Pomegranate

I have been working hard on the studies for a painting for a friend. It's taking a long time though because I am out of practice and time is so limited.

Here are some photos of my work in progress and a study of a pomegranate I did today.

It's coming along. I think I will continue to do some pomegranate studies for the next week or so (or until this one starts to go bad. Pomegranates are out of season so this one wasn't cheap so I have to use it to its full potential.

Pomegranate, Fig, and Ice Cream

Woah. As I was writing the title I thought that WOULD be an amazing ice cream flavor!

That aside, I got into the studio today to do some studies. I am kind of frustrated because I like working from "live" objects, not reference photos, but figs and pomegranates aren't in season so I have to make due.

Ice Cream (Watercolor on paper)

I found the ice cream part of the painting while cleaning and today I added a cone. I loved the simplicity of the scoop. Not sure how I feel about the cone.

Pomegranate (Watercolor on paper)

Fig (Watercolor on paper)

This was an underpainting I was going to work into but I kind of like it as is. I might not work into it.

Drawing a Day 20150217

Mango

Watercolor on paper

I am loving watercolors lately. I was really overworking this so I had to stop but SO much fun.

Definitely playing with this again.

A special thanks to someone who has proven to be a wonderful mentor -- thanks so much, Bobby!

Drawing a Day 20150212

Cupcake

Watercolor on paper

Wasn't going to post this because I was really just playing, but isn't that part of the fun? 

I need to get my gouache out. I wish they sold gouache in pans. 

Mini Watercolor Sketches

It's been a while since I sat down and drew or watercolored or really did anything too creative, so I am a little rusty. I took out my watercolors today to work on a project for my sister, but in the end just started playing with mini watercolor sketches. I'm not in love with them, but the important thing is I had so much fun and it felt so right to be working today.

I love the looseness of them though, even though I don't think they are fine works of art or anything.

I was really loving playing with the baby food jars -- I did some more (but I didn't scan them in) -- but I think even when I have a babysitter for Violet for four hours I am clearly still thinking about her.

I also want to thank Peter Reynolds -- he's truly an inspiration. Yesterday Leslie, Vic, Violet and I went for ice cream in Dedham and stopped at the Blue Bunny Books + Toys, which Peter Reynolds owns. I have always loved his work -- I think his drawings/watercolors are so full of life and movement, and I also just love the lessons behind his books. Yesterday at the bookstore he had two original drawings out on 18x24" drawing pads and I really wanted to buy one of them. I mean, desperately. It was of a child with wings. I haven't been this taken by a piece of art in a long time. Anyway, I wanted it for Violet's room, but I also left the store with this strong feeling that I needed to create. So thank you, Peter. And if you ever decide to sell that drawing, can I have first dibs?

And here's to hoping that someday my drawings will be as fluid and beautiful as yours.

Ice Cream Cone

I know it has been forever and there goes my promise of more art. It's been so hard balancing a baby and artmaking!

Anyway, I did this ice cream cone, but I didn't finish...I probably won't finish it, as I don't like where it is going.

I used a photo of an ice cream I took, which isn't usually the way I like to work. I like to work from actual objects, but it's hard with something like ice cream that melts (or birds that don't stay put). I'm still trying to figure out the best way to draw ice cream from an actual object. Draw it outside in the middle of winter? Make fake ice cream again?

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed drawing again, so I am hoping I'll be back sooner than later.

More Fruit, Still Going Bananas

I'm just stuck in this awful rut. I don't know what I want to make, what I should make, what I need to make. I just finished Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland, but since it's been such a long time since I read the beginning, I think now I should go back to read that.

Anyway, the banana made me so happy I thought I should continue to pursue fruit, but clearly I am not sure if that was the answer either.

I think that if I decide these aren't working, I will just sand them away and use the surfaces for something else. I will sit on them for a while, but once I run out of my collaged surfaces, they might be the first to go.

Sorry this post is so blah -- I am just in this fantastic rut. A fabulous teacher reminded me of something I said about D.H. Lawrence's The Rocking Horse Winner and thought it might apply to my art, but since I don't remember the story, I think I will go back and read that and hope for a miracle!

I promise someday I will be out of this rut. Today I threatened to quit as an artist. But that's not what I want the answer to be either. I think most of it is trust and facing the fear.

Oh, about the art, like the banana, each are 4"x6" (or 6"x4"...you know what I mean) and done in gouache on on collaged surface. The apple core was done today, the kiwi on Thursday.

Going Bananas!

This was a good drawing to do today since Ernie was driving me bananas! I do love you Ernie, but you can be quite a pain in the neck sometimes.

The image is 6"x4" gouache on collaged panel. Told you, I am loving the gouache.

A Drawing A Day, 10.17.08

Here's another drawing a day -- of course the last one was in the beginning of September! 5x5 inches, watercolor on Claybord. I don't know how long it took me.

A Bit Political: Obama and Ice Cream

So I was just playing around the other day, and I got a little political -- and added politics to something I love...ice cream! I guess it is kind of creepy, but also fun!

If you too like Obama and Ice Cream, you can get an Obama Ice Cream item here.

Orange Tree Notecard

Orange Tree notecard is now available for sale on Etsy! Sorry for the delay in posting!

Playing Around: Orange Tree.

Today I played. I cut paper, I taped it to transparencies, burned screens and loved the process. I made these orange tree cards -- no computer...best feeling ever.

I'll be selling them on Etsy, but I left them at the studio tonight because I couldn't wait for them to dry. In fact, the last 20 or so I had to print in very dark light because we lost power on Bedford Street and Prospect Street. Needless to say, I wasn't waiting around in a dark studio for these guys to dry!

Today I also started my study of tomatoes, which is as much a study of tomatoes as it is new methods of working with mediums. I wanted to do more on that today as well, but alas, the power...

A Drawing A Day, 9.8.08

Carrots. 37 minutes. 4 inches square. watercolor on clayboard. Lunch from today. Not sure how I feel about it. Scans always look better to me than the real thing.

On another note, I can't seem to find my Page-a-Day book and have decided to end this project. It wasn't what I wanted, the paper was too glossy, and it ended being something I had to force myself to do at the end of the day. Forcing wasn't what I wanted from this project, so I have decided to focus my energies elsewhere.

A Drawing A Day, 7.9.08

Part of me thinks these are overworked, part of me likes them.

Watercolor, about 7 1/4 inches square, 31 minutes.

Have to use these peaches today as I dropped two of them as I was heading outside. Super.

Good to get away from my computer, the technical stuff of my website is killing me.

A Drawing A Day, 7.1.08

I drew something from our farm share today: a strawberry. It measures 6x6 inches. I don't love it. Particularly, I think the "line drawing" is too cartoony, and the others were just frustrating. But what matters is I did it, I spent 30 minutes drawing today.

I am really trying to do this daily -- yeah, I know, I skipped four days, but I was away, and being away doesn't allow for such regularity in drawing...but now that I am back in Waltham, I didn't skip a day! Hey, once every five days is much better than once every three months!

A Drawing A Day, 6.26.08

After way too long, I am back with A Drawing A Day (What is this? A Drawing a Quarter?!). And guess what? I am loving it. If I have an unproductive day or I can't get motivated, I just feel like at least I have done something. Yes, that is exactly how I have been feeling. And I feel good about this watercolor. I am going to keep doing cupcakes because I love the and they are popular with the audiences right now, and it's really neat to see how my drawings change over time.

I have realized how much I love working with a practically dry brush on this clayboard.

This one is quite small, only 4"x4". I love the intimacy of such a small painting -- both while making it and in the end, looking at it.

A couple notes to self:

1. Do this more often. It makes you feel good.
2. You also like using black Bravo markers -- a lot.
3. Good thing I am making this "note to self" list. I can't even remember the last of the three in a span of minutes. Oh well.
   

A Drawing A Day, 3.13.2008

I am loving drawing on alternative materials. I actually tried to draw on some painted vellum, but that didn't work so well, so I am saving that for a screen printing project.

The page fascinated me because even thought it was trying not to be racist, it was really still very racist and stereotyped. I mean, not that this is an excuse but it was 1964 when this book was published.

I have to admit though, overall, I did like the previous day's core a lot better.

A Drawing A Day, 3.12.2008

Apple core. This was a lot of fun and really beautiful to draw. Think I am going to keep this up, these half eaten foods...

This measures in at the standard 6 x 6 inches.

Enjoy!

A Drawing A Day, 3.4.2008

Another watercolor on clayboard...still having trouble with accurate scans, especially when I scrape into the clayboard. Any ideas of how to fix this?

I don't have anything exciting to say. Well, yeah, I do. Today was my first time actually working in my new studio space. I mean, Kev and I have been in there a lot and building equipment, and the other weekend, Mom, Dad, Kevin, Jesse, Ashley, and Jonah helped with the move (thank you so much, all!) , but today was the first day of actually going there during the day alone to work.

A Drawing A Day, 2.26.2008

I am not feeling it today. I got really frustrated with this one today. I need to remember that I am not going to like everything I do. One thing I do like is the time limit. I worked on this for about an hour, but felt good that I had spent time trying before I gave up, but I felt ok stopping as well. That's it for today.