Illustration Friday - Shadow

Pasture Gate

9 x 6 inches

water soluble graphite and colored pencil 

on watercolor board

This is just a quick color and value sketch for an image that I would like to turn into a small oil painting.  I find a little pre-planning helps immensely.  This gate is just up the road from my house and on this particular day, the play of light and shadow created beautiful elongated patterns.  For me the most interesting times of day for shadows are early morning and late afternoon, but it is also the most fleeting.  The sun seems to move more quickly when it is near the horizon.  For this reason I am a strong proponent of carrying a camera in order to capture references of this magical part of the day.  I also like use the computer to desaturate my studies to make sure the composition holds up based on value in addition to color.  It is a good idea to do this with paintings while they are progressing as well.

Here is an example of this study in grey scale.  I think it is still fairly successful.  Time to get busy painting!

Old IF entry wins Best in Show

Who would have thought that a small drawing created last year as an Illustration Friday entry would lead me to fame and fortune?  OK...no real fame and only a small $200 award.  But still, I am very proud to say that this small colored pencil drawing won Best in Show at last nights opening of Main Street Gallery's juried still life exhibit.   What a truly fantastic surprise!


The show will be hanging from March 3rd - April 12.  If you find yourself in downtown Tyler Texas, stop by to see all of the beautiful artwork created by East Texas artists!

Illustration Friday - Artificial

Venus

3.5 x 2.5 inches ATC

colored pencil on toned paper

Some of the synonyms for artificial are: man-made, artful, cunning, imitation, sham.  Man has been imitating nature for a very long time.....

Tyler Artwalk - June 18th, 4-8 pm

The June Tyler Artwalk hosted by the Downtown Tyler Arts Coalition and Gallery Main Street has come and gone.  Overall it was a very positive experience.   My exhibit consisted of 7 acrylic paintings, 1 watercolor, 4 colored pencil drawings and an alabaster sculpture.   I had a much larger space than the 10 x 10 square feet I was told to expect which was nice because it gave people an opportunity to move through the exhibit more easily.  I shared a large upstairs loft space with two other artists and a lady who volunteered to set up a photography exhibit from the recent Azalea Trail Photography Competition.  People started trickling in about 4:30 in the afternoon and by 5:00 there was a steady stream of visitors until the end of the exhibit.  The only downside was the heat, the building we were in had a less than adequate cooling system, so we ended up with three big room fans to try and keep the temperatures bearable.  Also there was no elevator to the space, only stairs.

I met lots of really nice people though, including a future art teacher looking for employment, and a high school art teacher from Pittsburgh, Texas.   I received a visit from a couple of my former art students from Lindale. and found out at the end of the event. that another former Lindale student, Megan Bryant, was actually part of the exhibit at the Main Street Gallery.

I did have one critic, an elderly gentleman named Elihu Edelson who told me I was a better sculptor than painter.  I smiled and agreed with him.  He said that he had been an art critic for a newspaper when he lived in Florida.  He was charming nonetheless and the conversation became even more interesting when he asked me if I was mystical.  I then heard a long tale about how he ended up in Texas.

It was a lovely evening.

Illustration Friday - Equipment

The Fig Leaf Campaign

ATC 2.5 x 3.5 inches

colored pencil 

I have to lay blame/give credit to my husband for my interpretation of this weeks word.  He has a habit of referring to male anatomy as "equipment."  So, in order to keep my blog (cough) "school appropriate" I thought I would touch on a bit of art history associated with the topic of male anatomy and censorship.

The addition of fig leaves to anatomically complete nude sculptures began in the mid 16th century as a reaction to Michelangelo's David and the Sistine Chapel Frescos.  A man by the name of Cardinal Carafa, led the campaign to cover nude figures in paintings and sculptures with a fig leaf.  An apron of fig leaves was the biblical symbolic clothing of Adam when he first recognized his own nakedness in the book of Genesis.  Unfortunately hundreds if not thousands of works of art were permanently damaged in the process of removing the offending appendages and covering the wounded artwork with plaster or bronze fig leaves.  

Amazingly many sculptures have since been reunited with their original  "equipment".

Illustration Friday - Linked

Linked:

To the past

To the future

To each other

Thursday night submissions are becoming a habit for me.  I have had this image in my head all week, but I have just been too busy to sit down and get it done.  This is exactly what I did as a teacher last weekend, only with high school students instead of little ones, and we didn't hold hands. :)  I have pictures to post from our trip, but it is late and I will have to wait till the weekend to find a little free time to get them off my camera and edit them.   I promise more soon.  Good Night!

Illustration Friday - Rescue

Colored Pencil

APC 4 x 6 inches

An eleventh hour submission from me this week.  The rigors of being everything to everyone has left me a little more than overwhelmed and I only just finished this quick cat portrait.  Todd and I literally rescued her out of the middle of the road on a cold, dark, and stormy night back in late February. This beautiful Himalayan mix kitty is obviously someone's house cat because she doesn't have a clue about roads or strangers or cars or anything out of doors.   We tried for several weeks to find her owners, but so far no one seems to be missing her.  She loves people and doesn't mind dogs, but she is not terribly friendly with our other cats.  As beautiful as she is, I would like to find her a home if we can't find her original owners.  She would be happier as an only cat.  If you live in East Texas and want to adopt a cat, email me.

Illustration Friday - Expired

"Last Rites"

Colored Pencil

This little female cardinal actually died in my hand about a week ago.  I was putting the  greyhounds out in the kennels and she crash landed through the dog door and into the wall of the kennel.  Sassy (the greyhound) grabbed her before I could, but also dropped her pretty quickly when I yelled at her.  So I'm not sure if it was the crash or the greyhound mouthing that did her in, or a combination of the two.  She died about 30 seconds after I picked her up, poor thing.  But observationist that I am, I set her aside near the outside trash cans so that I could draw her later in the day.   Todd complained a little later that the gnats were getting to her so I took pictures of her instead.  It just worked out that she was the perfect subject for this weeks Illustration Friday word.

Illustration Friday - Perspective

"Beyond right and wrong, there is a field. I will meet you there."

(Rumi - 13th century Persian Poet)

A double meaning for this weeks word.  I have come to realize that truth (right/wrong) is almost always a matter of perspective.  It can be difficult to remember this when we become passionate about an idea or belief, but it is the basis of wisdom.  Of course as an art teacher I had to have a little perspective drawing included as well. 

Two days till spring break!  Yippee!

Illustration Friday - Propagate

 

Chia Todd

colored pencil on green paper

2.5 x 3.5 inches ATC

OK this weeks word was a tough one.  I think my resulting image betrays my usually disguised weirdo side, but here it is anyway.  This was inspired by my son's decision to allow his Ag teacher to shave his head last week with a pair of sheep sheers.  It has taken some getting used to and I think this is my subconscious way of saying that I prefer my son with at least some hair on his still young head.  I am including an image of the freshly mowed head below.

 

Illustration Friday - Crunchy

Monty Python's Crunchy Frog

colored pencil and gel pen

5.75 x 3.75 inches

OK, I really took it down to the wire this week, but it has been a crazy busy week.  This submission was inspired by a Monty Python scene that I am going to attempt to attach below.  I am not a huge Monty Python fan but I have been known to appreciate quirky British humor when I am so tired that I am no longer thinking straight.  That would be my general state this whole week.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy the illo and the link to the skit.

Crunchy Frog

Not quite what I intended, but the link does work.

Illustration Friday - Entangled

Come Back to Bed

2.5 x 3.5 inches ATC

mixed media

I really like this weeks theme word, it is full of all kinds of possibilities.  The resulting illos I see going up on IF are wonderful overall.   The theme brings to mind the entanglement of our personal relationships for me.  Perhaps the holidays are also responsible for putting me in this mindset.  I made this ATC for a personal trade with a lady who likes to collect cards themed with a mermaid and an octopus as a couple.  Entanglement is a given for these two. 

Illustration Friday -Blur

Mixed Media 3.5 x 2.5 ATC

I love the soft blur caused by falling snow.  This little ATC was inspired by a poem by Robert Frost.

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Illustration Friday - Skinny or A Peace Crane Project Update

mixed media ATCs

Dancing Japanese Cranes

I came close to not getting this week done in time again.  The word "skinny" can be a touchy word especially for women.  So about 4:00 AM this morning I finally settled on doing a series of ATCs with some skinny birds that would also allow me to give an update on my origami peace crane project that I am spearheading at school.  We currently have about 588 cranes produced by students, teachers and a few community members at large.  We are a little over half way done with folding and I would like to have the installation hung by early December.  It seems a fitting theme for the upcoming holiday season.  If you would like to know more about this project you can see the entry on my blog at http://msartlady.blogspot.com/2009/10/illustration-friday-pattern-or-put-up.html .   Oh and by the way, these cards are available for trade for comparable hand drawn or painted cards. Show me what cha got. :)

Annabel Lee

Colored Pencil on Bristol

made for a poetry swap on Illustrated ATCs

ANNABEL LEE

Author: Edgar Allan Poe

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love -
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulcher
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me
Yes! that was the reason
(as all men know, In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we
Of many far wiser than we
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,
In the sepulcher there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

Illustration Friday - Frozen

Frozen Embryo

2.5 x 3.5 inches ATC

watercolor and colored pencil

I had nearly given up on participating in Illustration Friday this week.  I was feeling utterly uninspired and I didn't want to submit something that seemed  like simply another version of what a lot of other people had already done better.  But.... as luck would have it, inspiration hit me just as I was going to bed last night.  Frozen embryos are typically found in the form of an 8 celled blastosphere, similar to what's in the upper right hand corner, but I wondered what the little guy might look like if he were just a little more developed.  If frozen embryos all looked like this I wonder if science would handle them any differently?

I'm not making any political statements, nor taking a stance on one platform or another.  It's just an interesting thing to think about.  What does it mean to be human?  If you are frozen, and in an early developmental stage, have you become human yet, or are you still waiting?

Illustration Friday - Infinite

Where does the infinite hide?

I'll tell you true, I cannot lie.

You'll find it there.

Look deep

down in the glistening depths

of a cat's eye.

This weeks IF submission had me stumped for a while.  The infinite is a tricky thing to describe, and perhaps it is not a truly describable concept. Rather, it is something to be sought and understood according to the perspective of the individual.  Anyway, I got very philosophical about the whole thing and this is ultimately what I ended up with.  Below are some quotes that pushed me in this general direction.

Nature is full of infinite causes that have never occurred in experience. - Leonardo DaVinci
Nature is an infinite sphere whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is  nowhere. - Blaise Pascal
In natures infinite book of secrecy a little I can read. - Shakespeare

Click the picture to see it bigger.

More trading cards

ColourLovers Challenge "Japan"

These are cards made for a group swap where swap members had to work from the same limited color pallet.  The name of the pallet for my group was Japan, so I used that as a theme for my images.  It could have been anything though.  Color was the only restriction.

Illustration Friday - Strong

 

mixed media on vellum

There were two quotes that inspired me for this week's IF theme.  

The first one is:

"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." - Frederick Douglass

And the second:

"Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong." - Winston Churchill

Another very quickly finished piece, completed within about two hours.  If I hadn't gotten it done this evening, I am afraid I would have missed participating this week.  So needless to say, I wish I could have spent more time on it, but isn't that always true. 

I have nearly completed the cards for my Chimerical Critter ATC swap and will be posting those within a day or so.  I originally misunderstood the instructions and thought I was to make six cards of the same animal.  Instead, I was supposed to make one each of the animal combinations proposed by my swapmates.  I'm glad I reread the instructions before I got started.  It was much more fun to create six different critters than to do six versions of one "toubster".  I will be receiving six toubsters in the mail from the other participants at the end of the swap.  Fun!

Illustration Friday: Modify

...but what Julia really wants is A BUNNY!

This is my second submission for Illustration Friday. I had to get it done today because I have kids art camp every day this next week. It is not a paying gig, but it will bring in much needed art club money. I have to keep reminding myself that I love my high school students more than my summer break. :) I'll be getting up at 5:30. That's in the AM.

Click the pic to make it bigger.

Have a great week ya'll!