Category Archives: art

Arting for 365 Day 252: The Sorry Fate of a Happy Cow

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3 x 5" ink on paper

3 x 5″ ink on paper

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

There they were. A small herd (if seven or eight counts as a herd) of cows. They weren’t on the open range. They weren’t even pinned up in some corral. Instead, these cows were riding in the back of a horse trailer. The cows seemed perfectly content and at ease – happy even – which made me smile. One cow would poke it’s head through a section of the trailer while another would push it aside and then poke its head through. Another rubbed its ears against a side post. None of the cows seemed to be mooing in fear. It seemed as if they were simply enjoying a perfectly gorgeous Saturday afternoon drive around town. The whole scene made me laugh. Until I remembered where I was. I knew better than to think these cows had a happy fate ahead of them. There is little to no hope for a cow growing up in Colorado. Enjoy it while it lasts adorable little bovine, I thought to myself.

Arting for 365 Day 251: Big Fish

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Day 251 Big Fish

Ink and acrylic on 1955 Field & Stream Magazine

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

Appropriation in art is, in the simplest of terms, the practice of using someone else’s imagery or original design to create a new work. Artists from Picasso to an out there artist named Duchamp did it in one form or another. Today there is a funny artist name Wayne White  who takes a unique, graphic design-like approach for doing this, using old landscape paintings he finds and painting words and phrases on them.

I pulled out an old 1955 Field & Stream magazine and used the cover art (by Tom Rost) to create my own piece of appropriated art.  This was a great exploration for me. It allowed my brain to play with space and design a bit. I kept portions of the original fish, while adding blocks of color and line throughout the rest of the piece.I love the idea of keeping a portion of the old to influence what is new – a bit of a metaphor for life, I suppose.

Because I enjoyed this so much, I’m hoping to continue throughout the magazine. In order to keep the images connected, I plan to cut out a portion of the previous page. For example, I cut the top 1/3 of this piece off so that as I paint the next right hand side page, it will become part of the cover art.

I feel like this has the potential to be a really great project. It’s got me, once again thinking about growth and connections. My only regret of day 251’s art, is that I neglected to take a picture of the original cover. That and I feel a bit guilty about covering up so much of an old treasure.

Acrylic adn ink on 1955 Field & Stream Magazine

Acrylic and ink on 1955 Field & Stream Magazine

Arting for 365 Day 250: For Someone’s Bold Kitchen

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Paint on tiles

Paint on tiles

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

Another day, another chance to paint on tiles. After deciding the grasshopper tiles I painted the other day would be fun as part of a backsplash, I began thinking more broadly on the subject. I envisioned filling all of the wall between the cabinets and counter with colorful tiles. It would be one of a kind – really cool and vibrant. Nothing realistic, just non-representational patterns and design mixed and matched.

Because I’m still getting used to my tile paints, I thought I’d start with a small batch and see how they turn out prior to jumping in on a big bunch. Using blues, teals and orange (sorry, no matter how much I edit, I cannot seem to show the orange as it is in real life) I came up with this bold design. It is wild and fun, but probably a wee bit too busy for our tiny space. A monochromatic design might work better for us. But for some bold personality, in some fabulous kitchen somewhere, these happy tiles would thrive.

Day 250 Detail 1 Day 250 Detail 3 Day 250 Detail 2

Arting for 365 Day 249: Drips

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3 x 5" ink on paper

3 x 5″ ink on paper

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

“Did you leave a drip?”

“Do we need a drip?”

“Do we need two drips?”

“Do you hear that drip?”

Drips, it turns out, are a big part of our lives these days. A strange statement I know, but all too true. As temperatures have dropped below zero over the last few weeks it has been a necessary precaution to leave a drip running in the sinks of Gertie, our RV/house. When these initial cold temps hit, we sometimes forgot the drip and woke up to frozen pipes.

For the most part drips are a sweet sound that indicate good things. That is unless the drip is heard outside.  Then things turn a bit more sour. An outside drip, as we recently discovered, indicates a broken pipe.

The adventures never cease!

Arting for 365 Day 247: Spinning in Circles

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12 x 28" acrylic on canvas

12 x 28″ acrylic on canvas

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

There are days when the mind spins in endless circles. It frets over issues large and small. It’s indecisive, uncertain, turned around. It seeps frazzled energy, uncertain of how to put it to good use. The mind turns and turns until it can turn no more; slumping into a heap of exhaustion.

Day 247 DetailThis piece available for purchase on etsy

Arting for 365 Day 246: Commissioned Coasters

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Acrylic on compressed paper coasters

Acrylic on compressed paper coasters

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

I’m back to coaster making. Funny enough, my ventures into these things have proven somewhat popular. I’m now even being commissioned for them- this set being one of those commissions. Here are the specifics I was given to guide me:

1. The house these will be inhabiting has lots of deep purples, mauves, and tans (so no fluorescent/super bright colors please).

2. Also, the person would probably appreciate something more abstract or non-representational.

Because I love the idea of having one larger completed work of art that can be separated into smaller images, I began by taping the six pressed paper coasters together. Blending purples and reds, I created my base layer. I went back in and thickened up the blends in certain areas and after the paint had dried, I used a small squeeze bottle of acrylic to draw on the white design. The squeeze bottle thing was a first time experiment for me. I learned about it from an artist named Bryan Martin who also has a studio at Poudre Studio Artists & Galleries.  I finished up the piece by adding areas of solid color in order to create a more blocked effect.

Day 246: Commisioned Coasters scattered

I feel pretty good about the final piece and the friend who commissioned them seems pretty pleased with them as well – which always makes me happy. To finish the coasters off I will make prints of the originals, attach them to tiles, coat them with lots of varnish and add cork to the back. Below are a few examples.

Arting for 365 Day 245: On Top of the World

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3 x 5" ink on paper

3 x 5″ ink on paper

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

There are days when, for no particular reason, I feel on top of the world. Maybe the way the sun shines that day does it to me. Or perhaps it’s waking up to a smiling face and a drooling cat. Or maybe it’s coming out of a lovely dream that I no longer remember. Whatever it might be, on these wonderful days, I am certain there is no wrong in the world.

Arting for 365 Day 244: Grasshopper Tiles

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Tile paint on tiles

Ceramic paint on tiles (which may be used as coasters)

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

Awhile back I decided it would be fun to explore painting on ceramic surfaces. I figured I could pretty-up a mug or try my hand at creating some abstract patterns on a bowls. I picked up a small thing of black Liquitex Glossies paint, which is made for just such a thing, and got to work.

Day 244 Paint

After purchasing a high-end mug from the dollar store, I started in on the painting. I ended up with a mug covered in geometric design. The boyfriend loved it and quickly claimed it as his own. It was a fun project, but honestly, I did very little with the paint after that.

About a month ago, though, I broke the boyfriend’s new favorite mug and promised I would make another someday. I sneakily got it done to have as a Christmas gift. At the same time the boyfriend thought he would motivate me to make another by getting me a slew of colors for Christmas. Good stuff!

Yesterday, I took the paints and worked on creating a realistic, colorful grasshopper image. I wanted to see how well the paints blended. It turns out, not fabulously, but not terribly either. The paints seem to need a few layers in order to really be able to blend. They also dry quickly, which makes things a bit tricky. I had a lot of fun using them though and hope to try a few more approaches with the stuff.

Day 244 Scattered Coasters

Day 244 Grasshopper Detail

Arting for 365 Day 243: Hippo’s Scarecrow

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3 x 5" watercolor and ink on paper

3 x 5″ watercolor and ink on paper

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

He was tired of it – the endless stream of little birds who felt entitled to sit atop his head. Sure his noggin was flat and shiny and often close to the water, but it was not an open invitation for parking. The birds who perched there never asked permission. Furthermore they often left him “gifts” that he would rather not have.

So he took action. It was not ideal, but a fake visitor, put there by choice, was much more appealing than the alternative.