Gratitude

Linocut - first try

Not really my first try. I did it many decades ago in elementary school. I remember that I was terrified and that it was very difficult. Either the material changed, or years of playing with other stuff helped, because this time it was not complicated, just interesting.

 Granted, I didn't create a masterpiece, but it is a start. I used the bird image from the previous post, and without knowing how thick or thin the cuts should be, bravely went for it. 

I was surprised to see that I needed to ink it twice to get a presentable image. Maybe I have too much black space, or didn't put enough pressure, or ink.... or I just don't know what I'm doing. On the left side is my printed piece with one ink pass, on the right with two ink passes. I like it :-) 

Of course, when I tried to over-ink the other piece, it didn't turn out that well... but still pretty interesting. I tried scratching into it, but not much happened (since the background was now black). 

 The supplies are pretty affordable, so I know I'll try it again. I wonder how the wider lines will look, or if I cut words, will they show up, etc. For the end - this is the "fancy" tool I used to press and burnish my lino - a meat mallet (not the prickly side). Very sophisticated ;)

FLY

- mixed media on 20"x24" canvas-

I finished recording my class for SoulFood workshop, but couldn't stop playing with the technique, so I continued by applying it to a canvas. The photograph you see below is one of my favorites. I couldn't believe my luck when I saw that my little phone was able to capture it. I used it as inspiration for the canvas.

It is pretty tricky to show how it really looks, because there is a combination of metallic colors, matt surfaces, texture...

It changes when looked from different angles and light...

Color Explorations

One day, as I was reading blogs, I was happy to see a post from one of my favorite artists, clicked on a link that she provided, got introduced to another artist, saw a picture in this blog post.... and soon HAD to have a new moleskine. Does that ever happen to you? You read something and immediately have to try it? Anyway, I made myself walk to the store (3.6 miles away - YAY me!), purchased a beautiful red moleskine (which you can easily find here), walked back and with a big grin opened it and started.

It felt almost like I got a permission to combine colors and record them in a pretty book.

I decided to do it without pressure. No color theories. Just simplicity of choosing two colors, mixing them up, adding black and white and seeing what happens.  Couldn't be easier or more relaxed than that! 

Now that I had some time experimenting with colors (and filled pages and pages), I learned that I like many combinations much more than what comes directly from the tube. I plan on creating little paintings with very limited palette and seeing what comes from it, and I will share it here. Hope you'll enjoy my little experiments :-)

101 BIRDS - Painting #36

8"x10" mixed media (collage, acrylics, casein, pan pastels, colored pencils, sharpie) on cardboard

I love Damian Rice, and could listen to his music for days. Which I did before, but not anymore because it makes me very melancholy and sad and it takes a while for me to shake it off. Today I enjoyed I did listen to him a little bit, and decided to write some of the lyrics on my little bird piece. Why not? Mr. Bird might have asked his lady friend just that?  Do you see the other lyrics or know the song?

Golden Angel

Black stabillo pencil, water and titanium white. Often the simplest materials are enough.

Don't you think cats make every scene seem somehow more relaxed?

Golden angel is for sale here.

Welcome November!

Hello dear people!

I have been missing in action here on the blog for the most part of October. It was a full month, a good month, and I was keeping busy most of the time. I didn't play much in my art journal, but have kept my digital journal daily. Just glancing at the pictures makes me remember many little details of the previous month that would have been already forgotten. Tons of good food (beet burgers, anyone?), walks in the ever changing nature, dentist visits (ugh), concerts, kids, creatures, art... good stuff.  I somehow managed to be very social (by my own standards) and extremely too much in my head at the same time. I created almost daily, but for some reason didn't find the energy to share. So, I am going to try something different. November is my month, and I want to get back in action and share more. I'm afraid to say that I will post daily, as it may change tomorrow, but that is what I will try. I wrote many blog posts in my head, and would feel better if they would move from there to the blog.

To start - here are my days in October, captured in Noteshelf on my little iPad.

Happy November!