Goal: To create one work of art each day for 365 consecutive days
A pale blue sky – the backdrop for stalks standing tall. Husks peel down- a glimpse of rounded kernels which are sure to end up stuck between my teeth.
8 x 10″ Acrylic and ink on canvas
Work available for purchase at http://www.etsy.com/shop/OriginalsByMicah or by emailing me at micah@azzlsoft.com
Goal: To create one work of art each day for 365 consecutive days
As I picked up yesterday’s art material from off of the ground I wondered how smart of a move it was. It was ragged, torn and initially, just looked a bit unsanitary. But upon closer inspection, I realized it – which seems to be some sort of paper- had just been weathered by the recent rain.
I glued my newly found trash-treasure to an 8 x 10” oil board and applied paint to the grooves and mountains of the tattered, island shaped paper. Breaking up the space surrounding it, I painted lines and shapes that made their way onto the weathered surface. I thought that perhaps I could make a beautiful piece from this worn paper but as I worked with it, I realized it had a personality all its own. No matter how much paint I applied, it was going to stay worn and ragged. There was no “prettying” it up. And for some reason, I am perfectly content with that.
Work available for purchase at http://www.etsy.com/shop/OriginalsByMicah or by emailing me at micah@azzlsoft.com
Goal: To create one work of art each day for 365 consecutive days.
Recently I’ve had a hankering to create a giraffe. Why is really unknown to me. I don’t have a particular love of giraffes and yet here I was planning this large endeavor.
The ink 29 x 12″ drawing took a few days to complete. I once again explored geometric patterning to create the creature.
Fun fact: Symbolically giraffes represent the ability to look into the future and also symbolize intuition.
Work available for purchase at http://www.etsy.com/shop/OriginalsByMicah or by emailing me at micah@azzlsoft.com
Goal: 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.
Work available for purchase at http://www.etsy.com/shop/OriginalsByMicah or by emailing me at micah@azzlsoft.com
Goal: 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.
Bursting 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.
20.5 x 7.5″ Watercolor
Goal: 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.
Work available for purchase at http://www.etsy.com/shop/OriginalsByMicah or by emailing me at micah@azzlsoft.com
Goal: To create one work of art each day for 365 consecutive days
A 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.
This piece has sold.
Goal: To create 365 works of art each day for 365 consecutive days
I really love running (more correctly – jogging). I am not super good at it and I don’t know if I’ve ever even got a “runner’s high” but I get grouchy if I am not active and more importantly, I LOVE being outdoors. The feel of fresh air is always great and coming across the wonderful little visual treats that nature provides is really where it’s at for me.
A great example of one of these treats is the leaf/seed things we came across while jogging the other day. They were gorgeous and delicate and made me think of butterfly wings. We stopped to pick a handful’s worth out of the grass (yesterday I went back and filled up a bag) and I immediately began thinking of how I might create with them.
After experimenting a bit – laying them out in different ways, contemplating how they might be molded around a 3D object – I started thinking of each leaf as a mini canvas. I coated them with clear acrylic and began drawing. The final day ten project is this floral-like design. It could be pushed a bit further and as I become more familiar with working with these little treats from nature, I’m hoping this will happen.
Also, if anyone knows the name of the tree these great leaf/seed things come from, I’d love to know.
Yesterday my boyfriend’s brother graduated with his PhD in electrical engineering – an incredible feat in my mind. After watching the ceremony and celebrating with some great grub and beer we returned home where I began to work on my day seven project.
I reflected on the way too drawn-out, oath included ceremony and the speeches given which highlighted the importance of the new journey these graduates were about to embark on. This got me thinking. How many of the graduates were giddy with excitement and how many were wondering why in the hell they spent thousands and thousands of dollars on a degree that would put them in a job that they recently realized they don’t really like? How many graduates will dedicate their lives to their profession and how many will spend a few years employed in the area only to find out it isn’t truly what they want to be doing (I know this scenario well.)
Whether you take a variety of roads, meander until you stumble upon your path, or choose the straight shot from the get go, eventually you’ll get to where you’re supposed to be. -An idea which inspired these three ink on paper drawings.
Micah Richardson 