Anyone curious?

About whatever happened to the umbrella painting for the Red Art Project?

Did you think I forgot?

... I did set it aside for a time, but there was that looming deadline, sooooo

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TADA!

... and here's a detail ...

and don't forget about:

If you are seeing this piece for the first time and are interested in seeing the progress, click HERE, HERE and HERE.

Results ... Update ... Reminder

That's right, it's official! The Pink Artists Project has come to an end ...

$3,028.34

was raised to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure

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How about that update on the Red Art Project?

After my last post I ended up painting over all the sponging in solid red ... I am happy to see the umbrella's pop again:

The piece is still in progress, so stay tuned ...

... BUT ...

... I am forced (I admit it, willingly forced) to take a pause on

The Red Art Project

What?!?

What could possibly pull me away from it?!?

Did you forget?

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This Saturday is:

And I have a few suprises in store for the PARTY!!

Come back on Saturday

... you just might win a PRIZE ...

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.

Friday Fill-Ins #69

1. When I fell in love the air around me became electric and the whole world changed ... for the better!

2. My imagination goes into overdrive when the flowers bloom and it heats up outside!

3. Oh no! The internet connection is down, I just may have to slit my wrist! ... uh, no - that's not right ... I think I'll bake some bread and play games with the fam.

4. Soap was the craziest tv show ever.

5. Cheese and crackers (what else did you expect?!?) make a great meal!

6. Once upon a time I thought that when I grew up more than anything else I'd like to be a fairy that tended a beautiful garden.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sweet dreams, tomorrow my plans include escaping from work on the early side and having friends over for a play date and Sunday, I want to get started on my 25 black and white charms for the swap!

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.

A Challenge or Two

I have been working on my submissions to the Black and White Charm Swap. I just put the first coat of gloss on one attempt - it's a small two sided wooden piece. One side is painted white and the other is black. I reduced the elephant pic and did a negative of the same image - one for each side. I painted the edge in silver (airplane paint) ... I still need to add another coat of the gloss prior to photographing it, but I am close. The other little piece is a little beaded doll that makes me grin. I should be able to take pics of both day after tomorrow and will post them after I email pics to Amber Dawn. I honestly can't say if she'll accept them and if she does which she'll pick, but I do have to admit that I am glad that I made an attempt. :)

I have another challenge facing me, too. The spouse just challenged me to complete a piece by this Sunday at 6:00 pm. He said part has to be painted, part beaded and part found object and that it should be designed to be suspended ... I am at a complete loss. The more I think about it, the more my brain hurts. lol.

I did a little more beading on the artsy doll. I'll likely take a snap of it tomorrow after work. On that note, I'm wiped out and still have dishes to finish, so Ciao Bella's! ~M~

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:

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.

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.

Friday Fill-Ins #65

Friday Fill-Ins #65

1. Some relationships are meant to last forever.
2. It's been so long I can't recall the last concert I saw; it's a little depressing.
3. Spring should be sprung.
4. Oh no! I forgot to invent that thingamajig that will provide us with a somewhat disposable income!
5. I've recently started painting again.
6. Watching uber-spouse and critter-child have tickle fights never fails to make me smile.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to re-working a paintings background, tomorrow my plans include getting out of work early to paint a little more and Sunday, I want to sleep in, make blueberry pancakes for breakfast, read a little and paint some more!

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. :)

Friday Fill-Ins #64

Friday Fill-In #64

1. Learning something new is so exciting!
2. Strawberry fields forever (yeah, I know, not very original) :).
3. Cream of asparagus soup in a bread bowl sounds like it would taste delicious (right about now)!
4. Why does finding sharks teeth and cool little rocks at (Stump Pass State Beach Park) make me feel so good?!
5. A moonbow (also known as a lunar rainbow ...) is something I've always wanted to see.
6. It's sad when you see people behave nasty to other people in order to make themselves feel better ... hmmm, pathetic, too.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dinner, tomorrow my plans include work (as usual) and Sunday, I want to start painting (the long overdue sea turtle for "Boots")!