Italian Decadence

Italian Decadence 6" x 18"   Coloursofts & Prismacolors on Pastelbord

You might notice I chose a different reference from the one in the video in the last post. I wanted it to look more decadent so I decided on this set up  where the satin fabric played  a larger role. There are a lot of objects in this piece, but I think it works because of the way like colors/values are grouped together. Please click on the photo to view it larger. 

People often ask how long my drawings take to do, so for this one I tried to figure that out.

Thursday: 4  hours setting up still-life, Photoshopping and drawing line drawing on board.

Friday day: 5 hours drawing (with breaks)

Friday night: 4 hours

Saturday day & night: 8 hours

That adds up to 21 hours for this little piece. Although I have to admit that the cow still-life, which is the same size, took me about 14 hours. The Italian one has more objects that are also more detailed so it took a lot more time. 

Sneak Peak Video

Here's a sneak peak of what I am working on today/tomorrow. I made one of these videos before and I think they give a little glimpse into what goes into composing a still-life. For me, it starts out with an idea, a format, and some objects and usually looks terrible at that beginning stage. Then I find something that works and keep that the same and change things around it until I hopefully get something good. Hope is very important in the process!

I also threw a few images of where this still-life is taking place... in a big mess and a terrible corner of my studio! Its amazing what cropping does!

Still-life with Moo-cow

I bought this cow creamer a while ago, but had trouble fitting its long shape into a still-life. Putting the tipped over cup behind it offered the composition a similar shape which I think makes it work. That same cup with the spoon sticking out of it plus the curving and waving fabric added a lot of movement to the composition which was a lot of fun. That movement almost animates the rest of the objects, which makes it seem like the cow creamer is threatening to walk out of the composition. Which makes me think... if personification is "the attribution of a personal nature or character to inanimate objects" then is this animalification?

I  tried something of a new technique on the background. Since I was using a grey board and I wanted a grey background, I laid down a colored pencil the same color as the board: Dove Grey Coloursoft. This gave me a smooth texture to smudge other greys into by first scribbling them on, then swirling them around with a 1/2 inch bristle brush. I like the effect and it took less time than usual. 

Sorry for the blurry photographs (like usual) and you can click on them to see it larger. 

New Website

My official website has been down for a little while. Here is the story of why it was down and the beginning of a friendship with a new host. If you don't want to hear the whole sordid story scroll down until you see this symbol *. I don't mind.

Basically the trouble started when my host updated itself and stopped working with my old version of Dreamweaver. I loved Dreamweaver and had been using it since the 90's without having to bother my website savvy husband, which I enjoyed greatly. I called and called my host and could get it working again only to lose connectivity the next time I tried to log on. I looked into getting more current software but it is expensive.

So I decided to leave my host and find a new one - one that doesn't require software.

Then it happened.

I cancelled my hosting account with my original company, which we'll call SN. What I didn't know is that I had originally registered my domain name also with SN and when I cancelled my hosting account with them I also lost access to my domain name. & since my account had an email address that was also cancelled when I cancelled my account, I had no way to put in a transfer to a new domain name provider. Sigh. So I called them and had them change my email address so I could get the transfer code.

BUT when you change your email address with your registrar, your account gets flagged by I think Internic and they freeze you from transferring your domain I think for 60 days.

Are you following?

SO I went to that web savvy hubby and he got it up for now.

What I have to do is stay with SN for my domain until those 60 days are up and then transfer. In the meantime my domain with them is set to expire next month... so I'll have to renew it somehow (even though I technically don't have an account) so I can transfer it in March without losing it.

*  So my website IS back up at www.nicolecaulfield.com and also www.nicolecaulfieldfineart.com in case I lose my domain name next month.

Take a look at the new site. I set it up using Google sites which is a completely FREE service. I think its a great way to go for art sites!

& the moral of this story? Don't sign up your domain name at the company that you use for hosting your site!

Revelation

I think I gave the wrong impression in my post after the Thorne show notice from the comments that are stirring in that post. 

Actually not getting in the Thorne is exactly what I needed. 

First,  the idea of the series (that the ballerina girl is in) is just so unbelievably "me" in its weird sense of humor and ties to the past and illustration. The idea behind the series, as I've said before, is a re-imagining of Norman Rockwell's famous covers if they were done today, looking at the weirdness of what we are like now. It is deliberately in a illustration-like style with more "pop" colors than I usually use, partly because this series is based on illustration,but also because it reflects on the consumer/ad centered society we live in.  I plan on touching on issues like technology, roles of wives/husbands in families, etc. I'm kind of thinking of the series as post-pop, or maybe  steam punk fifties, lol. 

 Now onto why I made the comments I did questioning the validity of the series. I was struggling with the feeling of "WHY" when I started the series. I knew I WANTED to do the series and felt it would be fun to explore the psyches of today in a humorous way,  but  just because I really wanted to isn't always a good enough reason to make the drawings, when so much time and money will be put into creating them. The problem I was having was,  I needed to know who my audience was. This is what I was struggling with after finding out that I didn't get in... I needed to know what I should do with the series. Not getting in just made me have to deal with the thoughts I was already having. 

Anyway I've  figured something out.  I have to do this series, whether or not it fits into my current market that I have carved out for myself. I'm going to work on these at the same time as my still-lifes and "Zen" series and eventually will have enough pieces for a show or possibly to put in print.  Maybe this series would do well in a more digital format even... after I get more pieces ready I can explore my options. That doesn't mean I think they have no place in galleries, because I do, it just means they are different than my other work so I will have to figure out where they fit in when I have more of them. 


Anyway I would never stop exploring new ideas, techniques etc, because I know that is how I've gotten to where I am now. I also am not defeated by not getting in the show as I know how shows are judged and understand that it is not a reflection on my validity by not getting in or  by winning... I hope it didn't sound like I was whining, but rather I was doing a necessary self-reflection about the new series, which is such a departure from the work in my current venues. 

Anyway... I have made some progress on my preteen slumber party I've been posting and I did start a still-life today... just the sketch and set up so far though.... my day was cut short by a frenzied daughter who forgot that she was supposed to bring brownies for a bake sale today, so I was baking the first half of the day. Since there isn't much progress to show yet, that is what I will leave you with for today's picture... some behemoth brownies. :-) The recipe is on Bakers unsweetened chocolate boxes and are called cake-like brownies.