Showing posts with label 31 Days of Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 31 Days of Art. Show all posts

Day 31 of 31 Days of Art: Meeting a Goal




This post is the last post in the series.  
Thank you for traveling along with me.



I'm excited to end 31 Days of Art by releasing my PDF Ebook on Making an Izannah Walker Inspired Doll.  Studying Izannah Walker dolls has been a major part of my life for 5 years now.  They are beautiful examples of American folk art.  If I can design something half that wonderful in my lifetime that lasts over 150 years I will call it an achievement.


Here are each of the posts in order:

Day 12:   Disappeared Into a Cloud of Soccer Dust!




31 Days of Art has been a blast.  I've learned things about myself and art-making that I would not have learned if I hadn't taken on Nester's 31 Day Challenge.   See all the other 31 Day topics here.  On Day 1, I did a lot of dreaming about what I hoped to write about.  I didn't get to all those topics.  One of the things I learned is that I don't include enough white space for family life to impact my plans!  But the good part is that I have quite a few topics yet to explore in the coming weeks.  They are:

Finding Time for Art - I'll write about some ways to fit art into our busy lives.

How to Rescue a Bad Painting - I am pretty sure this is something all artists have laying around in their work areas.  I know I do.   So this will be one of my ideas.

How to Be Inspired by Others' Art in a Respectful Way

Making Art with Kids
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Day 30 of 31 Days of Art:
Is Your Art Hackable?

Hackable.  The term "hackable" shows up in so many places now.  It used to mean that computer geeks could break into sites by "hacking the code."  But now the word has come to mean something is "copy-able."  It means you can make a reasonable imitation of it. You hear the word "hackable" a lot in the do it yourself interior design community.  



In fact, there is a whole show based on hacking designs. It's an HGTV show called the "The High/Low Project".   The premise of the show is designer Sabrina Soto designs a  high-end room for clients, and then reinvents the design with low cost alternatives.  I like that she is hacking her own design. This particular room in the high end version was $29,000.  Sabrina recreated the look for $4,000.   It was very cool how she expressed her room design in an upper end and lower budget way.  I like befores and afters, and I've seen her on another show where she stages homes to get ready to sell. She's a very good designer. The art of creating a room is amazing to me - that someone can create a 3D art environment to live in is a gift. Interior designers use art and color pops the way a painter might use a single brushstroke of red in an otherwise neutral painting. 

I was enjoying the show.  But then  Sabrina took an artist's piece off the wall and "hacked" the art in a low cost way using paper.   It's interesting that I was fine with it as long as she was using a funky thrift couch to express the vibe of the designer sofa.  Or even when they copied the kidney shaped ottoman exactly.  But when it was someone's one of a kind ART it bothered me.  Hmmmmm.  She was not copying the art - more like creating something in the spirit of the high end art using the same colorways.  But  still, this brings up all kinds of thoughts for me in all kinds of directions.
How would you feel if it had been your art hanging in the high end room that got taken off the wall and hacked?
Is your art hackable?
If I am making art that is simple for someone else to mimic is it my own darn fault if I get copied?
Is an ottoman art? They copied the high end ottoman exactly.  The high end ottoman itself was a copy of a mid-century modern design.   Why wasn't I bothered when the ottoman was copied?
Has the DIY community undermined the place of art in our world or given it more of a place by inspiring people to make their own art?
Just because something is copyable, does that mean it's okay to copy it?
One of my focuses, studying antique folk art dolls, has been about re-creating a doll inspired by Izannah Walker's work.  In a sense, I and many other people are "hacking" historical objects.  Or continuing a tradition.  Depending on your viewpoint. 

I hacked this graphic (copied it) from an antique book.  
Then I changed the color to sepia.

Hackable.

Your thoughts?
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Day 29 of 31 Days of Art:
How to Get Out of a Creative Funk

Have you ever been in a creative funk?    If you haven't, you will.  In one of my online groups we were discussing this recently.   Sometimes it's a result of a shift of life's circumstances that uses most of our energy.  Sometimes it's that what we've been doing we've explored to the point that we can do it in our sleep - we're bored.   But maybe we don't want to admit it?   Sometimes it's because we feel our work isn't good enough and why bother trying.  

When I'm in a creative funk I do the following:



Use a New Medium

 A while ago I tried making monoprints with gelatin plates.  I loved it.  I want to do it again.   I had some ideas of how to combine that technique with doll-making.  



Acknowledge Life's Stressors 
and Make Art About Your Life

Maybe you're dealing with a major loss or change in your life.  Your mind is so occupied that there is no room for creativity.   In that case, use a tried and true method, and make art about the themes in your life.  Some of my best works have been me "thinking in paint" about a problem or a hope I have.  One of the themes I'm worried about right now is where my son who has autism will live in his future.  I want to envision a sense of place for him, a home.   I want to do a series of small paintings with elements of maps and homes as a way of thinking this out. 


Give Yourself Permission to Experiment



This helps you try some things without any risk, other than the paint or paper you're using.  I've been making a painting in this 31 Days of Art that I hate.   But I am learning while making it, so it's all good.   I have a way of rescuing this later if all else fails. 


Look at Others' Work

On Thursday night I went to a local exhibition called 10 by Ten.  I saw some works that were so unique.  I got an idea of an element to incorporate into my own work.  Now, this is tricky territory, and will not in any way look like that person's art when I'm done.  

Study An Artist or Art Movement In Depth

Source: google.com via paula on Pinterest

An artist I have always admired is Wolf Kahn.  This relates to my thinking about sense of place.  I also like works by Tracy Hegelson and Kathryn Milillo.    There are similar themes involved.

Do a Different Kind of Art

If you're a visual artist, sing.
If you're a musician, paint.  
If you're a writer, draw. 


Read Other People's Writing About Creative Funks



Write About Your Creative Slump for 31 Days

Thank you Nester, for inviting us all to join in the 31 Days challenge.   Check out the other 31 Day writers here.


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Day 28 of 31 Days of Art: Editing an E-book



I'm organizing the instructions and pattern pieces for my e-book  Making an Izannah Walker Inspired Doll.  I will be releasing the pattern on Halloween (yeah, I'm crazy).  This e-book will include my Izannah Walker inspired pattern as well as the many pages of instruction that were used in the online Izannah Walker Workshop class.   


Today my art is wrangling with a Word Processor to get placement of pictures where they need to be to go along with the text.   Not all parts of art are la-di-da creative.  Sometimes there is non-creative work to do which supports the creative work.  But that's okay, I will also do a little painting later in the day to share tomorrow. 
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Day 27 of 31 Days of Art:
Izannah Walker Inspired Doll in Progress


When people in real life ask me what I do for artwork I've stopped saying "I make art dolls" and say, "I make art inspired by antiques."   They don't get dolls, but they do get antiques.  ;-)  Studying Izannah Walker Dolls has been a focus of mine for the last 5 years or more.   It's not all I do for artwork but it's what I'm most known for at this point in time.  I'm in my "Izannah period".  ;-)


This is the first time I have gotten the feeling of the downcast eyes that are such a hallmark of Izannah Walker's work.   This doll has been sanded too much and I might lose what I have here in the next stage of painting.  If I do, so be it.   But  I wanted to capture it with the camera in case I lose it  This doll started off looking like one of my sisters as a girl and then morphed into one of my friends from young adulthood.  Amazing how much we carry around other people's likenesses in our heads.  
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Day 26 of 31 Days of Art:
Making Art and Painting with Kids

The Painted House  wrote a great post on Tips for Painting With Children.   So go there.  She's done such a wonderful job writing this!  I may do a follow-up documentation on art-making here at home later.   TPH makes it very clear that in order for art to be part of our kids' lives there has to be a place to do it.  The dining room table won't make for worry-free expression for the kids or parent. 

Here are two artworks by my older son:




Here are some pictures my younger son has made a while ago:


When he was two, above.


When he was eight.  He has a great sense of humor.


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Day 25 of 31 Days of Art:
Originality in Art



“Don't worry about your originality.
You couldn't get rid of it 
even if you wanted to. 
It will stick with you 
and show up for better or worse 
in spite of all you or anyone else can do.”


~Robert Henri 




The Art Spirit by Robert Henri is a worthwhile book to read if you're an artist.  It is filled, FILLED, with profound statements like the one above which really makes you think.   We all search for (or against) our originality.   Sometimes we want to shuck it like 1970's bell bottoms and other times we search for it high and low.   We can't shuck it.  We are who we are and it comes out in our artwork.    We have to learn to work with it.   

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Day 24 of 31 Days of Art:
Be Inspired by Dead People


Milton Avery, 1944, Autumn

Dead artists don't send cease and desist letters.  So if you want to copy another's work to learn from, choose a dead artist.  Preferably someone who lived a hundred years or more ago.  Five hundred is even better.  Hello, Pieter Bruegel the Elder!
  
Copying paintings is a way to learn. This is a time honored tradtiion.  At art museums, students copy famous paintings hanging on the wall.  The National Gallery of Art even has a "copyist" program.  If you have a chance to see paintings in person, take it!   Seeing paintings live shows you texture and brush-stroke patterns you won't see in a photo.   The image above is a good example.  I would love to look at this painting from an angle.  Some museums will allow you to take photos of master works, and this can be a great opportunity to study the details of a painting later.  Take pictures from unusual angles that will show shadows of brushstrokes.



Milton Avery, 1944, Two Figures at Desk

What can we learn by copying someone else's work?  Depending on the artist you choose, you can learn about

composition
color choices
line
shape
subject matter
history

We have a lot of images of master works at our fingertips.   Seeing a photograph is not the same as seeing an actual painting, but we can still learn a lot about composition and color, if not brush stroke.   So choose an artist (I'm choosing Milton Avery) and copy one of their works. Type in the artist's name in the search bar, and then click on images in the search result.    Choose a painting and copy it.  Then try to make an original painting in the style of that artist.   It's like getting dressed up for the prom, maybe you won't ever wear the dress again, but it's fun to wear something different.  Then you can hang that "style" back in the closet after your learning session.

Milton Avery, 1954, Bicycle Rider by the Loire

What do we do with the copied painting?  Ah, ethics.   You can display it with  a clear label that says "after Milton Avery" or whatever your chosen artist's name is.   Sign your name and then clearly state on the back it's "after" which means inspired by that artist.   I wouldn't feel good about selling a painting that's a copy of someone else's work, dead or alive.
  
If you want to see more images of Milton Avery's work, visit It's About Time.  He hasn't been dead a hundred years, but I have no plans to sell any of my copied paintings.  They're purely about learning.


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Day 23 of 31 Days of Art: Tomato Boy Act II


So Tomato Boy is taking shape.  He is a smaller canvas.   It's obviously still wet. I used the Golden Open Acrylics and I'm starting to get the hang of them.   I need to let this dry for a few days and then see what I want to do on it.  As is usual, some things are a bit better, and other things get lost.   In the painting below he looks more satisfied.  In the one above he looks more like he's on a secret mission.   

Before Open Acrylics Session


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Day 22 of 31 Days of Art:
Tried the Golden Open Acrylics


I finally broke open the Golden Open Acrylics and painted on the abstract panel.  I decided it needed more definition and went with a more map-like feeling.  This is still an experimentation panel and I don't like it so well, but on the other hand I'm learning a lot.   I want to try use these paints more before I give a review.  Here's where this painting panel has come from:


Then I primed it red.


His ego needed deflating.



But then he was boring.
So I primed it red again.


I decided to make it more map like
 and less landscape like.  


The painting is not better 
but I am having fun playing.



One thing I did like about the Open Acrylics was that I could scrub a thin layer of paint into the canvas panel and then wipe away areas, make some areas darker like I used to do a long time ago with oil/turpentine washes.   It creates a good way to do an underpainting to show darks and lights.
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Day 21 of 31 Days of Art:
Is sharing dirty dishes
the same as airing dirty laundry?


Is sharing dirty dishes the same as airing dirty laundry?

The color and forms are kind of pretty.  
Especially if you squint.
And dirty dishes are beautiful when they're in the dishwasher.  
Squint your eyes.


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Day 20 of 31 Days of Art: No Art Today

I made no art today.  Unless comforting a child who has lost an important person from their life is art.  Unless folding a favorite shirt so it has no wrinkles is art.  Unless buying wacky colored vegetables at the health food store is an art.

I made no art, but I did think about art.  Tomorrow's another day.
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Day 19 of 31 Days of Art: Paints and Palettes


Tonight, after the kids are in bed, before I take the dog out for the last time, I will watch TV and paint at the same time.  Preferably HGTV.  Best of all worlds.  This means cleaning off the kitchen counter to use as a painting area.  Good goal!  

I will break open the Golden Open Acrylic starter set I found when cleaning out my studio.  I'm excited to try them out and will write a review later in this series.  Open acrylics are touted to be THE solution for those who love the characteristics of oil paint but want to live a life without solvents and chemicals.  Regular acrylics dry fast, and this can work FOR you, but it works against you if you like to paint in a more blended way.



My palette - This is my favorite.  It's  tinfoil over hardboard panel.  When the paint dries I can just take the tin foil off the hardboard underneath and toss it.  This is a good solution when you're not going to be putting gobs of paint out.   If you're going to be putting gobs of paint out....
an Air Tight Palette is a great solution.  You spritz your paints with water before sealing them up for painting another time.  This works like a big Tupperware container.  I've had mine long time.   It came with some fancy stay-wet palettes that were supposed to keep acrylic paint viable longer.   I didn't like those!

Cut a piece of foam-core so it fits snugly inside of the container bottom and top with a piece of glass the same size as the foam core.  Tape around the edges with packing tape so that the glass and foam core are one unit.  IN this way, after the paint has dried, a straight razor blade easily scrapes the paint off the glass.



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Day 18 of 31 Days of Art:
Drawing on Pictures of Your Work


Remember Tomato Boy?   I need to change some things on this painting. Instead of slogging away for hours with paint, at this point I print off some smaller scaled copies of the painting and play around with pencils on top of the printed copies.


Taking pictures of your work in process is important.  You will see things that you didn't see while painting. For one thing, the shape of his mask is off.  In the thumbnail prints above, I see that if I make his shirt black he will look too much like a priest, and that is just a weird image to contemplate - Masked Tomato Man Priest.  NO.   So I think I will keep his shirt white or  paint it another color and then make the mask black or another color.   Or make his shirt a color and keep the mask white.   Or change both to colors.  Time to print off a bunch and pull out my colored pencils while I wait for one of my sons at the dentist.

Abstract Painting Update:  I printed off pictures of this as well.  Using a plain old pencil, I experimented with darkening some areas.  



Sometimes I write notes to myself on these in process thumbnails of paintings.  If I hate it I can easily toss the idea.   And I haven't wasted hours and hours and gallons of paint trying an idea out.   Pssst.  You can do this with home interiors as well.  It's great fun.  Take a picture of a room you want to change and color on it with crayons.  I did that with exterior pictures of my house before we had it sided in red vinyl siding. 





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Day 17 of 31 Days of Art: Abstract Painting



After I worked on Tomato Boy I had a lot of paint left on my palette.  Since the paint would have dried on the palette anyway I used it abstractly on a large panel.   If it were the kind of panel I could cut with a saw I would slice the painting in half as is cropped above.  Here's the whole panel below.  I like some of the colorations and movements but everything's too close to the same value so it needs to have some darker values put in.   But still, I like some of the spots.   The crop above shows some of the mark-making.


Oh, and here's Tomato Boy below.
I'm not sure how I will change him.
Either the mask needs to change color
or the shirt needs to change color. 

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Day 16 of 31 Days of Art:
Starting Over Again


All the same painting panel...
which started with a brown gesso base.





And now...Tomato Boy in process.
This is the first blocking in 
after a pencil sketch.


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Day 15 of 31 Days of Art:
Managing the Beginner's Blues

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

I replaced the original Youtube video showing Ira Glass with the transcipt.


The Beginner's Blues.   

Are they avoidable?

Ira Glass, of This American Life, talks about the gap for developing artists between what you envision and what you're actually able to do in the beginning.  I wrote about this in sharing why I cried in art school.  Watch the clip above, because Ira Glass has some encouragement for those of us who are in the beginning of our craft.

Seth Godin talks about the beginner's blues in his post about The Red Zone.  Read his post, it sheds some light on the ups and downs of creativity and meeting goals.  The red zone is that area where the hassle to  learn to do the thing exceeds the joy of doing it.  I call this time the beginner's blues.  Seth says you need someone just over the summit of the learning curve who is an encouragement to you - that shows you it can be done.  These are the "green dots" who help keep you fixed on the idea that your goal is do-able.  They give you the energy to do the heavy work needed in the early stages of the learning curve.

Even seasoned artists can get The Beginner's Blues.   Especially if you're trying some new materials and techniques.  It's GOOD to be a beginner.  It brings an element of humility to your work.  The works show the creative struggle a bit more. You discover new perspectives along the way.


In what way are you a beginner?

Is there someone who is a green dot for you?




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Day 14 of 31 Days of Art:
Tomato Girl Is Taking Shape

  

While I don't take commissions I DO take suggestions.  The girl above is a suggestion.  She still has a long way to go.  Someone saw the other masked tomato girl in the sideline and asked if I would make a painting like that.  I said, "I'll try to make something in the spirit of that but it will not be a direct copy."  

I don't commit to timelines because it stresses me out.  It's just the way I am.   My life can be unpredictable and I hate feeling like I'm letting someone down if I'm really slow.  Some people are really good about waiting for the suggested works to be done and they're the kind of people that I feel like are my partners in art.  

Here's what the above tomato girl looked like before painting session #3. She still needs work.  It's important to stop and let things dry and come back with fresh eyes.   Sometimes what I do is print out the picture of the work in progress and write on the print what I think needs to be fixed.  As you work, you lose some things you like and you gain some things as well.  It's an interesting give and take process.  You never feel done, you just find a point that feels okay to stop.



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"Do not let what you cannot do
keep you from doing what you can do."

John Wooden