Category Archives: Uncategorized

Arting for 365 Day 20: Bottle Cap Canvases

Posted on by

0

Day 20 (5/18/12): Bottle Cap CanvasesGoal: To create one work of art each day for 365 consecutive days

I didn’t realize that I liked beer until I actually tasted some that had flavor. It was a lovely experience – I guess I kind of liken it to tasting really good chocolate. So as you may guess living in Fort Collins, a microbrew mecca, has been a pretty enjoyable experience. There are lots of new, flavorful beers available to taste, tours to take and beer festivals to attend. We’ve been collecting bottle caps for a few of our friends who plan to adorn themselves with bottle cap clothing for one festival. Yesterday I stole from the stash in order to create day 20’s piece.

I used the cap’s original design to guide my direction. Similar to day 13’s project, I aimed to keep the mini art simple and colorful. While I like the caps grouped, I plan to present each as individual works.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Work available for purchase at http://www.etsy.com/shop/OriginalsByMicah or by emailing me at micah@azzlsoft.com

Arting for 365 Day 19: Beetle Love

Posted on by

1

Day 19: Beetle LoveGoal: To create one work of art each day for 365 consecutive days

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a huge fan of bugs – beetles in particular. I love their shape, color and armor-like structure. To be perfectly honest my favorite way to view them is when a variety of types or species are neatly lined up for a photo shoot. This means of course they are dead, which is sad for them, but it really does make for a great picture.

Yesterday I decided to do a set of small drawings of these lovely little guys. I opted to shake things up a bit with color to create bold shapes and lines. The result is an illustrated take on the fascinating bugs.

Side – only slightly related- note: While I think beetles are great to look at, I can’t say I love the havoc the mountain pine beetle are wreaking in the Rocky Mountain Region.

Day 19: Beetle Love Red DetailDay 19: Beetle Love Blue Detail

Arting for 365 Day 18: Bursting Bubbles via Iron

Posted on by

0

Day 18: Bursting Bubbles via IronBursting someone’s bubble while ironing out the kinks – those were the two combatting expressions running through my head while creating this piece. Please note that luckily there is more than one bubble and, being an optimist, I’m thinking someone will take the iron away before this inadvertent move affects all bubbles.

This piece has sold.

Day 18: Bursting Bubbles via Iron Detail20.5 x 7.5″ Watercolor

Arting for 365 Day 17: Blocked

Posted on by

0

Day 17: BlockedI wasn’t particularly certain the direction I would be going on day 17, so I was really excited to come across a stamp I had made years ago. The stamp is made from cutting up an old mouse pad and gluing the design to a piece of cardboard – super high tech. I don’t think I came up with the idea, but it is a great one.

I opted for an oddball 6″ x 22″ piece of paper and got after it with the stamp using light blue and red. I emphasized the negative space using black paint. The resulting blocks of color seem to react and interact with each other to create day 17’s work.

Arting for 365 Day 16: Cellular Kaleidoscope

Posted on by

2

Day 16: Cellular KaleidoscopeGoal: To create one work of art each day for 365 consecutive days

It is always so fantastic to come across work that you absolutely fall in love with. Yesterday I did just that as I looked at Chris Marley’s pieces on Design Milk . Marley uses bugs, insects, butterflies, etc. to create his work. I think bugs are really amazing – especially beetles – so I love this. I also really appreciated the clean, geometric manner in which he laid out his designs. Marley’s work, along with my recent thoughts on cells and my urge to really dive into a big ink project is what inspired day 16’s piece.

I began the work by drawing out circles, which I thought of as individual “cells” onto my 12” x 25” paper. I tried to allow each cell to work independently as its own design, but to also interact with those around it. Lines and shapes in one circle often carried over into another creating a kaleidoscope-like image.

Day 16: Cellular Kaleidoscope Detail 3Cellular Kaleidoscope Detail 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work available for purchase at http://www.etsy.com/shop/OriginalsByMicah or by emailing me at micah@azzlsoft.com

Arting for 365 Day 15: Envelope Geometry

Posted on by

2

Day 15: Envelope GeometryGoal: To create one work of art each day for 365 consecutive days

I like business envelopes. They are boring on the outside but have really fun, often red or blue, patterning within. Yesterday, at the end of a full, full day, I began cutting shapes from old envelopes I had collected and laying them out on a page. Once I settled on a something I liked, I added geometric ink design and broke up the space using line and color. Day 14’s resulting image, like many of my others, plays with the juxtaposition of geometric and organics shapes.

Day 14: Cranes and Seeds

Posted on by

0

Day 14: Cranes & Seeds

Goal: To create one work of art each day for 365 consecutive days (Woo-hoo! It’s been two weeks!)

Because I had enjoyed day ten‘s exploration of the leaf looking seed things so much (two semi-trustworthy people have informed me they are a type of maple seed), I thought I’d try my luck with them again. My approach this time around was two-fold: I wanted to see if the textured seeds would lend themselves well to a more intricate, detailed design and I also wanted to focus on a new way of displaying and arranging the work.

After coating each seed with clear acrylic I began drawing. The seeds weren’t super conducive to an intricate design – a few cranes and wings were thrown out as steady lines hit bumps that took them in unintended directions – but they weren’t terrible. I then cut out individual circles and incorporated color using a deep teal. I outlined each circle in black and mounted each tiny wing-like canvas to the circles. After playing with a few different arrangements I decided to string them up resulting in day 14’s project.

*Fun fact about whooping cranes: They mate for life. I chose to draw them after a conversation regarding life expectancy. If a crane’s life span doubled, I wonder if they would still mate for life?

Day 14: Cranes & Seeds 2Cranes & Seeds Wing Detail

Arting for 365 Day 13: Coaster Whimsy

Posted on by

0

Day 13: WhimsyGoal: To create a work of art each day for 365 consecutive days

There are days in all of our lives which are filled with tedium. For me, yesterday was one of those days. I anticipated dedicating a few hours to some computer-y type stuff (the tedium) and maybe another hour to an editing project. But as five o’clock rolled around I found I had sat bug eyed at the computer for way too long. Therefore I decided I needed to work on something that was bright, fun, and whimsical.

I pulled out some brown Sierra Nevada coasters we had laying around and proceeded to apply acrylic paints to them. Next I whipped out my trusty ink pen and began drawing. Initially I created more elaborate and intricate designs but I quickly decided that was the wrong road to take. Instead I aimed to keep the design and colors extremely simple. I used the existing coaster design and painted shapes to lead the way. The results are light-hearted and simple. -Just what I needed after a long day. Well that, and a beer of course.

Whimsy Hut DetailWhimsy Big Fish Little Fish DetailWhimsy Clothesline Detail

 

 

 

 

Work available for purchase at http://www.etsy.com/shop/OriginalsByMicah or by emailing me at micah@azzlsoft.com

Day 12 of Arting for 365: Cells and Such

Posted on by

0

Day 12: Cells & SuchGoal: To create one work of art for 365 consecutive days in a row

I’m currently reading James A. Michener’s Hawaii which was suggested to me by my mom. As she described the book, I wasn’t real sure it was going to be something I’d be into, but it has been. Two nights ago I got to the 663-ish page range (this is a long book) -the point when the bubonic plague visits the islands. This got me thinking about the horrible disease. I wanted to see what the bacteria look like that causes it.  As I came across pictures it dawned on me that bacteria and cells at the microscopic level are always so lovely. You could be looking at examples of the most dreadful diseases or bacteria or who knows what and they always seem beautiful. I have a friend, in fact who framed a few gorgeous cell pictures for her house. Cells & Such Detail

I decided I’d do my own version of cells and bacteria using watercolor and ink. The 11″ x 15″ painting is not a specific representation of any particular cell or bacteria – just some imaginings of them.

Arting for 365 Day 11: Peacock

Posted on by

0

Goal: To create one work of art each day for 365 consecutive days

Day 11: PeacockA while ago some lovely friends asked me to create something with a focus on peacocks. I was excited about the idea and thought it could be a lot of fun. But as I began working on the project I was bombarded with all of the “stuff” that makes up this beautiful bird: color, lines, shapes, symbolism, more color. I had sketched some ideas and even began a painting, but somehow they weren’t doing the bird – or the friends for that matter – justice. I had to take a step back.

Yesterday I took another swing at the project. I thought about the pea fowl and its complexity. Its bold, brilliant range of colors, lines, and shapes often leaves me in awe. I realized that rather than jumping in with all of these elements to create the work, I needed to break things down. I used black ink on white paper and focused on what I think about when I look at a peacock. The bird is regal and bold with attributes so distinctive color is unnecessary for recognition. I feel the final 7″ x 28″ work exemplifies this.

Now that I have explored the peacock in black and white and determined how I want to approach him, I may give color another whirl. The slideshow below shows my progression on the work.

Peacock Head DetailDay 11: Peacock Fether Detail

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This piece has sold.