Studio Walls

It is really FUN to pin up works-in-progress and big fat lines to use as  collage paper right on the studio wall. Check this out:

A rearrangement of my Wall from the other day, which you can see in the previous post.

Another view of the above. I included some Big Fat Art in process, to which I've added some collage papers from my Big Fat Lines.

Four works in process, each 19"x24", which include some of the Big Fat Lines as collage elements.

Big Fat Lines

This has been SO FUN! I'm making big fat lines on big fat paper. 18x24" cheap drawing paper, as well as full sheets of Chinese newspaper sent by a friend. On the newspaper, I am first painting it with slightly watered down white and off-white acrylic using a cheap hardware store bristle brush. LOVE the texture that makes! For the lines I am mostly using a mop brush and high-flow paint.

This is the view from my office/yoga space, in the loft of my studio.

See that spiral piece lower center? That is on deli paper, painted first with the white.

Here are a couple of collage-paintings I've made from big fat line work. These are both on 19"x24" bristol. The Blick Bristol is super smooth and durable, perfect for this kind of thing.

This one includes some cut-up Big Fat Art

The pink and green on the lower left are house paint scribbles.

Drawing The Line

Often in my art practice I circle back to fundamental elements:  line, shape, color, for example.  I occasionally bust out and go all over the map, but then come back to simple formats in my paintings too: grid, stripes, stacked shapes.  Returning frequently to elements, basics, foundations, seems to be a recurring theme.  Here is a little video on drawing lines.  It can be a very meditative process, drawing lines, each one an individual expression.  No fancy materials or techniques, all very accessible.  For more on lines and color, see my posts on using crayons.  Here's another one.

This is white Tulip Fabric Paint on black painted cheap drawing paper.

Latex house paint, drizzled with a paint stirrer

Line Conversation

Layered Lines and Scribbles

Layered lines including big juicy painted scribbles

More big juicy scribbles with paint, then some graphite and finally the Tulip Fabric Paint out of a squeeze bottle

Another line conversation

You will ask about materials:  Caran d'Ache Neocolor II water soluble crayons; graphite crayons; pitt pens/markers; ordinary pencils; acrylic paint, Tulip Fabric Paint (available at JoAnn's and places like that), latex interior house paint, cheap drawing paper.  Most of these are on my Favorite Materials Page.  Try it; have fun!

Sketchbook In Progress

Thanks for all your comments on the gel plate work. It is fun fun FUN, and I'll be doing more.  Meanwhile, I am totally blown away by the work that's happening in my Sketchbook Practice class!  Check this out:

This is an exercise in exploring line.

And this is about circles.

Who knew you could get such fabulous variety from fairly simple exercises.  I will be offering this class again in the fall, date to be determined, but will definitely incorporate some of the exercises in my Collage Journeys in Vermont workshop this summer.  Thanks for visiting!

Paint-Collage-Line

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.