A Little Side Project...

Welcome to day 5 of Blogtoberfest!

I am going to take a small detour at this point and leverage the owl painting I did yesterday into another small collage. I liked the way that extra canvas turned out, so I will collage an owl to finish it.

Here, I have reduced the original drawing down to 75%, a size that fits my 8" X 10" background, and have it  on my clipboard, along with some graphite transfer paper and a piece of watercolor paper. Since I plan to paint and collage, I need something heavy to work on. Next I trace the owl onto the watercolor paper. Now, I only need the most basic outlines here, this is to be more of a pattern than a painting. Eye and beak placement, just a suggestion of the branch and the feathers, especially, as they are the pattern I will follow for cutting the scrapbook papers.

Here I have blocked in some color, no detail yet, and started piecing in the feathers. I won't collage the entire owl, just the feathers, eyes and possibly the beak. I am using colors that blend nicely with the background I made yesterday, so this is not an attempt at a realistic representation!

I have errands to run today, so I will have to leave this project for a bit. Pop by in the days to come for further step by step progress on this and my larger painting...

Until next time...enjoy!

Gadabout Artist: Home Again!

After a rather uneventful three day trip, we are finally home, safe and sound. The last few days have been all about emptying out the motor home, getting paper work together for taxes, and just generally trying to catch up on everything, and with everyone. The kitties seem to have fared well, they either missed me or not, cats are so sphinx-like, it's hard to tell. I haven't spent a whole lot of time in my studio yet, except to unload all my art supplies. The place is a bit of a mess, but I did stop long enough to make a birthday card for mom-in-love...

My main focus, now that we are home, will be to finish putting together my submissions for the Art-o-mat project. I am still trying to learn how to better leverage my art, but haven't had as much time as I would like to learn more about digital art, so I am using a bit of both new tech and old. Here is a raven I painted, and scanned into my computer...

I then reduced the size, printed it out and cut and added it into my finished piece...

The words at the bottom read... "Tempus edax rerum"...meaning; "Time devours all things"...which is a somewhat  theatrical way of saying time marches on...

I will start posting some of the works I made during my travels. Until then, enjoy...

Learning to Leverage my Art...

I first heard this phrase while watching an art tutorial video online, in which the artist was explaining how you can get more mileage out of your art work.As I understand the meaning, after creating a piece of art, on canvas, paper or even cardboard, you can then scan, copy or photograph that work, and print it out. This gives you an unending supply of your own original work, to tear, crumple, paint, tint, layer and paste to your hearts content. I find the concept intriguing. I decided to give it a try;

This piece will eventually become a background image for some of the tiny art I am currently working on for the Art-o-mat project. I have been learning my way around Pinterest, and got caught up in some posts using paint chips as art components, so this influence has made an appearance here.

 I am also just finishing up Traci Bautistas Doodles Unleashed Strathmore Online Workshop, so the colors and the free style are also making themselves known. What I didn't realize while working on this one, is how much it was also influenced by my current location, out in the Arizona desert. Mr. How2 took one look and said he loved my cactus picture! I never even noticed, but it does rather resemble a desert garden, doesn't it?
I guess you could say my mind is a bit like a crowded attic, the last thing dumped in there, is the first thing you see when you open it up!

Back to leveraging your art; I also came across this video, and the concept really started to come together for me while I watched it, thank you to the artist Zorana!
 When I get back to civilization, and can plug into an actual outlet, instead of a cactus, I will scan these backgrounds into my computer. From that point, I can print them out in pieces, in their entirety, in different colorways or intensities, and use them in a variety of ways. I wouldn't want to overuse the same art, but I can certainly do much more with it than just one painting. I am currently working on a full page of faces, and another of birds and flowers to use with these to create mixed media collage art.
So go ahead and look at your art again, but look in a different way. You may find a whole new world of art in there! Until next time, enjoy...

Gadabout Artist: Week 4

I had to switch to a full week, because we have been visiting our nephew and his little family for 8 days now, and you really don't want the details of all our little construction projects around here. Mr. How2 is wrapping them up now, and we are getting ready to set out for Yuma, AZ, with a little jaunt back up to Quartzsite. I have been working on small pieces of art, and participated in a blog hop, learning many new things as I prepared my post for that.

These are my Artist Trading Cards for our Flygirls ATC Group's February "Love" themed swap. They will be going in the mail tomorrow, one extra as a gift for our hostess. If you still don't know about ATCs, please click here for more information, or to participate in a swap yourself. Until next time...enjoy!

Travel Time...

   I have been away from my computer for a little while, and may be off and on for the next month as well because we are traveling! Yep, that's right, Mr. How2 convinced me, and this morning we are leaving for the Oregon coast and all points south. We plan to eventually experience all that is Quartzsite, AZ after hearing tales of it's grandness for years.
I have been reluctant to take this trip, I anticipate all hell breaking loose here on the home front as soon as we clear the border. But an incredibly wise and wonderful flier said to me, "Hey, think about it, all the time in the world to paint, and no housework! Bring your STUFF, Sally" Now, I may not be wise, but I know wisdom when I hear it! Thanks, Janet, this trip is because of you...hear more of her wisdom at...

http://tatterednworn.wordpress.com/

   This week has been a frantic mess, trying to organize and pack and take care of bills in preparation for this extended absence. I have never been away this long, and though I know that thousands of people snowbird yearly, I am new to it, therefore, a steep learning curve. I am dealing with the task of setting up remote bill pay and finding a house sitter as well as making sure we have most of what we need for the trip. You know how it goes, "he" says, lets take a trip, and as far as "he" is concerned, we are ready to go...:) Which brings me to the question of supplies.
   You see, as far as I can tell, the kind of things we need for a normal trip, we can purchase along the way. Other than warm clothing for the beginning and shorts for the far south, kind of a no brainer...Food is plentiful, and you really don't want to pack too much with you, the RV isn't that big...No, the difficult part has been deciding what art supplies to bring...

I normally carry travel supplies in this vintage make up case. (No, Storm is not coming with us! I think she will be happier and safer here at home with a sitter.) There is enough room in it to carry all the basics, and a few extras. For a single class, or a long weekend, hey, no problem. But there is not nearly enough room for an extended trip. So I have had to sort, pick and choose which supplies I use the most, and which ones I can leave behind. For instance, I plan to work on my Artist Trading Cards. Nice, compact projects I can pull out and do, then pack away quickly, right? But, I usually cut the bases out of mat board, and for that I use my massive paper cutter.

I can't see dragging this with us, so hmm, how many cards should I cut and bring? A couple dozen seems doable. Then there are the surfaces for my submissions to Art-o-mat. I have sent off my samples, and, if I am accepted, I would like to work on my inventory while we are traveling, again, tiny enough to easily work whiles on the move. Well, there is a minimum of 50, so that means I had to cut 60 2" x 3" cards, in case I mess some up. These are now packed in the RV in a plastic storage container. Now we have the issue of glue, paper, ink pads, ephemera, text, pens, pencils, paint, brushes, etc...I also have my new shipment of small canvas boards, 4" x 4" and 5" x 7", so I have to bring some of those. Who knows what I might need! I had to stop somewhere, but every time I sit down, or heaven forbid, look at another blog by my beautiful fellow fliers, I think of yet another "thing" I cannot do my art without...

   Shhh, don't tell Mr. How2 this, but I think there are more art supplies tucked away and hidden around the RV than there is food...I am trying to calm myself by telling myself that there will be stores along the way. So now I am done, I have filled every little tote, nook and cranny with everything I can think of for a traveling artist. I just hope I actually get a chance to make use of most of it.
   Everything is packed, the house-sitter is arranged, and there is a loose travel plan in place. One last meeting to go over the household infrastructure, and a quick stop to see the family and we are off! I am dragging along, not only my computer, but also my printer, since so many of my graphics are in digital form. I have even signed up for an online class with Traci Bautista called "Doodles Unleashed" that begins January 1st.
You can sign up for the same free class here:  

 http://www.strathmoreartist.com/workshop-reg.html

 So hopefully internet access won't be too spotty. I will keep in touch along the way, and plan to take tons of photos and post my art as it is completed. If I forgot anything, it's too late now, I will just have to live without it. See you out there, and happy trails...

Oh wait, I wonder if I should bring that basket of cancelled stamps...

Art Every Day Month Day 19: My canvas order has arrived!

Today I thought I would share my early Christmas present with you. I decided to order a batch of canvas boards from Dick Blick. I found their Econo Canvas Panel 24 packs, and the prices seemed too good to be true. So I went ahead and ordered a couple in small sizes, just to see their quality. I am pleasantly surprised! They seem just as nice as any of the others, maybe the canvas is a little courser but with my collages, that isn't a problem. I ordered the 4" x 4", the 5" x 7", and the 8" x 10". The prices per bundle of 24 were respectively,  $ 2.87, $5.93 and $14.84. That is a whole lot of working surface for not much money! I will keep you posted on how well they hold up to water and glue...I also wanted to try a few landscape size boards, 4" x 8", and 6" x 12", which are not offered in the econo bundles, and came individually wrapped for $.43 and $.72. Still very reasonable prices. I replaced my long lost rubber brayer and am looking forward to playing with my new set of water soluble oil pastels! Not trying to make an ad for DB, but I think as artists we need to share our sources and experiences with each other! Enjoy...

Taking Flight

I finally made the tremendous decision to take Kelly Rae Roberts E-course: Flying Lessons. This was very difficult for me to do, I always have trouble spending money on myself, and the price seemed steep. I must say I am having a wonderful time, and learning a lot.
   The first couple days have been about facing your fears about starting a creative business. Identifying them, honoring then, and letting them go. I really didn't think they applied to me, but when I found myself crying over some of the prompts, I had to reconsider. Perhaps there is more of a self defeatist hiding inside than I ever knew, and it is about time she was dragged out, kicking and screaming, into the light. Perhaps, like the Wicked Witch of the West, I can splash her with a bit of water and she will melt into a powerless puddle of lost opportunity and sorrow. Then I can see what I am really capable of, and somehow find my voice again.
 Perhaps I can find it in my heart (and purse) to attend the Artfest Retreat next spring, something I have talked about for years, but never thought I could do...