For this next set of index card art, I was just playing around with simple and bright patterns. (I've been doing that a lot lately! Must be summer's influence!) It's highly likely that I'll use these index cards in some future project. I could tip them onto a journal page or cut them up and use the pieces as collage fodder. For those of you keeping track, this represents cards number 13 through 18. Just 43 cards to go!
Just a quickie reminder...this is a "No Pinning, Please" blog and that includes "work arounds" that manage to circumvent my "no pins" code embedded in my blog. I am so happy that you visit and that you like my stuff but for now I'd just rather it not circulate willy nilly on Pinterest. Someday, I might change my mind about this particular social media site but for now, please respect my wishes to stay as "un-pinned" as humanly possible.
Just six more pages to go in the seemingly endless Dylusions journal I'm working in called "Unexpected Convergences." Here's my latest page in this journal, inspired by Henri Matisse's painting Madame Matisse (aka The Green Stripe.) There's no green stripe in my version and the facial features are different but I wasn't aiming for an exact copy. With Matisse's painting guiding me, I went way outside my portrait painting comfort zone and discovered that I like it very much!
I have a constant companion in the studio, one who carefully supervises my every project. Mr. Marley T. Bear (known more simply as The Bear) is 20 pounds of marmalade love. He takes up quite a bit of room wherever he decides to lay his head whether it be the computer desk...
...or the studio table as he carefully observes my early morning cartooning and journaling sessions. He pays very close attention to the scritching of pen on paper. He'll watch until his eyes get heavy with sleep and then he'll stretch out and take yet another nap. Typically, this reduces my available workspace by 85% and yet, I can't imagine not sharing my life and art life with this gigantic, infinitely lovable, and sometimes naughty kitty.
I absolutely love it when I can combine multiple challenges in one project! So today's Watercolor Wednesday also serves as entries 7 through 12 in the Index-Card-a-Day challenge as well as characters 150 through 155 towards my goal of 365 characters in 2013. (A mere 210 characters to go! Ha!)
These greyscale portraits were painted on vintage tabbed index cards from old yearbook photos using only white goauche (opaque watercolor) and Payne's Grey. The point of this exercise is to learn to really see, compare, and translate changes in value.
My yearbooks are all from the 80s so I focused on the teacher photos since they were less...um...afflicted...by all that 80s hair and sad fashion choices! I would love to get my hands on some older yearbooks (say from the 50s) so I can continue this series.
Just a little bit of art play in the "Unexpected Convergences" journal for Glue-It-Tuesday. This was a peaceful activity on a Sunday afternoon while stew bubbled in the crockpot and King Kong played on television. I might have have done a couple things differently with this page had I started with a plan but I do like the final results. As always, the point was just to play and see what developed on the page.
Work continues on my new, short term journal "Play: A Field Guide" and in today's post, I've included some detail shots of the pages.
In this journal, I began with blocks of brilliant watercolor in the background which I then used as inspiration for the patterns that I rendered in equally-vibrant acrylics. Other than paint, I am allowing myself to use handcarved stamps, hand lettering, and hand-painted papers...no "commercial" products (with the exception of the cover where I used a little bit of scrapbooking paper before I decided to be so restrictive.)
The sole point of this journal is to play, of course! The jarring juxaposition of shape and color may seem wild but I find the process quite soothing. As I work, I'm leaving room to letter some of my favorite quotes about play and I'll do this when all the pattern work is complete.
Well, folks...here we go...the beginning of my posts showing what flows out of my head, heart, and hands for the annual Index-Card-a-Day challenge (hereafter known as ICAD).
I had the great fortune of discovering a stack of ancient tabbed index card dividers at my local creative reuse center. These babies are made from heavyweight stock, almost like cardboard (thicker than what you can find at Staples) so they hold up under a lot of abuse without severe warping or curling. Plus, they have this beautiful aged cream patina...love them! Anyway, that's what I'm using for ICAD this year.
This year, I've decided to work in small series of 6 to 10 cards at a time and as you can see here, I began with some abstracts. I printed the cards with my Gelli plate, added some stamping as I desired and then began layering on bits of paper scraps. Simple, bold, playful: These pieces of index art fit in exactly with my summer plans.
As summer break settles into my bones, I feel my imagination blossoming anew in my relaxing brain. Some time ago, I developed a cartoon character named Og and when this little dragon came to life, I made some notes, thinking maybe, some time in the future, that I'd have him star in a little comic strip. However, I really haven't had the time or energy until now to work on this project. Since I'll be teaching cartooning again in the fall, I think this is the perfect time to play around with these ideas and see what becomes of all my doodling and note-taking.
So, long story short, here is the debut of "A Girl and Her Dragon" starring Og the Dragon and a wee child simply named Girl. At this point, I'll just be playing around with single panel cartoons as I practice body positions and storytelling in a limited space. All in all, it is grand fun and I feel like a nervous mom as I release this toon into the world...hope it brings a smile to your face today!
Aaah...summer break has begun! While I have a massive list of projects I want to accomplish in the next three months, I am making sure I schedule plenty of play time. This is the time of the year when I relax and recharge; the other three-fourths of the year is typically busy, busy, busy!
In the spirit of celebrating summer vacation, I have started a new, short term journal called "Play: A Field Guide." I intend to fill this little journal with bold color, wildly clashing patterns, and inspiring quotes. This page seems finished to me at this point but I give myself permission to revisit it at a future date if the whim strikes. That is the spirit of dwelling in possibility...
