"Night Garden"
22"x28"
 watercolor, magazine, and acrylic collage

     The theme of "Death and the Maiden" is one of my favorites. The maiden is usually pictured embracing or sitting by a skeleton (Death) and often she is gazing into a mirror symbolizing vanity.

     I've painted this theme before - not necessarily to be spooky but as a reminder to myself not to take life for granted. So I guess the point is, to me, that while we are caught up in all the 'small stuff' of life - status, beauty, disagreements, etc., - our mortality is always with us. Not one of us lives forever. This helps me keep my attitude in perspective about what is really important when I'm sad, depressed, worried, etc.

Here is a great link to art works about this theme created by various artists over the centuries: http://www.lamortdanslart.com/fille/maiden.htm

Rocks Paper Scissors

     I'm really getting into this watercolor collage business! As I was playing with the cut-outs yesterday I thought, "I'm going to recreate a huge landscape out of all these pieces!" I then set out to recreate with collage a photograph I had taken and I realized it was becoming more and more boring as I went along. I disassembled the piece and decided just to put it together the way it felt best - I left it up to the individual paper rocks and flowers to dictate their own destiny and here's what I came up with:

   
 Here's a detail of the little guy in the background. I don't think I'll glue the pieces down - I like that it looks temporary - somehow that implies movement to me.

 
    Moral of the art story? Let yourself play. Some of the best advice I received from a teacher: paint yourself a surprise!

Fun with Paper Cut Outs!

     I have been doing a lot of research lately on children's books which involves going to the bookstore  and sitting in the kids' section and pouring over picture books. This is always a little strange because I don't have any children (just a surly small dog). No, I haven't been arrested yet.
     Anyway, my favorite illustrator right now is a guy named John Klassen. He is both illustrator and author of  I Want My Hat Back. I think this book was the winner of the Caldecott Medal. His pictures  are simple, fun, quirky, and effective watercolors.  Here's one from the aforementioned story:

and one from another story:

So this second one got me really excited -  I love those very simple shapes that make up the mountains. When I'm painting I often end up with a ton of watercolors that simply don't turn out for one reason or another. Watercolor is difficult because you really only get one go at it - you can't erase. So I took a page out of Mr. Klassen's book (very punny!) and cut up all my pictures that didn't work and this is what I came up with:

Rocks with Dandelion Fluffy Things

Booy with Dandelions

Rock Cairn

Large Landscape with rocks and Dandelions

Party Animals

     Alrighty, here's the cover page of our ebook. I made it on my ipad with the Book Creator app.

And here's the last page. Rawr.
I'm heading to the local chapter of the Society for Children's Books Authors and Illustrators tonight to learn about running a kickstarter campaign as well as how to market your book with social media. I am thinking about doing a kickstarter campaign so I can get this book in print: although lots of people read ebooks now I have many friends with little ones who have asked me for a print version. I would be THRILLED to have this in a hold-in-your-hands-turn-real-pages manifestation. It is quite short (9 illustrations, 22 pages) so maybe I will finish illustrating a couple more of Amanda's poems and make it into a short collection - say three poems. Thoughts? Comments?

Children With Tails

     Hello friends! I have two stories I am working on illustrations for right now: "The Little Match Girl" and another poem by my very talented friend, Amanda Kraft, entitled, "Children With Tails". Amanda is the same friend who wrote, "Wolf Party" -see previous posts for illustrations of the wily wolves! Also, I am working on having an ebook made for "Wolf Party". It will be available on iBooks, Kobo, and the Barnes and Noble Nook! I'll keep y'all posted.

     This new poem is about little devils masquerading as children - the only way you know they are devils is when they forget to cover their tails. Here are a couple of pictures of my progress.

          "Children with tails live all around,

            in almost all towns a few will be found.

            At first glance you feel as though nothing is wrong,

            as they are clever with words and haunting with song."

Is the tail obvious enough? 

In this detail of the portraits you can see I added to the schoolmarm's dress.

Some people have mentioned that the work is kind of dark, sad (the little match girl), or too grown  up (wolves drinking ale) but I grew up in the '80's with Garbage Pail Kids, Mad Magazine, Edward Gorey, and the funky poems of Shel Silverstein! I'm hoping the work appeals to more than just little children - I want big kids (a.k.a. adults) to want to read it too. So there!

The Little Match Girl

     So I am starting a couple new illustration projects. I didn't study illustration at school so I'm finding myself trying to learn all the basic stuff like balancing text and images, storyboarding, composition, etc.

     Usually my approach to art making is to jump in paint brushes ablazing! I try to make the work in one go (especially water color) to keep it fresh, expressive, and gestural. This does not always lend itself to illustration. So here are my preliminary drawings for Hans Christian Anderson's,"The Little Match Girl".

"Her little hands were almost numbed with cold. Oh! a match might afford her a world of comfort, if she only dared take a single one out of the bundle, draw it against the wall, and warm her fingers by it. She drew one out. "Rischt!" how it blazed, how it burnt! It was a warm, bright flame, like a candle, as she held her hands over it: it was a wonderful light"- H.CA.

     This little drawing above was made on a post-it note - 3"x3"- with ball point pen and yellow colored pencil. I found an artist who makes all of his drawings on post-its (!) which I thought would be a brilliant idea for storyboarding since you can move the pics around and change the sequence of your story. 

"When she left home she had slippers on, it is true; but what was the good of that? They were very large slippers, which her mother had hitherto worn; so large were they; and the poor little thing lost them as she scuffled away across the street, because of two carriages that rolled by dreadfully fast."

     Here is the second drawing made with conte crayon and colored pencil. This one measures 5"x7"- practically huge in comparison with the post-it. If her shoes look big its because in the story all she has to wear are her mother's slippers - which are later stolen by an urchin (I can't wait to draw the slipper-stealing urchin!).

     Both of these drawings were made from imagination. I generally always work with a model or some sort of reference photo. I'm a little shy about showing my "from imagination" stuff so please be kind!

      

      

Portrait of a Young Man

"Portrait of a Young Man"

9"x12" watercolor 2013

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     Hello friends! I'm sorry I have been M.I.A. for the past week or so. I have been a very busy lady  painting, publishing children's stories, applying for teaching positions, and hosting family this past weekend! Anyway, I do have work to post this week, including new illustrations for Hans Christian Anderson's, "The Little Match Girl" and "The Steadfast Tin Soldier". I also am continuing to work on the collaboration with my friend Amanda ("Wolf Party" author) on some of her other short stories/poems. Keep tuned in!

Give Me a Hand?

     All of the little hands below are made from driftwood I picked up off the beaches of Kitsap County. Here's a picture of Point No Point beach and lighthouse. The beach wraps around the other side of the lighthouse and you can walk along the sands for a good 1/2 hour. There is TONS of driftwood everywhere so I don't feel too bad taking it for sculpture purposes.
     Rob (my sweetie) and I recently went to Point No Point and beach combed - I found a femur of some sort of smallish creature (otter? seal?) with the great trochanter - hip bone- still intact! After this fortuitous find we went to a mini mart that doubles as a restaurant. We had an excellent sandwich and a beer. Beautiful beach+driftwood+bones+beer+sandwich+old lighthouse+Rob= perfect day.

P.s. I just took reference photos for my next illustration project, Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Match Girl. Hopefully I'll have something to show by tomorrow....

Inspirations

"Bright Eyes"

watercolor 9"x12"

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     Yesterday I watched the 1990's version of, "Great Expectations", with Gwyneth Paltrow, Anne Bancroft, Robert DeNiro, and Ethan Hawke. I must say that Ethan Hawke is not 'great' at all in the role (the man has only one facial expression), Anne Bancroft and Robert DeNiro are both amazing, and Gywneth Paltrow as Estella is beautiful as always.
     But this is not why I watched the movie. I watched it for the sets: the deteriorating mansion and gardens of Miss Havisham,  Finn's art show scene which was filmed in the school I attended in NYC - the New York Academy of Art, and the scene in the restaurant, Kelly and Ping's of Soho, where I have eaten several times (a note to diners: don't eat here- it's good, but not as good as Noodle Village in China Town. Have the Devil Ramen and thank me later).
     However, the sets are only part of the reason why I watched this film again. The REAL reason is the art work of Francesco Clemente. All the art made by Finn in the movie was provided by Mr. Clemente and it is sooooooo inspiring, magical, imaginative, and possesses a freedom that I aspire to in my own work. Here are a couple examples of his work......

 "If you cling, it's over. It's important to let the narrative of life unfold without clinging, without attachment, without making it die on you."  -Francesco Clemente

Valentine

"Valentine"

oil on panel 6"x6"

2009

Pinocchio's Heart - In honor of Valentine's Day

"Pinocchio's Heart"

driftwood, thread

2012

This little heArt was made from driftwood I gathered on the beautiful rocky beaches here on Bainbridge Island. The branches seemed to perfectly mimic the veins and arteries of a real heart. I have actually made a whole little body for Pinocchio - the remains of Pinocchio if he hadn't become a "real boy".
Wow. This was supposed to be a romantic post and I just got really maudlin. Disregard!!
Well anyway, here's the rest of poor little Pinocchio's body. I was kind of imagining it from the perspective of an archeologist who has discovered some old remains.  Or maybe they could have washed up on a beach somewhere? Yes, these are the things I think about.

Pinocchio's hands and feet, driftwood, 2012

Pinocchio's ribcage, driftwood, 2012

From Another Planet

"Star Man"

7.5"x12"

watercolor

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Relisting this guy because I am still working on the illustrations for my friend Amanda's poem, "Wolf Party". I am putting together an ebook of the collaboration on my ipad and I must say its looking smashing! I plan to attend the Society for Children's Books Authors and Illustrators tonight to peddle my wares (sp?). Wish me luck!
In the meantime, here is a decent photo of one of the illustrations:

"The deer gets angry as you might guess

And rams his horns into king wolfs chest"

More Wolf Hijinks

"they wrestle with bears

they tussle with foxes"

"the king of the wolves

warms up and boxes"

More Wolves Behaving Badly

Alrighty, here is the next illustration for the collaboration between my poet friend Amanda and myself.
The poem she wrote is called, "Wolf Party", and I was so inspired I had to make some drawings for it!

"the wolf punches a bear square in the head

the bear reels over backward then plays dead"

I think I'm going to bust my rear this weekend and try to finish all the illustrations (I have 4 - need 6 more) and then take them to the Society for Children's Book Authors and Illustrators meeting next Tuesday.  Wish me luck!

Horsing Around

"Roman Horse" 

Watercolor, 16.5"x22"

                                             click here to ride off into the sunset with me!

Teenage Wildlife and Artsy Drivel

     Several years ago (three to be exact) I was in graduate school at the New York Academy of Art. NYAA is dedicated to the study of the human figure in classical art. I had already spent almost three years prior to this at the Aristides Classical Atelier in Seattle learning to draw and paint in the tradition of Ingres; in fact if you were to make an artist family tree, my peers and myself could trace our artistic ancestry back to Ingres and even Michelangelo!

"Teenage Wildlife" Cecily Brown

     Anyway, back to NYAA....after all those years of classical art technique I discovered a few painters that changed my life. Probably the most important was Cecily Brown. It was a new way of looking at the figure in art; figures not fully rendered yet very sensual, expressive, and somehow more real to me than figures painted realistically.
     I still am trying to figure out where to go with my work - I am no longer a realist, however my work isn't entirely abstracted either. Am I an illustrator? Am I a portrait painter? My most sincere wish is that my paintings communicate in the way Cecily's do: viscerally and emotionally.

"Kate"  5"x6.25"
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Where the Magic Happens ;)

     As I mentioned yesterday my parents are moving/downsizing so I ended up with a bunch of furniture for the studio - a nice flat file and a beautiful (very heavy!) desk.
     I work out of my home and my studio is in the daylight basement of our 'little house in the big woods'. It's actually a very nice studio with lots of windows even though it's located in the basement. I spent all day yesterday organizing it so I can get in there and WORK. Here are some pics.....

the nice long table

windows looking out into the forest = peaceful art making

creepy sculptures by yours truly!

my favorite part - organization achieved!

I'm Too Sexy for My Shirt

"Skinny Boy" 8.5x10.5

watercolor 2013

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     Hey all - it's good to be back bloggin' and postin'. I just returned from a visit to my mom and dad's. They are getting ready to move - potentially for the last time since they are in their 70's. I helped them pack for the past 5 days. Wow. Holy stuff.
     Anyway, I did end up with a bunch of gorgeous vintage handkerchiefs that belonged to my grandmother. They are so delicate and beautiful I would like to make some sort of art piece out of them....any ideas? Please comment!

Relisted gazing at the stars....

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     I'm out of the studio this week helping my parents pack for a big move so I am re-listing this piece on eBay for any of you who missed it the first time. Nice big piece (15"x20") and the colors are much more vibrant in person - it is SO difficult to photograph watercolors.
     I am sorting through boxes of things that belonged to my grandparents today - they have all passed on now. Going through their things, reading their letters, makes me feel as if they are still with me.
     I just went through a bunch of handkerchiefs that were hand stitched/personalized by my Grandma Margie.  So delicate, so beautiful. Thinking about including them in another resin piece - suspending them in the resin somehow, like little bugs in amber.....

Multi Media Madness Continued

"Magdalene" 9"x12"

Here we are on day 2: Watercolor and sculpted hair (see yesterday's post) then added a layer of resin. After resin dried painted in with oils over the top! Ghostly effect! Fun! What else can I embed in resin?!

Multi Media Madness

"Blur" 6"x8"

watercolor and oils 2012

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This piece originally was a watercolor that didn't make the cut. Sometimes I just feel the work gets too literal, too easy, or too overworked. Watercolor is difficult because you can't really control it and you only have one real shot to make it work. I'm sure that many watercolor artists would disagree with me there but I feel like my best work is the stuff that comes out in one go and maintains a freshness. My favorite work to look at is work that looks effortless - but you know that it took years to achieve the effortlessness, the facility.
All this being said, sometimes I try to save a failed piece by adding a second media to it: the result can be seen above. I sealed the original watercolor and added oils over the top.
I love working in different media. I paint in watercolor (obviously). I paint in oils. I sculpt with fabric. I sculpt in wood. I sculpt with hair. I sculpt with wax.
Anyway, I'm trying to figure out a way to marry some of these media into one piece. Here's the result below: watercolor, hair, resin. Today I'm going to paint with oils on the resin and see what happens. Then I will probably add another layer of resin.

Re-listed!

"Kronos Expelling His Children" watercolor, 18"x 24", watercolor, 2012

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I'm helping my parents move this week to the frozen north lands (Minnesota). I won't be in my studio making new paintings so I've decided to re-list on eBay some of the pieces that were most popular.  This is Cronus - in ancient Greek myth he ate all his kids (Hera, Hestia, Demeter, Poseidon, Chiron) except one - Zeus. Zeus gave him an emetic and the rest is mythical history.

Here is a famous rendering of Cronus:

I always thought this painting was by Goya but the source I borrowed it from says it's by William Blake. Doesn't look like Blake's style at all (see below).