Discovered that graphic paper comes in different colors! Using white transfer paper, I could apply my paper drawing to the chair seat and back. Next step, paint!
28
Jul
Jul
27
Jul
Jul
Hung my daily doodles up on the wall so I could catch any patterns or ideas, plus I feel like the critters enjoy the view.
26
Jul
Jul
Made a paper template to work out the design for the art chair. Was much easier to think things out on a flat surface and make changes with a pencil.
24
Jul
Jul
Weekend getaway to Trinidad, CA to take in the forest and cool ocean air. Saw my first bright yellow slug and now understand why the locals are such fans.
23
Jul
Jul
Making woodblock texture using paint pens and watercolor paper. So bright and opaque. U can layer over colors and block out wats underneath.
21
Jul
Jul
Exploring drawing with my POSCA Paint Pens on watercolor paper. I liked the effect of leaving streaks of the paper showing thru makes it look like a wood block print. Lots of control with the pen tip, and the bright colors dry fast too.
20
Jul
Jul
… at the 2022 California Mid-State Fair for my Steampunk hat entry. First time exhibiting my artwork for so many people. I’m thrilled to have placed with my off-the-wall mechanical angler fish submarine hat.
19
Jul
Jul
The art group is doing a painted chair session in August, so I’m reviving my little kid’s chair I used as a tot. It’s had a lot of use over the years and needs surgery before it can be painted. I glued the delaminating wood seat and filled damaged areas with Apoxie sculpt.
18
Jul
Jul
Sculpted flowers with polymer clay as a test idea for my large skull sculpture. Each petal is formed separately, then placed in layers around a center stamen. Baked them hanging upside down in the oven so the petals would not droop. Very happy with the result and will be making more of these.
17
Jul
Jul
Adding a layer of paper mache to my giant skull. I enlarged a skull pattern from a template available at UltimatePaperMache.com, then used kraft paper strips and TightBond wood glue to form a rigid shell over the paper template. This will become the armature for a large sculpture I’m dreaming up.
16
Jul
Jul
First drawing attempt pairing watercolor and POSCA Paint Pens. Brushed the watercolor first, then added outlines and texture with the paint pens. I like the texture dots for the feathers and sunset shadows on the edge of the feathers.
15
Jul
Jul
Making a color chart for my new POSCA Paint Pens (PC-3M) Fine Point. I want to see how the colors look drawn over my watercolor washes. So far, I’m finding these pens to be very rich in color and easy to control.
13
Jul
Jul
Humanity has achieved the most remarkable achievement, looking deep into space with the most sophisticated telescope in existence to capture the beginning of the universe. We search for the answer to our origin. We filter the infrared light into colors we can understand and see stars being born. Seeing the first five images brought me to tears. It was beautiful and emotional. It gave me hope that we can rise above violence and focus our intellect on achieving amazing things.
It took 20 years; so much could and did go wrong in birthing this telescope. But now it drifts millions of miles from earth and works. We built a machine to look back in time and see the light from stars billions of light years away. I remember being 11 years old and seeing a post from the Hubble Telescope. It was black with all these fuzzy spiraling pinwheels and a red arrow pointing to a single pixel “You Are Here”. One image shifted the perspective of my own existence and left me curious about life in other galaxies.
The Webb Telescope is so much more sophisticated. It can also measure the elemental makeup of the galaxies it sees. Measuring hydrogen, helium, oxygen levels, etc. in distant stars. I believe we are made of stardust. When our bodies rot, we return to the same elements that make up the universe. Recycled slowly over billions of years.
Science is the path forward. Humanity must evolve and shed the old orders of religion and tyranny that hold us back from achievement. The Webb telescope proves humans want to work together, sharing knowledge and inventing the tools for a common good. We can pursue projects with outcomes beyond making money or clout. If we can achieve the Webb Telescope and Perseverance on Mars, then we can under and climate – but only if we set our egos aside and work together.
Watching NASA’s broadcast of the first five images, I noticed the honeycomb design of the telescope’s mirror. The scientist engineered a machine after the design of bees. The small insects on this planet contributed to a tool we use to peer into deep space. I wonder what shape the telescopes floating in other galaxies are looking back at Earth? Would they be able to see the birth of our sun?
12
Jul
Jul
Creatures emerge from the page, and I never know what they will be. Like film development, the life form is already there, I am only the mover of the pencil. Listening for the next detail; a pointy ear, an underbite, big eyes. Time passes, and a creature now sits before me. I talk to it. Ask it what do you like to eat?
Today, Romi came to life. A midnight cricket eater who loves crunchy bugs with juicy filling. A lazy hunter who takes his fill of the easy jumpers and then naps in the shadows of the trees.
11
Jul
Jul
Watercolor doodles of three critters inside a round frame. Mason jar lid gang down on the farm. I began by drawing the frame in pencil, a mason jar lid was the trick today. Then starting with three unique face shapes, the creatures emerged. I also played with using mini marker pens, drawing lines and patterns on dried watercolor.
04
Apr
Apr
Today I experimented with making large-scale art using my iPad, the ShopBot, and acrylic paints:
- I created a digital doodle on my iPad with Procreate.
- That artwork file was exported as a PNG into Vcarve, enlarged to 24″, and set up the cutting tool paths for the ShopBot.
- I cut my project on a 5mm multilayer PVC board with a black core and a 1/4″ 3-flute Upcut finisher endmill.
- The giant bird was decorated with two coats of acrylic paint, filling in each section of white. The result reminded me of stained glass, with each colorful area bordered by metal.
I was thrilled with the results and want to make three more birds to stack on top of this one for a whimsical totem pole of cuteness. I genuinely feel large-scale art is my future.
Watch Video Diary – Going Big
30
Mar
Mar
Today I picked up on an UFO (un-finished object) that was starting to speak to me again after sitting on the shelf since September 2021. This Wand Troll, began as a coffee jar and a foil ball for the head. Then, using Apoxie Sculpt, I started forming the head and large ears. The scales were an accident playing with leftover clay.
My initial vision was a large ear creature holding a balloon. Then, after months of being on the shelf, I realized the arm did not feel right, so I cut it off and at Sooz Art Group today, sculpted a bent elbow pose that revealed more of his personality.
I find it’s very natural for me to have 8-10 projects in various states of progress. So rather than scold myself about how I never finish anything, I’m choosing to work on the pieces telling me the “next steps”. The rest are simmering, and I need to give them time to develop.
