PERSPECTIVE

You know those standard "place" photos that try to capture the entirety of a location in one fell swoop?  The ones that look like this?

Stolen from the Interwebs.  Old Town, Winchester, VA.

I don't take those pictures.  I take these pictures:

Old Town, Winchester, VA

Winchester, VA

Winchester, VA

Washington, DC

Alexandria, VA

New Orleans, LA

Portland, OR

Nashville, TN

I like my pictures better.

PAINTING: [To be titled]

I know, I know!  "To be titled?!"  It just hasn't come to me yet, give me time.

I wanted to play around a little bit more with the acrylics before I started moving into spring-cleaning craft mode (and also because I needed to make a few more requested paintings for a grouping across town, so it worked out, you know?), so I delved into the local photos for inspiration.

I found this photo, taken last year near Abrams Creek Wetlands Preserve:

This will be on a few Zazzle items, too, me thinks.

 Now, the last few weeks I've been really struggling with the paint.  Trying too hard and over-thinking it, I guess.  Thought I'd give it another go with this image and specifically try to keep it simple and un-detailed.  I did a solid base coat of blue grey and white (the water) over the entire board and laid over that glazes in blue, blue-black, green, and cream, to which I added alcohol-resist textures.  It turned out pretty good, I think...(except for the weirdly bent rope ties near the seat, but I won't mention that).

ILLUSTRATED PHOTO MAT: Under the Sea

Raise your hand if the title of this post gets a certain steel drum calypso beat sung by an animated crustacean jammin' through your head!

[Raises hand.]

This is not that crustacean (duh), but you're more than welcome to sing the licensed and copyrighted ditty of your choice while you admire the latest photo frame/autograph mat:

I also found Nemo's lesser-known and non-trademarked cousin, Ahab!  Heh!

(Super-zoomed from the original whole frame pix, thus the choppiness.)

PAINTING: Coursing Soldiers

I was really having a good time "painting" with a palette knife, but since I'm learning all this as I go, the nerd in me insisted on watching some edumacational how-to videos of established artists using palette knives so I could learn me sumptin'.  I mean, why would I listen to my educated painter mom and "just do it" and not "over-think it" anyway??

And I'm pretty sure that's where I went wrong.

I watched several videos, but ended up hanging out at Leonid Afremov's site and binge-watching his tutorial youtube videos.  I really like his work--very colorful, expressive, bright.  And blocky, so of course this told me it would be easy and all I would have to do was watch what he does and I'd be able to do it, too.  Clearly a perfect plan!

I did learn some things.  Primarily I learned that when I think I should stop, I should keep going.  In theory this is a great thing, been hearing it all my life: just push the envelope a little more, just go a little farther, etc.

So I grabbed an old photo of the Civil War markers in Mt. Hebron Cemetary (taken sometime around 2001) and proceeded to render it on canvas, and to keep going even after I thought I should stop.

I started out with a bang.  I LOVE using the palette knife to paint a sky!  I should know, I've done two! (snort)

And I kept going to cover the canvas and finish laying in the background of sky and snow.

And I kept going.  I was actually really happy with everything at this point.  So happy I was scared to add in the rest of the picture!

But I persevered and roughed in the horizon line and the stones and trees.  It all looked really good . . . until a toothbrush spatter effect vomited a cloudy haze all over my winter tree.  I mean, yeah, I did it on purpose at the time but afterward I realized I'd ruined it!  UGH!!

So now it's overworked and I'm mourning the loss of what could have been in the bottom of a bottle of lime vodka and/or melon flavoured jell-o.

I blame the video tutorials.

Anyway--this is getting set aside for now until I can look at it again with fresh eyes and figure out how I can save this or if I just need to paint over it.  Until then. . .

ILLUSTRATED PHOTO MAT: Whoo Dat?

I'm taking a chance here that this post won't be seen by the intended recipient of this little commissioned mat.  Since my readership here and on my facebook page is pretty much limited to friends and family, though, I feel pretty safe in posting this.

However, if you're having a baby in the Winchester, VA area and are decorating the nursery in purple baby owls. . . LOOK AWAY!!!  

Also, if you have a heart condition and/or allergies to too much cuteness, you may need to avert your eyes.

BEHOLD THE CUTENESS!

Think you can handle more adorable lavender cuteness?  Well, do you?!

I'd like you to answer the question.  I want answers.

You want the cuteness?  Do you want the cuteness?!  YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE CUTENESS!!

BOOM!  Cuteness overload initiated.

PAINTING: That Place You Know (Winchester, VA)

So I decided to try my hand at painting again after the little 8 x 8s were so fun to make.  This time I wanted more of a challenge, though--I wanted it to look like something, not just tinker around with the paint and see what my imagination saw in it.

I've had this neat photo of three of our local landmarks (all on the same corner) for a few years and I'd been wanting to make something with it.  I was inspired to paint a night scene over black canvas after I'd seen a really great piece by my friend Jose, and I pulled out my old photo to see what I could do with it.

Painting for me is hard--I hate that the brush does weird things when I smoosh it down on the canvas, it drives me a little nuts to mix up different hues and shades all the time when my brain just wants to grab a pencil and layer colors, and oh my god waiting on drying times--argh!!  It's an exercise in futility, in my opinion.  BUT I also realize it's all a mindset and (as my mother says) I just have to stop over-thinking it and just DO it: my brain will figure it out with practice.

Whatever.  (sigh)  I know she's right, but it's just . . . difficult.

So, in the interest of just doing it I decided to go with the smooshiness and aim for something loose and impressionistic.  Granted, I DID spend some time studying impressionist works so I could see how they pulled all those layers together--just don't tell my mother.

It was fun!  Even with all that blow-drying between layers to speed things along.

That Place You Know, 9 x 12" acrylic on canvas.  2015

I had loaned this out to a pop up art show and got some really great comments from other artists and art patrons.  LOTS of requests to see this on a card or poster print, so stay tuned for that after I blow the dust off the zazzle site.

You can see the original photo next to the nearly-finished piece on my facebook page.

ILLUSTRATED PHOTO MATS: Oh Baby!

I don't know about you, but sometimes it feels like all my friends and co-workers start getting pregnant at the same time.  This year it took both hands to count the number of baby showers happening between January and March!

So I've been busy with a few photo mat requests for the parents-to-be.  I initially made this as a generic baby frame--good for a boy or a girl.  You can check out my facebook page for the pink or blue variations I made upon request.

All the toys Baby needs!

ILLUSTRATED PHOTO MATS: Christmas Joy

Okay, I know this is a teensy bit late (cough, cough), but I suffer from a chronic case of semper aberrare--always losing time.  I blame the Project A.D.D.

Anyway, after I made the Nativity photo mat, I wanted to make something that was a little more fun and light-hearted, almost comic.  Out came the bigger pens (for that classic bold lining) and the brighter toy colors:

Here's a (slightly blurry) detail:

ILLUSTRATED PHOTO MATS: Nativity

In November I was asked to vend at our local country club for their holiday arts and crafts event (a portion of sales goes toward the charity of the year).  The event was slated for the Saturday after Black Friday, so I was prepared to expect a massive onslaught of ladies going for the Christmas bargains.

I made this holiday-themed goodie for the occasion.  Better than a Christmas card, if you ask me!

Nativity.  8 x 10 mat (4 x 6 cut out), pen and ink.

And a detail:

I did my research on this one.  The animals you see there are documented work/farm and/or food animals of the middle East and northern Africa: the onager, the oryx, and some very sturdy sheep.  (Plus a mouse.) There was an ox and a few other barnyard miscreants, but they didn't make the final cut given the space.  

The timeline of documented events that match up with the stories in the Bible suggests the three kings might have arrived just in time to meet "baby" Jesus as a toddler or young child, which indicates to me the family would've been ensconced in their own home by then (Joseph's carpentry workshop is out back in my rendition, but no space on the mat, ha!), rather than still hanging out in the manger of an over-booked roadside inn, so I've drawn the entrance to their home, warmly lit in welcome while their small assortment of live stock are taking it easy in the yard.  

Sold these puppies like hot cakes!  Sure to be back next Christmas!

ILLUSTRATED PHOTO MATS: GermanFest

I was invited to sell my photo mats at a local German festival in October 2014 (the aptly named GermanFest), so a fellow artisan and I (Constance Keare Custom Jewelry) joined our Wonder Twin powers to really give them a shopping experience.

Sadly, however, the weather was less than cooperative, so sales weren't as awesome as we'd hoped.  But the pretzels and sausages were!  You just cannot beat a German festival for spectacular truck food.

Except maybe an Italian festival.  Mmmm.  I digress with my gustatory musings . . .

While we waited out the bouts of chill rain, Stephanie worked on her jewelry and I created a photo frame for the event based on their festival logo.

Here's the logo:

And here's my rendition of it:

GermanFest.  8 x 10 mat (4 x 6 cut out), pen and ink.

 And a detail:

ILLUSTRATED PHOTO MATS: Leaves

My illustrated photo mats were starting to garner some attention last fall, and I wanted to keep that momentum going while we were starting to slide into the fall and winter holiday seasons.  The art market peeps had issued a color-themed challenge (orange), so I came up with these little lovelies.  

(In my mind these were perfect for sepia toned or "vintage" filtered photos.  Still are!)

Leaves (Large).  Roughly 11 x 14 mat with 5 x 7 cut out.  Pen and ink over white mat board.

Leaves (Regular).  The usual 8 x 10 mat with 4 x 6 cut out.

Jazz at Du Monde (v. I)

Apparently only in my own mind have I been updating this blog.  I blame facebook (where you can see stuff I make as it's done.  So, you know, when in doubt . . . ).

Anywho.  Last summer I got an itch to try a little painting after my abstracts turned out so well, and I figured it was time to really start delving into the LOTR photos for all that art I said I would make.  And also, the art market folks issued a themed challenge for inspirations based on: "Orange."

(I was mostly embarrassed that was the best theme they could come up with since there were some really great abstract and/or visually suggestive ideas that were kicked around.  I digress.)

So I came up with this:

Garcon!  A plate of beignets while we groove!  Jazz at Du Monde, 16 x 20 acrylic on canvas.

Those of you who have experienced the Cafe in the NOLA French quarter know of which I paint.  

And now I'm craving the darn things, dang it!

This is version 1, actually.  I need to fix a few minor details and remove the chick in the hat (it really was a tiny hat, but she needs to go), so this is temporarily off market.  Stay tuned. . . I gotta go make some beignets, first, though.  Mmmm--greasy hot sugary goodness!