I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas in L.A.

My Christmas Mandala, drawn a couple years ago.

Yes-- I am dreaming of a white Christmas here in Los Angeles. Why not? I've already let three plants die by failing to cover them in time for overnight freezes this week. So... Freezing temperatures + a little moisture = snow. (I got an A in meteorology.) I definitely like to dream.

Joe and I are going to my side of the family's home this year and I'm very excited to spend time with my parents and most of my five brothers and their families. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!

Janet

Peacock Grouper stippled pen & ink

Peacock Grouper, 4x6", pen and ink

I stippled a bunch of fish eight years ago. That was the first time I tried to make art seriously as an adult. Dot by tiny freaking dot. I don't stipple anymore. I guess you could say I'm an ex-stippler.

I sure do appreciate a well-stippled fish, though.

(In the interest of total disclosure, the tan background of this image isn't stippled.)

Happy Valentines Day

After weeks studying and practicing the style of 1920's greeting card art (colorful, flowerly, idyllic scenery, and flat -- no dimension or shading), I've concocted and painted an entire scene from my own little brain.

Here is the first draft, without a background. I found I had limited my choices for a background color or pattern by drawing in the house and the line of the hill behind the couple. Ideas I had will no longer work for a background, unless I paint over the current one. Lesson learned! Plan first, paint second!


For the background, I wanted something different -- a geometric or graphic patterned background (something like the side panels), so the scene didn't look too realistic. I didn't want green grass and a blue sky. But guess what I did? Painted the grass green and the sky blue.

Well, that didn't look right at all. The green and blue were so mid-range that the man and woman disappeared. So I darkened the blue and green. Better, but now it looks like nighttime! Nighttime, with a parasol. Maybe she doesn't want to get a moon-burn.


But it's not too late, and I have a plan. I know some people won't like my plan, but I'm going back to the original geometric pattern idea. I'll post the final result later. First I need to find some ink or paint that will sit on top of the acrylic paint background.

Ta ta! (Or as Jody says, TTFN -- ta ta for now.)

Vintage Valentine

Here's yet another pen and ink drawing (with watercolor) I did yesterday during a cherished "Art Day" with my two pals Belinda and Victor. I used a 1920's Valentine's Day card to make this drawing, with just a few little changes. My husband's uncle gave the card to his wife in 1922 and we are lucky enough to be the current guardians of this and other magnificent cards from that era.

I'm enjoying this kind of ink and watercolor style so much that I just might focus on it for a while. Focusing on just one form of art should result in less clutter, both in my head and in my surroundings.

Redhead with Bluebird

Pen and ink and watercolor

6" x 4"

When is a Doodle More than a Doodle and Isn't it a Great Word?

Have you heard of a Zentangle? Apparently it's a new aid to doodling, a how-to-doodle primer. They even sell kits for $49 to teach you how to doodle the Zentangle way -- apparently in repetitive patterns, section by section.

My doodle on the left isn't a Zentangle, though it may look like one. I'm not sure how I feel about the concept of doodle instruction. It conjures up paint-by-numbers kits and Bob Ross videos, only not as ... necessary. Aren't doodles supposed to be "mindless" and "aimless"?

But I think I'm being narrow-minded about it. If you google the word Zentangle, the first few hits are from quite zealous Zentanglers. Most feel great about drawing something so well-formed and want to share the art and the experience. One wrote, "I have been calling what I do 'doodles' and kind of felt guilty about not doing any 'real' art. Then HOLY COW - I realized I was Zentangling. . . . " Geez. That reminds me of my mandala drawings (I'll paste one here). Before I had ever heard of mandalas, I had drawn many dozens of them and honestly thought I had invented the art form. Ha! However, I didn't feel guilty about it as a time-waster. Doodling and drawing repetitive patterns is a well-established meditative, relaxing experience. So I say, "Go Zentanglers!"

Pen and Ink

"Broken," pen & ink

Bookplates - Ex Libris - From the Library of

Bookplates have been used to identify the owner of books since the medieval times. Actually, I just made that up. But according to Wikipedia, they were used as early as the 14th century.

Three of the five I've posted today are made with linocuts -- carved linoleum -- and the other two are pen and ink drawings. I used a magnifying glass for all of them. The red-orange tulip has the owner's initials "JC" and the rest are ready for them.

I recently bought a 1920's book on the subject entitled, "Nothing, or the Bookplate," by Edward Gordon Craig, in which he actually "tips in" or glues 25 original bookplates into the book! They're spectacular.

Anyway, the point is that he believes the size of a bookplate should rarely exceed 1-1/2" square. That's barely postage stamp size! Being a fan of miniatures, I'm going with his recommendation.


Butterfly, Ladybug, and Tulip are linocut prints; and Letter P and Letter B are pen and ink drawings.

Today: Being Female

Today it's all about being female. This lavendar image is made from a woodcut I carved out and printed on teal-colored Japanese paper that was very fibrous. The teal paper with the lavendar image was adhered to heavy, white printmaking paper and run through an etching press. The process is called a woodcut chine-colle print.

I wasn't trying to carve the shape of a woman. I just started carving in a swirling and curvy way, and before I knew it, there was the image of a woman. Except for the very top, but then I realized perhaps she has raised her arms. I have made several prints of this in different color combinations, as well as black on white paper.

Abstract Woman, 12x6", woodcut chine-colle

Below is a pen and ink drawing the way I personally like to do them -- like doodling but with thought as to the design. This one has a couple doves hiding among the leaves, flowers and other shapes. Click on the image if you'd like to see it better.

Doves and Leaves, c. 5x5", pen & ink on paper

Peacock

Peacock, 6x9"

Sometimes I am apologetic when I use bright colors. This paranoia comes from reading one art magazine article a few months ago which said muted colors are mature and bright colors are ... not. I've decided to stop apologizing and use whatever colors I like. :-D

I started this peacock drawing with a loose pen sketch, which I colored with Prismacolor pencils. Then I scanned it and applied a filter called "accented edges" in Photoshop. Wanting to show the detail and texture of the feathers, I decided to crop out about half the image and enlarge it. That worked. I lost a lot of the tail, but at least you can see the details clearly.

Mandala

It's so much fun to draw a mandala! I know you're supposed to meditate on finished ones, but my meditative process occurs while drawing them. If you'll click on the image you can see the detail, which is the whole idea of the mandalas I draw -- lots of small detail. Sometimes they look like an ant farm on a busy day.

Illustration Friday - "Polar"

For Illustration Friday's theme "Polar," I chose to draw the South Pole sinking of the "Endurance" which did not, in fact, endure the polar ice in its 1915 Antarctic expedition. The dogs made it out, though.

Pen & ink, with gray gouache, 5x8"

Benedicamina Illumination

Say what? "Benedicamina Illumination" is the title of this pen and ink (and gold leaf) painting/drawing. "Benedicamina" because that's written on the scroll held by the angel at the top, which is loosely translated from Psalms 103 as Bless God Always. I had to find verse that might have been used in ancient times and would fit in that little space. "Illumination" because I drew it in the form of an ancient illuminated manuscript.

I LOVE illustrated manuscript art, the more complex and colorful and full of line-work, the better. A Book of Hours is a treasure I could spend days or weeks studying, but I doubt I'll never be allowed to peruse an authentic one, though occasionally someone will sell a single page on eBay. I've also seen them exhibited at the Getty Art Center here in Los Angeles. Then there's the Book of Kells ornately decorated by monks in Dublin, Ireland, famous for its extraordinary beauty and detail.

For two or three years, I've wanted to try making one myself. I didn't feel capable of actually writing a page from a manuscript and illuminating (decorating) it, so I just went with the decoration part, and just wrote a one-liner from Psalms 103. It took six full days! I tried to be authentic as far as using colors that existed at the time and gold leaf, but I couldn't see using real vellum (from calf skin) for so many reasons.

Crows everywhere (except here)

I've noticed a proliferation of crows both at home (geez, they are EVERYWHERE!) and as art on eBay and other sites. They're great looking birds. I've even just made a monoprint of a crow, so I'm joining the ranks. But today, no crows. Just three simple little birds from my imagination.

First is a pen and ink drawing; second a collograph (cut paper and matboard, printed), and last a drypoint engraving on acrylic.