collage journeys

Encaustics Workshop with Daniella Woolf

2012-01-30T11:23:00.000-05:00

I am just back from a five-day encaustics workshop. What an experience! If you do not know what encaustics is, go here or here. The workshop was given by Daniella Woolf through North Country Studio Workshops at Bennington College. Unbelievable group - the students AND the teacher were all accomplished artists with a lot of inspiration to offer.

One very cool thing with encaustic is doing collage on paper. We did a group collage in which every student made one horizontal collage piece, and then we assembled them as a hanging scroll. Here is Daniella Woolf and Wen Redmond (do check her out!!) assembling the scroll:

And the finished scroll hanging in the window overlooking the back field.

Here is the first stage of a self-portrait I did, as I am in the midst of my online class "Exploring the Self-Portrait". I drew directly onto the wax (encaustic medium over paper laminated to a plywood panel) with china marker:

I was not too thrilled with the mouth, so after scraping it off, I applied a coat of white encaustic paint mixed with a lot of medium over the whole thing. then I cut out another mouth from one of my sketchbook drawings, and applied it with medium. I added a few more details in graphite, and built up color and a bit of collage on either side of the face.

Here are a couple other photos from the workshop:

Another 8"x8" panel, "Ink and O's"

This untitled piece is on a panel coated with plaster.

This piece has many layers of wax as well as encaustic collage:

"Shino"
Shino is a kind of traditional Japanese ceramic glaze, some beautiful examples of which I found here. The Alizarin Orange coming through the white wax reminded me of this glaze:

"Cruciform with Rust"

"Red Square 2"

"Red Square 1"

My work space

R&F Paints provided a vast array of encaustic paints and medium.

I am so grateful to North Country Studio Workshops for granting me a scholarship to take this fabulous, life-changing workshop!! I know it will enrich my work, and I hope it will enrich my teaching. I am also grateful to Daniella Woolf for being so generous with her knowledge and resources. She has two fabulous instructional DVD's available, which you can purchase here.

Sketchbook Practice Online

2012-01-21T12:03:00.000-05:00

I've been having a ball with my Sketchbook Practice workshop here in Vermont, and enough of you expressed interest in an online version that I am now offering that as well, starting on April 4. We will do some drawing practice, collage doodles, ink doodles, self-portraits, and generally give our ideas room to percolate and play.

Give your art practice a boost this spring and join The Sketchbook Practice Workshop online. Or just get out your sketchbook, make a pot of tea, and draw something, play with paint, collage, or explore the media of your choice. See my tutorials or The Sketchbook Challenge Tutorials, or just go to the Sketchbook Challenge blog for some inspiration.

Fabulous Work from Students

2012-01-17T15:08:00.013-05:00

As you may know, I am teaching my online class "Exploring the Self-Portrait" now, and I'm thrilled with some of the work the students are doing! We've got a really talented and lively group, so I wanted to share some of the images.

We've worked with ink on the end of a pipe cleaner:

Drawing and collage:

Drawing, painting and collage:

One-liner drawings:

Watercolor wet in wet:
In our sketchbooks:

And we are not half done yet! Every morning I wake up looking forward to seeing the new posts and comments. This was not meant to be an Inner Self kind of workshop, but inevitably one makes self-discoveries when doing self-portraits. I will be offering this online workshop again starting June 6. Meanwhile, enjoy the eye candy, and try a few self-portraits just for fun!

I am also offering The Sketchbook Practice Workshop online, starting April 4. More about that in another post.

Ink Doodles

2012-01-14T08:00:00.002-05:00

This month's theme on the Sketchbook Challenge is Doodling, so I've been challenging my own thoughts on the topic. You may have seen my post on Collage Doodles on the Sketchbook Challenge.

I particularly liked Lyric Kinard's post in which she raises the question: is it a doodle or a sketch? I question the value of doodling when you know where you are going with it. If your goal is to fill in a particular shape with a particular repeated mark, then where is the effort? Where is the challenge that brings you someplace new? I wouldn't claim that this is not valuable at all - it may be soothing, calming, and relaxing, and thus have therapeutic value - but you get a lot more bang for your creative buck when you don't know where you are going, and you "doodle" to find out.

Off my soap box now, here is a video on how I did a couple of ink doodles:

Here is the ink doodle over collage in the first example:

And then I wrecked it with some paint. I mean, I like the original one better, but this is my sketchbook and I am trying new stuff. At some point I will add more to this page, but that's not important now.

And here is the second example from the video:

This ink doodle was done over a long forgotten page in my sketchbook. Looks like and abandoned random collage.

And after playing around with a bit of paint:

Go to The Sketchbook Challenge to see more examples of my ink doodles, and check out the other posts about doodling.

Working Large

2012-01-12T14:55:00.025-05:00

Even though I get a real charge out of large pieces (large for me is anything over 11"x15"), and I promise myself I will try some, I never seem to really do it. Why? I'm a professional, after all, and pretty good at meeting self-imposed goals. So what is stopping me?

I had the opportunity to consult with a creativity coach, Marianne Mullen at Awaken Creativity, so I thought I'd see what light she could shed on this issue. I must admit to a tiny bit of skepticism going in to the phone conversation. I mean, I've been doing art a LONG time, and what could a creativity coach see that I am missing? Asking for help is not always easy.

Now coaching is not therapy, so I don't know what deeper issues are connected to my seeming inability to work large. But Marianne absolutely NAILED the practical problems, and before the day was out I'd begun reorganizing a piece of my studio in order to work larger. I have a second-floor studio under a gable roof, so there isn't much vertical wall space. What there is is covered with my book cases.

So first I moved my book cases, which were between these two windows:

In this photo you can see the book cases at the near end of my work table, and the sheet of homasote I am priming (I will attach it to the wall).

And here is the homasote attached to the wall (drywall screws into the studs framing the window). I primed the homasote on both sides, attached it to the wall, and then applied a coat of white latex paint.
OK. Now I have one area to work on a vertical surface, which I think is what I need to work large. I need to be able to step back from a large piece to view it, which isn't really practical on a table surface. But I also want a vertical wall on which to hang works in progress, or as an additional work surface so I can work on at least two pieces at once. So I thought I'd build a little wall perpendicular to this front gable wall. Here is the space, just to the right of the right window:

So I built a wall, leaving a little space at the top and bottom so that the space behind it isn't completely cut off from daylight. This is minimal framing, as the wall doesn't need to carry much weight. Again, I used homasote (primed) for the wall surface.

Now I can hang works in progress and really SEE them:

And here is the very beginning of my first large piece, 22"x30". I may not finish this one, but I am using it as a playground to figure out other logistics of working large. I can see already that I need a little more table space in the work area, and I've ordered some larger brushes, brayers, and palettes. I will keep you posted.

Just to be clear, I did not do this all in a day. I had my coaching session early in December and just built the wall yesterday. In between I did just a little bit at a time - got the homasote (cut the the desired sizes), primed it, got the 2x4 studs and cut those... holidays intervened, as did work... and so forth. One little step at a time (and there are many more ahead!), and I feel now that I have the tools to work large. We'll see what happens!

Marianne asked a lot of questions and quickly narrowed down my problem to something tangible and practical that I could start on TODAY. This coaching session was SO valuable, and I will definitely make use of what Awaken Creativity has to offer next time I hit a road block.

Paper on Wood Panel

2012-01-06T20:55:00.006-05:00

When I posted about my show at Gallery 47, some of you asked if I could do a demonstration on how to mount works-on-paper, like my collages, on wood panel, like these pieces below:

So now that my Dick Blick order has arrived, including a bunch of birch wood cradled panels, I did a little video to show you how simple this mounting technique is. It is a lot cheaper than framing, too, and gives your piece the kind of heft and object-quality of a piece on panel or canvas. So here is that video:

And here is the panel weighted by a stack of heavy books:

You can, of course, work directly on the birch panels, but I like working on paper and then selectively mounting pieces as there is a demand for showing them. They are easier to store on paper, and I feel more free to play and make a mess. I hope you find this useful!

2012 Sketchbook Challenge

2012-01-02T18:19:00.006-05:00

I'm sure that many of you are aware of The Sketchbook Challenge, a blog that I co-host with a fabulous group of artists, and the brain child of Sue Bleiweiss. Well, we're in for another year of monthly themes, tutorials, artist profiles, and creative inspiration.

We've heard from a few of our 2011 readers that they have compiled their sketches from the challenge. Take a look at Alarmcat Studio, who spread out all her work from the Sketchbook Challenge 2011 themes:

And Linda Kittmer's Sketchbook Challenge Journal:

We have two new hosts for The Sketchbook Challenge this year: Pam Carriker and Susan Brubaker Knapp. I look forward to seeing more of their work!

January's Sketchbook Challenge theme is Doodling, by Diana Trout. What a fun way to ease into your 2012 sketchbook practice!

We also have an updated Tutorials page with loads of free instructions on drawing, textile arts, book arts, and way way more.

So check it out, and participate if you like, or just ogle the eye candy on our flickr site.

Happy new year!

2012 Retreats

2011-12-31T09:20:00.006-05:00

If you are considering an art retreat for 2012, or even if you aren't, I'm thrilled to announce that I will be teaching at a few:

In July, I will be teaching at CREATE, hosted by Interweave Press, in Somerset, NJ:

Wednesday, July 18, Fabric-Paper, 9 - 4
Wednesday, July 18, Fusion Fabric, 6 - 9
Thursday, July 19, Unbinding the Visual Journal, 9 - 4
Thursday, July 19, Scribble Paint, 6 - 9

Registration opens sometime in January.

In August I'm returning to Art Unraveled in Phoenix:

Sunday, August 5, Fabric-Paper
Monday, August 6, Plaster and Wax

Registration opens January 15.

I'll be returning to Art and Soul in October:

Monday, October 1, Abstract Landscape
Tuesday, October 2, Plaster and Wax

Registration is open NOW!

Collage Journeys in Vermont will take place here in Rupert, August 14 - 18 (Tue. - Sat.). I will have the description and registration sometime in January - don't worry, I will certainly blog about it!

More Self-Portrait Experiments

2011-12-26T14:41:00.007-05:00

Here are a couple of experimental pieces I did in my sketchbook using the blind self-portrait one-liner drawings I did a couple of weeks ago.

One thing I love doing in my sketchbook is to put down at least two different things that will be a challenge to reconcile. On the page below I cut out and glued one of my blind self portraits. I knew I wanted to work on heavier paper, which is why I did not work on the original drawing, done in a light weight sketchbook. After applying some washes of color, I collaged some found and altered images as well as found text down in the lower left.

Now what? Well, I don't know. That's part of the fun. I looked back at my sketchbook and found this:
...which inspired the heavy black oil pastel lines, and also the color scheme.

In the piece below, I was just playing with my water soluble colored pencils. This is a new material for me, and I'm not yet comfortable with it. So why not just play with it in my sketchbook?

I do look as if I've been in a brawl, but it was fun trying to create a more spare image using the colored pencils than I usually do with paint and collage, and to try out new colors.

Exploring the Self-Portrait, my newest online course, begins January 2.

I'm offering Unlocking the Secrets of Color again, beginning January 4.

Get the new year off to a creative start!

Sketchbook Practice Workshop

2011-12-19T07:46:00.010-05:00

I am so excited to be offering a Sketchbook Practice workshop at the Northshire Book Store in Manchester, Vermont, starting January 10th!! The idea for this has been sloshing around in my psyche for a few months now, and it has finally come together.

Give your inner artist a little breathing room this year beginning with The Sketchbook Practice Workshop. You will get a creative workout, but in a relaxed, supportive setting, where experimentation and play are encouraged.

Read the rest of the description here.

We will draw:

Paint:

Collage:
Combine techniques:

And PLAY!

I know most of you reading this blog are nowhere near Manchester, Vermont, but let me know if you are interested in an online version. It is something I would like to try later in 2012.

One-Liner Blind Self-Portraits

2011-12-15T10:53:00.008-05:00

You just can't make this stuff up! I did these with fine-point marker in my sketchbook, looking in the mirror, NOT at the paper, and did not lift the pen off the paper (or hardly at all).

I love the unpredictability of these, how each one is unique. I wonder what happens if you do ten blind self-portraits in a row in one sitting? Or blind self-portraits and then self-portraits looking at your paper, or the other way around. What does that do to your hand-eye coordination?

What happens if you begin at the hairline, or at the nose, or the ear?For this one I switched hands. I guess I'm more comfortable drawing left-handed, and this one is with my right:
I decided to try one that is not a one-liner, and my right cheek ended up in left field:Stay tuned and I will post the follow-up. We'll be doing plenty of blind self-portraits in my online workshop: Exploring the Self-Portrait.

Paint-Collage-Line

2011-12-13T15:11:00.007-05:00

Thanks for all your comments on my Gallery 47 show! I will post a how-to on the wood panels as soon as I get my next order from Dick Blick. Meanwhile, I wanted to show you some recent sketchbook output. I was looking at a few images of Kurt Nimmo, one of my favorites on Flickr. Inspired by the spareness of his work, I decided to play with the idea of paint-collage-line. Each piece has at least one paint application (and not much more), one piece of collage, and a linear element. These are made in the spirit of the JOY of creating!

I used a brayer to apply Baltic Green (Liquitex), then spritzed and blotted it, first letting the water drip down the page a bit. The collage is a bit of mono-print; and the line is a blind scribble.

More Baltic Green, plus quinacridone gold (Golden Fluid Acrylics) and some gray. Mono-print collage, and graphite scribble.

The paints here are Van Dyke Brown and Quinacridone Burnt Orange with a tad of Quinacridone Gold, all Golden Fluid Acrylics. The collage is a piece of a paperback cover, and the line is graphite. Plus a little sgraffito in the paint.

Quin Gold, Van Dyke Brown, a piece of book cover, and a line done in pen.

And for the last one I decided just to play with paint.

2011-12-10T10:23:00.006-05:00

Here are a few pictures from my show at Gallery 47 (which does not have a web site yet, or I'd have put a link). I didn't get good pix at the opening, though it was (thankfully!!) well attended. I was too busy chatting. FUN!! Now I am psyched to take more opportunities to show my work - in the flesh as it were.

These pieces are mounted on wood panel:

A few of my 5"x7" pieces, framed in 8"x10"

A couple of larger pieces, 11"x14"; sorry for the glare on the left one.

Also mounted on 10"x10" wood panels. I love this alternative to framing with glass:

Some 8"x10" pieces you've probably seen on the blog or site:

Thanks for visiting!

Self-Portrait Experiments

2011-12-07T07:30:00.000-05:00

For the first lesson in my online Self-Portraits workshop we'll be starting with a photograph and tracing around it. Simple enough, right? I started by taking a few photos of myself using the automatic delay thing on the camera. Then I made them into black and whites in Photoshop, though you could use color photos. For the first two I printed them out light so that the drawing would be emphasized.
Nice how you can draw lines selectively and end up looking twenty years younger!

On this one I printed the photo out without making it lighter. I drew over it and then painted it in black and white, emphasizing my gray hair:

OK, so I look like I'm choking, but it's fun anyway.

Today I added paint, mostly with a brayer.

I used my "spritz and blot" technique (contained in this video) to make the water droplets.

After you get comfortable drawing your face over a photograph, it is much easier to tackle the self-portrait on a blank sheet of paper. And there are all kinds of fun things you can do with your altered photos of yourself!!!

More Sketchbook Output

2011-12-05T19:11:00.005-05:00

These are in the spirit of Peace, this week's theme from CCP Videos' Holiday Paint Out.

Just a little sketchbook output. Playing around... percolating ideas.

Percolating and Playing

2011-12-03T08:37:00.006-05:00

A comment from one of my Text and Image students inspired me to address the issue of giving ideas time to percolate. Here is what she said about the last lesson, which involved making a series of small collages that tell a story:

[This exercise] reinforced my sense that ideas need time to percolate before being expressed. I had been thinking about the assignment for days, so when I had time to work on it, everything just flowed.

I find I definitely need some percolating time, but this does not mean sitting around doing nothing while waiting for it all to come together seamlessly. For me, it is the struggle that seems to work: I have a few sessions of wrestling (or playing) with ideas and materials, when it all seems so "out there" and unresolved. Then, after a break (usually of working on something else or at least doing a little housekeeping in the studio) I come back to the piece(s) and it DOES all come together.

I used to find this period of unresolved work so frustrating and even debilitating - I was sure I'd never have a worthy idea or make a good piece of art; I was sure that for real artists it can't be nearly this hard or frustrating. Now, however, I have made friends with this part of the creative process, and I consider it fun, playful, and necessary. I embrace the open-ended aspect of it, and I don't worry whether a piece will resolve itself or not.

Playing with Pouring Paint

Since making a regular practice of using my sketchbook, I do lots of playing in it, purposely pushing myself off-balance and mixing things up, posing unsolvable visual questions just for fun! It has made my art practice SO much more enjoyable, and maybe even more productive! I have totally let go of the idea that something has to be resolved and finished, and it has made me more open to taking risks and pushing through the boundaries of habit.

Throwing Myself Off Balance

For daily inspiration to work in your sketchbook, check out the Sketchbook Challenge, or just consider a New Year's (or Solstice, or Holiday) gift to yourself to take a few minutes each day to play with paint, drawing, collage, or stitch, whatever your medium of choice.

Circles (which have ended up all over my work)

Percolating and playing are inextricably related. DOING, engaging in the process, is what keeps you fresh, keeps the ideas flowing, and facilitates the lovely surprises and discoveries of making art.

New Online Class - The Self-Portrait

2011-11-30T08:00:00.001-05:00

Thank you so much for your encouraging comments! I am officially offering the self-portrait course online now, starting January 2. Some of you may want to use it as a guide to doing a self-portrait-a-day, though that is not required in the class. In each lesson we will do warm-up self-portraits using various drawing implements, and then move onto the main project.

Blind Self-Portrait using white crayon and watercolor

The main projects focus on experimentation with materials and techniques rather than the finished outcome, and my hope is that this will take the intimidation factor out of the self-portrait. Meanwhile, along the way you will draw so many self-portraits you can't help but gain the skill of making a realistic one if that is what you wish. Read the full description here, and e-mail me with any questions.

Sketchbook Output

2011-11-29T10:52:00.006-05:00

I am participating in CCP Videos' Holiday Paint-Out, designed to encourage all of us to keep on creating through the busy holidays. Here are a few sketchbook entries I did over the Thanksgiving weekend. The theme was "community", and I did have the concept in mind while I worked on these. Mainly, though, it was just great to get into the studio and PLAY!

These pages are not to be mistaken for finished pieces". I love using my sketchbook this way, though, just playing, pushing, seeing what happens when I use a color over that one, this pattern next to that text on top of something else... Check out the Paint-Out for inspiration, or just go to your sketchbook and see what happens.

Thoughts on Self-Portraits

2011-11-27T10:52:00.008-05:00

Several of the participants in my Text and Image Online Workshop expressed interest in doing self-portraits as an ongoing practice. So, of course, with my vast experience of doing self-portraits I thought I might host/teach an online class exploring this practice. Here are a few that showed up in our Text and Image blog:

Self-Portrait at Russian New Year

Self-Portrait after my "Branching Out"

Blind Self-Portraits in White Crayon and Watercolor

Mirror Mirror

So, I am wondering if any of you would be interested in this class? No commitments, just some feedback would be really great. I'd like to explore self-portraits in contour drawings, blind contours, paint, color, collage, fantasy, creating collage/paint environments around yourself, layering one portrait over another, cutting up portraits and putting them back together again, and generally using the self-portrait as an anchor for exploring the expressive potential of drawing, painting, and collage.

Guest Artist at Gallery 47

2011-11-22T14:00:00.004-05:00

I've been invited to be the guest artist for the month of December at Gallery 47 in Manchester, VT! I have not put a lot of effort into showing my work, as I've been more focused on teaching and making art, but this gig should be fun - local, easy, and low-pressure.

Gallery 47 is participating in Manchester's first "Holiday Art Walk" on Wednesday, December 7 from 5 - 7 pm, sponsored by Garden Arts. I think they are going to try to make this an ongoing First Wednesdays event, which many cities have - designating one night a month for art galleries to be open late, making it a festive occasion.

For the gift-giving season, I'll be showing mostly small works for under $100. I hope those of you in the area can make it to this Art Party on the 7th, or drop into the gallery during the month of December, Fridays and Saturdays, or by appointment by calling 802.233.1850.

Holiday Paint Out

2011-11-18T14:22:00.005-05:00

Creative Catalyst Productions is hosting a Holiday Paint Out on Facebook. The goal is to inspire people to keep creating art during the chaos of the holidays. It's also serving as a bit of promotion for Anne Bagby's third DVD, which will be the drawing prize each week. Each week CCP will send you a theme to inspire you, and you can post your work on the Facebook page. Click here to sign up! The first prompt, or theme, arrives in your e-mail box this Tuesday, November 22, just in time to spend some of your holiday weekend MAKING ART INSTEAD OF SHOPPING!!!! I posted a piece "pre-Paint-Out" on the Facebook page, which I'll post below.

This piece is inspired by this month's Sketchbook Challenge theme, Imaginary Animals, created by Carla Sonheim.

My Sketchbook Practice Survey is still open if any of you would like to take it. I will keep the survey open until Thanksgiving. It is SO INTERESTING to read what people say about their use of the sketchbook. So many common themes run through the survey results. I'll share the summary of it in a few weeks. THANKS!

Text and Image Online Class

2011-11-13T10:13:00.015-05:00

Just thought I would show off some gorgeous pieces from my Text and Image online class. I'll be offering this six-week class again in the spring, beginning April 4. Click here for a full description.

Altering Imagery

Making Transparencies

Playing with Ways of Creating Text

Transparencies again (we all agreed that this reminded us of the house in Daphne DuMaurier's "Rebecca"!)

Pairing Found Text and Image (in French)

Creating Gorgeous Backgrounds for Transparencies

Creating Text with Sgraffito Technique

I am thrilled with all the participation, the work, the comments, the discussions. It is extremely gratifying to see people take off with the assignments I give and make such individual and unique pieces.

Brayer Technique

2011-11-07T11:20:00.003-05:00

I use a brayer - usually a 2" one - to apply paint when my collage is getting too busy and I need a bold, fresh start. It not only covers an area quickly, but it emphasizes the texture of the collage, thereby not "wasting" any of the material underneath. I also use it to lift the paint, so that I can build layers gradually. Here is a video demonstration:

Collage with Magazine Papers

2011-11-02T07:48:00.005-04:00

I am hearing from students in my workshops - both live and online - that it is a challenge to get magazine papers to lie flat on the collage substrate. So I thought I'd do a little video demonstration on how I get this to work. If you have found other methods that work, please share them in your comments!

Fabric-Paper at Guilford Art Center

2011-10-27T12:15:00.013-04:00

Last weekend I had a great time teaching a Fabric-Paper workshop at Guilford Art Center in Guilford, CT. Read the description here. And now, take a look at the gorgeous papers and mini-quilts the students made!

Jane's fabric-paper in its early stage:

And now she is applying paint to it:

Linda uses stamps on her fabric-paper

And then sews beads onto the mini-quilt

Work in Progress

Ronnie's finished piece, before binding

To learn more about fabric-paper, read Kelli Nina Perkins' book, Stitch Alchemy. Or, there is a chapter in my book, Adventures in Mixed Media, in which I demonstrate fabric-paper techniques. Or, just enjoy the eye candy above. Thanks for visiting!

Sketch-In and Sketchbook Practices

2011-10-18T08:54:00.015-04:00

Since The Sketchbook Challenge began last January I've been thinking about how I use and don't use a sketchbook. What is a sketchbook? How do artists use them? How is it different from an "art journal"? These are questions I've pondered over the year without forcing any answers.

To express your thoughts on the topic, click here to take a brief survey.

At Ink About It over the weekend, Sue Bleiweiss and I conducted a Sketch-In. We did lots of drawing exercises:

Then worked with watercolor, experimenting with materials:

And working from still life:
On the second day we painted papers:

Using various brands and types of acrylic paint:
Look at us all having FUN!
Here I am demonstrating something brilliant, I'm sure:

And this is Sue Bleiweiss with Lori, one of the owners of Ink About It.
Then Sue gave us a great little tutorial on making a quick and easy hard-cover book. She brought book kits for everybody, and people used their painted papers for covers and end-papers. What a creative and productive weekend! Check out Sue's free projects to find this book tutorial and many others.

Text and Image Class Starting Soon!

2011-10-14T08:11:00.005-04:00

Hello. My online class, "Text and Image: Telling Stories in Collage", is beginning next Wednesday, October 19, and I have a fabulous group enrolled. I opened the group blog a few days ago, so people are introducing themselves. Sharon Gorberg is joining us again; check out her blog. We also have Renate, from Germany, who has a blog to share. Joan, Peggy, Sylvia, Marny, Kathleen, Priscilla, Kaliphoenix, and Bonnie are all repeats from previous classes - great to have you back! There is still room to join this exciting adventure. Read about it here, and join us if you like!

Your Dream Studio

2011-10-12T09:11:00.011-04:00

I just got Cloth Paper Scissors e-newsletter offering a new publication called "Inside the Creative Studio: Inspiration and Ideas for Your Art and Craft Space". The e-newsletter asks: What makes a Dream Studio? My answer: Make it work for YOU!

I have seen some artists' studios that look just like any dream studio in a magazine, artists who are both organized AND productive and creative, and sometimes I long to be one of those artists. HOWEVER, I am not one of those. And for those of you who are a little more like me (not totally disorganized, but definitely not a neatnik) I am writing this post to suggest that you do not need your "Dream Studio" to make art. You can get some very useful ideas from CPS's fabulous publications on studios, and Inside the Creative Studio sounds like a great resource (see Sue Bleiweiss's book review). I have gotten great tips myself. But don't let gorgeous photos of beautiful studios discourage you from making art on your kitchen table, your corner of the bedroom, your studio with stuff all over the place (that's me), your dingy basement, or the living room floor. You are who you are. Organize to suit your own style of working, your own level of sustainable organization.

As good as it gets for me (photo-shoot ready):

What it usually looks like:

The other worktable:

My Own Dream Studio

Thanks for taking a look. Embrace who you are and what you have, and accept whatever workspace you have as your dream studio!

More from Portland

2011-10-10T14:09:00.012-04:00

Hi All! The video shooting at Creative Catalyst Productions went SUPER WELL! I enjoyed every minute, especially working with the CCP group. They are a friendly, accommodating, and professional group with loads of creative insight. I did not take any pictures while there, so I will post a few more "people" shots from Art and Soul, plus a few from the Portland Farmers' Market:

Elizabeth

Marcy and Jan

Dale

The Front Worktable
Inspiration from the Market

Fresh Ginger!

Aren't those colors awesome???!!!! I bought some fresh ginger to take home; it does not grow here in Vermont!

Views from Art and Soul

2011-10-01T00:05:00.009-04:00

Just a quick post to show off some of the work my students did at Art and Soul in Portland. These are from my Scribble Collage class. I apologize for the photography; it does not do justice to these gorgeous pieces, which are just a few from the many examples.

Before

And After

Thanks to all of you who participated! This was a very rewarding and inspiring class to teach. Thanks also to Art and Soul for organizing such a fun and fabulous retreat.

Working in Series

2011-09-27T11:24:00.010-04:00

As you may know, I am a big fan of working in series. I almost always work on pieces in groups, and give my ideas room to breathe. Here is a short series I did a few months ago based on a composition idea. I started with a sketch and a group of painted papers, some notion of color, and went from there. I wouldn't say any of these is necessarily a finished piece, but together they represent my exploration of an idea that may or may not "work".

Composition Study 1

Composition Study 2

Composition Study 3

Composition Study 4

I have written an article for the new Sketchbook Challenge e-Zine on Working In Series. The rest of the zine is filled with ... oh, I will let you check it out here on the blog.

I Won A Scholarship!!!

2011-09-24T08:00:00.001-04:00

I am so thrilled to announce that I won a scholarship to take a 5-day intensive encaustics workshop with Daniella Woolf this coming January through North Country Studio Workshops. NCSW offers workshop for professional artists at an advanced level, once a year, at Bennington Collage, in Bennington, Vermont. The facilities there are fantastic, and all the students are gone for the winter term, so we have the place to ourselves. Check out Daniella's website as well as her book and DVD, "Encaustic with a Textile Sensibility". And check out NCSW for future workshops.

Both images posted here are from Daniella's web site.

Video with Creative Catalyst

2011-09-22T10:07:00.006-04:00

Hi all! I have been very busy lately preparing for a video I am shooting with Creative Catalyst Productions. I am SO thrilled with this project! Their videos are packed full of fabulous demos and useful information, and they are shot beautifully. The video is based on my Scribble Collage workshop, but much expanded to include dozens of techniques for painting and decorating papers, including staining tissue papers, and then demonstrations on how I use them in collage-paintings. It includes loads of practical information and tips on color and composition, as well as on materials and sources.

Get a preview of CCP videos by checking out some of my favorites: Anne Bagby, Ann Baldwin, Carrie Burns Brown, and Virginia Cobb are just a few of the CCP artists' videos I can strongly recommend. You can learn so much even by watching the sample clips!

One other bit of news: I got married last Saturday! To the left is a picture of me just before the ceremony, with a gorgeous floral head dress made by my friend Mego at Green Peak Farm (she grows vegetables as well as flowers). Check out Mego's blog, where she posted a few pix of the event.

Fall Workshops

2011-09-14T09:34:00.007-04:00

My Text and Image online workshop is filling up fast! So delighted to have so many students this early in the game. Thanks to all of you who have signed up or expressed interest so far.

Here is a rundown of the live workshops I'm teaching this fall. For the full schedule go to my web site.

September 29 at Art and Soul, I am teaching Scribble Collage during the day, and Scribble Painting in the evening.

October 15 and 16 is the Sketch-In with Sue Bleiweiss at Ink About It in Westford, MA.

October 22 and 23 is my Fabric-Paper workshop at Guilford Art Center in Guilford, CT.

October 28 at AVA Gallery I'm teaching a one-day intensive on Abstract Collage.

November 4 - 6 is another Vermont retreat at the Landgrove Inn. I'm teaching a Collage-Painting workshop, which, for $480, you get with room and meals at this lovely Vermont Inn. It's kind of a shorter version of Collage Journeys in Vermont, which we had in August here in Rupert.

And my final live workshop of the year is at Studio Place Arts in Barre, VT, where I will be teaching my Scribble Collage class.

New Online Class

2011-09-02T11:18:00.006-04:00

I'm delighted to offer a new online class, Text and Image: Telling Stories in Collage, starting October 19. In this workshop we will explore the power of image-word relationships by pushing beyond the traditional "illustrated text" or "photo with caption" formats into a world of complex layers of meaning, exciting surprises, and personal expression. Read the full description here.

And here are a few things my previous students had to say about my Color and Composition workshop, both of which I'm offering again starting January 4 and February 15, respectively.

I want to say THANK YOU to Jane and to everyone in the class for making this such an inspirational experience. I've learned so much from you all. I have to say that this class has de-mystified so much about collage that I just never "got" before. I am thrilled beyond words, so thank you!

I really appreciated the time and attention you put into doing both the written material and the video demonstrations. The printed lessons are terrific - and the exercises you suggested really did get me to focus on the material. It takes a great teacher to pull everything together like that.

I thought your course was fabulous and learned tons from watching what other people did and from reading your comments to them. I loved your videos and felt they contributed greatly to the weekly lessons and I also felt there was a very cohesive flow from one lesson to another.

I am very excited to teach this online class, as I've been working with found text and pairing it with images on and off for quite a while. I love using different kinds of text for its visual texture and pattern, and also using it for its meaning - which can be completely altered by the imagery associated with it. Fun fun FUN! Hope some of you can join us!

Using Found Text

2011-08-25T13:03:00.004-04:00

I'm back in the studio for a bit making some new collages. These are made using junk mail and discarded paperback covers (well, I scanned some of the covers and printed them out so I could use them over and over again). They are influenced by two artists I've recently discovered on Flickr, Melinda Tidwell and Kurt Nimmo, both of whom use various forms of found text to make brilliant collages. I also posted these on The Sketchbook Challenge blog as my contribution to this month's theme, Everyday Objects. Paperbacks and junk mail seemed appropriate materials for this theme.

Cultural Literacy

Cultural Literacy 2

The Shape You're In

Chapter 5 in Collage Journeys is about using text in collage, a subject I'm recently revisiting. I will be offering a class locally here in Vermont on the use of text and image in collage, and will also be offering a version of it online starting in October. Don't worry, I will scream and shout about this new online offering - on the blog and e-mail - as soon as I have it nailed down. Thanks for visiting!

Collage Journeys 2011

2011-08-20T12:32:00.013-04:00

I've just had a fabulous week with my Collage Journeys in Vermont workshop here in Rupert. What a great group we had, and a great time! We used the fire hall/community center for our studio, so we had loads of space - an eight foot table for each student, and extra space for letting pieces dry etc. Thanks to the Rupert Volunteer Fire Company for the use of the building. Students stayed at the guest house just down the street from the fire hall and next door to my house, so everything was walking distance. The weather cooperated again this year (thank you!) for some lovely walks after lunch. Here are a few pix:

Susie's barn:

Naomi in the back (from TX) and Sue (from Indiana) working on multiple pieces:

A few of Mary's collage (Mary did MANY MANY pieces!):

Helle's tounge-in-cheek piece on framing:

Susie with her grid collage painting:

Naomi's worktable (Naomi did GORGEOUS pieces!):

More of Naomi's hand-painted papers:

One of Margie's gorgeous hand-painted papers:

Mary at work:

Helle and Margie at work:

Thanks to all of you who participated! You all worked hard and created beautiful pieces.

Art Unraveled in Phoenix

2011-08-13T13:37:00.010-04:00

This was my first year at Art Unraveled, and I had so much fun!! The students were great, super creative, and a blast to be with. I met other teachers, some of whom I know in cyberspace, including Jane La Fazio (one of the Sketchbook Challenge sisters) and Ingrid Dijkers, whose gorgeous art dolls appear in my book Adventures in Mixed Media. I also met Gail Russakov, who introduced herself to me via e-mail beforehand, and was a great help in getting me oriented to Art Unraveled.

Without further ado, here is some eye candy from the experience:

A couple of collages from Deborah:

One from Meredith, Deborah's daughter:

The above collages were done in my Scribble Collage class, in which we painted papers all morning and made collages all afternoon.

In New Dimensions in Collage we made house-shaped dimensional collages using foam core. Here are a few samples:

Ingrid's house in progress. LOVE that red!

Debbie's house piece:

And Michele's:

And a couple of people shots:

This is a super well-organized event, so everything ran smoothly. The venue, the Embassy Suites, was luxurious and also very affordable for Art Unraveled participants. If you are looking for a retreat for 2012, consider this one.

Collage Journeys in Vermont

2011-08-03T14:27:00.014-04:00

It's August already! What happened?? My Collage Journeys workshop here in Rupert is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I just got TWO CANCELLATIONS!!! - Yikes!! - due to life happening the way it sometimes does. Surprises, crises, the unexpected. So.... I have two spaces available now, both including housing.

We will do this:

And this:

And this:

And this:

And this:

And these (visual journals):
And lots of messes:
And get silly:
And take walks:

Come join us for a relaxing yet inspiring retreat in my peaceful little town.

Wind Hill Workshop

2011-07-29T10:21:00.010-04:00

I had the great pleasure of teaching a private workshop at Wind Hill Farm yesterday, just about twenty minutes from my studio. Mary Gerster, the hostess, had seven friends over, some form Connecticut and New York, and a few who have houses in this area, and opened her studio up for a workshop. Read an essay by Mary here. She is very active in our local Southern Vermont Art Center. Her studio is the upstairs of a renovated barn (designed by my Sweetie, an architect) in a totally storybook Vermont setting - meadows, flowers, views of the Green Mountains.

Here are a few pictures of the event:

Jane, a retired art teacher:

Dot and Delores:

My demonstrations sample:

Mary's collage:

Jane's collages:

We were using stripes as a format for exploring aspects of composition. I love doing private workshops! Have art, WILL TRAVEL. If you are interested in hosting a Jane Davies workshop in your own studio (or church basement or fire hall), e-mail me.

Introducing Priscilla Read

2011-07-22T15:54:00.003-04:00

I have been posting less frequently because I am happily busy with my online classes, Keys to Dynamic Composition and Unlocking the Secrets of Color. I'll be back to posting more regularly in a few weeks, definitely from Art Unraveled, where I'll be teaching on August 8th and 9th.

So, since I'm not doing a lot of new tutorials just now, I thought I would introduce you to one of the creative people taking my COLOR class, Priscilla Read. Check out her blog to view her fabulous quilts, drawings, paintings, and collage. She has been posting some gorgeous pieces in the class!

Here are a few pieces from our color class exploring paint and collage in specific color schemes.

In addition to taking my color class, Priscilla is also following the Sketchbook Challenge, with which I have been involved. I asked Priscilla a few questions about her art background and practice:

How did you get started in quilting?

I did a bit of quilting starting in 1976 when my son was born, then started back up when my father was in a nursing home in 1999. I made him a small quilt from a pattern in a quilting magazine. I immediately joined a quilt guild and learned everything I could about quilting. I served as a workshop coordinator for a couple years and took workshops in every technique possible from traditional to contemporary.

I see that you have the Sketchbook Challenge badge on your blog; what inspired you to follow the Sketchbook Challenge?

I follow blogs of some of the artists hosting the Sketchbook Challenge. Through those connections I happened upon the Sketchbook Challenge blog earlier this month. I intermittently draw and paint in a sketchbook or art journal, but haven’t kept it as a regular practice. The challenge themes interest me and the blog pages are filled with ideas and tutorials to jumpstart you if you get stuck. I like that the definition of a sketchbook and sketching is pretty open and includes any media and format. I like the idea of using the challenge as an opportunity to explore a new medium and as a place to share ideas with others.

How has the Sketchbook Challenge influenced your creative process?

I guess I’m not far enough along to say, but I expect it will open up new ways to express my creativity.

What role does color play in your work?

When I started as a quilter, I gravitated to traditional colors. As I learned more, my color palette expanded to include all colors from dull to highly saturated. I use contrast to make the color “sing”.

What drew you to take a workshop in color?

I’ve taken workshops for quilters in color and have done color exercises using both paint and fabric, but haven’t used both at once for color experiments in an organized fashion. I was drawn to this particular workshop because of the mixed media connection.

Can you tell us a bit about incorporating collage and other mixed media into your quilts?

One of my goals is to incorporate my own drawing, painting, and photographs into my work. As I am learning ways to use mixed media into my quilts, I am discovering my own unique style. I have a lot of interests and can’t decide on any one media – I guess that’s why I’m attracted to mixed media – I want to do it all.

More Student Work

2011-07-12T10:11:00.009-04:00

I am blown away again by the gorgeous pieces that are showing up on my Keys to Dynamic Composition blog. These are pieces by students taking the online workshop of that name, which I will be offering again in January. These are studies, pieces in progress, and finished works dealing with the abstract landscape:

This is a group of small landscape studies:

And this is one more piece from Lesson 1 about shapes:

Thanks to all of you participating in this workshop, and thanks to everyone visiting the blog.

Collage-A-Thon!

2011-07-09T08:28:00.008-04:00

On Monday, July 18 I will be offering a Collage-A-Thon at Studio Place Arts in Barre, VT.

Collage-a-thon is like a roto-tiller in the garden of your art-making practice. Churn up those ideas, get them out, let them breathe and give life to fresh work. If you are feeling a bit stale, in a rut, creatively blocked, or just want a day of fun artistic exploration, this workshop is for you! We will start with quick collage exercises, using basic materials such as paper and glue. We’ll move into the use of acrylic paint and drawing materials, and then work on small series. Give yourself permission to just create, without judgment, without pausing to decide whether a piece is “good” or “bad”, and without trying to finish each piece perfectly. We’re going for quantity here, sheer output; this approach lets you break free of limitations, and gets you out of your comfort zone and into new realms of possibility. Bring any papers or paints you would like to use or share, though I will be providing plenty for everyone.

Click here to SIGN UP EARLY for this, as there is limited space!!! (Description is towards bottom of the page; e-mail link is at the top of the page).

Student Work

2011-07-07T15:34:00.011-04:00

I've been busy with my two online classes, Keys to Dynamic Composition and Unlocking the Secrets of Color. These are no longer open for registration, but you can visit my Online Workshops page and read the descriptions. I will be offering them both again in January/February. Meanwhile I'll be offering new online workshops in the fall.

Here are a few images from Lesson 1 of Composition. I am so excited to see the fabulous work coming out of this class! These pieces represent several assignments, all involving repeated shapes.

Thanks for visiting! And thanks to all the workshop participants who supplied the eye candy!

Prayer Flags

2011-06-30T12:38:00.006-04:00

Back to some fabric and stitch. I was inspired to do a couple of Prayer Flags by Jane LaFazio, who told me and the other Sketchbook Challenge bloggers about a Prayer Flag Project initiated by Vivika DeNegre, a fabulous fiber artist. I love the idea of prayer flags as a format for artistic expression, as well as their original purpose - to spread blessings on the wind.

Here are my two prayer flags hanging over the brook that flows just behind my studio:

And here they are separately:

I used acrylic paint on muslin, and employed the "resist and water" techniques demonstrated here. I collage on the fabric with painted/textured deli paper, as demonstrated here. And, of course, used some of my scribble painted papers. I did some simple machine stitching, and sewed beads on by hand. Each flag is only 5"x8". Check out the Prayer Flag Project, and create your own!

More Pictures from Guilford

2011-06-28T10:19:00.017-04:00

Here are a few more pictures from the Scribble Collage workshop at the Guilford Art Center in Guilford, CT:

Sharon's papers:

A demonstration:

Alice applying a second color of paint:

Papers on the lawn:

Doreen's collages:

Diane's collages (I hope she will scan these and post on her blog, so that we can see each piece individually):

Cathy's collages:

Alice's collages (this back-lighting does not do them justice):

Sharon's and Diane's collages:

Mary's collages (Mary LOVES bright colors!):

We did stain tissue papers, but nobody got any pictures of that process. We did use the tissue papers in our collages, though.

I will be teaching Scribble Collage again at Art Unraveled on August 8, and at Art and Soul on September 29. I'm also teaching a shorter version called "Scribble Paint" at Art and Soul on the evening of September 29. Hope you can be there!

Greetings from Guilford!

2011-06-26T07:03:00.009-04:00

I am having such a great time at the Guilford Art Center in Guilford CT! What a fabulous group we have! And even though some acrylic medium spilled all over my camera in transit, I am happily able to post pix because one of the participants, Cathy Farrell, kindly took photos and e-mailed them to me last night. What a gal!! So here are a few photos of just a fraction of the papers we painted yesterday:

We painted on Cheap Drawing Paper, on deli paper, and then we stained tissue papers, which will be dry this morning. We will learn one or two more techniques today, and then focus on making collage compositions using our papers. Sharon Gorberg is taking more pix, and will e-mail them to me soon so I can post even more tomorrow. I'll also scan some of the individual papers to give you a better look.

I am delighted to have Diane Wright in my class this weekend. She is a fabulous art quilter (check out her blog!!), introduced to me by Vivika DeNegre, whom I heard about through Jane LaFazio, one of my Sketchbook Challenge sisters! LOVE this networking thing! More about Vivika and company in a later post. She has an interesting project I want to show you. Stay tuned.

Video Tutorial on Resist and Water Technique

2011-06-24T07:00:00.000-04:00

Thanks for all your feedback and commentary on my Solstice Series. I am happy to hear so many of you are interested in a tutorial on this technique. I'll post the video first, and then a few finished pieces and pieces in progress.

Here is the piece demonstrated in the video. It is just the beginning of a piece:

A piece from my post the other day, only developed a little further:

This one makes use of the same technique, plus the gooey stuff in the middle, which is a demonstration for another time.

And one more in this Solstice Series:

FYI: My online workshop "Unlocking the Secrets of Color" is still open for registration. It begins June 29. The same is true for "Keys to Dynamic Composition". I have great groups in both workshops already signed up, and if you care to join either one, click here.

Thanks for visiting!

Solstice Series

2011-06-21T11:31:00.009-04:00

I just started a series that I am calling "Solstice Series", only because it is Summer Solstice. Since I just began this yesterday, I don't really know if any of them are finished yet. They'll have to sit for a while, but I thought I'd share some of my process with you.

I started this series with a basic composition in mind: vertical stripes, and some kind of circle. Only this one has the circle so far:

But this one is getting there. I don't think this one is finished yet:

This one may be finished. At this point I don't think it needs the circle. It turns out to be more about the stripes, shapes, scribbles, and textures:

I am liking the depth of layers here, but not sure where it is going next:

Here are a couple of "stage 1's" in this series. I'm using Nickle-Azo Yellow, Quinacridone Gold, and a couple of reds.

The pattern underneath the color is created by squeezing out acrylic medium with a scribble motion, then placing another paper over it, face down. So you get two sheets of paper with the scribbled design. Like a print. I let that dry, then use a credit card to scrape on the paint.

I create a little more texture like this:

Lay down one color of paint (unevenly) and let it dry.
Apply another color over it.
When the second coat is just tacky, use a plastic pipette or eye dropper to apply water in drops or scribbled lines.
Wait until the paint is dry and the water has soaked in a bit, and then blot with a paper towel.

Maybe I'll do a video tutorial on this if anyone is interested. It's a fun way to build up texture. Thanks for visiting! And happy Solstice!!

Friday Tutorial - Removing Paint with Alcohol

2011-06-17T16:39:00.008-04:00

I have been in the encaustics obsessive mode this week, but did manage to make one little video tutorial. This is an edited version of a video that is included in my upcoming online class, Keys to Dynamic Composition.

If you have discarded or abandoned pieces of art done in acrylic paint, one way to resurrect them as backgrounds for new work is to remove some of the paint using regular rubbing alcohol. A piece can become particularly interesting if you have several layers of paint and collage to work with.

After removing some of the paint, you can apply gesso, more paint, collage, whatever you like, gradually building up layers of texture, color, and imagery. Here is the piece I worked on in the video:

I eventually cut it into a square and did a collage shape study on it:

This kind of study using cut out shapes is also in the online composition workshop. I did notice that the alcohol does not remove gloss gel or medium. I wonder why not.... But this means that you could prime your paper with gloss gel/medium, apply layers of acrylic paint, use alcohol to remove some of the paint, and the medium would protect the paper.

Meanwhile, stay tuned for more developments in encaustics.... I'm trying out different materials to create collage papers, and also some new (new to me) ways of creating texture. Thanks for visiting!

Encaustic Collage Experiments

2011-06-14T09:42:00.012-04:00

I am quite revved up about encaustics, having had a fabulously stimulating time at the Fifth Annual Encaustics Conference in Provincetown, MA the other weekend. I have been experimenting with various techniques I learned at the conference, and corresponding with artists I met there.
Above is my first encaustic "Scribble Collage" experiment.

I've also been experimenting with a way to apply my Scribble Collage approach to this exciting medium: painting tissue papers, then using them for collage. As acrylics are not compatible with encaustic, I tried painting papers using oil paint mixed with cold wax medium, and let them dry for a few days.

I scraped the paint/wax on using a credit card, and then did texture rubbings and transfers.

I also scribbled on the papers with oil sticks and pigment sticks (which are the same thing) and oil pastels (which differ from the above in that they contain no drying agents).
I don't know if this combination of oil media and encaustics is safe and durable yet, and I have sent out feelers to determine the best way to approach this technique and will share more as I learn.

This piece is done on unryu (say: un-RYE-you), a tissue-weight paper with a distinctive fibrous texture:

Meanwhile, if any of you have suggestions, comments, or questions, please e-mail me or leave a comment on this post. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME until I get the goods on safety! There may be a better medium than cold wax to do this process. Read this for more info on cold wax. I'm trying to find out if the solvents in the cold wax evaporate sufficiently during drying to be compatible with this process.
THANKS for visiting!

Scrribble Collage at Guilford Art Center

2011-06-10T10:53:00.013-04:00

I am teaching a two-day Scribble Collage workshop at Guilford Art Center on June 25 and 26th in Guilford, CT. This time I am doing it a little differently. We will spend the first morning making stained tissue papers:

Which are beautifully luminous:

We will make patterns and textures on the stained papers:

And glitz them up with shimmer mists and metallic paints.

We will also paint light weight drawing papers, newspaper, and printed papers to make a big yummy stash of collage materials.

On the second day we will focus on creating collage compositions, working in small series.

I got such a strong response to my "Staining Papers" posts from a few months ago, that I decided to include it in this workshop. In my own work I use a lot of stained tissue paper in conjunction with my painted drawing papers. Thanks for visiting!

Encaustic Conference

2011-06-06T19:02:00.010-04:00

Hi Everyone,
I've been away for a few days at the Fifth Annual Encaustic Conference in Provincetown, MA, founded and organized by Joanne Mattera. I saw demonstrations of encaustic monotypes, photographic and other transfer techniques, using masks and stencils, using pigments with shellac and igniting it on the encaustic surface, using handmade paper substrates for encaustic, and more. I was also thrilled to see the work of lots and lots of conference-attendees, who set up displays in their rooms on Sunday morning. Here are a few links to encaustic artists whose work I'd like to share. This is just a sampling. Check out the blog for more info, links, and suppliers.

David A. Clark

Binnie Birstein

Cherie Mittenthal

Cherie was responsible for bringing the conference to Provincetown, and is the executive director of Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill. She is represented by Kobalt Gallery in P'town, which hosted a show of encaustic work in conjunction to the conference.

Linda Womack
Jane Allen Nodine
Nancy Natale
Nancy also has a blog on which she has posted fabulous pictures of the conference.
I could go on and on, but I'll leave you with this. Thanks for visiting!

Color and Composition

2011-06-01T12:33:00.017-04:00

I am offering my Color and Composition classes as individual one-day workshops at Studio Place Arts in Barre, VT. Both of these are offered as online workshops as well, starting June 29.

Friday, June 10, 9:30 - 4:00 is Unlocking the Secrets of Color, in which we will learn to mix colors, alter their value and intensity, and use them to make beautiful compositions. Here are two examples of using complimentary colors in collage-painting.:

Red Square

Orange Circle

We will learn how to balance light values, dark values, bright colors, and neutrals, as in this piece entitled "Go!":

On Friday, June 17, also 9:30 - 4:00, is Keys to Dynamic Composition. In this class we will explore several different composition styles, including the grid:

The Cruciform:

The Abstract Landscape:

As well as color, pattern, texture, and other elements of composition.

By the end of this class you should have a better understanding of what makes a good composition and the many different ways of achieving this elusive goal.

Got to Studio Place Arts or register for an Online Workshop.

Thanks for visiting!

ART UNRAVELED!!!!

2011-05-25T08:51:00.011-04:00

Come join me in Pheonix on August 8 and 9 at ART UNRAVELED!!!! I will be teaching Scribble Collage on August 8, in which we spend the day painting papers using a ZILLION techniques, and then make collages with these yummy materials. On August 9, I will teach New Dimensions in Collage. We make our collages 3-dimensional by creating panels and shadow-boxes with foam core to add depth and layers to our art.

Here is one example of a "Scribble Collage"

I made a collage with my scribble painted papers, and then used the same techniques for painting over them to focus the composition.

A few from a recent "New Dimensions" workshop at Ink About It, which we called "Dream Houses" - same process:

Leslie's piece in progress:

And Pat's:

I hope you can join me in Phoenix for this art extravaganza and total immersion in creativity! To register, go here. Thanks for visiting!

Digital Art Tutorials

2011-05-23T08:50:00.016-04:00

Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine has just put out a free e-book of four digital art tutorials, one of which is mine! I'm thrilled to pieces to be included in this e-publication, and it is FREE! You can download it HERE. In my tutorial I discuss how to alter images in Photoshop and print them out on fabric to use in fabric/paper collage. Here are a few pieces in progress using these techniques. The finished pieces are in the e-book.

"Forest Dream"

"Pedestal"

I want to show you in a little more detail how I got some of these layered images in Photoshop.

First, I scanned some images of these Greek vase paintings, and made them the same width, 5". (In this post they don't look the same width, but trust me).

In Image 1, I went to Image > Adjustments > Hue / Saturation and played with the hue slider to change the color:

Then I went to Levels (Image > Adjustments > Levels) and used the left and right sliders to bring up the highlights and darken the darks:

On Image 2, I simply used Levels to brighten the lights and darken the darks:

Now, here comes the fun part. Using the Move tool, I moved Image 1 onto Image 2:

This creates a layer over a background. In the layers panel, I double click on the layer (Image 1) and that opens the Layer Styles box. I play with the Opacity slider to make the image more transparent so you can see Image 2 underneath Image 1.

I then cropped the image using the crop tool:
Then I flattened the image, Layer > Flatten.

To selectively change the color I went to Image > Adjustments > Replace Color, which opens a dialog box like this:

Click on the color in the image that you want to replace (I clicked the gray of the horses), then play with the hue, saturation, and lightness sliders to change that color. The Fuzziness slider determines how broadly you want to define your selected color, and that color will show up as white in box that shows the image. Here is my result:

Then, just for fun, I played with the Hue / Saturation tool again. Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation. Here is another altered version of the image:

I know this tutorial requires some basic knowledge of Photoshop, so I hope there are enough of you out there who can take advantage of it. Do get the free e-booklet from Cloth Paper Scissors! There are three other tutorials with fabulous art.

Resistance - Resists

2011-05-20T08:00:00.003-04:00

As many of you know, this month's theme on the Sketchbook Challenge is "Can't Resist This". So I thought I would share one of my favorite techniques that makes use of a resist. In this case the resist is gesso, but you could use any kind of acrylic medium.

First I coat the sketchbook page or paper with a thin coat of gesso and let it dry thoroughly. Then I fill the page with acrylic color, in this case some reds, golds and purples. While the paint is still a bit wet I spritz on some water from a squirt bottle, and tip the page to get some drips. Let it dry a bit more (the water is still wet!), then blot with a paper towel. If I don't gesso the paper first, then it absorbs the paint more and you don't get the dramatic effect.

For a second kind of resist, I cut out a shape (in this case, a bird) in freezer paper and ironed it to the painted page. I learned this technique from one of our sketchbook challenge participants, Laura, who posts on our flickr site. Then, I painted around the freezer paper mask before removing it. Just a sketchbook page, not a finished piece.

Laura said she got the idea from a tutorial on the Sew Daily newsletter, in which they were making freezer paper stencils for quilts. Click here to view the article (Thanks, Laura, for the link!).

Here is my own video tutorial on the "Gesso Resist", or "Spritz and Blot" as I prefer to call it. I did include my own version of the freezer paper technique as well.

If the video doesn't work, click here to see it on YouTube.

Here is the piece from the video, stage one:

And after the freezer paper masks were removed and I'd painted over areas of it. Just an experimental piece, but I learned a lot from this experiment!

Thanks for visiting!

Compositional Studies - Cruciform Series

2011-05-13T13:33:00.014-04:00

For this Friday Tutorial I'm going to show you my process in exploring a common compositional format, the "cruciform". Which merely means a cross shape. The areas that form the arms of the cross are generally busy, whereas the four quadrants are relatively quiet.

In my upcoming online workshop, "Keys to Dynamic Composition", we begin by looking at the bare bones of what makes a good composition: Unity and Variety. Then we look at the elements and principles of composition and how you can use them to create both unity and variety, through the lens of various compositional formats, including the cruciform, the abstract landscape, repeating shapes, and more.

Working in series is a way to explore an idea and try out different expressions of that idea. It also helps you to get in a groove and loosen up. For this series, the idea is Cruciform. I vary the collage materials, the colors, and the arrangements, but the all tell me something about this compositional format.

One way of approaching collage painting is to start with a painting, then add collage elements. In this series I began with collage, and then tried to unify each collage arrangement using acrylic paint, obscuring much of the collage beneath.

Below are the Before and After versions of each collage.

SURVEY RESULTS!!!

2011-05-10T16:57:00.006-04:00

Thanks again to all of you who participated in my Art Practices Survey! Here are the results. Not every detail, but the general picture. Please e-mail me if you have specific questions about any of the results. I left out a few of the questions in this summary, as I didn't think they'd be that interesting to anyone but me.

The vast majority of you have been practicing art for over five years. And many in that majority have been creative since childhood. I am impressed with the number of you who started in the needle arts or fiber arts, learning sewing or knitting from a mother or grandmother.

Your mediums of choice are: Collage, Artist’s Books or Art Journals, Mixed Media, Fiber Arts, Painting, Drawing, and Other, in that order. This is how it looks in the graph representing the responses. But in your comments it is clear that many of you love fabric and fibers, and maybe that’s been your entry point to mixed media and collage. Loads of you report trying a lot of different mediums. YAY!

You spend an average of eight hours a week on your art, and many of you report wanting to spend more.

Only a small percentage of survey respondents have taken workshops with me. Many report not having had the opportunity, or having just found me on the web. THANK YOU for taking the survey, even though you have not met me or taken any workshops! And thanks to my faithful workshop attendees too!

Most of you take a few workshops a year, and you take more online workshops than in-person ones because of the convenience. Most report preferring in-person to online, though many report preferring both.

The average respondent bought seven or eight art instruction books in the past year. YAY! We need you to keep buying books, even though so much content is available online. Thank you!

Which areas do you need more instruction in? Of course, many of you checked multiple areas, but the results show: techniques, drawing, and composition, as the top three, with Maintaining a Consistent Art Practice, Understanding Art Materials, Painting, Color, and Other, in that order.

What are your goals in making art? The vast majority of you want to find your own artistic voice, and many of you would like to sell your art. Almost all of you do it primarily to enhance your own life. Very few of you report having FOUND your voice.

Your main challenge in making art is Time. For almost everybody, though for a few there were other things: frustration at having too many ideas or techniques available so that it is challenging to focus. A number of you reported feeling like you have trouble being original, that you resort to copying and would like to learn how to develop your own style. Lack of confidence showed up, due to that ever-present Inner Critic. Discipline was on the list in some cases.

Thanks again to all of you who participated in the Art Practices Survey. I will close that one for now, but post a new one soon. Please let me know if there are particular questions you would like me to ask. Any feedback is welcome. Sorry for the lack of eye-candy in this post.

Texture on Deli Paper

2011-05-06T08:00:00.001-04:00

I am done with Friday Drawing Practice for a while, but I thought I would continue to offer little tutorials on Fridays. It's fun, and it keeps me in practice.

Here is a technique for adding texture to paper. I use it in my Scribble Collage workshops, but just recently tried it on deli paper ("dry waxed paper"). Sue Bleiweiss does wonders on deli paper, which she demonstrated at our Sketch-In at Ink About It a few weeks ago. She gets hers at BJ's Wholesale Club for a lot cheaper than elsewhere, but they don't sell it online, so I did not include a link.

Here are a couple of samples of the deli paper with texture. The nice thing about this paper is that is is stronger than tissue paper, but it's almost as transparent.

Then I ripped them up and made a collage in my sketchbook:

Thanks for visiting. Have fun!

Scribble Collage at AVA

2011-05-03T12:52:00.012-04:00

Last Friday I taught Scribble Collage at AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon, NH. WOW! What a great venue! The classrooms are huge, with loads of table space and lots of light. The staff are super helpful. It was a really fun experience, and I hope to teach there more in the fall. The students were great too, all from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Here are a few photos:

Me tearing paper that I've painted:

The fabulous classroom we used:

Painting paper:

More gorgeous papers:

The worktable:

Helle's work:

And Carrie's:

Kristen's collage in progress:
I wish I had gotten a few pix of our finished collages; my apologies. They were stunning! If you are anywhere in New England, I recommend you take a look at AVA. In addition to classes, they have great shows in their galleries there, and load of inspiring art going on. Thanks for visiting!

Book Release!

2011-04-26T16:35:00.004-04:00

Today is the official release date of my new book, Adventures in Mixed Media. Thanks to all of you who have pre-ordered it from Amazon, or otherwise bought a copy. I invite comments, questions, feedback of any sort via e-mail, Amazon (or other book seller) reviews, or comments on my blog.

Adventures in Mixed Media is a book of projects and techniques, with lots of side bars on creative process Here is a little teaser video on my "fusion fabric process, described in Chapter Four of Adventures.

I am grateful to the many artists who contributed their work to this book, including Sue Bleiweiss of Sketchbook Challenge fame, Elissa Campbell, Ingrid Dijkers, Pamela Hastings, Autumn Hathaway, Sherrill Kahn, Carol Owen, and Dawne Polis.

Enjoy the video, check out the contributors' web sites, and, as always, THANKS FOR VISITING!

Survey and Poll

2011-04-25T10:39:00.003-04:00

THANKS to all of you who took my survey, and to the relatively few of you who took my poll on which online workshops you would like me to offer. I need MORE responses to the poll question. CLICK HERE to take the poll. THANKS!

The survey is producing REALLY interesting data. I'm getting a much better picture of who you are, what your goals and interests are, what you want in workshops, what kind of art you make, and what your challenges are. The more results the better, so CLICK HERE if you haven't taken my survey. Remember, there is a downloadable note card kit waiting for you at the end of it.

I'll post my results after the survey and poll have been up for a month or so.

Friday Drawing Practice

2011-04-22T10:00:00.002-04:00

I am going to postpone the Drawing With Values exercise because I want to share an easy and fun doodle exercise that Sue Bleiweiss and I did in our Sketch-In at Ink About It. It begins with Diana Trout's Doodle Game, which is on the Sketchbook Challenge Tutorials page. I urge you to watch her video and try it! I took it in a slightly new direction in honor of this month's Sketchbook Challenge theme: Branching Out / Out On A Limb.

To see my results, click here.

I hope you have fun with this. Thanks for visiting! Take my survey about your art practices and preferences. THANKS! It will help me with my Friday Practice series.

I Want Your Opinion

2011-04-21T09:50:00.007-04:00

Hello all. I really appreciate all your comments and feedback on this blog. I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on your own art practices and interests, and on art workshops and books generally. So... I created a survey that will help me understand more about you, and hopefully it will help me to see how I can refine and develop my workshop offerings to better serve your interests.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE MY SURVEY

To thank you for this information, I am offering a Jane Davies Studios note card kit, which you can download and print out as you wish. Here is what it looks like:

This is one of eight card designs, laid out on 8.5" x 11" paper (the cards are in vertical orientation for easy printing).

And this is how the envelopes look on 8.5" x 11". There are eight coordinating envelopes included.

The kit includes step-by-step photos of how to cut, fold, and assemble the envelopes and cards.

You can print out as many as you like of any of the eight designs. I love doing these sorts of digital download kits, but right now I want YOUR OPINIONS, interests, observations, and general feedback on art practices, workshops, and books. THANKS!!!

You may have noticed, there is a new image at the top right of this blog, which says "VOTE, online workshops". This is a poll I am taking on what you want in future online workshop offerings. It is one multiple choice question. I'd love it if you could participate in the poll as well. THANKS AGAIN!!!

Workshops in Westford

2011-04-19T15:00:00.016-04:00

Just back from workshops at Ink About It in Westford, MA. What a blast! On Friday evening we made fanciful spring bird ornaments; Saturday was Unlocking the Secrets of Color, and on Sunday I co-taught a Sketch-In with Sue Bleiweiss, who blogged about it on the Sketchbook Challenge. Without further comment, here are some photos from my bird and color classes:

This is Raine's bird. Raine comes to all my workshops at Inky's, and serves as my personal laugh track.

This bird got great head gear as well as tail feathers:

This one got a glittery wing and sequin eye:

Two types of tail feathers adorn this one's behind:

Same with this one:

We got out the Angelina Fiber to add glitz to many of the wings. This one has imaginative feet:

The crown really MAKES this bird, as well as the skeleton leaves for a tail, sprinkled with Angelina Fiber.

This bird project is in my new book, Adventures in Mixed Media, which is available on April 26.

Now, for the Unlocking the Secrets of Color class. After painting color wheels, color gradations, and value scales, we put our skills into practice to make collage-paintings. We focused mostly on collage-paintings in one color (monochromatic) or closely related (analogous) colors.

Thanks for visiting! And thanks to Ink About It for hosting the workshops. Don't forget to go to the Sketchbook Challenge blog to see pictures from the Sketch-In.

Playing with Value

2011-04-15T07:00:00.000-04:00

In today's Drawing Practice exercise we are going to see how we can get a range of values (light to dark) in a few different materials. Leave color out of it for now, and just see if you can create very light areas, very dark ones, and a range in between.

For now we are just experimenting with different materials; next week (yes, I know I said I would do six Drawing Practice posts, but I'm doing one more) we will use these values to make drawings.

Choose a drawing implement, such as pencil, and start scribbling. Make as many kinds of marks as you can by varying the speed, the pressure, and so forth. Then try to create a range of values from dark to light.

In this one I used pencil, cross-hatching to varying degrees creates the value range.

Same thing in black fine tip felt pen. Here I tried to create different qualities of value by making some areas with more or less straight lines intersecting, and others with loopy scribbles.

I found the black crayon (crayola) the least interesting of my materials. I was surprised, though, that I could actually get a very dark black.

In this final one I used charcoal as well as white pastel. I used a kneaded eraser to smudge and make lines through the charcoal areas. Charcoal and pastel are so dusty, I really don't enjoy working with them. But they do offer such cool possibilities.

Hope you enjoy playing with values this week. We'll see what we can do with them next week. Thanks for visiting!

Out on a limb some more

2011-04-12T07:00:00.000-04:00

I've just done a few more pages in my sketchbook where I'm out on a limb. "Branching Out - Out on a Limb" is this month's theme for the Sketchbook Challenge. I was experimenting with layers and cut outs, not aiming for anything in particular, but just pushing these elements around. None of these is a "piece", but rather a page, a question, a "what if?" I discover so much when I work in my sketchbook with no expectation of a "finished" page or piece. It's quite freeing.

On this page I used a cut out of a bottle over a cut out of a modified circle; layers of acrylic paint in varying degrees of opacity, applied with a brayer and brush; some painted tissue paper; a scrap from my work table paper (the paper I lay down under my work). Oh, and charcoal.

On this page I first layered some collage: scraps of book pages, handwriting, a few things like that. Then paint over cut outs; the bottle form as a silhouette; I removed some of the collage, added more. Just a playful back and forth to see what happens if...

This one is the more "composition" - like. I was experimenting with layers, and also playing with this compositional format - the abstract landscape, turned almost cruciform.

That's it. Just showing a few of my recent experimental pages. Thanks for visiting!

My New Online Workshop

2011-04-09T07:00:00.001-04:00

OK, I know, I've blabbed about this before, but now I have a little video to show you what we will be doing in Unlocking The Secrets of Color, and online workshop starting May 4. Six sessions of color color color with paint and collage! This is the first in a series of online workshops I'll be offering over the next several months.

Got to my web site to read the official description. Don't forget to read the online workshop policies. Here are a few examples of the projects from Unlocking the Secrets of Color.

A color grid using only pure colors from the color wheel:

A "color collage" exploring red:

A collage-painting in a complimentary color scheme:

And a collage-paint study exploring the gradations between two complimentary colors:

Six lessons in pdf format, e-mailed once a week, which you can keep for future reference
Seven demonstration videos
An online forum for participants to share their work, ask and respond to questions, and get individual instruction from me
A whole new understanding of color!

Hand Drawings

2011-04-08T07:00:00.000-04:00

For this Friday Drawing Practice I wanted to find a way to combine contour and gesture drawing techniques. I was going to set up a still life and draw it in various styles, but couldn't find objects that inspired me, just the same old jars of brushes and paint bottles that fill every available surface... So we're drawing hands this week. This is a real branching out for me, as I have never drawn my own hands before.

Here is my first attempt:

I am left-handed, mostly, so I drew my right hand.

I thought the hand might be more interesting if it were holding something, so I gave that a try:

For someone who was starting to feel somewhat competent drawing, I sure was feeling out on a limb with this exercise!

So why not take it a bit further and try drawing with my non-drawing hand?

Not a whole lot different from the one done in my drawing hand. But I was having fun now, and decided to do it again, this time bringing in a bit of gesture drawing from the last drawing practice session.

Here I'm holding the brayer in my right hand, drawing with my left:

And holding it with my left, at a different angle, drawing with my right:

This week's drawing practice became less about combining contour and gesture, and more about switching hands and drawing something new. This is one I definitely want to practice! Thanks for visiting.

Branching Out - Out on a Limb

2011-04-05T09:00:00.000-04:00

Here is my post for the Sketchbook Challenge this month:

Since the Sketchbook Challenge began I have been using it as way to stretch my abilities, challenge my perceived boundaries, and expand my vocabulary of artistic expression. It is evident from the hundreds of entries on the flickr site that many of you are doing the same. You can usually tell from looking at a drawing/painting/sketch whether the artist is playing it safe or taking risks. I love seeing the entries on flickr that teeter on the edge of the artist's comfort zone!

This month's theme is Branching Out, which means expanding your skills, sprouting new ideas, discovering unknown territory. The flip side of that is Out on a Limb, which means taking risks, facing fear of failure, getting into your discomfort zone, facing your Inner Critic, and taking the plunge with courage.

Getting out of your comfort zone, pushing your boundaries, sounds all well and good, but being uncomfortable does not. Sometimes being uncomfortable leads (me, anyway) to art tantrums, or worse, running back to the safe zone. However, if you practice allowing that discomfort and continuing on with courage (and without judgment), you will find that, more often than not, you will branch out. You will learn to recognize that queasy feeling as an indication that you are about to discover something new. It is like the City Limits sign on the edge of your comfort zone.

I am suggesting to you that this month try at least one page in your sketchbook (and I know you'll do more once you experience the freedom that Branching Out inspires) devoted to trying something new, something that really challenges you, even something that inspires fear of failure. Do something that your Inner Critic knows you can't do! There is no failure or "can't do" in branching out; when you are honestly challenging yourself you will always be treated by a surprise. Remember, only you can know if you are truly branching out. One person's safe zone is another's unknown territory. Oh, and don't forget to have fun!!!

Here are two sketchbook entries in which I am branching out and out on a limb. I'm searching for some way to use these circles, some layering, maybe masks and stencils.... I don't know what I want the pieces to look like, but I am deliberately throwing myself off balance. I LOVE that about the skektchbook: I don't feel any need to "resolve" a piece or find an answer. Just sending out the question is enough.

Friday Drawing Practice, Drawing Through Freezer Paper

2011-03-31T17:58:00.010-04:00

Hello, and welcome to the fourth post in the Drawing Practice Series. Today we're going to explore a kind of "gesture drawing", in which you work quickly and try to capture the gesture and volume of the object you are depicting. I chose my iron, just because it was handy.

In gesture drawing, you look at the object and at your paper, but instead of trying to capture the precise outlines or contours, you use your lines to capture more of the attitude of the object. In the following video I did speed up the gesture drawing a little, so it wouldn't take too much time, but I am definitely working quickly. I first do a drawing directly in my sketchbook. Then I draw on the back side of freezer paper that has been coated with black acrylic paint. The effect is interestingly textural.

This is the first gesture drawing:

This is the drawing on done with freezer paper:

Thanks for visiting! Hope you enjoy this practice.

Don't forget to go over to the Sketchbook Challenge today for my April theme.

A couple brush and pen drawings

2011-03-29T10:16:00.007-04:00

I was playing with the watercolor and pen drawing practice from last Friday, so I thought I'd share a couple of the resulting images.

This one is my dog, Zeke. I wanted to add a little more detail, but he moved.

This one is my Bad Hair Day self-portrait. I really don't look that somber most of the time.

April is my month to post the theme for the Sketchbook Challenge, so don't forget to look for it on Friday. I will copy the post on this blog next week, as Friday this week is another drawing practice tutorial.

I've just put my FIRST ONLINE WORKSHOP up on my web site, Unlocking the Secrets of Color. It is open for registration now, and begins May 4. It consists of six sessions, one per week, and I expect we'll have a blast! The next workshops to appear online will be Scribble Collage and a Drawing Practice workshop (similar to what you've seen in my Friday blog series, but much more fleshed out). Please e-mail me or post comments if you have suggestions or requests for online workshops.

Contours with Brush and Pen

2011-03-25T08:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the third of my Friday Drawing Tutorials. You've probably all heard of contour drawing: you look at the object as you draw it, only glancing down to your paper occasionally, and draw its outlines. Pretty straightforward. You can do just the very outer edge of the object, or some of the interior lines as well. The key to contour drawing is to SLOW DOWN, take your time, let your hand and your eye coordinate their movements. Use a pen. "Mistakes" are part of the experience.

Here is an early attempt at a contour drawing of my chair:

After this drawing I did another, adding some of the interior lines:

You'll be amazed at how quickly your powers of observation increase when to take a few minutes once in a while to do a contour drawing. Here is another chair I did adding a bit of cross-hatch shading:

To make it a little more juicy, try doing a contour drawing with a big, wet watercolor brush. This makes you see the contours more generally, less in detail. After the watercolor dries, try a contour drawing of the same object in pen on top of the watercolor. Here is my spray bottle:

And a jar of brushes:

In the above two examples I tried to keep the pen drawing and the watercolor drawing together, so I fudged a little on the spray bottle nozzle while drawing in pen. In this self-portrait, I did the contour in watercolor, then the drawing in pen over it without trying to coordinate it.

Try both. See where it takes you!

Creativity Coaching

2011-03-22T10:30:00.007-04:00

I want to introduce you to my friend and collage colleague Marianne Mullen. Here is Marianne in my Rupert studio having a good time mixing media and making a fabulous mess (which resulted in a beautiful mixed media piece):

Marianne has just opened her creativity coaching business, called Awaken Creativity. She can not only help you along your creative journey, but is also offering coaching for your small creative business. I have hired her as a consultant for my own business - marketing my workshops and books, and bringing people to my web site and blog - and been VERY pleased with the results. Check out her story and I encourage you to take advantage of all the FREE information and inspiration on her site. Thanks for visiting!

Letting Go of Looking Good: Blind Self-Portrait

2011-03-18T07:00:00.009-04:00

If you’ve ever taken a drawing class, you are probably familiar with the idea of drawing what you see with your eyes, not what your mind thinks you should see. In other words, really look at what you are drawing and respond to that, rather than some mental notion of what the object is. We could all draw a coffee mug, for example, from an image in our mind. It is a different thing to really look at a particular coffee mug and trace its outlines. Drawing from imagination or memory and drawing from seeing are two different things, and practicing the latter will enhance your skills at the former.

In order to draw from seeing, we have to let go of any desire we you might have for the drawing to look like something. Paradoxically, that desire – that attachment to our idea of what something should look like – only gets in the way of seeing. Here is an exercise that will help you Let Go of Looking Good:

You will need:
Paper that will accept watercolor, several sheets
A white crayon
Watercolor paint, any color
Paint brush
Mirror
Cheap drawing paper or a sketchbook
Pen of your choice

1. First establish that this exercise is for your eyes only, unless you decide to share it.

2. Remember to approach the exercise with a sense of inquiry, not with a particular goal. It does not matter what the result looks like; what matters is that you approach it honestly and wholeheartedly.

3. Set up your mirror so you can see your face.

4. Slowly and carefully, draw your face with white crayon on the watercolor paper without looking at the paper. Look at your face in the mirror only. Take your time.

5. Brush water over the drawing, then paint over it in watercolor to reveal the drawing. Put it aside to dry, and repeat the process.

6. After a few blind self-portrait drawings, try a few with pen on the drawing paper or in your sketchbook, both blind and looking at your paper. Even when you are not doing a blind drawing, look more at the subject (your face in the mirror) than at the paper.

Making self portraits, for me, is one of the most effective ways of practicing letting go of looking good. This letting go not only helps you to see better, but it cultivates acceptance. Sometimes it is hard to accept how age affects how we look. We’re tempted to leave out that wrinkle or make our eyes look bigger and more youthful. Resisting this temptation not only encourages acceptance, but will result in much more beautiful and interesting drawings.

More Blind Scribble

2011-03-15T11:22:00.007-04:00

Thanks for all your comments of my blind scribble drawing practice that I posted on Friday. I thought I'd share a few painting-collage-drawings that I did based on this practice. I began each in this series with a newspaper collage background, just to add some text and texture.

In this one, I followed the newspaper collage with a blind scribble in black oil pastel, then another one in a terracotta oil pastel. I painted with acrylics, being guided by the structure imposed by the collage and the scribbles. I stamped the Q's, and then went over the scribbles to give them more visual weight.

In this one I painted acrylics over the newspaper collage, and then did the blind scribble with a water-soluble graphite pencil. Next came the white crayon scribble, not blind, and watercolor in sepia and pthalo blue. I emphasized the pencil scribble with black oil pastel, then added the red in acrylic. I love that red!

Here is a page in my sketchbook in which I did two half-blind drawings of crows in water-soluble graphite pencil. By "half-blind" I mean I was looking at a picture of a crow, not at my paper, and then towards the end of the drawing I did look at my paper so that I could make a closed shape. Sort of like cheating just at the end. But this process does result in really interesting shapes!

To use these crows in a collage-painting, I first traced them both onto white Art Tissue paper (not wrapping tissue, which has a shiny side) in fine point Micron pen. Then I cut them out, roughly, and applied them to this collage-painting, PEN SIDE DOWN, using acrylic matte medium. This is an adaptation of a technique I learned from Jane LaFazio. The tissue paper practically disappears so that you are left with the drawing layered onto the collage.

Trying to incorporate drawing into my collage-paintings is an ongoing process, and doing these series of studies in my sketchbook or on small sheets of paper is immensely helpful. Thanks for visiting!

PS: I decided to change my picture in my Profile. This one is more realistic, and more recent.

Friday Drawing Series

2011-03-11T07:36:00.010-05:00

Drawing Practice

Welcome to the first installment of a series on DRAWING PRACTICES, which I will be posting every Friday for six Fridays. It’s not a step-by-step how-to-draw course, as much as a series of suggestions for keeping your drawing practice alive.

Blind Scribble

The Blind Scribble is a good place to begin if you are either new to drawing or haven’t done it for a while. Maybe you paint, collage, sew or make assemblage with abandon, but drawing, for some reason, intimidates you. Even if you draw on a regular basis, this first practice brings you back to basics.

You need:
Paper
A pen
Other drawing materials (optional)

Put the piece of paper in front of you on your work surface. Place the pen somewhere on the paper. Close your eyes. Draw. Just move the pen around, slowly exploring the paper. Focus on the sensation of moving the pen over the paper. Now try different kinds of lines, still with your eyes closed: try wavy lines, saw tooth lines, broken lines, smooth lines, jagged lines…. Move faster, move more slowly. When you’ve had enough, stop and open your eyes. Get another sheet of paper and repeat the process.

Ways to vary this exercise:

Draw to music: draw to slow, melodic music; draw to fast rhythmic music; draw to music you hate; draw to atmospheric, non-rhythmic music. Keep your eyes closed and give your whole being over to the sound and the feeling of drawing.

Switch drawing materials: Change to a brush-tip marker, a crayon, a colored pencil, a thick graphite stick, a piece of charcoal… This one is charcoal, then I brushed water over the drawing.

Make one blind scribble drawing; switch material and make another drawing over the first one.

I used water-soluble pencil for the second blind drawing over the marker original. Then I brushed water over the pencil.

Make a blind scribble drawing, then, with your eyes open, draw into it or over it with a different material.
In this one I did a blind scribble in white crayon over the first blind scribble, then painted into it with watercolor.
For more drawing exercises, see the Tutorials page on the Sketchbook Challenge blog. I hope you enjoy these exercises; thanks for visiting!

One More

2011-03-09T18:26:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to share one more background. I applied gesso to muslin, which had been ironed on to freezer paper for stability. Textured the gesso as before, painted with acrylics, scraping and wiping it to add more texture. THEN... after it was completely dry, I scrubbed some parts with rubbing alcohol to remove some of the acrylic paint. I forgot about that technique. Maybe I'll do a little video demo on it, since I need practice with the video camera. Click on the image to bring up a full size version. I left it big so you could see all the detail.
This is just a quick post. No links, only one picture. But thanks for visiting!

Backgrounds on Paper and Cloth

2011-03-07T17:59:00.008-05:00

I decided to take a Mixed Media with Paper and Cloth online class with Jane LaFazio, one of our Sketchbook Challenge bloggers. She is a fabulous fiber artist, and artist extrordinaire, and offers online classes through Joggles, one of my favorite mixed media supply retailers. For our first lesson, we are making backgrounds on paper and cloth (these ones are on muslin), using gesso, maybe texturing it, and then acrylic paint. Here are just a few of mine:

I applied gesso, then created texture using a knitting needle, scribbling lines in it. Once that was very dry, I Played With Paint!! Transparent turquoises and blues, and opaque Baltic Green; then I stamped the little white dots.

This one is done the same way, using a different color palette. I LOVE this muslin thing!This one is similar, though I let the first Paint Playground dry before adding some of the transparent colors: quinacridone gold and nickel-azo yellow.
I have no idea where these will go. Jane demonstrated a stencil technique as well in the first lesson, but I may wait to use that later in the process. Thanks for visiting!

Video Resolution

2011-03-07T12:40:00.002-05:00

OK, I think I've fixed the resolution on the video below in the previous post. But there are places where the video pauses inexplicably. Take a look. Any ideas how to fix that? Thanks for visiting.

Trying out my new video camera

2011-03-04T17:26:00.013-05:00

Here is my first attempt at video. I am making a quick series of small collage paintings, first by using my own scribble painted papers, stained papers, and a few other items for a basic collage layout, and then painting over it with Golden fluid acrylics. I use acrylic matte medium for the adhesive and top coat.

Here are the four finished small collages:

On this one I added a little stamping with wavy corragated card stock to echo the same pattern as is on the scribble painted paper:
I printed white dots with a hand-carved rubber stamp on this one, and also added the wavy corragated lines
I used plastic cross stitch canvas to print the white grid patterns on this one:
Thanks for visiting!

Panel Book Tutorial

2011-02-28T15:02:00.023-05:00

A number of you have expressed interest in the Panel Book, so I finally got my act together enough to take a few photos and post a tutorial. This is not my invention, and I learned it from Elissa Campbell, at Blue Roof Designs, who contributed a gorgeous example to my book, Adventures in Mixed Media. Here's what you do:

1. Cut a piece of watercolor or other heavy paper 8"x22". Fold a 1/2" tab on one end; then measure three 7" sections and make folds at the three 7" marks. This should give you another 1/2" tab at the other end of the sheet of paper. You can cut an angle at the top and bottom of the 1/2" tabs if you like. Here is what it looks like:

Click on the diagram, or any of the photos, to get a larger image.

It is 8" high, so each panel is 8"x7", and each tab extends 1/2" at each end.

2. Repeat. Now you have two accordion pieces each with three panels. Here is how it looks folded:

3. Before joining the two accordion pieces, giving you a 6-panel book, mark and cut each panel according to the diagram:

The fold line is in the MIDDLE of the 7" panel.
First mark it like this with a pencil:

Then cut on the red lines indicated in this diagram:

Here is what it looks like, cut but not folded yet:

4. Now fold at the fold lines, but not on the panel itself. I do this by folding the page so that the creases on either side line up, leaving the panel flat.

Here is what it looks like standing up after you've folded it:

5. Repeat the marking, cutting, and folding on all six panels. You may want to mark them all first, then cut them all, then fold. In any case, you end up with two accordion folds, each with three panels.

6. Join the two accordions together by cutting one tab off of ONE of them. Glue the tab of the other to the non-tabbed end of the first one. Make sure your panels are all lining up the same way.

7. Make two book boards that are 8.25" tall x 5.5" wide. Cover one side with decorative paper (I'm not including instructions for that here. If you need them, e-mail or leave a comment). Cut end papers (or cover linings) that are 1/4" smaller than the book boards, 8"x5.25". Check to make sure they fit. BEFORE gluing down the end papers, glue the end tabs of your accordion onto the book boards. The tabs are sandwiched between the book board and the end paper. Maybe these photos will make it clear. Here's a top view:

And a view from inside the back cover:

And here is a top view of the finished book, showing off the panel configuration.

Let me know if any of this needs further explanation. Thanks for visiting!

New Gallery

2011-02-24T09:21:00.006-05:00

Thanks to all of you who commented on and e-mailed me about my Working in Series post. Glad it was helpful to some of you, and I love your ideas! Yesterday I added a new GALLERY to my web site dedicated to small works. There are only a few so far that have not been posted on the blog, but I'll add to it periodically. Thanks for visiting!!