Tag Archives: painting

New Work

Be My Eyes

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This newly finished mixed media piece, titled “Be My Eyes”, continues along a similar theme to my last piece. I love how it turned out, but I must admit this is one of the first works in awhile that was not buckets of fun throughout the entire process. I’m lucky in that I don’t get incredibly angry with my art much anymore. Like any relationship, if things aren’t working, I can say hey, I think we need to give each other some personal space, and leave it alone for awhile and work on something else. However, this one had a quickly approaching deadline for an all-area Michigan show I wanted to enter it into, so I didn’t have that luxury. It may be freaking gorgeous, but filling in all those detailed little butterflies was a chore. Like, I almost considered taking a break from working on art at one point to go clean my kitchen – that’s how bad it was. Cleaning my kitchen was a reprieve. What’s that about blood, sweat, and tears?

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After doing the basic outline lightly in pencil, I started filling in the figure from the top down. I broke my own guideline that I always give my students about starting with the background first, mainly because to be absolutely honest, I had no clue what to do with the background yet. The hair was so swirly, and fun, and free, and so the opposite of those technical, detailed little insects. I used prismacolor pencil for the face and skin, watercolor for everything else. I made some commitment to a background by dripping orange, gold, and magenta watercolor over it – similar colors to what were used in the hair. After this, my work of art temporarily looked like a 70s album cover. The photos don’t do it justice, the colors were BRIGHT.

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After that, I went back to ignoring the background because I still had no idea what to do with it, and finished the central figure. Rules in art really are just suggestions ;). I had known from the beginning that this piece required metallic gold somewhere, and the background now seemed just the place to put it. Huzzah to dulling all those bright Barbie Dreamhouse colors! I needed to break it up with some texture, so I used a crumpled paper towel to apply the first layer of gold, but it just didn’t do it. It was reminding me of a faux finish accent wall circa 1995. In a surprisingly impulsive move (Even in art, I am so not an impulsive person.), I squirted gobs of paint right on the background, and used a toothpick to marble the colors together. I have the technique down because of how many times I’ve made these nutella brownies. Seriously, same technique to marble the nutella and peanut butter. To lighten this now very dark background (Art is always such a Goldilocks situation.), I used white watercolor and added designs of blown up butterfly wing patterns over top. The finishing touch was the gluing the bunched lace over the dress, and voila!

The reason I’ve included this 100% honest rendition of this piece’s birthing process (including the part about my background being inspired by delicious baked goods) is because I’ve learned one thing from all the different students I work with, and it is this: They think artists always know what they are doing, have an exact plan in their head, and that their piece turns out just precisely how they imagined it in the end, and that real artists never get stuck or doubt what they are doing. This is absolutely not true. Everyone’s art looks completely wonky until it is all the way finished. It’s part of the process. When art is in progress, it’s awkward looking, we don’t always know what we are going to do next, and we don’t always enjoy every single step of the process. And that’s ok. If your art is easy, you probably aren’t pushing yourself enough, or being as creative as you could be.

I haven’t talked much about the meaning behind this piece, because I want to hear what you think. This image could definitely be open to innumerable interpretations, and that is one of the most fun things. What does it say to you?

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Exhibitions and Other News

Tall Ships Show

This weekend was the opening of the annual Tall Ships exhibit at Studio 23 in Bay City. This was my first year entering, and I was excited to have both of my pieces accepted. The elements of nature in my artwork tend to be way more enchanted forest than nautical or aquatic, but I decided to challenge myself to work outside of my usual themes. The piece on the left, “Underwater Dreaming”, may be the most colorful piece I’ve ever created. It’s very tropical which is out of my norm, but maintains the elements of fashion and surrealism that I so love. The piece on the right, “An Existence Aquatic”, was created two years ago when I was in a watercolor and ink illustration phase, and has a steampunk-mermaid feel to it.

18×24″ Prismacolor Pencil and Mixed Media

For a step-by-step look at how “Underwater Dreaming” was created, please visit my previous post. These pieces are available in print form in both my eBay Store and Redbubble Shop.

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Artist Bio

Happy 4th!

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To all of my American readers out there, happy 4th of July! The above is the most patriotic image in my art archives that I could find. But really, the colors are spot-on and what says summer fun like a shark costume?

After basically sleeping all day yesterday after partying like a rockstar at a 4th of July pool party on Saturday, staying up until 4 am when I usually turn into a pumpkin before midnight, today I plan to make the most of the last day of my glorious week off. At 28 years old, I spent my first night ever sleeping in a tent, so that’s something, right?

I was lucky enough a couple of days ago to chance across this retro 4th of July picture I had scanned onto my laptop at some point, circa 1997. Is it any wonder my favorite American Girl doll growing up was Molly? Besides her stories being set in the WWII era which I find to be a fascinating time, we were pretty much twins. My dad is cropped out of the picture not because I don’t love him, but because something else I really love just as much is being alive :P. Still, you can get the idea that we all wore coordinating apparel for the occasion.

I hope everyone else out there enjoys their 4th! And seriously, you should spend nearly the entire day outdoors, but in the occasion that you spend a couple of moments peeking around online at some point, there are awesome sales going on for the holiday on redbubble and zazzle!

Have a fantastic day, filled with adventures :).

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New Work

Happy Staycation! + New Work Reveal

be my wings

I’ve been working on this new mixed media drawing for awhile, and with my decision to take a little staycation, I’ve finally had the time to finish it! It is titled, “Be My Wings”, and measures 18×24″. I used prismacolor pencil for the face, prismacolor markers for the ravens, watercolor for both the hair and the background with grey, black, and white chalk overlay, and fabric for the clothing covering the neck and shoulders.

Of course, I have added this design to my Redbubble collection, as well as some new designs inspired by a couple of fun, newly finished ACEO illustrations.

I love buying from all kinds of artists on Redbubble, and have a design of almost every type of product in one form or another except the throw pillows! I’m dying to get one, but it is impossible to decide which design to choose, especially since I feel like changing around all the colors and decor in my apartment yet again. It’s a yearly thing :P.

I know this is a brief post after not writing for so long, but I’ve actually been aiming to spend minimal time online over this week-long break as it is simply gorgeous outside! Lately, I’d been feeling like there was a gloomy bad-luck cloud looming over my head, skulking around and following me just about everywhere I went. However, something seems to have turned a bit in my favor, because I sure picked the right week to take off! Every day has been nothing but perfect warmth and blue skies.

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Can’t beat swimming and a view! Now, onward to more adventures…

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Art Discussion

Art Discussion : Seeing The Other

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Once We Truly See Each Other / 2013 / 18×24 Watercolor, Ink, Embroidery Thread

At a young age, I began to notice the different ways in which men and women were viewed and treated. Ever since I first voiced confusion at this incongruity, I was answered with more questions such as “Why do you have such an issue with men?” “Why do you think men should be treated as less?” etc., etc., etc. These questions always left me with the disconcerting feeling that I’d somehow been shot into a parallel universe unbeknownst to me, where words that you spoke meant the opposite of what you’d said. How does equality mean one being treated as less than? The math just didn’t add up. Especially as one that tended to have an easier time talking to guys or tomboyish women than other “typical” ladies, was best friends with her younger brother, and generally thought men and women were equally awesome; how ever did someone get the impression that I wanted to bring anyone down?

As it turns out, social research is finding that when we as a society get used to seeing inequality for so long, any steps towards even partial equality are seen in an exaggerated light. An article from In These Times critiquing the fear of a “feminized society” , an anxiety that apparently is somehow all too prevalent, hits the nail on the head as to how this phenomenon occurs.

“So how do you get from some feminism, some of the time, to a feminized society?

The heart of the problem is one of the strangest manifestations of male privilege: It actually seems to interfere with men’s ability to count women. Specifically, it creates a tendency to actually see more women—or hear more female opinions—than are actually present at any given time.

Geena Davis Institute for Gender In Media found that, in crowd scenes, women tend to comprise about 17 percent of any given crowd. She’s argued, based on outside data and her own interpretations, that this imbalance relates to and reinforces the way men perceive the actual number of women in any given room.

“If there’s 17 percent women, the men in the group think it’s 50-50,” she told NPR. “And if there’s 33 percent women, the men perceive that as there being more women in the room than men.” ” (By the way, love Geena Davis. I watched and re-watched A League of Their Own I don’t know how many times as a kid, and I hate all sports, especially baseball.)

This same phenomenon happens where speech is concerned as well. You know that whole perception of “Hoo boy, women sure like to talk, yak yak yak!” Turns out it is just that, a perception. In mixed company, and especially in a workplace setting, women may be hard pressed to fit a word in edgewise according to a PBS series on language myths.

This same thing happens when it comes to race as well. People are always in self-preservation mode, and fear that by lifting one group  up the scales will be tipped so that they lose out. Or, I wonder if some don’t subconsciously fear that when we are all on an even playing field, they may sometimes get treated how they have treated the other for so long.

In reality, we are not living by the rules of the animal kingdom in this modern age. We are human beings with pretty solid cognitive and reasoning abilities when we choose to use them, and there is no rule that someone always has to be underneath the others’ foot. We need 100% of our society working together, and we need a collaboration of everyone’s ideas, not just 50% of the population’s ideas. By seeing each other for who we truly are, without the guise of archaic preconceived notions based on gender, everyone is lifted to a higher playing field.

This piece, titled “Once We Truly See Each Other”, is about support, and it involves men too. When striving for equality not just in our own backyards but across the world, it is a mistake to leave out men because they can be some of our biggest allies, and they are effected negatively by rigid gender expectations also. If you are ever in doubt of this fact, check out  the completely eye opening documentary, The Mask You Live In.

In my piece, women of all ages and ethnicity are illustrated as doctors, moms, members of the corporate world, musicians … Men are depicted as businessmen, athletes, artists, stay-at-home dads… The 3 cliffs are symbolic. Sure, men have started out on a historically higher platform as far as societal advantages are concerned. But, notice that third platform, the third and best option of all. In the piece, men are partnering to pull the women up. From there, the women are also helping the men up to reach their full potential. Equality requires that we invest in the lives of our fellow human beings, men and women both.

To me, equality is about allowing every individual to reach his or her full potential, whatever that may look like. No, women are not “settling” by choosing to be stay-at-home moms if that is their dream and what is important to them. They should have that option. No, the woman who wishes to rise to the top of her company and expects to be respected the same as her male colleagues is not an angry pink Godzilla hoping to kick every man in the balls with her shiny metal foot. She should have the chance to prove herself free of prejudices. And by the way, the same goes for men.

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Exhibitions and Other News

Art Clash 2016 – The Adventures of Allise and Heather

This past weekend I once again participated in Do-All‘s Art Clash with my PIC of 3 years Heather Deogracia. Art Clashes/Art Battles are getting increasingly popular. They are live art competitions where artists are given a limited time (usually 3 hours) to complete a work of art from start to finish. As you can imagine, it’s super nerve-wracking. We didn’t even take any photos together until after the relief of the competition’s end, because we were so nervous that we were white as ghosts! (Or, ok, we’re both pretty pale. Whiter than usual I guess 😉 ).

(In the second picture above, we were supposed to be making snooty faces but I still innately smiled the minute the photo timer got to 1 second … Damn you, social conditioning!)

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In addition to being my forever Art Clash companion, Heather is also in my Studio Art class at Artshop! This awesome lady came into class on the first day of spring semester and said, “I know what I want my project to be. I want to make a mermaid tale”. This is why she is one of my favorite people. I have not had my body traced on giant paper since elementary school. It was hilarious.

Back to the Art Clash, I really thought I was simplifying this year by doing a happy watercolor tree instead of trying to do something with people or portraits, my usual subject matter of choice. BUT THOSE BIRDS! The detailing was so much more time consuming than I expected, even using prismacolor markers rather than colored pencil. I truly thought I wasn’t going to finish, was cursing myself for drawing so many of them to begin with, and found myself chanting louder and louder inside my own head “The birds, the BIRDS, THE BIRDS!”

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I should have learned by now, it all works out in the end.

I present to you, “Color The World”, 18×24 Watercolor and Ink.

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I’ve posted this design to my Redbubble Shop, which offers the print on a variety of fun products. Traditional photographic prints are also for sale in my Ebay Store. Wondering what I’ll do next year … one thing is for certain – no more birds.

 

 

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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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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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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
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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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