When you don't like the calendars-I say, "Make your own" with Sharpies!

So, the title tells it all in a nutshell.  I just couldn't find what I wanted at the stores and nothing on line that I wanted to pay any money for.  The more I looked the pickier I became.  Nothing held a candle to my "The Art of Ornament" from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston calendar that I have been able to buy for 2 years straight.  None to be had at the stores this year.  So I decided I was going to let the artist, Eugene Grasset- that did the art work in them -be my inspiration.  As you can see I flourished.  It just sprouted out of me and in such a lovely way.  Some of you might remember my sandals that I used Sharpies on a while back.  I decided to do the same, in a sense.  I bought untreated canvas material and bought a big set of Sharpies.  Then went to town.

I want to tell you that pencil eraser doesn't erase well at all on canvas.  So I learned from that and did some sketches in my trusty work book-I mean sketch book (remember remember?).  I also figured out my color scheme.  Being a big believer in using your own photos when necessary I went through a bunch of my flower pics that I had taken.  Then used some unusual flowers that had meaning to me.  So, folks, these are all my own original designs (please keep that in mind, right?).  After I made my plan I carefully drew it out.  Then the fun part began.  Because of the nature of the untreated canvas lovely textures developed that I wouldn't have even known.  I had no idea how much you could use these markers like regular paints.  The bleeding characteristic of these pens lent itself to a more watercolor type look.  I loved it!  Plus you can blend the colors (you're welcome, Sharpie company).

As I was working on the color I was careful to keep continuity in my colors.  Notice how I tried to use the same colors more than once (almost all) throughout my composition.  This gives movement to the design and keeps the eyes wondering around to discover, hopefully, new delights constantly.

At the end I scrutinized it and realized that part of the success in the sandals was the thin ballpoint outline I used that make things stand out.  I hope you'll notice that I only used it sparingly as I wanted some edges to be soft and recede more.  This made some of the designs, the stars of each picture, pop out.

You know, I feel quite happy about this.  Oh, the calendar part.  Well, I left some extra white material that I didn't draw on that I'm going to just put a new month on when they change.  I just can't keep up with this every month.  That seemed a little obsessive to me.

Art History Moment:  Yes, finally here's one.   Eugene Grasset, it turns out, is one of my favorite decorative artists that was reintroduced in the 1960's.  He was part of the Art Nouveau (spelling please?) in France during the late 1800's and early 1900's.  I forgot that I love this style! Actually Grasset was born in Switzerland and moved to Paris.  He was heavily influenced by Japanese prints, Near Eastern art and medieval stained glass.  At first he worked in textile designs and graphic ornament.  Then branched out to bigger projects.  He taught at the Ecole Normale d'Enseignement du Design school.  A big believer in using forms from the natural world-he wrote and illustrated the book "Plants and their Application to Ornament".

Poster artists during the 1960's reinterpreted his style to modernize it.  I can remember many a rock concert poster that had the same feel to them.  They were just what a fairy tale lover (me) from that era would love to own.  And I did.  I wish I had them now.  Drat.

Yes! My very own Sharpie sandals!

Okay, you guys.  Remember my drab yellowed white canvas sandals?  Well, here's the glorious new life for them.  I have had so much fun coloring with my Tropical Sharpie set. 

I just don't want to stop and now am thinking of what else I can color on.  I can't wait until I can wear them next summer.  They definitely are much more fun than plain old white.  What do you think?

Green parrots taking shape

Baby steps.  That's what this painting has been-baby steps.  I feel like I can never just make a huge stride but at least I'm doing something and moving forward.  I like the idea of having the orange underpainting but might bring it more to a redish orange.  It would give it some difference from the background leaves.  Subtle differences that make each part of the painting stand out in it's own way. 

Step 2 and 3 of the new painting

Okay.  So today I put a heavy wash over the brilliant underpainting of red orange, plum and magenta.  Today's wash consists of white, cerulean blue and ultramarine blue.  This is the sky that will be behind the leaves (of course).  Even though not much sky shows through it's nice to do this first so you don't have to add the sky later as an after thought. Notice I'm careful to let the underpainting show through because I want the redish hue to remain as the underpainting of the green leaves and green parrots.  You know the complimentary color of green is red.  So this will give the painting life by allowing the red to barely show through.  I'm also going to do another underpainting on top of that.  And I haven't even gotten to the drawing of any objects.  Now you can see why my paintings take such a long time.  Yes, it does take a lot of patience to go through this and it's hard when I want to start on the beautiful parrots!

I've been using this method for about 20+ years.  I was always a "get it done" artist before and this was good discipline for me to make myself do.  It just pays off to do the outlying areas of the painting before you get to the main subject.  That way you won't have to be careful painting around things.

I had a few minutes more to spend on this before work.  So I did step 3.  Remember what I said about doing the things that should be done first?  Well, I didn't listen to myself (see-now don't you feel better-I didn't listen to my own advice).  I started in with an orange underpainting for the leaves and said, "Uh oh".  I noticed I should have done the branches.  Off came the orange and I did the UP (underpainting) for the branches.  I noticed that they're kind of an orangey brown.  So I thought blue would be great as the UP.  Then I decided I wanted to be a little more creative on that and I did a cerulean turquoise (my fav color, you know).  I know I'll have to add some bits of branches later but this is a good beginning.  

drawings that flow and move

Just another drawing from my sketch book that I thought you'd like to see.  I never know where I'm going with these things, my doodles, until I see something begin to develop.  I've always liked the way this one turned out.  I think it's because of the movement in it and the "anyone" quality.  We don't see their faces and it could be anyone that you would like to imagine.  It has an old fashioned feel to it-like the old melodramas in the 1800's.  That's why I entitled it "Old Fashioned Actresses".

Snydermille-never to go again-our family retreat

I just came across this painting that I did of Snydermille.  It's actually a good way to see how I use the under paintings.  This piece was done specially for my husband's nephew, Spencer, and his wife, Lisa, for a wedding present.  Snydermille is a large piece of property owned by our church and designated for my mother-in-law's neighborhood to use.  On the land was a huge building that could easily sleep 40 people.  The living room was big enough to have large tables (4 or more) set up, 4 large couches, a t.v., plenty of space to put up a few quilts and still have an area for the kids to play four square.  And the kitchen had 2 stoves and refrigerators.  In the bedrooms there were many bunk beds that the kids would drag around and make forts.  Once a year my husband's family would plan a get together for several days.  It was a chore getting everything packed but we had so much fun playing games, doing projects, eating, eating, and eating.

This little town is located right before you get to Park City ski resort in the Wasatch Mountains.  Surrounding it are the outlet malls and in Park City there are lots of fun things to do.  If you look walk straight up the hill from the building you will come to the Ski Jump for the 2002 Olympics.  In fact the FBI rented our retreat to stay there during the games.

We often involved our kids in projects for charity like the Festival of the Trees (benefited Primary Children's Hospital).  We helped make ornaments.  One year, when Kip was in the Navy, and on a ship we made gift bags for all the men on his ship.  It was unbelievably touching to hear how they loved their presents.  I think the kids maybe enjoyed it more than the men.

My in-laws, Marge and Tom, were the ones that arranged this fun for us every year and footed the bill.  They're both gone now.  So Snydermille is just a memory-memories of pinatas every year filled with treats.  I'm sure sad that we can't go there any more.  I won't miss the bugs that seemed to be everywhere and cleaning the place when we were done.  But the togetherness we felt was, well, PRICELESS.

Dustin! Art and Frame Station genius!

Just got home from having "My Paradise" framed and, WOW, am I happy!  I just had to show you all the finished product before I hang it.  Don't you agree that it completes the picture?  I have to listen to Dustin because he just knows what is the best.  He's in Murray, Utah-just in case you want to know.

In other art project news.......I got set to start my sister's painting today and remembered that I left my acrylic paints in Baltimore so Cliff and Lorien could paint her pregnant stomach casting (yes it's the shape of her tummy and they paint scenes on it).  Well, he said today that they're not planning on doing anything.  So, the paints are coming back home where they belong.

Slowly progressing art project news-I have been making an attempt at the new mosaic for my kitchen but have to be so careful with my wrist.  Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a mosaic artist.   I just hate having physical problems.  It's so inconvenient, you know.  Oh, and here, also, is our neighborhood project.  Lucky me to have my drawing on here.  This one is of Thanksgiving Point, Utah.  The carousel is all topiary and my drawing doesn't do it justice.  It's so beautiful.

M. C. Escher Drawing Exercise

Who is the most worn out overexposed design oriented artist? M. C. ESCHER.  As you know, Escher was a fabulous artist that combined mathematical type drawings with exploding whimsy.  He was my favorite artist IN THE 70'S but he's just about been ruined for me now as, well, he's like someone else we all know but I'm too polite to say his name.  Anyway, one of my favorite images of his is of this rolly polly lizard rolling around.  I didn't find that in my search but here's one that I really like also.



The drawing exercise today is to take something and turn it into another thing but GRADUALLY.  I got this exercise from my college art major days (I did learn something there).  I turned a cat into a pencil.  It was so cool and I would still have it to show if I hadn't had a big flood in my basement when the washing machine hose burst during the night. That's another story.

Here's one I did using the "One 2, buckle my shoe" nursery rhyme.  My drawing is so rudimentary, it's embarrassing, but I came across this in an old sketch book that I used when I was teaching my art class.  I worked on what they were doing so I could show them what I meant.



HAVE FUN!  I would love to see what you do if you can show it to me.  Please! Comments, as usual, are very welcome.

drawing exercise and yummy chicken pot pie recipe

What was that old ad lingo?  Two, two, two mints in one!  How old is that?  Don't answer or we'll all know how old I really am.  Anyway, this is 2 blogs in one, I guess.

Here's the recipe for the great chicken pot pie you see above:

Creamed Chicken

Melt:  4 T butter

Combine on low heat with: 1/2 cup flour

Add:  2 cups chicken broth

         1 1/2 cups whole milk (1 used 1%)

Bring to simmer while scraping sides - cook 1 minute

Mix in:  3 chicken breasts (I used 2 big ones), cooked and cubed

            2 T sherry (I used cooking sherry)

            1/2 t nutmeg

Season to taste with:  lemon juice (I used about 2 t)

                                 white pepper

                                 salt

In a frying pan:

Melt:  2 T butter

Saute:  1 medium onion, chopped (I used a very sweet, mild kind)

           1 1/2 cup carrots, chopped

           1/4 cup celery

Mix in:  3/4 cup peas

            3 T parsley, minced (I used fresh)

            The chicken mixture from above

Pour into 9 x 13 pan

Lay on top:  2 cups crust dough

Bake on 400 degree F for 25 minutes

I departed from the recipe and used a regular pie crust and put it in a pie dish.  I baked if for about 15 minutes at a lower temp., 325 degrees, on the lowest rack in the oven.  Then moved it on the top rack and changed the temp to 400 degree.  Then baked about 10 or 15 minutes longer.  I covered the top with foil when it was browned.

Moving right along to this really helpful exercise.  Remember a while back I talked about looking at your painting upside down to find out what's right and what's wrong (see previous post for that)?  Well, this is an excellent exercise that will give you a good feel for it.  As you can see I have drawn upside down my oldest son Cliff.  Now before you pass judgment on why I'm terrible at drawing skills take into consideration that I did the whole thing while looking at the reference photo upside down.  This is really a goodie, you guys.  You'll learn a lot and it will force you to see things as shapes and not as what they are like scary noses and scary mouths (to draw, I mean, not scary to look at ).  Okay, now go for it!

Back to studying.  I had my midterm but now I have a huge pile of reading to do.  Right now we're learning about prestige, religion (like shamans, witchdoctors) and the supernatural (witches).  It is so interesting and the best part is finding out why these things all came to be.  I was reading about the history of the witch burnings in the middle ages and blown away at all the convoluted reasoning behind it all.  I just love to learn!

 I know.  I know!  I just had to go outside and take this picture!  It's been snowing all day and the sun finally came out.  Somebody needs to take my camera away and spank my hands so I'll go study.  I'm going.  I'm going............

Complimentary colors - what you may not know

 

This is quite rudimentary, today, but interesting, I think.  I had to substitute teach today for 4th grade and they had to work on an art project that involved complimentary colors.  Of course, that reminded me of somethings that I had taught before.  First of all-you all know what they are, opposite colors on the color wheel-if you mix them together by pairs, like orange and blue, you will get gray.  Why does that happen?  There's are terrific book called, I believe, "Yellow and Blue Don't Make Green".  It's not that the colors mix and cause that to happen-it's more like their color rays fight each other.  Blue won't allow the yellow to show up and yellow won't let blue show up.  So you are left with the absence of color - gray.

Now, the grays will be different, of course, because the colors are not the same.  You'll get different results.  If you want a warm gray then combine red and green.  Orange and blue will make a cooler gray-which is great for the shadows in the snow.

Let's try something fun.  I can't tell you why this works but it DOES and every time, at least, for me.  If you take a pure color, like red, and stare at only that, close up, for about 30 seconds-then quickly look at white you will see the complimentary color!  It's a great exercise for children.  They love it but adults get a kick out of it, also.  Ever noticed when you are gazing on a shadow that is kind of colored-like one off a blind-when you look away you won't see that shadow color anymore?  I bet you saw the complimentary color and didn't even realize it!  Try it.

Art History Moment - The reason why Leonardo Da Vinci's fresco's, such as "The Last Supper" are in such disrepair is that Leonardo did not take the right time with his frescoes.  To rush the process he painted in tempura on a dry wall.  This is not actually a true fresco-there can be no corrections as the painting moves forward this way.  Because of this short cut method much of his work was already in disrepair by the 16th century. If he had used the true fresco method of painting into the wet plaster it  would be in a lot better shape today-for us to enjoy!  Luckily we have clever art restorers that have painstakingly tried to recreate Da Vinci's original intent.  Thank goodness for the modern science (and I say "science" because it is) of restoration.  These guys really do make miracles happen.

Let's do something different and low stress

Okay. I'm back. Yesterday was an extremely hard day. Just can't get over that my cat is gone. It helps to keep busy and not mope as this only makes it worse.

So, I'm moving on with more artsy stuff. When I get depressed I get busy! Do you all have a dark mug? I want you to hold it at an angle so you can see your reflection. It's going to be funky but that's half the fun. I did this years ago and you can tell by my drawing that I had a drink in the cup. This isn't necessary unless you want the reflection to blend from the mug to the drink. Anyway, get out your drawing paper and a pencil or colored pencils. Now draw what you see. Don't try to make yourself look your best. That's not the point. It's a lesson in forgetting about your nose, etc. and drawing the shapes and negative space + fluidity. Loosen up. The drawing I did was centered on the paper but you don't have to do that. Let it go off the edges but be careful about that dirty little devil, the tangent (see older posts to learn about that).

That's all there is to it.





Art History Moment: Eugene Delacroix, a French Romantic painter, was a master in the painting technique of fluidity. In looking at "Arabs Skirmishing in the Mountains" you'll see his paintings are alive with movement. Not only are the brush strokes fluid but the composition sings with motion-one element moves to another and so forth.

In keeping with the "fluid" theme go back a few days in my posts and look at the natural arch painting I did. Notice that my first attempt at it is so static. Harsh. The second painting has so much more movement and flows.

By the way.....my discussions of art history are not going to follow any sort of order. This isn't a class. This is just discussing what inspires me at the moment.

Move like a race car-VROOOM

Well, this isn't exactly one tip. It's a very cool exercise that is especially great for you (and me) tight drawing/painting types. What I want you to do is to pretend that you are on a trip to, say, San Francisco, and you're riding on a cable car. You will never get a chance to ever visit again in your life and you forgot you camera. Did I say that you have always wanted to do one of those street scenes that have lots of goodies in it? Now, you have 5 minutes, only, to draw everything you see. You want all the details-buildings, signs, people, animals, etc. Because you're a creative type I know you can do this-pick some place in your home or where ever you are and apply this little story mindset to it. Set the timer for 5 minutes and draw EVERYTHING you see as fast as you can. It's amazing how much you will get in. Remember that you need every detail that you can possibly fit in-words, the crack in the wall, the food on the plates, etc. I purposely chose some of those cluttered areas in my house and, yes, I did leave the dishes in the sink for that extra detail that will be needed. No, I'm not a slob.

Is your house pristine and do you live in a sterile environment? Then use my photos. It's better when you do it from a live area but these photos will work. I can't think of too many places that would fit that description-except a jail...hmmmm...not fun. Anyway, you can use my creative photos. You probably already know this but if you double click on the photo you can make it very large. Oh, I should mention that tomorrow we are going to talk about not using other people's photos for your own creative work and then signing it as yours-like you thought up the whole idea yourself. Here will come one of my dandy little life experiences that you can learn from. Drat. I have so many of those but I won't be stingy and keep all those humiliating stories to myself (not always that bad). I want you to see that I'm an artist that can fail and learn from my mistakes (hopefully). That way you will have hope that you can reach the pinnacle of artdom some day (will you let me know what it's like when you get there?).

Extra credit-use color for the exercise. Or why don't you try the moving transportation with someone else driving, of course!

There. All you tight types-don't you just feel free? Try not to get a headache over this. It doesn't matter. It does not have to be a masterpiece to show the world. Remember what I said...YOU CAN THROW IT AWAY.

Ask yourself why you do art

Well, I'm sorry this is just a little tidbit today but I've got my midterm tonight-must study and not goof off (well, this is fun and could be considered a goof off).

Anyway, this is important. Why do you do this? Is it because you feel pressured to fulfill a talent? Is it because you love the way it makes you feel free? Is it because you need to earn money and think this will do it? What is the reason? Knowing the reason will help to guide you. If it's a negative one then you can try to figure out if there is a better reason for it behind that. When I did this quite a few years ago I had a list of about 10 things that made me realize how much it added to my life. At the same time you could be thinking about if this is a healthy thing. Am I obsessed with this and ignore my family? When I quit doing this full time in 1999 I was getting to the point that I was thinking about it constantly. It became an obsession and ceased to have joy involved in it. I was really trying to make money and figure out what people would buy (I can tell you why Van Gogh cut off his ear-FRUSTRATION). Not a good mind set, let me tell you. That's when I went to work at a dental lab for 8 years and did a little art here and there. I have to say that that long break was good for me. You get into a style rut and this freed me from that. Now I'm comfortable to do things that I like and I hope that will show in my creations these days. Doing the mosaic hearts last year brought me so much satisfaction. If you look at my horse and cat painting that I'm working on (back a few post pages) you can see that, indeed, this painting brings me joy. My 2 favorite animals in a great setting with lovely flowers. Do I care that someone might ask why I'm doing something so trite as horses, cats and flowers? Not a whit. I'm thinking of naming this "Julie's Paradise" (I would need to add my family but too late now). Maybe I could call it that and add "and behind the bush is her family".

Study time.

Rubbing Alcohol-an acrylic painter's best buddy

Okay. This isn't complicated at all but something good to know. If you like to use acrylic paints and make a mistake it will come off very easily with rubbing alcohol. It the paint is very thick try scraping it first to get some of it off. Since it's acrylics it should kind of pull and snap off as it's essentially a plastic. Then use the rubbing alcohol to get the rest. It it won't scrape then you'll have to go over and over it. Be very careful not to let it drip on the rest of your painting. Of course, if there are oils on top you will have to use a paint thinner to get that layer off first. Mistakes aren't fun but without them we would never learn. I had an art consultant, Laura Stamps, that said she used to keep a notebook to write down all her mistakes throughout the year. Then at the end of the year she would review it and see what she had learned. I think this is an excellent idea-trouble is that I would be going into my second volume by the end of the first month. I should be almost perfect by now, shouldn't I? Hmmm. Well, not so, not so.

Okay, so I have to explain the pic. While going through old family photos I came across this one that's a real gem. It's 17 year old me, my brother, John, and niece, Melissa. This is before I became a rich and famous artist! Ha ha ha ha ha!!!!! Fooled you on that one, didn't I? Well, I am telling the truth that it is indeed me before many many years of all my mistakes AND successes. If only I would have had the wisdom that I have now.