Day 347 - 365/2014

Day Three Hundred Forty-Seven

A couple of nights ago I tried working on the big blue Biteyou collage/painting, adding in a chalk moon or planet or something.  I've been looking at it for a few days and I am not that happy with it.  Over the late afternoon/evening/night  I thought I would try to make a smaller moon/planet and then blend the chalk off as well as I could. 

When I dipped a small paintbrush directly into the tube of acrylic paint I thought it would be able to trace an outline around a turntable (that was handy) to get a basic shape.  The strange thing that happened (strange to me, anyway) was that the paint came out in two colors when it was applied over the chalk/paper.  I have used that color before and that has never happened.  I tried another brush to do the fill in part but it still acted the same way.  I half like it...at least for now.  Later I tried using a stencil brush to blend in/dust off the sidewalk chalk that I used and it kind of looked like a sort of halo or something around the yellow/green moon/planet/thing.  I tried putting on more of the sidewalk chalk in other areas (but not as heavily) just to even things out a bit.  I will most likely work other paints and papers and who-knows-what over the "stardust" but I will leave it for a few days and see where the ideas go from here.  No rush...no deadline to worry about.

The three main items I was working with (plus a couple of smaller paintbrushes to add the paint),

The unexpected result when I dipped the paintbrush directly into the tube of paint.

Even the second paintbrush got the same effect...I decided to at least fill in the area totally.

The new smaller moon/planet with the chalk still behind it.

Swirling the chalk in/off/around with the stencil brush...lots of chalk dust all over the place.

I added in some more light swipes of sidewalk chalk and then blended them off/around.

Another area.

How it looks overall -- I will look at it for a few days and think of what to try next.

The thing is if I had tried to do a two (or more) color blend on the moon/planet on purpose, I never would have been able to get this result...I mostly like it...but maybe not...dunno.

Day 321 - 365/2014

Day Three Hundred Twenty-one

What I Did Today:

1.  Got tired of looking at the big blue guy on the canvas's big round eyes so I played around with some paper and made him another temporary face.

2.  Totally finished the bowling pin cat-creature with final sealing coat, cleaned up the underneath part of the bowling pin, and signed/dated it.

3.  Made a good dent in clearing out/putting away stuff in the behind-my-desk-area of my studio before I stopped for the night.  I am not proud to show the pictures, but hey...it's what I did today.

before  (and look -- it was still light outside)

after  (I had to keep telling myself "you are allowed to throw things away once in a while".)

Day 273 - 365/2014

Day Two Hundred Seventy-Three

I had an idea with the big blue fluffy guy and I took a few photos and posted them to my Facebook page.  People seemed to like the idea.  I added a video and I got good responses.  I have been thinking about it all day, I worked on the mask a little more, re-shot the photos (so that they are less blurry) and re-shot the video.

Supposing this guy turns out to be a biteyou...

...and I tweak the paper mask some more...

...and it starts looking more wolf-like...

...maybe he could be a wolf-like creature who is transforming under the full moon...but he is still really just a little biteyou.

Tomorrow morning I will be having coffee with Joan, Leann, and Jan...the mask will be what I will be working on, so I needed a little bit of a sketch.  It may change between now and tomorrow, but at least I've got a plan.

Something to start with.

Day 272 - 365/2014

Day Two Hundred Seventy-Two

I have a number of projects I want/need to be working on.  One of them is the big fluffy blue creature with the stitched moon.  I was thinking today that maybe he could be wearing a mask and I could make the mask (or face) separately and then stitch it to the collage, too...to tie in to the stitched moon.  The problem I see with this is keeping it from becoming too craftsy. 

Here are the photos of today's experiment (so far).

The mask made out of white card stock, blue tissue paper, and dark blue Unryu paper.

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I think I want to embellish the mask with stitching but I need to reel myself in a bit and not let it get too out of hand.  I just don't know yet.

Day 229 - 365/2014

Day Two Hundred Twenty-Nine

I feel like I accomplished something today by working a little on several things I have been avoiding. 

First, I went back in to look at the rabbit-like guy's legs situation.  I got as far as cramming some of the Scott rags I pulled off of his legs/butt into the plastic drinking cups that I cut and attached to his legs.  They don't "give" as much now and I think I should be able to put a first layer of plaster cloth over this arrangement.  I will probably just build the parts out of mostly plaster cloth as I go along.

Second, I put another cover up layer of paper on the big blue creature collage.  I used a much darker blue and I like it a lot already.  I may need to go back and add a bit more paper near his shorter ear, but other than that, I am falling back in love with him again.  I really like how the raggedy torn edges of the paper look like fur (a little bit)...rather than me having to try to paint or draw that sort of edge in.  The collage is very wet in these photos...I hope it dries as good as it looks now.

Even with just this small amount of the darker paper added, I'm already falling back in love with this guy again.

Third, I covered up the guy in the background of the giraffe-ish guy's collage.  I did not like how the face was turning out.  I thought I would just try to add more of the same paper but I couldn't tell for sure what paper it is.  I liked the colors coming through but I really disliked the eyes and nose that I inked in.  I came across a bag of torn pieces of a marbleized paper that was down to mostly the darker pieces -- lots of black and gold -- and it was not what I had in mind, but I think I may like it (for now at least).  It has potential...plus I can already see a face in that very wet paper that I like.  It will probably look a lot different when it dries, though.

"Before" -- I am really not happy with this face

I wasn't planning on using this paper, but this particular piece fit the ear so well...

...I had to use it.

I redid his face and arm.

This is still very wet, but I can see a face in it...I hope it stays mostly like this when the matte medium dries.

Wider view.

A little drier already.

When I was adding the paper pieces to the background guy I noticed a bit of whitish material that is a part of one of the lower pieces of paper in the collage.  It almost looks like a twig.  I couldn't remove it so I think I made it less noticeable with a couple of pieces of the light teal paper.

Gah -- I did not even see that twig-like inclusion before!

I think it will be hidden under this teal paper.

And last...I felt like I needed/wanted to do something to the collage with the three friends in it.  I struggled with this for several hours and then decided to try to beef up but at the same time tone down some of the colors.  The colors are much brighter than I am used to using in these collages and it is throwing me a bit...but I really needed to differentiate the three guys and I figured color would be the way to go.  I am SO not a painter...man!  Anyway...I managed to alter the color of the first guy (on the right) but I need to stop for tonight.  I am pulling off color almost as quickly as I am adding it.  I want to keep the texture and inclusions of the underlying papers without making the colors too saturated.  I have no idea what I am doing...I am just making it up as I go along.  I don't know...we'll see what happens later.

The view from my desk today.

These guys.

I added some neutral gray acrylic paint over the mustardy color...I like it better but it isn't on there very evenly...needs lots of work.

All of the other colors need to be punched a bit, too.