Middle Square finished -more or less

Using Neocolor II's underneath the dry pencil completely changed the look of this square. I like the way it looks, but it may make me have to cut the squares apart instead of have it as a triptych because it looks so different from the first square. The Neocolor's have covered up the color of the board (light tan) and on the one where I didn't use Neocolors the color of the board comes out in the specks creaing a dusty look when seen up close.

I can't decide which technique I like better. I think it matters the subject. and for these vibrant abstracts I think it does work better with the Neocolors.

I'm going to make a list of what is good about straight colored pencil on pastelbord and what is good about neocolor (and watercolor pencil) underpaintings mixed with dry colored pencil on board and post that sometime this week.

Abstract Bag 2 WIP

I snuck in some time yesterday for the second abstract square. I decided to do an underpainting in Caran D'Ache Neocolors II since if I do one of these large, the neocolors will come in real handy and I wanted to test how I might work with them.

The light is coming through the paper bag and creating a strange glow of colors underneath darker colors. To get that feeling I started with an underpainting for the bag of those lighter saturated colors you see popping through. So the overall underpainting is lighter than the end drawing will be.

I have started putting layers of darker dry colored pencil on the top of the bag.

We were so lucky to have Jennifer Maestre bring her pencil sculptures to our cpsa meeting last Saturday! Some things she told us that I was really surprised about:

• The pencil stubs are actually beads (after she drills a hole in them) and the sculptures are strung together like traditional beading sculture techniques, as well as ones she had to invent.


• they are pliable/flexible


• No glue involved!
  

She also had an inventive way to sharpen those teeny pencil nubs - she attaches the stub to the end of a drill and then puts a hand pencil sharpener on the stub and turns on the drill! Kind of too big of a setup though to tote along to a workshop.

She brought along her jewelry made out of colored pencils too and I got a great necklace!

• here's her website http://www.jennifermaestre.com/


• her etsy store with her jewelry: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5028856


• & her sculptures are for sale at Mobilia Gallery in Cambrdige MA http://www.mobilia-gallery.com/

On another note: I haven't touched by triptych since I last posted. I am busy working on getting the house in order before the cruise. Why? Because my mother will be flying in from Chicago and staying here, for the entire week without me, while she watches the kids. So just as last year, I am cleaning out closets and getting some painting projects done. At the moment I am spattered with PINK BLISS paint as I'm taking a break from paitning my daughter's bedroom. It pains me because I am paitning light magenta paint over the murals I painted in her room before she was born.

I'll be back to the colored pencils sometime this week, before the next painting project!

Abstract Triptych

I started a new project, leavng those box ones to the side for now. What I am doing is a a tritych of three views of a crumpled paper bag, with each box getting closer to the bag and therefore, a more abstract composition. So this one that's first is the furthest away and the least abstract. They will each be 12 x 12" making a 36" x 12" composition when all three are finished. The plan is to finish this and then pick my favorite image from it and redo it larger, maybe 24 x24," because that's the biggest square I can get Pastelbord to come in without special ordering.

I've always enjoyed rendering paper and paper bags. I first did as an assignment in high school, and in college I spent half a semester drawing crumpled paper in my lithography class at Northern Illinois University. That was by accident though, and one of my favorite art school stories. We were supposed to come to class with an object. That is all we knew. Of course I forgot to bring one, so when the teacher asked us to take out our object I tore out and crumpled up a piece of paper from my steno notebook and said that was my object. The teacher, who's name was coincidentally Sean Caulfield, just shrugged when he saw my object. Then he informed the class that that object was going to be the inspiration for everything we would be doing for the rest of the semester. Every image I would have to make for weeks had to be derived from that piece of paper! It turned out great though and was a really fun object to play with.

I've done quite a few pieces with paper as a subject lately too and made a new catergory on my website for it, although I didn't have photos of them all to include on that page.

If this project goes well, I plan on doing more abstract triptych studies,including fabric as well as paper. Although. I have how many series going on right now??

Working from Life

Thanks for all the support in the last post! Having trouble getting something I'm happy with is a common thing... and I eventually come out of it! I am still thinking about the message in the bottle one, as I really like the idea. The message in the bottle says "Where is My Mind" a reference to a great song by the Pixies. :)

In the meantime I've updated my website, started step one of cleaning out the room that will be my studio, cleaned out the pantry and kitchen cabinets, sent in my entry to this year's CPSA international show, and did a little drawing from life of some olives. Maybe getting all this stuff done will have cleared my mind!

& don't look too hard at the elipses on the jar of grapes, it was just a little study from life!! ;)