Tag Archives: art 365

Arting for 365 Day 131: Direction

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Day 131 (9/6/12): Untangling Ideas

Sometimes I feel like figuring out what we want to do with life is a bit like a science experiment. Sometimes there are very conclusive results, but other times (most times for this girl) the results are basically inconclusive.

I can happily say that my life’s experimentations have narrowed the general direction I want to go. But I can also say I haven’t untangled and separated out all of the variables in order to give solid evidence of the route I should take to get there.

But like a good scientist, I’ll keep experimenting – crossing off the things that don’t work, while building on the things that do.

Arting for 365 Day 130: Evolution

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Day 130 (9/5/12): Evolution

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

I heard a report on the news yesterday that ivory is once again a hot commodity, especially in China. This means poaching of elephants has drastically increased.

It was a pretty disheartening story, especially because I find elephants to be really amazing animals (strong, smart, wrinkled with character). But the report also got me thinking.

It is said that elephants have already begun to evolve smaller tusks due to poaching. Will this continue at a more drastic pace until the tusks are basically worthless little nubs? What kind of evolution would it take for elephants to truly defend themselves against poachers?

Feeling like you can’t live without this drawing? Buy it here.

Arting for 365 Day 129: Beetle Army

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Day 129 (9/4/12): Beetle Army

8 x 8″ watercolor and ink on paper

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

The mass of armored bugs moved under feet like an army passing through. Determined. Focused. Efficient.

Obstacles were inconsequential – rocks pushed aside, water traversed with ease.  Hell bent to reach their destination, they scurried below.

This piece available for purchase here.

Arting for 365 Day 127: Time and Age

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Day 126 (9/2/12): Scissor Cuts

8 x 10″ Watercolor and ink on paper

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

After spending countless hours drawing umpteen lines, she reached for her scissors and began to cut. The strips of paper falling below made her think of pasta. Homemade pasta.

She imagined a plump Italian grandma rolling out dough. With ease she would create perfect, uniform noodles the girl was sure came only with time and age.

Later the entire family would come to grandma’s to share in her creation – enjoying stories and laughter over a bottle of wine.

The girl continued cutting her imperfect strips. Time and age, she thought.

Arting for 365 Day 126: Into September

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Day 126 (9/1/12): September Flower

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

It is hard to believe that it has been four months since I decided making art everyday and blogging about it was a good idea. Do I still think the decision was a wise one? Heck yeah, I do! Here are a few reasons why:

  1. When someone asks, “What are you doing today?” I actually have an answer. This was not always the case prior to the arting endeavor.
  1. My 96 year old grandma, who rarely surfs the internet, does get on rather regularly to look at my site. This in turn makes me feel like kind of a big deal.
  1. Someone actually bought the drawing I did of a toilet. Granted the purchaser did not realize it was a toilet at first, but once he did, he still bought it. This must mean the world has a sense of humor.
  1. I have a nearly endless supply of birthday/Christmas/Kwanza/Leap Year presents (whether people want them or not).
  1. I get to tell strange stories about animals and then convince people they are clever, not crazy.
  1. I do what I love everyday.

Arting for 365 Day 125: Bitchy and Snarky

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Day 125 (8/31/12): Bitchy and SnarkyGoal: To create one piece of art each day for 365 consecutive days

They had time on their hands. A lot of it. So they spent it being productive – evaluating, the looks, actions, dress,and speech of those around them. It wasn’t like they were being mean. Just pointing out the obvious.

Perfection comes from recognizing faults, they thought.

Arting for 365 Day 123: Contrast Flow

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Day 123 (8/29/12): Contrast Flow

Big daddy: 42 x 72″. For those of you who don’t like division 3.5 x 6′

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

Three or four years back I switched from painting with oils to using acrylics. I had painted with oils for years, and in fact loved them. I loved the way they could be manipulated and pulled across a canvas. I loved that mistakes could quickly be wiped off and new attempts made. I loved their rich color and their unique smell. But as I became more prolific (or at least semi-prolific) with painting, I realized that while that smell was great in small doses, all of the chemicals, oils, and varnishes were too much for my allergies to take. So I made the switch.

It took a bit of time to adjust but after finding good thick paints and some great slow drying mediums, I decided that acrylics are really pretty fantastic. I’ll admit that they seem to be slightly less forgiving, but if medium is added you can work with them long enough to make changes and do some good blending. Good paints and mediums also seem to give acrylics a richness, not as great, but similar to oils. And the biggest perk to acrylics is that if no medium is added, their drying time is super-fast. This means that a person as impatient as myself does not have to wait long to build up color. Needless to say I am an acrylic convert.

There has only been one area in which I have wondered whether painting with acrylics would work as well as painting with oils- and that is on a large scale canvas. Because of the quicker drying time, I worried that creating the blended washes I love so much may not be possible. I decided that I’d set out to see on a 42 x 72” canvas.

Verdict: It can be done. I realized quickly that it takes a TON of medium to make it happen. But a nice blended wash is possible. (I completely forgot to get a pic of the initial background, so my half painted, taken with my camera phone piece below will have to suffice.)

With the blended orange and yellow as my background, I quickly built up my design on top and I’m pretty pleased with the result.