. Don’t Ignore The Background.
Her Laughter Was Intricate As Lace, 2011, 8×10 Prismacolor Pencil
I’d Have Been Happier As A Bird , 2014, 11×14 Prismacolor Pencil

I used to be guilty of being a huge background-ignorer. Now, you don’t want a fully fleshed out, detailed, photo-realistic background all the time, and in some pieces there is a lot to be said for white space. But, there is a difference between a background looking purposefully understated to emphasize the main focus and a background looking incomplete, like the artist just ran out of ideas and didn’t want to bother. There are two pieces shown above, one from 5 years ago on the left and one from 2 years ago on the right. Notice the difference something as simple as some softly outlined trees makes. The background is still mostly white, but it looks complete.

7. Collaborate With Other Artists
Untitled, 2011, Mixed Media
Connect, 2011, Mixed Media

This is a hard one for me, because I honestly hate collaborating. I’m the kid in school who dreaded partner assignments. I always wanted to work on projects alone, even if it meant I had to do triple the work. I have a hard time letting go of control and not getting to make all the creative decisions myself. However, you learn so much from working with other artists, especially if their style is the complete opposite of yours as was the case in the two collaborations above. Do I necessarily like the collaborative pieces above better than the work I traditionally do on my own? To be honest, nope, but that’s not the point. I practiced techniques and styles I never would have attempted otherwise, which has given me ideas in other pieces I’ve done on my own.

8. Carry Around A Sketch Journal
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Devotional Gag Reflex, 2011, Ink

Not only is keeping a sketch journal super stress relieving (the above was me relieving some of my fun relational stress by comically depicting how I felt in the moment), but it provides an arsenal of recorded ideas and references to use and combine in future pieces. Life is busy, and I strongly believe we forget most of our best ideas because they happen spontaneously when we are in the middle of doing something, and we think oh I’ll remember it later and of course that never happens. Making yourself carve out a specific time to sit down and sketch may be good practice, but it isn’t when you’ll get your best ideas.

9. Draw From A Collage
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Oceans Away, 9×12 Ink

One of my assignments in Drawing 101 way back in freshman year of college was to create a collage, and then draw straight from it. This technique is a great way to organize the elements in a piece, and visually construct your conceptual vision. You end up with juxtapositions of disparate elements that you may never have placed together otherwise.

10. Be Purposefully Imperfect
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Wonderland, 18×24 Mixed Media

This comes back to one of those things I learned through reluctant artist collaboration. I am a clean edged, smooth lines kind of person and I always used to look at smudges and drips as mistakes, not a tool an artist could use on purpose. Now, I am in love with it and every piece I create that includes watercolor has dripping or bleeding somewhere in it. For the longest time throughout art history, the purpose of creating a drawing or painting was to fool the eye into thinking what it was looking at was real, especially before photographs. The informality of declaring to the world, “Look! This is made out of paint, see the brushstrokes, see the dripping?” shakes up a piece, and the viewer’s expectation. In this particular piece above, the surrounding world was supposed to look as it would through the eyes of the subject, a child. The sketchy, imperfect outline of the colorful buildings behind help emphasize that.

Step out of that artistic rut and try something new. Other 2D artists out there, what do you do to add interest to your own work? What draws you to a piece when looking at a 2D work?

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New Work

New Work: February

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February – She Is The Queen Of Her Universe

This next piece in my new series is less somber than the last, and also more detailed with an abstract rather than realistic interior as the background. Even within a series, I have to have variation. This piece is meant to exude confidence, bravery, and control, and is filled with motifs of royalty and dominance.

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I began with the center and worked outward for this piece, doing all the pencil work first and dripping in the background last with both traditional and metallic watercolor.

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In the last piece for January, I used fabric as my one “3D” element of mixed media that I would add to the piece. With this piece, I had too good of a reason to use gems to pass it up. I set forth with tweezers, glue, and a lot of patience to for the first time actually bedazzle my art. Even the word bedazzling brings to mine gaudy jean jackets from elementary school, and adding sparkles to serious art is a fine line. My fear was that I would potentially turn my oh-so-classy, lovely heroine into a 90s barbie doll …

barbie

Luckily, this did not happen.

The design is now up for print on anything and everything in my redbubble shop, and art and ACEO prints are also for sale on ebay.

This was a fun piece to work on. I’ve been getting more and more into fashion lately, and I loved the opportunity to be inventive with her elaborate rose and branch crown, feather accents, and jewelry. A chance to immerse myself in my all time favorite color didn’t hurt. Let me know what you think!

 

 

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Art Education

The Art of Surprising Oneself

As many of you may know, I have a love affair with redbubble. Of all the print on demand platforms I’ve tried, they seem the most user friendly, visually appealing, and reasonably priced. For the past couple months I’ve been collecting photographs of my Express Yourself Artshop students’ work in preparation of opening our own shop, and the time has finally come!

Artist: Colleen D.
Artist: Colleen D.
Artist: Joan S.

I actually went to school for interior design, and the former furniture salesperson in me is so psyched about these throw pillows, because a good looking pillow really makes or breaks a sofa (even though they end up thrown on the floor 99% of the time).

Artist: Heather D.
Artist: Heather D.
Artist: Tracey S.
Artist: Heather D.
Artist: Colleen D.
Artist: Colleen D.
Artist: Heather D.
Artist: Christina G.
Artist: Colleen D.
Artist: Colleen D.

I’d recommend that anyone in arts education do this, whichever platform you end up choosing. Many of the students have made the same surprised comment to me, “Wow, I feel like a real artist now!” And many of us can relate to that feeling – I know I can. A piece of art almost doesn’t feel real until it’s shared with the world, no matter how big or small that “world” may be. A drawing or painting on a loose piece of paper is one thing, but when it is matted and framed or transformed into a print product, treated and presented like the work of art that it is, it can take the new artist aback at first – “you mean I  really did that?” Whether an artist cares about making money off of their art or not, there is something to knowing that other people are seeing the images they have created, that people even want to take something the artist has created home with them so they can look at it every day! Some artists make art their business, some may donate their art to auctions or causes or give it away to people. Still, the art has a life, it is being touched and seen, not in hibernation in some dark basement or storage closet.

If you’d like to see more, please visit our new shop celebrating artists of all abilities, artists that continue to surprise themselves as they learn that yes, they definitely are real artists!

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