Monday, May 7, 2012

Patience With Pen and Paint



This duo has been patiently waiting for a variety of things. Particularly, to be rescued from a large stack of experiments from the piles that accumulate when scribbling comes easy but presentation comes hard. This is a cropped image of two sitting bears, done on watercolor paper - about 11" by 14". I've never been one for many rules when it comes to "seeing what happens" - so this is what happened. I don't remember why these words came, and I don't know if Mother ever saw their side.

They just wanted to venture into blog-land, and so here they are. All scribbly and messy and probably doubtful - like so many of us.

I like using pen and ink with watercolor, but haven't messed around with it for a few years. Time flies when there are so many techniques and supplies to try. And then if an artist becomes known for a particular way of working, well, argh, what to do, what to do? This is what to do - DO SOMETHING ELSE!!! This doesn't mean you have to completely ignore the styles/mediums in which you are comfortable - it just means play around with something new.

Yes, this can lead to trouble - I recently took an altered-book workshop. IT WAS FUN. I LEARNED NEW SKILLS. But right now It's Back To Work time, and the unfinished book sits there sulking. I have planned it as a gardening journal - so it  won't be ignored, but I don't know when it will be "finished," and it WANTS to be finished. As do so many other pieces haunting the nooks and crannies around the studio and downstairs filing cabinets. Sigh, is all I can say. And "Patience."

Have patience with your own work, but do egg yourself on to not dally too long before using a new tool, creating a new image, or writing some new words. On to the Grand Adventure!

Fare-thee-well,
Sue

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Playing with Paint



Sometimes it's fun to head into the semi-unknown. Here we have some lovely Masonite boards starting to be covered in acrylic paint. Working in a series helps  the possibility of having at least one successful piece come from all this paint spreading. I wanted to stay with the bear theme, yet play with shapes and emotions. On to it!

With so many works in progress I am not focusing too long on each panel yet. Just pulling paint tubes and experimenting. We'll see if the cute stay cute and/or the concerned stay concerned. I'm also going to try and use only the paints and modeling compounds we have on hand. There are parts of each character I already like. Once the bears have personalities they want to have both back-story and some kind of future. That's the fun and responsibility of being an artist. Creating something that might deserve to stay in existence. (Yes, there are bears in the basement on which judgement keeps being put off. That's the not-fun part of being an artist.)

So, we will return to these five soon and see what happens. Dare to fling some paint yourself!

Fare-thee-well,
Sue


Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Fuzzy Fun and Fluffy Fun



These three were the result of Scribbles by Sue at a  local assisted care center. We loved them as soon as they came out of the marker! I  don't know what kinds of birdies they are - other than confident, patient, and bewildered. Shapes first, eyes and beaks second.

Draw some feathered friends - young or old. This trio made us all laugh and smile. Your birds will do what birds do. Some instill fear. Some inspire. Some make us hungry. Some make us laugh.

A bird on the page is worth two in the mind?

Egging you on!

Sue