Day 76 - 365/2014

Day Seventy-Six

Tonight I applied the black paper with inclusions to the Biteyou collage.  I took a little extra time to make the Biteyou-shaped tears a little bigger so that I will be sure to have room for painting his edges or outline...whatever it turns out I do with him.  This process always takes longer than I expect.

Ready to get started.

I tore the Biteyou outlines a little bigger and slopped on the matte medium.

I apply the matte medium underneath and on top...just to make sure it is good and wet and stays put.

It is drying nice and clear.

I need to let him sit for a while before I move him back into the studio to keep drying.

I still don't know how I will finish him...certainly he is not fully painted yet.  I don't know if I will use more paper(s) to create a background or paint on top of the paper or maybe a bit of both to keep the collage going.  I do think he is outside in the dark...unlike me, Biteyou is not afraid of the dark outside.

Day 64 - 365/2014

Day Sixty-Four

I wanted to work some more on Biteyou but I couldn't come up with what to do.  The mulberry paper didn't turn out so well and I couldn't think of a color to paint over it.  I am starting to run sort of low on large pieces of paper and I didn't really feel like ripping teensy pieces and applying them to the canvas around the creature.  Then I found some sort of neutral colors in the studio and brought them out to test next to Biteyou.  I plan on painting on whatever paper I lay down...or collaging it more or something...not sure what yet...but one of the papers was too plain, one was okay, but not quite and the third is the one I went with -- for now.

Biteyou and the mulberry paper.

Better shot of how the mulberry paper looks...not that great.

The three neutral colors I found in the studio.  I need to make a trip out to Hollander's soon!

I liked the brown...but, meh...

The black-with-inlcusions might be better.

Okay...so if I wanted to try and use the two sheets of black-with-inclusions paper, how was I going to get Biteyou's shape onto it?  I couldn't see through a piece of butcher paper that I took out to the working area.  Then I thought hey...tracing paper.  So I pieced several pieces together and traced his basic outline.  But how to transfer that onto the black paper? 

Laying the tracing paper down and taping the sheets together.

Hard to see -- but I traced Biteyou's basic outline.

Then I thought oh heck...it's only paper...and I had an idea that maybe I could do a sort of reverse process of the way we get sketches onto erasers to carve...by putting pencil on the back of the drawing and then using it like carbon paper...but I would need to use chalk instead of pencil and hope that it would stay put long enough to tear the paper along the chalk lines.

I flipped the tracing paper outline over and used chalk to get a mark.  Then I just used my fingertips to rub the chalk onto the black paper.

And -- for the most part -- it worked!  The chalk kept poofing off as I ripped, but there was enough that I could get the idea of where to tear.  In hindsight, it might have been a better idea to cut the paper with scissors and then tear it later...but oh well...it worked.

The paper is not attached to the canvas yet, but I am pretty happy with the way it turned out.

AND...now I have a "shadow Biteyou", too.  Ha ha ha.

Pretty cool -- a "shadow" guy!

Biteyou and Shadow Biteyou

AND throughout the day I got three more paper bags filled with magazines to recycle...that closet is getting really really full.  Andi and I are going to have brunch on Friday and then drop all of the bags at AB's school.  I want to get as many sorted through as possible by then!

Three more bags!

2012/365 - Day 160

round three of trying out the paper on the beast

I added more sections of paper to the beast.  It is drying nicely, but now I am not so sure how I feel about the overall look of it.  I like the colors.  I like the paper and the inclusions in it.  But now I think that it is looking (to me) like the plain plaster cloth almost.  Whatever happens, I know I am going to have to paint him, too.

How he looked when I started out today.

It kept feeling like the paper needed to be extended further and further...now it looks like he has on a horse blanket/cooler or something.

And then it looked like I should add paper to the top of his head.

I played with the color around his eyes a bit and I like these lines...I wasn't able to repeat them on the other eye...I tried three times...but they kept coming out wide and blotchy.

No matter how he turns out in the very end, I will like him.  I think he is adorable.

2012/365 - Day 81 -- part two

adding more paper to canvas #7 and canvas #8 -- (and a sneak peek)


I decided that both pieces needed more paper. I was finding a few characters in each canvas, but they were all small sized guys. I need a larger "star".




Here are the papers I tore up (and some extra) for use on canvas #7.



















How #7 is looking as it is drying on the wall in the drying spot.

It is kind of amazing to me how much different these look when the matte medium dries the layers together.












Canvas #8 with its new paper bits.

I think I was really disliking the brown paint in the background.










Canvas #8 is also drying on the wall.










Oh -- and here is one last sneak peek at one of the pieces I submitted today. I tightened up a couple of outline lines and painted in the teefers and tongue.

I LOVE this guy -- he is NFS.