ACEO summer style...

these, like my postcards, were TV-watching time passers. there is a little bit more descrip on my flickr.

 

postcard play

this is my podplanet. i have been finding inspiration on flickr from hundreds of searches for different new and old interests in biology, ocean creatures, geology and abstract landscapes. i am so magnetically attracted to mini living worlds, worlds inside of worlds (like cells) and the prospect of worlds beyond our own. so what is this?  i dunno. you can assign it a meaning of your own.

i searched a long list of urchins and jellyfish and decided to create my own new species... 

...another swirl theme with scales and roses...i like that i didn't let myself color the whole thing in - i scanned it and just added one color. well, a few variations of one color.

 

for some reason this one didn't have the - i guess i don't like the oranges so much. the blue "netting" layer reminds me of the white mushrooms that make themselves those hol-y umbrellas. i love love love mushrooms and their detailed undersides, and the tiny worlds they create on moss and lichen-covered branches and forest floors...

peace board

 

 if you came to my blog from my flickr, sorry for the repetition...this book board was saved from my book disassemblings...which i stopped because i finally urged my OCD self to just look for collage materials as i go along, instead of trying to catalog everything. the book board idea is from several collage artists i found online who use them as bases for collages. great idea, because they are dry and absorb glue really well. for marker drawing - not so great, i realized 2 seconds into my drawing. so i had to use colored pencils. i have been loving the intesity of my sharpies and bics when i draw on smooth bristol, so i wasn't happy that i had to have a softer look.  after my daughter suggested the pencils might actually work better on a peace drawing because of the muted-ness of the color, i carried on.  it took a lot longer than my marker work, but i do like how it came out.

 

 i scanned this in B&W before i took-on the coloring, in case it didn't turn out well.

then i thought about making pages to sell as color-yourself prints. dover publishing sells a lot of detail coloring books...i love them.

 as you can see from my photos here, i had to pr - ok - well, i didn't HAVE to, but i chose to press very hard to achieve solid color. i have a thing for crinkly paper and permanence, so i always press very hard when i write.  does anyone else miss the smell of papermate ink on a freshly written assignment? i was one of those kids who wouldn't use a crayon lightly, all of my colored pages were heavily filled. i try sometimes to abandon that urge, in fact i started another journal and the first page is softly drawn.  i will post it later.

all in all, i have a goal to try and grow larger drawings. i have been asked to trade and sell something like an 8x10 size, so i am working toward that.  this fulfills that goal, i might try to print it to see how the colors come through.

 

 

 

i am really happy with the three above, somehow they worked better than i thought. i got some new blick markers from my best friend in ohio!!  (thanks, missy).  she picked some lighter colors, so i'm excited to use those to do something new or at least a little different. we'll see how that might work with some vintage or magazine images thrown in...

here are three ACEOs i used a bit of collage in:

the eye from a catalog, the two heads from a vintage encyclopedia.

 

 

...and some magic. think i'll stick to the collage thing...

 

i have failed to open my ETSY store on my birthday, may 4th.

i had a description put in, and i went to add my photos, but they were TOOBIG!

so, back to photoshop to chop.

starting to wonder if it's not worth it for the few dollars i'll make?

i have, however, started a FACEBOOK PAGE for art and art friends form flickr, blogs, etc. i hope to make that a place to discuss process and product and maybe turn this blog into a place for discussing and sharing depression and other mental health issues as it pertains to art. or the other way around. either direction, i completely believe in and depend on art as therapy, and want to share that with others who do the same or who didn't think about art as a healing process. there are 198765 things going on in our life right now, so working on this is helpful but will be slow going...i am keeping up with my flickr the most, since i am getting into the networking thing

inspired!

 

 

so, here it is. my last post as someone trying to come off as a happy, well-adjusted "artist" type person. i can't live anymore without making art.  it takes a large part of my time.  most of that time i like to be alone or not bothered. my kids and husband and family suffer, if you call not having me in their face "suffering" (i call it a blessing!)...

here are my first two collages since i made the conscious decision to start making them again. i have been inspired by scrapiteria, fantasyrooms, and craftydogma TO JUST NAME THREE!!!  actually, here is my flickriver box and link-mania where you can spend the rest of your week dreamily gazing at some of the most awesome artists' work....THANK YOU to all of those who so willingly put their hearts out there to share talent we would have never seen if it wasn't for this thing we call the INTERNET (loud deep voice with slight echo).

ps: for more descriptive anecdotes about these pieces, please jump over to my flickr. thanks for stopping by!

pretty much whatever i say today might sound negative.  just the day.  but i have gripes with blogger.  why is it sooo much easier to upload and organize stuff on flickr than here?  the *new* page feature is not much news, you can only make static pages....wanted bad to have the page structure of wordpress. yes, so go there, i know. each has their merits, but neither is really set-up for gallery type pages or art/photography posting like flickr. 

not sure how to proceed....i'm getting a lot of views on flickr and finding an incredible community atmosphere, and it's much quicker than waiting for traffic here.

what i'm debating is, i was opening a blog to both have a place to share art and have a place to talk about depression and OCD. i wanted to see if i could blend the mental process with my art, as a way to promote art as therapy. i haven't been doing that, i'm actually avoiding the mental parts.  maybe if i concentrate more on that here, and focus on just my art on flickr, i can do both.  bear with me as i try to figure it out, the very few of you who so graciously come here!

new direction, kinda

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

so since i think my drawings are getting boring, i decided to try harder to add some dimension or substance. i feel ok that these are an improvement, and am newly refreshed and addicted to ACEO-sized pieces. i will even try a bit larger size, postcard or even a few of my vintage book boards. i'm laughing because i would like to do a few ACEOs horizontally, but my OCD is preventing it. i assume ahead of time that it won't work, that it will be odd due to the standard-ness of the trading card.

as far as color, i think it's amusing that "my" colors are really all muted, natural tones. you can't find red or orange anywhere in my house.              

ok.  i'm lying. right this instant i am wearing a red t-shirt. it has paint on it, though, so it isn't official enough to count. i prefer the serenity of earth tones and the peace they bring to my mind. tonight i will use my new colored pencils. i made sure, even though it was unsettling, that i picked some bright colors. i like the brightness of my pieces, so having the option to work in more muted or blended tones will be interesting.  

see? i'm already obsessing.

 

 

  

one more mandala and a 2 x 2 incher. i reeeally like how the greys turned out.  i used my bics and sharpies, including the new cafe colors (latte?) i don't do coffee, but i loove these new shades. i have enjoyed some of the monotone detail drawings i have found on flickr, i wonder what it would do to my system to work in one shade for the whole piece...

OH, WAIT!

i forgot to mention that i worked on my my FLICKR page, and now have all the things i have posted here (art-wise) on my FLICKR page so that whoever doesn't want to read stuff can go there to view everything together.  the colors actually look better here, because if you watch the slideshow version of FLICKR, the black is nice, but the size reduces the clarity too much.

but i have to say, that i am COMPLETELY HOOKED on FLICKR and have been trying to soak up as much art and photography as possible, building up my favorites list.  i will be posting both my FLICKR and ETSY favorite sellers badges here on my site, prolly on the LINK page. (i'm not overusing the word FLICKR anymore).

more ACEOs and mandalas

  

  

i'm stuck on making these little things.  they are the perfect size for my attention span.  i wish there were more colors in fine tip markers to work with, at least ones i can afford! more hues and shades of the same colors would be fine. someone at bic and sharpie should get on that.  

i have also been setting up my flickr sets, so if anyone comes and wants to read, they can, or they can go straight to the colored stuff. i made tags, and i have a nice favorites collection, and again, i have trouble leaving when i start looking through others' collections...i drown in all the awesome art and photographs.  i am going to set up a FLICKR badge to show off my favorite items by other flickr members. i also have to put up an ETSY favorites badge....and then there's the ETSY store i promised myself...

so, since i can't seem to get past this phase, i will try to make myself do something new. i'd like to pull out an old bookboard and alter it with my new caran d'ache neocolor IIs.  or should i try the oil pencils....