ANOTHER SKETCHBOOK ENTRY

A little girl's (or boy's) first public solo is such a wonderful thing to watch as the child will either take the experience as very serious or just have fun with it. The artist is faced with this problem each and every time he/she faces a blank surface. This is why I love the recycled sketchbook idea so much... there is no seriousness involved, just fun.

If you take a look at a previous post from my haiku series, the children painting in particular, you would notice that the girl's hair in this sketchbook entry is the negative from that haiku painting. I want to start pushing the envelope with other materials I have on hand. Maybe experiment with ready made stamps or even some that already exists. As long as each entry doesn't take more than a few minutes to do then the experiment will be a success.

TEDIOUS... BUT WORTH IT

Thought I'd give you all a glimpse at how the Parade painting is evolving. It's slow going, and sometimes pains taking, but at the end of the day when I look at what I've accomplished... I'm happy. Can't predict how much longer this painting is going to take. Even so, I've already begun the thought process on the next painting which will be a night scene.

NECESSARY CHANGES

There's been a big change in the Parade painting as far as staging is concerned. Although I liked the former stage for this painting (posted on the 14th of Feb) it was impossible to construct a working parade within the composition. I had a band coming down one street and balloons coming down the other. It looked ridiculous. I plan on using that setting in another work, but for now this is the setting I've been working with.
And here is another entry from my new recycled sketch book. I find it very relaxing still, these quick ideas really free up the juices for a continued day of work in the studio.

And so it's off again to the drawing table for another labor of love. Hope to have an update on the parade painting soon.

A NEAT LITTLE IDEA

Thanks to my good friend Miss Sam Duffy and her innovative way of cataloging her ideas, I've begun my own "sketchbook" to play with between drying times on whatever I'm painting. There's a lot of interesting shapes left over from the scraps of vinyl that work perfectly on this concept. I found an old book of no true value and gessoed a page and just had fun with the shapes and the subconscious idea they came up with.

In the meantime I'm working on my latest vinyl painting entitled "Parade". The book concept is a welcomed relief from the precision of these paintings... very theraputic.

THE STAGE IS SET

There's been a slight change in plans from the rooftop gardens. I'm still playing with the idea but need more models to work from. Always a believer in striking while the iron is hot, I began this Photoshop study for a parade scene. The stage for the parade as you can see is finished. For the next couple of days I'll be designing the parade itself and the happy bystanders. Balloons and color galore is promised.

The Blizzard of '06 is over and done with while the threat of floods from the thawing out is now predicted. Incredible as it seems, what with all the spring-like weather we've been having, it isn't strange to have personally seen a robin only a week ago and the daffodils growing already in my garden. Can't see what became of the daffodils, but I'm convinced the robin has turned around and headed back south.

FINISHED... BUT DOES IT DESERVE A FRAME??

It's a shame I couldn't get my airbrush to work properly to get that depth in the sky like I did with the balloon painting. But even with the watercolor background it came off pretty good.

Today Baltimore is digging out from the (depending on where you live) 15 to 21 inches of snow that fell with the Blizzard of '06. The sun is out today and there is evidence of light melting but nothing to get excited about. The place is so pretty and quiet after the snows stop, but once the kids get out there and the snow plows, that pristine look turns into snow angels and piles of dirty snow. I'm guilty of one of the larger snow angels. :-)

And now it's on to the next project where I'm thinking along the lines of city where each rooftop has it's own garden. It's going to take a while to set this up but if what I come up with is half as good as what I have in my noodle then we will all have something strange and maybe even nice to look at in the near future.

MY LATEST WORK ...in progress

This is the study I prepared for the title "Kites". The only changes I've made on the actual study is the woman's skirt in the foreground. It is now black. One thing I didn't put in the study but added after I printed it up is the strings of the kites. They all extend to the right and vary in color breaking up that large expanse of a white building. I've also added a couple more kites to keep the composition for the kites from getting too static. So far, after two days of steady work I have the buildings completed. Tonight or tomorrow, during the predicted blizzard to hit the east coast, I hope to have a great deal of solitude to finish the thing up.

ANOTHER ONE FOR THE LOUVRE

It took some doing but I finally finished this little picture, measuring 8 X 10. All I can say is that I'm thankful for my magnifying glass. The next painting is already on the drawing board. It will be another cityscape with people and as near as I can figure, a bunch of kites. I couldn't have finished it at a better time as I have one hour before SUPER BOWL!!!

Tomorrow being domestix day, I won't get very much done at the drawing board then either. But one never knows... I might have something worthy of my friends to show.

I SAW MY SHADOW YESTERDAY

Having been woken up from hibernation for a little while, I thought I'd pay you all a visit. As you can see from the work above I've been a bit busy with this latest detailed monstrosity. It's near completion, what with all the difficult parts finished. Now the fun begins where I put in the balloons and get to paint in their minute details, and (again) the people with their individuality to express. There's the shadow work as well. This all should come to an end on Monday. It would've been Sunday but I'll be taking a break for Super Bowl XL. If anything can take me away from my art it would be football.

It's going to be a dismal weekend or so the genius of the weather predicts. We have two chances for snow or a mixed mess, either way I'd rather pass on it. At the moment it's foggy and rainy and it's chilly in the studio. Maybe I need my coffee and Swiss Miss to warm things up a bit. Hope to have something to show for Monday if not sooner.