the Red Art Project 2008 - a WIP

Last weekend I when I visited Sabii Wabii (a.k.a. Tarisa) at Running with Scissors, she had posted about the Red Art Project.

Don't ask me why I didn't stop and think first, but I signed up to submit something that fits within the following guidelines:

The Theme is RED...somewhere there needs to be the color red.
Other themes need to be encompassing any area of the arts and/or the image of an umbrella somewhere in the piece.
Create a piece of art: Textile, fine, doll, sculpture, jewelry, etc.
It can be two or three dimensional work.
The size needs to be no larger than 18"x18".

So, what did I end up deciding to do? A canvas that's 18"x18" ... seriously, WHAT was I THINKING?!? My brain pictured something that I hoped my hands could reproduce ... it starts with a collage of some fine art pieces, a little music, some ballet slippers here and there (printed on 30 lb high gloss paper) all modge podged to the canvas:

Next I added some textile (simple way of saying bits and pieces of random fabric & a bitty crocheted piece). I really like the different textures that are starting to happen with the piece:

Last night I cut out the shape of an umbrella and used it as a reverse stencil sponging around the image in cadmium red - with the exception of the almost central umbrella, the umbrellas spiral outward:

That's where I am at ... next up I have some copper and bronze paint that I am thinking I'd like to sponge over the red paint (I am just not 100% sure, yet) - part of me want to keep the backgound images somewhat visible through the paint & part of me wants only to let the background show through within the umbrella shapes ... decisions, decisions ... and then there's this overthinking me that's been rearing it's silly little head ... it's wondering if my literal take on the guidelines is going to be seen as just too literal. It's a good thing there's a deadline to contend with or my second guessing nature would surely get the best of me!

OH! and if you are wondering, YOU can be a part of this project. Click on the picture at the top of this post for more details (or right HERE).

Also, you can click on any of my project photo's to see larger versions.

My Charm Entries

4/24 - Woohooo! Looks like the elephant charm won out. Time to get-a-making. :)

I just emailed Amber Dawn with my two attempts for her Black and White Charm Swap - the entries are juried, so there's a definite possibility that my attempts will not be accepted. I am so totally OK with that and no matter the outcome, I am really happy that I worked on these. The first is a beaded doll. The head is a black Swarovski crystal and the rest are glass beads:

This second option took two of the ideas I originally had and morphed it into this:

As you can see, it's a reversable charm. This (being the first attempt) isn't as refined as future versions will be - I plan on much smoother coats of paint, a little finer sanding of the wooden pieces and a little more border of the silver painted edge. If you click on the pictures to see a larger view, don't be surprised by the grainy looking elephant - the photo's are much larger than actual size as this charm measures 3/4 inch x 3/4 inch. I will keep everyone posted on if either of my submissions are accepted. Wish me luck!

For the latest Art Doll update, check out the newest photo's here.

Mandala

In case you're curious, here's a close up view of my profile pic:

I have a girlfriend in Phoenix that was redecorating her bedroom (this was actually about two years ago). She mentioned that she was looking for a print of a Mandala and I thought ... hmmm ... I can paint one! So, I did. This was the first one that I had ever attempted and I was really happy with the results ... she was too as it is still hanging on her bedroom wall.

This was one of those paintings that I really enjoyed working on. I broke out my ruler and a sharpened pencil to lay down the design - it started with the eight point star in the center and radiated out from there. I used acrylics on an 18"X18" canvas. Shortly after I finished this one, I painted another that's 12"X 12". I'm not as fond of the second as I am of the first (go figure, I still have the second hanging in the house). It's got a simpler design and the colors don't appeal to me as much ... but, I have been thinking about painting another one. I would like to revisit the first design again - or something similar to it. I just need to figure out the colors that I want to use ...

In the meantime, I have to set the art doll aside (I have done a little more beading since the last update, but it's dark and I prefer to photograph it in natural light). The more I look at it, the more it reminds me that I really don't know what I am doing. :) That's not really the reason that I am setting it aside ... I recently visited Monica's blog and saw mention of a Black and White charm swap ... I've never made a charm, so I am not sure what possessed me to add my name to the list, but I did. Now I actually have to create something - EEK! I contacted the host and let her know that I would work on something this weekend and would email pics so she can decide if they are acceptable for the swap. Since then, I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what I am going to do ... I have a few ideas:

1) I can "macrame" black and white embroidery thread (love that 100% cotton feel over rough hemp any day of the week - no offense, hemp) over wire, embelish with black and white beads and bend into a heart shape.

2) Make the charms from wood and paint - I'm thinking geometric. I kind of see a half inch square base with a quarter inch square attached (in the center and at an angle) on either side of the base ... i think just paint and no additional embellishment

3) making little frames from sculpy and printing off pictures of the elephant that I did last fall to set (and somehow seal) in the frame ... here's the elephant that I mentioned:

Considering it's Sunday night, I don't really have that much weekend left. I've got to get started. Wish me luck - I could definitely use it right about now. :)

Red Checkerboard - redone

I wasn't happy with the results of the first attempt of the red/heart checkerboard ... here's the updated version:

YOR Swirl

I thought I was going to start a Mandala next, but I think I need to do just one more checkerboard. I'm waiting on da mahn to cover the hearts canvas. I'm planning on revisiting that same hearts background and either using circles (like this one) or hearts in the checkerboard ... the main difference is that the checkerboard will cover the entire painting rather than be quartered.

Update - 12"x12" YOR Swirl

This version has the lines laid down for the checkerboard. It was tough getting a crisp shot, but this does show the gist of it. :)


I started painting in the checkerboard this evening and am about halfway done. I just have some chores that really need my attention, so had to put it down for the night. I imagine I'll finish it tomorrow after work.

In Progress - 12"x12" - YOR Swirl

Here's the background for the final checkerboard painting. I forgot to snap a shot of the last one after I layed the spiderweb (as my daughter calls the checkerboard outline) down, but will try to remember this time.

Blue Green Purple - 12"x12" on Canvas

It's not as refined as I would have liked (the cover-up wasn't as smooth as it should have been), but I think I'm ok with the results. I have one more checkerboard that I'd like to do and then I have an itch to do another mandala ...

In Progress - 12"x12" - Blue Green Purple

Here's a background that I started the night before last:

The original version was very similar, but when I put the lines down for the checkerboard I had an epiphany and had to cover up the original last night. I used Liquatex acrylic paints in Emerald Green, Cobalt Blue and Titanium White, plus M. Graham and Co. in Dioxazine Purple. I'll lay down the checkerboard outline in Sharpie at some point today and will take a snap prior to filling in the squares. I wasn't very happy with the way the hearts version turned out, (uber-spouse will be "erasing" that canvas for me to use again) so I am hopeful that I have a better result with this one ... guess we'll see.

On a side note ... our anti virus program expired and we won't be able to renew it till next week. I won't be able to visit anyone's blogs till we get it updated, but I'm looking forward to visiting again soon.

Hearts - 12"x12" on canvas

I'm calling this one done. I can't say that I am thrilled with the results. Doing the checkerboard freehand was a lot more difficult than I had anticipated ... there's an obvious area where the design got off and I wasn't able to correct it. Ah well. Good for practice, I suppose. I do plan on doing another one similar to this. I'll definitely use a finer brush to lay out the grid lines ... I think I'll try a crazy more colorful background ... maybe I'll even take a shot at it tonight. :) ... or maybe I'll entertain myself by doing that list-o-things ...

In Progress - Hearts - 12"X12" Acrylic on Canvas

I started another painting last night. I completed the background and feel pretty good about it:

I have been trying my hand at playing with color a little more (I have a tendency to stick to black and whites, but the spouse has been working on me - for a long time - to get a little experimental. I'm still afraid of color, but am really trying to give myself a break.) :) I wanted to do a background using Cadmium Red and Titanium White - red, white, shades of pink ... my mind naturally went to hearts. Next I'll be adding a morphy checkerboard (in Mars Black, of course - hey, I can't stray too far all at once!). I'm nearly certain the checkerboard will obliterate the hearts, but if it works out the way I imagine, the effect should be a pretty cool ... I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Sea Turtle - 18"X18" Acrylic on Canvas

One of my Friday Fill-Ins was to start a painting ... tada - I actually finished it. The painting is 18 inches square. It's a gift for my uber-awesome girlfriends new baby boy. The background colors are (as close as I can recall) the colors in the rug on the critters bedroom floor. I ended up doing the background Friday night. I used Liquitex Acrylic paints, an eyeshadow blender brush (for the background) and one of my new brushes (for the sea turtle) - it's a sable filbert size 2 brush from the Blick Masterstroke line. Holy smokes! The new brush is AWESOME. It holds a good amount of paint and ends in a super fine point that is really quite easy to manipulate. The top half is painted Emerald Green mixed with a small amount of Titanium White & the bottom half is Cobalt Blue mixed with about the smae amount of Titanium White. The entire sea turtle is done in Mars Black. I was thinking that it needed something more, but both the spouse & kid tell me they disagree, so I am considering this piece done ... now let's see how long it takes me to ship it. :)