Today's Productivity Post and Refocusing My Purpose: Consistency and Meaning in Effort

Today I pulled some drypoint prints from an acrylic sheet.

I made four pulls from each of my three shell plates.

 

I also recorded more on a painting I am doing, but my camera battery ran out and I couldn't find the charger I thought I had at my art corner.








I am also working on refining the purpose and meaning to pull my art from.
An artist could work to have a consistent body of work many ways, by design of the individual pieces, their display, style, media, etc. I would like to take it one step higher up, however.

I would rather work for and from a purpose. I crave meaning in my career and efforts, and I figure  that if the origins of the art stem from a shared purpose, or theme, that the consistency will grow out of that instead, and create a stronger unity to my body of work overall, with themes that run through the projects individually.

This re-vamping of purpose will mean re-writing my artist's statement, a lot of journaling, and changing around my portfolio. I'm ok with that. It's about the long term body of work, not the skill building simple paintings I have been doing so far.

Cyber Monday Deals On Etsy Store--Handmade Gifts and Fine Art!

I've been planning on releasing lots of new things on my 

Etsy store for 

Cyber Monday!!!! 

Limited Edition Prints

 

 

 

Items to look forward to:

• Original Paintings in Digital Transfer, Acrylic and Oils
• Subscription Art
• Limited Edition Drypoint Print Originals
• Custom Fine Art
• Sets of Notecards with Fine Art Prints

Fine Art Originals

Want to save a bunch on these 

awesome handmade items?

Subscribe to my newsletter for a special Christmas Newsletter Bundle! 

Subscribe for this coupon!

In this bundle, you will receive:

• A printable sheet of hand-painted gift tags
• An article with unique gift ideas and where to find them! 
• A coupon for my Etsy store for 20% off your ENTIRE purchase in my store.

SUBSCRIBE

The Process of a Hand-pulled Drypoint Print from a Plexiglass Plate

This is the story of an experiment of hand-pulling a dry-point print with oil paint and a acrylic sheet as a plate.  

I had this charcoal sketch that  I liked, but the fixative I sprayed on it  came out in globs and ruined the canvas. So I took pictures of it and am experimenting with many techniques of transferring and printing. 

This time, it's drypoint.

I taped an acrylic sheet to the top of a print out of the charcoal sketch so it wouldn't move while I was scratching the lines I wanted. The image itself is designed to be 8"x10."

This is part of the mark-making in progress.

Here is the finished plate on a black paper background to check the linework.

This is the inked plate and the oil paint I used to ink it. I learned from a few failed pulls to mix it with a bit of paint thinner first. 

I also used a dollar store squeegee to wipe off most of the paint at first, and paper napkins to clean up the edges--but not rub over the lines, if possible. 

Here are a few failed pulls. I also used a paper with too much texture, and it didn't get in the crevices.

I tried acrylic paint too, but it was my technique that wasn't working.

Here are my successful pulls!  For the scope of this project, I used no cloth under my brayer rolling pin, and instead also rubbed it with a smooth glass lid as well, and it it really worked.

 





This is my favorite print right now. I think I will try to make 5-7 altogether, and mat them to put on Etsy as editions!!!

Paint Tube Still Life Painting for Sale on Etsy

For Sale HERE!!!

5 Ways to Support Your Artist Friends When You Have Little Money

So, you have little to no money, but you have a struggling artist friend and you want to help? 

No worries! 

There are plenty of things you can do! 

Here's 5. 

 

 

1. Share!

Whether you can afford your friend's art or not, letting people know about their work is one of the most important things you can do. Facebook, Twitter, any social media, and especially word of mouth. Maybe you know somebody that knows somebody. We love that.

2. Prints

Is there an original you absolutely love, but just can't afford your friend's price point? The price point is there for a reason, and you want your artist friend to get their fair price. Why not ask for a print? Maybe it can be smaller than the original too, but you can support them and get in on the action yourself!!

3. Subscribe

Maybe you're not completely into art yourself, but our subscriber numbers can get us really excited, and is a simple way to know what's going on in our artsy brains. Don't forget to share it if you do find it fascinating!

4. Attend and Bring a Friend

If you really want to support your artistic friend, put your miles where your mouth is and attend gallery and show openings- and bring people with you! We want to pay attention to you, but may be closing a sale. And your friend might like to share our art too.

 

 5. Commissions and Trades

Maybe you can arrange to do their dishes or trade something like car maintenance to give them more time to do the arting. Or, if they are willing to negotiate, commission smaller pieces from them.

Update of a Work in Progress.

I painted this first one when I felt guilty and rather discordant inside. There is a distinct style that was emerging from it.

And this is the painting as of tonight. More rendered and dimensional. I want to put back some of the colors into it.

The Poor Artist's Etching/Drypoint Process

Actually printed with acrylic paint!

I'm cheap. I didn't realize how fancy etching was until I looked at a few
YouTube videos and saw what in the process I was missing.

But I love the line quality in etches, so I'm not giving up just yet.


 I got a tiny block of lino to practice on. It's two sided, so there will be another tiny etching to make next.

Tools of the cheap trade:

After cutting and scratching out the shape on the lino with my knife, I used my finger to push paint into the crevices. I used a dollar store squeegee to get the extra paint off.

I did soak the paper a bit too.

To make the pull I put down a clean sheet of paper to protect my wood floor.
Next, I placed my lino plate on it, and put my damp watercolor paper on top of it carefully.
On top of the damp paper I laid a terry washcloth, something nice and squishy and fluffy to push the paper down. Then I took my rolling pin (brayer) and went over the pile from bottom to top with the most even pressure I could manage.









I peeled off each layer carefully and this is my result!

I even took two pulls from the one inking.

This is addicting. I want to do more! I'd like to work on tightening the lines that print, which might work with a thinner printing agent anyway. I'd also like to try multi-color and two-plate etching, maybe an ecorche.

Paintings for Sale on Etsy-- Great Christmas Gifts!

A chromatically shaded still life painting of apples! I used purples and blues for the shadows instead of browns or complements, which works well with yellow and orange apples.


You can find it for sale on my Etsy  store here:

Buy me here!

Painting In Progress: a Still Life of Bottles in Acrylics

So, here's a fun piece I'm working on. I've laid the bottles out in blues, and don't know if they will stay that way. I will probably use a retarder medium later for blending help.

I don't know how photo-realistic I will make it, because it looks kinda cool the way it is.

Between Two Worlds CIVA Conference 2015: Post Event Reactions and Musings from Me

The art and artists that I saw at this event intimidated me. 

  At first, seeing others artwork in such formal (and seemingly lucrative) settings felt a bit depressing. I felt, and to an extent still feel, like a small-time artist with small-time dreams.

However, seeing that there were successful artists who dealt with this subject matter was encouraging.

The scope of the artwork helped me choose to re-evaluate my career direction and the scope of my own art projects.

Here's my name tag, the conference book, and a book we got in our packet. 

 Most of the conference was panels, hour and a half introductions, "lectures," and discussions of contemporary art and how the church dialogs with it.



 One concept that I took away from the many panels was a general duty on the part of the church to open the dialogue between secular artists and art related to the faith.

A major goal of the church in incorporating art is creating an inviting atmosphere for secular artists for mature dialogue, often by raising more questions than appearing to have all the answers to begin with.

 Posture at approaching this subject with the secular art world was a big topic. Humility, maturity, and excellence seemed to be the three main factors needed to engage the contemporary art world.  

Here is a robin that was hanging out on a bush and I couldn't resist taking a picture of it.

Time Lapse Painting of a Seascape/ Beach in Acrylic and Recording for Youtube.

I recorded the painting of a 6x6 canvas the other day, and found out how much fun it is to record live painting and speed it up! I need to add music to these someday, and figure out the aspect ratio problem.


Here's the finished product:




I wish I had more to say about making this, other than it was very fun!






And it's for sale as of this blog post!


https://www.etsy.com/listing/238451669/6x6-acrylic-seascape-painting-with-

Lessons on Plein Air Painting on a Beach Near South Haven, MI

 Maybe it was an impulse buy, maybe it was an investment.

Either way, I'm having fun with this traveling french easel box that I found on a great clearance price.

 I initiated it on the beach this past weekend. Got paint and sand all over it and learned to set the extendable legs on rocks to keep it from sinking into the sand.

I also learned how dependent I am on my spray bottle. The paint dried so fast on the canvas I could barely even blend it, and these canvases aren't so very big.

Most of the time I spent color matching, and that's OK.But I need more practice for next time.








When we first got there the beach had the most peculiar fog I have yet seen in that part of Michigan. So much for painting a horizon line!



Usually, I am a very fast painter.

However, with not being able to blend the colors as I wanted to (forgetting my spray bottle in the truck) I didn't actually finish many of the paintings, I just started tons. By the time I had laid out the sky and mixed colors, the lighting started to change or fog dissipated enough to change what I was painting. That's what I get.

This is why artists often create sky panels before painting in the field, painting the blue sky background in advance instead of painting it on site. I started with my white panels. 
 While I want to finish these at home, how "en plein air" are they then? I suppose that would be part of the value of them. The sand that stuck to the painting also adds value. And the random bug.

I did not use the lake water to paint with because organic matter may affect the painting over time, and I did not pour out the paint water on the beach either, I dumped it in the bathroom later.

Be earth conscious, artists!

What tips do I recommend for you? 

1. Spray bottle to keep acrylic paints moist. 
2. Bring business cards for onlookers...just saying.
3. Bring clean water to drink, and clean water to paint with. 
• Lake water has organic debris that may compromise your painting later on. 
4. Separate paint containers for dirty paint water ---do not dump in the lake! 
5. Rest easel legs on rocks to keep them from sinking in the sand. 
6. Use sky panels if you know the probable weather. (usually a prepainted blue gradient on canvas)
7. SUNBLOCK and sun protection for you. I might invest in a big hat.

Time Laspe Charcoal Sketch for Painting of Broken Lighthouse

I've taken to recording some of my paintings and sketches for paintings. Here's the most recent.

Getting Into Oils With a Still Life Macro Painting of an Artichoke .

6"x6" Artichoke, Oils, 2015  WIP



 Still slightly new to the nuances of oils, I think I love them. I know my art basics and fundamentals, and now I get to apply them in a new medium with plenty of time for blending.

I bought an artichoke and did my own photography with my beloved camera that does a great macro.

Here's a bit of my set up. I don't have color ink at the moment, but working from black and white photographs gives you a better idea of value independent of the color. Also, I'm using aluminum foil for a palette right now. My oil painting media are at the other house.

I am painting with straight paint, no thinner or oil added to it. I would have liked to start  with thinner for the first underpainting, but was too lazy to go to the other place to go get it. I like how it's turning out though.

Small Acrylic Paintings and Other Odds and Ends

Acrylic, 2010

Here are some old beauties of paintings I thought I would air out online.

Acrylic, 2010

Pen and ink, 2010

Watercolor, 2009

Acrylic, 2011

Acrylic, 2013

 

 

 

Digital Painting, 2013