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Color Play

Yesterday Rachel and I spent a little time in the studio playing with color. No set project, no goal in mind, no rules to follow. Just creamy colorful play.

The idea for this color play came from Michelle Ward and Crusades #54 and #53

These Crusades encouraged you to mix your own colors and then name them. Or take the approach of having a name and then designing/mixing a color to match it.

Rachel and I did both. We started with our names.

Here is 'Rachel' the color:

Rachel is a huge fan of blue. So she pulled out Manganese Blue Hue, Cobalt Teal, and Quinacridone Crimson to create Rachel!

Here is 'Jackie' the color:

I can not say it enough, I LOVE ORANGE, so I pulled out the Quinacridone / Nickel Azo Gold, Indian Yellow Hue, Quinacridone Crimson, and a little Titan Buff to make Jackie!!

After the name play we just started experimenting with color and named them after we were done.

Here is "I am a delicious pizza" (This of course has to be said in the voice from the old Mac Ad). 

This color was really the result from what was left over after mixing Jackie. 

And here is "Pea Brain"

Our last color of the day, with the best name..."Munged Leaves"

We had a great time swirling color and coming up with names. Each color had many names along the way and it just kept getting funnier and funnier. Laughter, light, and love poured through the studio yesterday and it made my heart very happy.

Once the creative play was over we took our brains on color to Art Media for a little color shopping.

100 Pieces of Art

A couple of months ago I was reading this blog post by Kelly Rae Roberts and was struck by the paragraph where she talks about the hundreds of paintings that she was looking through for a project she was working on.

I stopped and imagined what it would be like to have piles of your work surrounding you, giving you a glimpse into your journey as an artist. How amazing to have so much of your heart and soul poured out into the world.

I decided that for 2011 I would set a goal to create 100 pieces of art. As with all creative things I do, it is a "no rules" goal. The art can be any size, any medium (although photos alone won't count, 100 photos happens daily around here), any technique, any style. Let the art fit the mood.

Now with the 100 piece goal stated, I do have to say that I am less focused on the exact number of pieces that are created and more with the goal of incorporating art making into my daily routine.

Right now I will have fits of creating and then take several days sometimes weeks before I create again. I want to change that pattern. Some days are just not art inspired, but those are perfect days to paint backgrounds or prep surfaces.

A few things I will do to help reach my goal:

• Keep a sketchbook, journal, notebook, or napkin with me at all times to capture ideas
• Snap photos of light, pattern, texture, and color
• Slow life down, give myself time to sit at my studio table and pour out what is inside
• Take daily walks to connect with my creative energy
• Keep the word perfection away from the studio

Pictured above are the four latest pieces to come off the studio table and patiently wait to find a new home on our walls. Once I get them sealed and hung I will include individual pictures of each piece on Flickr.  

The next six pieces are on the table...

My Studio

When we set out to downsize I knew that two rooms would need the most attention , the kitchen and my studio.

As it turned out, the kitchen was easy to downsize. I didn't use three fourths of the stuff anyway (rather have my hands in paint than food!), so off to donation it went. 

The studio however was a challenge. Could I really live without my pounds of paper? What about my piles of material? Oh and my dear treasured art books? No way was I leaving behind any of my precious paints! What would I do?

The answer came in an afternoon visit to IKEA. Storage boxes in our EXPEDIT shelving units. The best part about using these shelves was that we had them setup at the house, so as I filled the boxes with all sorts of goodies from the studio I could place them in the shelves and know for sure that everything was going to fit. To my surprise I was able to find room for all of the supplies I wanted to keep and still have a little (very little) room to grow.

  

This solution was easy to setup and easy to unpack, but would it be easy to use? That was my concern after setting up my new space.

  
After three months of working in my new studio I have discovered all sorts of interesting facts about the way I create:

• I LOVE having my supplies labeled and stored neatly near my studio table. To answer my own question, yes these boxes and my new storage system are easy to use!
• Having my studio right in the heart of our home is heaven. I wasn't sure about this setup when we first moved in. I am a messy artist, how would that work when everyone was living in my creative space? Amazingly well is the answer. I now spend twice as much time creating, I can get a layer painted while cooking dinner (makes meal prep WAY more fun too!), or changing out a load of laundry, or chatting with the family.
• Cutting down on the studio clutter makes it so much easier to create. I did get rid of supplies, but I couldn't tell you what they were since I haven't missed them yet!
• Having natural light where you create is amazing. Plus it is fun to people watch as the paint dries.
• I do not need a big space or a special "studio" room to enjoy creating art. A small corner of the living room works great for me. Less fuss more art, yay for small spaces!

You can see more pictures of our living/dining/studio room here.

CHAP

A few months ago I was reading through the Bolt Blog and they mentioned a group called CHAP. As I read the post, I was very excited to hear that such a wonderful organization existed. 

Children's Healing Art Project, CHAP, is an organization that brings healing to children through art. They work with several hospitals in this area and have teachers that travel around sharing art and love with families that have children dealing with illness, disease, and trauma. The teachers help these kids express their feelings and bring back the wonder of childhood and maybe for just a little while forget their surroundings and the trials they face everyday.

Frank Etxaniz is the man behind all of the creative fun and amazing community involvement. He has a big heart and loves creating opportunities for kids to share their art with the world.

In addition to the hospital work, CHAP has an Art Factory where anyone can come in and create a masterpiece, paint on the fort, or cover their world in glitter. This is where I spend two mornings a week. I get to help support a wonderful organization while listening to the sounds of creative art happening in the background. How cool is that?

Best place I have ever worked! I come home with my heart filled with all that is good about humankind and my clothes dusted with glitter!

CHAP has many programs to bring art and healing to the community. Check out their website to get completely immersed into the world of CHAP!
 

New Art

I am a color girl and one of the hardest parts about renting is the lack of color on the walls.  In fact, my Dad referred to my last house as "the circus". What can I say, color makes me happy. As soon as I had my studio table up and the paints unpacked I began this painting for over our bed.

The inspiration came from the pillows that I bought awhile back at Target. Dark chocolate and ice blue, make my heart extra happy. I picked the dark chocolate because it is the same color as our pooch. This way Elden has no way of knowing when the dog takes a little afternoon siesta with me!!! 

The painting is layered with acrylic paint, india ink, and golden mediums. Wish the camera could capture the depth of layers. 

Feels so good to have splashes of color filling our new space.

Art Outside

There are times when it is just more fun to create outside. While it may not be convenient to haul everything out of the studio, it sure is worth it to hear the birds chirping and watch the butterflies play as you create. This canvas trio began as an outdoor creation and will always remind me of the afternoon spent with my daughter in free play.

It began as a simple collage. I then drew lines for each of the areas and painted with different colors to give the first layer some contrast.
   

I then added more bold color to give some depth and even more contrast. I continued to add color and texture using acrylic paint, oil and chalk pastels, and several different texture tools (scrapers, bubble wrap, & corrugated cardboard).
   

When all of the layers were done and I was happy with the texture and color balance I coated each piece with clear tar gel and painted the edges of the canvas to complete the series.
Not all of the painting was done that afternoon in our backyard, but for me, this will always be the art outside series. It will remind me of the simple days of summer when we had all the time to create and play.

You can see a bit of my process for the series in this video. 

Finished Claybord Quartet

Last week I shared in this post, the layered steps for my claybord project. All four of the pieces are now finished and hung up on the wall to enjoy. I love when a piece comes off the table and can become part of our home.

Since these boards are lightweight, they are very easy to hang. I use adhesive mounting putty on each of the four corners and simply push it to the wall. The putty allows me to manipulate the piece slightly to correctly position it on the wall, which is a huge frustration saver when hanging a series. Plus I don't have to worry about leaving marks on the wall if I want to move it later.

Here is the series in place....

 

Claybord Love

While attending my first year at Artfest I fell in love with the work of an incredible artist, Mary Beth Shaw. She creates these wonderful abstract, texture galore, color rich designs on claybord. They made my heart happy. 

My second year at Artfest I took a class with Mary Beth, oh joy of joys it was fabulous and I am quite addicted to these claybords. I have a little (well, medium....OK large) stash of them just waiting for the creative muses to come alive.

Last week I started a project with 4-6X6 Ampersand 1/8" Claybords.

Here the claybords are etched and collaged with a geometric design.

Next, I added chalk pastels in bright colors for a good base

 

Then I added fluid acrylics and airbrush paint for more texture

Another coat of fluid acrylics, then it was time to take off a few layers with alcohol and re-etch the lines. Finally I used India Ink to make the etched lines black and coated the whole piece with clear tar gel for a high gloss finish.

    

I have three of the four pieces completed. When they are all done I will take a picture and share how the collection looks together. 

I love adding the many layers and watching them reveal again as the top layers move around when the alcohol is applied. A very organic look to each piece and even though this is a series, no two are the same.

To see a little more of the process you can check out this video.

iPad Art

A few weeks ago we added to our technology family with an iPad. I am in love. Such a simple design and so easy to carry everywhere. My laptop is feeling a little lonely lately. She used to seem so sleek and small but a new baby has moved in and stolen my heart.

As with all of my technology, I seek out ways to use it in my art. With the iPad, I just found ArtStudio. Wow, pretty amazed at how many tools and options this app has available. After just a few minutes of play I created....

A similar look and feel as a piece currently on my easel. Quick, fun digital mixed-media style images. 

Check out this flickr group to see some amazing art created using ArtStudio.

Now to pull away from technology and get to work on some new journals. Look for a store update at the end of the week!

Collaboration

It is amazing how much I missed having a personal blog, so glad to be back posting here again.

The last few days I have been crazy busy in the studio. It has been so much fun. The kind of days where you lose track of time and are amazed when you see that it is getting dark outside. Each project has been a collaboration with a different artist. From small journals to big canvas projects they have each been a great way to get messy and create chaos in the studio. Every surface, including the floor is covered with bits and pieces. It will probably take weeks before things are put back to normal, so for now I am learning to move the piles aside to keep working. Why clean when I can create!!!!

Thanks for coming back to the blog!