fishy, fishy

I know, I need to do more. More art work, perhaps less job searching! The job searching thing is bringing me down, way down. 
But I have some artwork to post so that makes me feel happier :) 
I worked on a piece for my husband for Valentines day which took quite a while to do but since he was out of town for the weekend, I was able to work on it freely! It is one of the most detailed pieces I have done. I thought the heron on the bookshelf was intense but this took the place of that intensity! 
Here's a picture of 'in the beginning' : 

It's a Salmon by the way.... 
                    And now for the finish.... 

It has a bit of a shine on it in this photo but I did put a finish just on the burned image, hopefully you can still see the details!  
More to come shortly! 

Beginning to End Bookshelf for the Chair Affair

The table & Chair Affair supporting the Community Warehouse

THURSDAY     MARCH 15, 2012

CASTAWAY   1900 NW 18th Avenue

     Portland, 97209

                              www.communitywarehouse.org/

This year I was invited to participate in the table & Chair Affair which supports the Community Warehouse. A great organization that helps folks to set up house for the first time or after experiencing hardships in life. It's a great place to donate all of the home goods that may not be needed at your house any longer. Towels, sheets, mattresses, toasters, silverware... You get the point! 

As a fund raiser, the warehouse allows artist to come in a pick out a piece of furniture or they can find a piece on their own, alter it in an artistic way and bring it back to be auctioned to raise money to support their efforts. This post is to show the transformation of the bookshelf I picked out and it's progression.

In the beginning, it was an old, way over painted bookshelf. After 2 chemical peels and a day plus of sanding, the wood grain was revealed and inspiration began bubbling. 

I took inspiration from a place I see several times a week, Delta Park Dog park. There is a wetland bird sanctuary located right beside the 'park'. Great Blue Herons, Eagles, multitudes of ducks, hummingbirds, and various other birds inhabit the wetland area. I love watching the birds and observing how the weather and light changes there from season to season. One day while pondering what I should do with the bookshelf a heron passed overhead and landed just a bit away as if to say, "pick me!". So, I did! 

 

I really wanted to capture the essence of what I see at the park with the cat tails, tall grasses and the water. The top of the bookshelf had a gorgeous band of wood grain that I wanted to emphasise and the idea of the wet land played perfectly with that. I began by wood burning the grasses, then went back and painted each blade and then sealed each so the color would show even after painting in the water and sunset. 

 

Moved by an Audubon post to my facebook page regarding how hummingbirds pick the fuzz from cat tails to make a nest, the inspiration for the last panel was born. I chose to put a male and female Anna's hummingbirds on the last side. (Anna's hummingbirds stay in Portland year round!) 

The final step was to put on the grasses. I painted grasses on craft paper, layering red, then greens in long strips I then cut them out and glued them on with matte medium. I will add that I used some blue & black spray paint and black gesso to paint the inside area of the bookshelf. The entire piece was then painted with a satin finish poly acrylic to seal the deal :) Here are the finished pictures, enjoy! 

 

Is it wrong to love it too much?

I'm in love with this drawing.
I can't help it, every time I see it I just want to reach in and scoop this little precious thing up and hold it, pet it, feed it and make it feel loved! But alas, it's on paper so I can only view and enjoy. I sketched it out in pencil, went over the key lines with a waterproof ink and then added color with watercolors. It's called a Bewick's Wren and I see them often hanging out with sparrows and house finches often in the backyard. I have enjoyed them so much because they are so cute!
Since I enjoyed this so much I made one for a friend of mine for his birthday and then drew out another.

This time I cut it out and applied it to a mixed media piece. This is one of those where I wood burned a branch over a background of leaves and stained the board. The paper square in the bottom right is actually a piece of metal covered in paper. I wood burned around it to make an attempt at depth. If I knew how I would have 'carved out' the space and sunk the metal into the board. I made the magnets too which was simple. Those are so easy; just paint a little picture cut out a circle and paste onto the back of one of those glass dots made to be accents in topiary and cut flower arrangements. For the final bit of interest, I used an extra large embossing crystal. I think they are supposed to be melted in a pot and then from what I have read, pour the substance into a form to make clear embellishments. But, I didn't use it that way. Attempting to place them on the leaves, some places it worked and other places not so much but then heated the crystals and the way they melted made it appear as if it were dew on the leaves. So I was happy with that experiment. I think it turned out well and it makes me happy!
Experimenting can turn out some cool stuff don't ya think!?!

Moving Forward... I hope

I have been creating a lot recently and have just a touch left to do on a piece for a show coming up. That means a lot of time in my basement studio which has been chilly but also rewarding. However, it is a must to get out and shake up the thoughts and expectations in order to allow fresh ideas to come to mind. I have stepped quite a bit (WAY) out of my comfort zone this past week because I had things to do and am trying to make contact with other beings. I have been looking for inspiration and motivation for more works.  However, inspiration does not move the obstacles in my way.
There is more to it than that.
I have to face it... I have fears. Everyone has fears and to be sure, I do not stand alone in the feelings that make me feel stuck. Pretty much I think there is a fear soup out there and all artist at one time or another have stood knee deep in this bowl. Some will swim in it, some may drown, some may sit on the side with just their feet dangling in it, some will climb out and jump back in from time to time. But the first step is to realize you are in the soup; the soup of fear.
I have  been repeating to myself - "face your fear". Whenever I am feeling stuck (ok - this is really new so please don't get me wrong, I haven't made a habit out of this yet!), so when I get to feeling stuck or even unmotivated I just have to repeat...FACE YOUR FEAR!! Because that is what I feel that is holding me back. It may be a fear of success or fear that what I create won't be perfect or fear that I just wasted time because the creation wasn't good enough...reiterate... fear of success. Eventually, it has to be confronted and then let go. Face the fear, move forward and try.
It's been said many times in many ways... You just don't know until you try and if fear is keeping you from trying then Face It.
I am prepared to be smacked around a bit but I'll let you know how it goes :)

So, that is my thought for now. Anyone else have thoughts on this??

New Year; What next

It's a New Year! But alas, I have been in a fog. A snotty, ear hurting, fatigued, unmotivated fog. Almost like I am not here as in not present; absent from action.

I gave in and went to the Doctor, I couldn't take it any longer. So now I get to take an antibiotic- bummer. I have to get back into life to show up and be excited about it, therefore I have to take the medicine, rest and recover. I sure hope this does not indicate things to come in the new year! 

I have hope and medicine! Cheers to better life to live in 2012!! 

Basement Artist Studio

What started as 'I need to clean up my space' turned into a two day total clean out/up of my basement Art Space! I cleaned off every shelf vacuumed up every spider carcass as well as a few live ones and rearranged the furniture a dozen times before settling on this set up.

Our basement is concrete and two years ago my husband with a little help from me, cleaned out the space and painted a lovely yellow color. I have taken the liberty of 'creating' a separate space by hanging fabric over the area where we store house painting supplies. I used a fabric shower curtain that we used at previous residence yet I still loved, to shield my eyes from the shelves that house cleaning supplies. This gives a nice backdrop to the book shelves and still allows any natural light that may come in through the tiny basement window. I employed a piece of peg board to hold lots of scissors and other items I would like visible and handy!

A friend who has moved to Idaho left behind this tall table so I wanted to find a way to use it in my space. I think this works! You can see the peg board and wheelie carts that I use to hold more stuff to create with. Eventually I will clean those out too! Behind the long table was an awkward space due to the way the concrete was poured long ago with a 'shelf'. It's about 2 and a half feet deep and runs the perimeter of the basement. I used metal shelf units to allow me to stack clear boxes with supplies; easier to reach and see through so I know what is in them. 

I also have rolly carts which house paints, pencils, pastels, and tools for my work; this works well because I can roll them closer or move them if needed. I have used metal garden pots that are about two feet tall to house rolls of paper and reused the bottom of a box to hold up larger papers and boards there in the corner. The lighter area there with bars... that is the other window in the basement. You can see I have a power strip which hangs from the ceiling and have attached lights to the rafters. My mom contributed a string of LED lights which are on a battery I have those hanging from the ceiling also. 

Here's another picture which shows the box organization station a bit better. Though in the picture it still appears cluttered, it is actually quite organized and currently spider free :) 

Now that I have a clean space I can't wait to get in and dirty it up by creating some wonderful art!! 

Hope to post some soon!! 

Until next time....

Simple

Wow, the weekend is gone already? Here in Portland we are experiencing a spell of cold but no rain! Joy!!! Ok, perhaps its a groovy thing that I am enjoying but in terms of futures it is probably not such a good thing; snow pack = water for the summer months. But I have to admit I have really been digging the sun and being able to enjoy the backyard.
I am totally guilty of getting lost in the backyard. Not that it is oh so big but because it's sooooo enjoyable! And it was so active over the weekend. All kinds of birds visited and honestly they bring me such joy!! It's like having a flock of friends :) The backyard is where I gain A LOT of inspiration for the art work I have been working on for the Big 200 which opens December 10th at Pioneer Place Mall. I managed to take a few pictures for when it's rainy and I can't get out to enjoy the birds like I like to!

This one is the Golden Crown Sparrow... any wonder why? Hee hee!!

And here is one of my favorite subjects - the Hummingbird! Anna's Hummingbirds stay in Portland year round so I keep feeders out year round! I pull in at least one feeder at night and return it in the morning, it has been getting colder and colder overnight and I would hate for them to wake up and have frozen food for breakfast! (that and I worry, I mean in the Christmas Story that kid gets his tongue stuck to a pole... hummingbirds have long tongues and I wouldn't want to see one get stuck to a feeder!!)
So I had promised a few more pict's of the works done for the art show, now you have a glimpse of what inspires here's a few more of the 8x8's -

Hummingbird and flower; wood burned and then painted

Song Sparrows in flight

Nuthatch on a tree, I love the background on this one too!!

Another Hummingbird; wood burned and then painted.

I will save the others until next time, don't want to blow out all the picts in one post!!
These are the little ones that inspire me to attempt to capture the small joys and pleasure that comes from viewing nature in my backyard. Consider something that brings you small joys that you see everyday and share them with me!
Until next time, enjoy the Sun!!