Some Art From the Time In-Between!

Hi Friends,

Wow, I can't believe it's been over two years since I've posted here! At the moment, I tend to post art stuff on my Instagram page, but technology apps tend to morph and lose popularity so fast, and I have been missing my blog! Plus, the blog is always here for the technologically-challenged.

Well. A lot has transpired since my last blog post. But, I'll save that for future posts. Instead, I'll show you some art I've made in that time in-between, during 2016 and 2017.

A few monotypes and collages I created in 2016.

A painted "quilt" collage I made in my sketchbook.

I recreated a woodcut I hadn't been totally satisfied with and made it into a linocut instead. For some of the prints, I hand-colored them with watercolor and colored pencil.

I took an amazing online class with Portland, OR artist Alison O'Donoghue called "Bottles, Bananas, and Beyond," available on the website www.carlasonheim.com. I adored this class and it totally inspired me. The piece above is called "Coexistence." It was created using acrylic paints.

Then I took a class with Alison called "Birds on Birds," similar to the previous class I took. Again, fun times, though I think I enjoyed the "Bottles, Bananas" class a little better because of the freedom of subject matter. This acrylic painting is called "Duet."

Okay, that's all for now. I am on a creative tear at the moment, so I'll keep sharing and hopefully there won't be as much radio silence on this blog from now on!

Stillness

it's been awhile since i posted something on here, but i promise you i have been busy! i've been working on some commissioned illustrations, which i will post here very soon

as for personal work, i was asked to donate a piece for the Tiny Auction, a special event which is part of Bizarre Market Holiday, a craft market that is set up in the gallery space of Chop Suey Books in Carytown for a whole month from November 26th to December 24th (Christmas Eve!) Visit the Bizarre Market Facebook page here. I will be selling prints, paintings, and more at the month-long market, but the Tiny Auction is for 3 days only. 20 artists have been asked to donate art specially made for this silent auction. the pieces measure 5" x 5" or smaller. From Friday, November 26th to Sunday the 28th at 4 pm, customers get a chance to bid on their favorite pieces. profits go towards a great cause - the scholarship fund for the Richmond Young Writers Program, a non-profit that offers writing classes to youth.

here is my piece for the auction, measuring 5" x 5." It's called "Stillness." I made it using papers that i painted with watercolor, cut and collaged together. i was actually quite frustrated working on this piece because i kept feeling like it needed something, but i didn't know quite what to do. i think adding the shadows helped. i admire other artists who can beautifully blend funky textures and colors together into a unified whole. i need to practice more to really master it. i am happy with my piece now, though you can only tell it's collaged if you look closely. i had a Scandinavian look in mind when i made it, especially with the detail of the girl's sweater and the simple shapes of the trees. i may create a black and white linoleum print version of this piece if i have time.

i hope you like the painting! and it you live in Richmond, please come down and bid on it at the Tiny Auction!

Milk Paintings

Here are some new paintings I made using Milk Paint. Last week I e-mailed my friend Betsy about using milk paint, since I had been curious about it for awhile. Betsy works at Ecologic, an environmentally-friendly interior design store that also sells handmade goods from artists like me. Betsy makes beautiful handpainted gourds with all kinds of colorful patterns. She gave me some samples of milk paint that I had asked about. It's based on an old formula of casein (milk protein solids), lime, and pigments, and after it has been mixed with water it becomes a biodegradable and non-toxic paint that is environmentally friendly (paint they used to use in the old days). I spent a few days experimenting and making small paintings on wood blocks. This paint was really fun to use. It is a bit like gouache paint, but dries much harder and can't be re-activated with water. It has a chalky quality to it that I like. Also, the wet paint doesn't last long, so I have to work fast because the paint doesn't store well after it is mixed with water. This is good for someone like me, since it forces me to work for a long stretch of time on the paintings so I don't waste the paint. I experimented with sealing the surface with wax polish and with varnish. The wax will darken the color a lot, which is useful in some cases.

It was fun experimenting with new materials. I have lots of ideas for this new paint. I love the fact that it works so well on the wood panels. I picked up a bunch of free wood panels that a cabinet-factory near Ecologic was throwing out, so i have a nice little stash to work on! I have some plans of combining painting with linocut prints. I will post pictures of more things I work on as these paintings develop.

The Rest of Them

Here are the last of the paintings I did for Harrison St. Coffee Shop. I am happy to have finished this series - it's satisfying to see all of them together.

All of the paintings were drawn from life, except for the Asparagus Flower which I drew from a photo. Also, the design on the plate was made up. This was an interesting way to work. I went to the grocery store and farmer's markets, and kept an eye on veg and fruits that looked particularly beautiful or interesting. Then I had to draw them before too many days passed and they got rotten or misshapen. I took photos of the foods so that I could reference the color when I went to paint them, since usually after I drew them I wanted to cook/eat them. It was fun drawing the cupcake. It was a nice treat to eat - delicious!

Veg Head

whoa, this summer has been busy. i've been teaching 5 days a week for ArtVenture, an art summer camp for kids at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. I taught 4 weeks of screenprinting, and now i'm teaching a Paper Toys class. kids are fun, energetic, and keep you on your toes. they are also overwhelming. i've had to take many naps this past month.

still working on those veg paintings for Harrison St. Coffee Shop. it's been really hard to do almost anything outside of teaching, so i've really had to push myself to get the paintings done. 5 more to go by the end of august (that's less than a week, eep!)

Okra Process

Here is the original drawing of the okra, done in pen and ink with a rapidograph pen (my favorite kind of pen!) I love how sculptural the okra looked, and the repetition and slight variation of its shapes. It was also such a fresh shade of green.

Veg!

I was commissioned to do some paintings for the walls of my favorite vegetarian cafe in Richmond, Harrison Street Coffee Shop. They have remodeled and are re-opening tomorrow! I only had 4 paintings to give them so far, but by the end of August I will have all 15 done. It is so fun to draw fruits and vegetables! it's rather relaxing. all the paintings were made using a gel transfer technique, where I drew the veg and then made photocopies of the drawings. Using gel medium, I transferred the photocopied image and then painted the back of the gels with acrylic paints. I mounted them onto wooden boards and painted additional decorations directly on the boards, and sealed them off with varnish. I like working in this technique because I can work on the drawing first and then color it in. I can also make multiples of the same drawing, but each is a little different because i paint them all by hand.

From top to bottom: Okra, Plums, Lemon. I got the okra and plums at my local farmer's market because they looked so attractive. i had never liked okra before because the first time i ate it, it was so slimy! but i battered it in flour, salt, nutritional yeast, and "chicken-style" seasoning and fried it up. it was delicious!