Let's E'lope

With the UPS man's visit this afternoon, I am officially the "Envelope Queen" and I've finally unearthed the scanner from beneath a mound of linen and silk, salvaged electronics, artwork, knitting, and other things not properly put away.

Over 2000 of the little buggers in an assortment of these lovely colors. The dark ones look particularly cool if you write the address in silver or white gel pen. If you ever want a specific color other than what is shown, just mention it and I'm happy to sub it out.

Because I want to be able to make stuff like this for my Etsy shop. Mandala cards.

and these...

As you can guess by my envelope investment, I'm hoping to do a bit more in the Etsy shop. Wish me luck, or tell me what you'd like to see there.

State of mind

Some small ink and watercolor paintings I've done recently:

My intent was to get this pair onto notecards on Etsy, but the image is more a testament to how I feel getting ready for the trade show in St. Charles in a few days.  So, perhaps when I get back.  So many ways you could caption this.

• Ever have one of those days?
• Ouch, that had to hurt.
• Give me a call when you get free.
• Hope you're back on your feet again soon.
• The Twister Champion reigns!
• Relax!

Ditto.

Don't forget to relax. Drawing mandalas is a great tool for me to unwind a bit. So, if the first picture is the "before" this is the "after."

Traffic Patterns

I decided I needed to finish up this small acrylic painting I had started many moons ago and had put aside. I didn't think to take a picture of the starting point, but I snapped a few along the way. I must say I liked the original idea of roads making a Celtic knot pattern, but for the life of me I can't remember how I planned to do the water crossings. It's obviously quite easy for the road to go over the water, but not so much the other way. Hannah said I needed the cows, even though they are smaller than ants.  You can click to zoom in, or install that fabulous app called Hoverzoom.

Traffic Patterns 8" x 10", acrylic on canvas board

detail

Getting closer

Two days into the renewed effort, with much detail still to go.

That was kind of fun. What's next?

Celtic Snake Mandala

I've been trying to carve out a few hours each day to work on the drawing tablet.

Coffee Break

Finished this today: ink and gouache, 6" square.

Coffee Break

The ink came out a bit heavier than I had originally envisioned, particularly on the orange border. But it didn't look finished with just the paint. In the top photo, you can't see the gold is metallic and the red looks a touch more gaudy than real life.

Here is the initial sketch, for anyone who cares.

Getting ink done

Perhaps you were hoping for a 13, but I drew this 31...

I couldn't decide whether to draw a dog or a lion so you get this hybrid.

You may recognize this as the pencil drawing from a few posts back. It's been in the works for way too long, but has now at least progressed to the next state.  I'm anxious to get color on it, but I haven't decided what medium to use, and I'm out of time for art today anyway. I'm particularly glad his head came out well (at least I think so.)

Life Imitating Art

This was the most fitting end I could see to this dreadfully uncomfortable set of earbuds. I made the same knot as I had sketched for my Earbuds cross stitch picture. I got the whole idea from tangled headphone cords in the first place, so maybe I should say it is "life imitating art which was imitating life."

I just need to get one of those ipod shuffles so the player is small enough to fit in the center hole. I started leaving a big enough hole, but the length of the cords dictated the final size.

Fourth Instar

A few more sections have been completed, and this piece is almost done. I made a boo-boo in the cobra and will have to doctor it with a bit of white paint. I've left it there for now for entertainment value to the type of person that likes to look for mistakes. I still have the outer side triangles and a few inside spots I want to add to. Five instars is a common number in nature, so watch for its fifth.

 

This is another sketch I made. I know, it makes no sense, but that has never been a limiting factor for me.  I do so like cephalopods. The title is "Oct-ane."  My friend Cindy is going to show me how to make etchings and I think this sketch will be the basis for that lesson. I'm excited, as I've never made prints that way before.

Third Instar

More progress on this one. Still have quite a ways to go. I need to get a wide format scanner. There is a lip around the perimeter of the glass on this regular size scanner that prevents the art from sitting directly on the glass when I use the 11x14" paper block. I think it leaves a slightly fuzzy out-of-focus look.

Second Instar

I posted a pencil draft of this knot ring a while ago. I did the first round of ink work this weekend.  I'm not sure yet how the remaining areas will be filled in, or even if the four corners will be the same. Final dimensions will be a rectangle of about the width and height of the diamond shape you see. I hadn't drawn any beetles lately and I missed them.  It may be hard to see the two big leaves - one has eggs on it, the other has been chewed.  I'm mulling about themes of circles and cycles.

Other recent ink finishes...I'm planning on adding some color yet still to the serpent.

Barrage Tonight

We've got tickets to see these guys tonight. The group is called Barrage.



They are doing a concert in conjunction with the local high school orchestras. The kids have a clinic/workshop with them all afternoon, then play a little wee bit with them during their concert tonight. The rest of the concert is just Barrage, and the kids have their real full concert tomorrow.

My daughter certainly has the long blond hair ready for Celtic-women-esque prancing about. She's not too far off on the fiddling, either, but she (like me) can't even imagine trying to dance while playing at the same time.  I'm curious what she'll get out of the workshop.

Carved Bottle and Layout

I've been thinking about graphics for the bottle labels for our homebrew.  We drank the first batch without fear of mix-up, but ideally we'd like to make little stickers or something to identify what's inside as we continue to brew.  This is a little bottle stamp I worked on last night.  I"m teaching a kid's class on stamp making this summer at the local art gallery, so it felt good to dust off the tools.  I need to figure out a cheap way to secure or make 18 cutters - the class pack I'd planned on ordering has disappeared from the web store since I submitted my budget request.

I've also been working on the layout of a new bigger Celtic piece. I've got this round border penciled in. I think I will ink it before I go too much further, as all this pencil is very smudgy. I'm not too sure I like the two giant petals at the top and bottom, but small ones were in the way of the triangles I'd laid out in the background. Round borders are fun but much more tedious, since you have to draft the grid before you can draft the knot.  Oh well. I'm sure you'll see more of this later.

Good Morning

Have a cup of caffeinated sunshine.