Packing Tape Installation

Love this! Made me think of the tape people sculptures from the Art Dept. Maybe Adel's next installation will be this size ; )

Click the link in the title for more info.

just a quick snapshot per Katherine's request of my latest experiments...not having the time to really focus on anything but just sat down and doodled--what i do best :)i do rather enjoy....and my dad did too. which says a lot because he hardly ever gets any of my nonobjective/abstract pieces :)

The life of a graphic designer

Ran across this on internet wandering. Great cartoons. Made me laugh. Check it out.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/design_changes

I am so easily amused...

Wanted to make this for work. iMovie and Photoshop are great!

It will go with this mirror.

Jocelyn and Adel's group show!

Through the magic of photoshop Adel and Jocelyn (and random sculptor) had a group show! Fun to do this during work time ; )

Vistaprint Design Contest!

Saw this design contest today on Vistaprint. You could get paid for designing a great business card template! Made me think of you. Don't know if I'll have time to do it, but sounds fun.

Click the title for a link.

1 or 2?

Let's play the eye doctor game. I can't decide which of these photos I would prefer. (These are old, from last year's choir tour to CA.) Only asking since mpix.com has a sale on prints through Aug 31.

I might crop the vertical one depending on the size I print.

Are these too saccharine or ok? Whadda you think?

I took the plunge

Welp folks.
I finally did it. I've been putting it off for years but I gave in.
I created an online portfolio--cheapie style.
But hey at least when applying for jobs I now have something to give. It ain't much but it works.
I just wish I had a working camera and actual lighting (a basement is impossible to shoot paintings) to add the three paintings I've been working on. bah humbug.
but it's better than nothing!

Photos from work

Howdy, ladies. I had a long buy enjoyable day at work today taking CLOSE UP pictures of table runners and placemats. These aren't necessarily the best, just the last ones. Sara, our interior design intern, figured out the props for everything so I didn't have to which was nice. Loved all the intense colors on these here at the end. Click on the link in the title to see two more in the Oplace blog posting.

So many picky things about photography. Fabric always wrinkles, microscopic thread bits show up, great shot but the camera shook. Then there's the fluorescent lights. Any constructive criticism? For better or worse everything has to be cropped to a square for the web.

Miss you all lots. Would love to see some of you artwork and hear updates on how things are going. I'm still waiting anxiously to see some of your art show up on my still untested jury submission page! No fee until Sept 1.

I'm counting on you ladies for some great art...

Hi everyone,

I know it's summer and everyone is out enjoying life. At least that's what I'm telling myself since I'm feeling a little silly for putting up 3 posts in a row!

I'm settled in here enough for now. Always home improvements to be made, but I can definitely work with this. Really enjoying getting paid to work on art-related things even though everything is still so new.

To cut to the chase: Our new little online gallery needs artists. High quality contemporary artists that work in a variety of styles, mediums, sizes, and subjects. Can you help me out here?

I'm hoping you all have no problems consigning at least a few small things for 6 months. After all, it might sell! Also feel free to pass this around to any excellent contemporary artists you may know.

The website won't be fully functional until Aug. 1, but artists can already submit images and events. We're trying to compile a directory of events and contests from around the country. Could you please submit art events in your area?

Homepage: www.obviousplace.com

Art gallery submission page: http://www.obviousplace.com/ArtGalleryRegistration.aspx

Event submission page: http://www.obviousplace.com/EventSubmission.aspx

Blog (I've written several recent entries): http://obviousplace.wordpress.com/

Art gallery information sheet for artists:

(See this counts as real post since I designed this one! Counts for Jocelyn too I guess since she is photoshopping most of the room shots. But still not letting her off the hook for not sharing new paintings with us on the blog.)

Please check out the blog!

Hello ladies! I hope it's less steamy where you are than in St. Louis. Less than a week until the big move. eek!

In preparation for the full site going live, Obviousplace.com is starting an art/design blog to get some credibility. I've been writing blog articles as well as the interior design intern working there for the summer.

Please check it out and post comments if you like.

http://obviousplace.wordpress.com/

We need help since we're just starting out. Also, if you run across anything along these lines that would be good for a post let me know. Users will be able to post soon and we always need more interesting art. T

here will be an online art gallery aspect to the site. Hopefully lots of traffic from people buying furniture, so should be good art sales too. Make some bold, contemporary pieces so we can jury them into the gallery. No application fee during this summer. Think about it ; )

To Omaha!

I have communicated some with some of you, but here's an Omaha update.

I'm moving to Omaha/Council Bluffs towards the end of June to work on a new website that Jocelyn's mom is starting to sell contemporary furniture, contemporary art, and much more! It sounds like I will managing the online art gallery portion of the site as well as photographing pillow for the partner pillow website, staging and photographing furniture, and doing miscellaneous graphic design work.

Hopefully everything will really take off and it will be a good way for artists to sell their work as people come in to buy contemporary furniture designs from the Google ad words. We also need to write a lot of blog articles about all things art/design/furniture/interior design/modern/contemporary related, so if you see anything awesome on the internet, or artists we should know about, send them my way. Or once the site is up post them yourself!

I'm leaving tomorrow to look for apartments in Council bluffs which seem to either be in a bad neighborhood or be out of my price range. Prayers are appreciated during this transition.

I hope the gallery will be a smashing success and I can sell all your beautiful contemporary art : )

Portrait

This is a photo I took a few weeks ago of my best friend's nephew. He was so interested in looking out our front door hatch! Wish I had though to be patient and get a landscape shot. I feel like the flowers might be a stronger composition that way. Sort of feel they're sticking out of the edge this way.

Final post on this painting...

So here is the final image. I was able to hand it over on Mother's Day and the client was happy. I will take it back to do one final adjustment, which is good because then I can take a proper photo of it.

Best part about this whole thing? Finding out that when the little girl saw the painting she pointed and said "Mama" and "Me" - which is makes the hours painting, fretting and repainting worth it. The bird is symbolic of the father/husband of the family, so this really is a family picture - which I think is cool.

I think if I had more time I would have liked to give this painting a little more of my style, but as long as the client is happy, then I am happy.

"Help" Update

Sorry for the glare, but this is the latest picture. I think if I spend several hours on it tomorrow I might have it finished by Mother's Day....

I also was able to get a better photo of the daughter and think that will help greatly getting her face to look like the darling little angel that she is...

And be honest. If you see something that looks horrid or way off whack, tell me. I'll post more pictures as I go, if you don't mind.

Also, after working with watercolors, I now realize how "Plastic" acrylic paints are... really looking forward to trying oils now.

Help! ... am I on the right track?

I am working on a painting for a client and I feel like I've spend my entire time reworking their faces and while I know I need to add in a zillion other things, will you please let me know what you think of it so far? Also, there will be a tree off to the left. I've added a picture of my set up just for fun. Oh, I've only included one of the pictures that I am using as a source just so you have an idea.

Also, I want to work to get their faces right and then play them up a little so it's more "painterly" as I am not a fan of photo realistic paintings.

Ugh... the more I look at these pictures the more I want to redo everything. Please tell me why drawing is so much easier than painting?

I wonder if finishing their bodies will help me be less frustrated...

But please, tell me what you think...

Love love love and all that.

So, I was just looking at Katherine's post and thinking about how it's pretty awesome how supportive we all are, but my brain switched over to thinking about how in my life just about everyone is super supportive and how they either like or LOVE everything that I paint. As wonderful as that is for my ego, I don't think it's great for my self-development as an artist.

I don't honestly think everything I paint is amazing. Sure, sometimes people don't say anything, which is, in itself, it form of criticism, but it's not really helpful. Do they not like the colors, the style? Does it give them a bad emotion or remind them of something negative? These are all things that people don't talk about - at least not to my face.

My problem is that I am not sure I want people on my facebook fan page to be too critical. Having supportive fans is partly what keeps me painting. But if I posted some images here, would you all be super honest and tell me what you think? Hard core honest?

Any thoughts?

T-Shirt Designs

I had a good time this weekend playing around with my new wireless Wacom tablet (way to spend a tax refund!) while creating designs for the St. Louis Children's Choirs to use on their tour T-shirts when they go to New York this summer.

Any suggestions to make them better? Do my Carnegie Hall tiers look like they're floating? Tried drawing doors lots of times, but did work. Guess you can't get out of this hall!

My favorite shirts are the ones with white printing on a bright color, but don't know if that will work for the first design. These designs go on the back and their logo will go on the pocket area on the front.

I'm having a hard time making the programs cooperate to test different color combos. I can export to photoshop and have the art in a separate layer, but don't know how to easily select all the black to change the color. I know there has to be an easy way. Jocelyn, I locked the empty pixels, but then I still have to physically click on everything to select it. What am I missing?

First art in a long time...

Hi girls! As I mentioned I've been in a creative black hole since leaving Concordia and haven't really made anything in a LONG time.

This is my piece that's hanging in a show right now. Apologies for the mediocre photography. I didn't want to look like a creeper taking pictures.

So here's how it happened; Lyndsey Scott the Art teacher at the elementary school where I'm teaching music in Spanish invited me to make something for this show she was curating at a local alternative gallery. No juries, no pressure, just make something out of what's on hand. This came to mind since I told her I was collecting all the mysterious objects that I find in my pockets at the end of most school days. In the end I didn't use any of them in this piece, but I found a lot of other collected things!

I felt like my work was the least finished of the things there, but it felt good to be included. I hung out at the opening and met some of the artists. It's so hard not having any art friends here. Makes me miss you all the more. I did have a few nice conversations and enjoyed sewing on the huge picnic blanket they are working on putting together.

Here are a few other pieces I liked from the show.

This is The Want by Gina Alvarez. (Mixed Media, 2010)

I also loved these spoons by Lisa Payne titled Secret Ingredient. (Wooden spoons, coffee, spices, gouache, 2010)

These electric tape markings were also all over the floor in groupings. Very cool.

This is Calisthenics by Ann Maree Crawford Walker (gouache, graphite, colored pencil, 2010)

Here's the blog posting about the show and the description I received for the show:

BRICALEUR:
A French word with no exact English equivalent used as a term by Seymour Papert to describe the style of approach exemplified by a tinkerer or a jack of all trades.Bricoleurs are comfortable in unfamiliar realms of learning and experience because they learn best by using indirect connections to known information, even if the details of the skills are not exactly related. They try things out until they figure out how to do something.

We would like to Cordially invite you to participate in

Bricoleur-ing

An inquiry into the profundity & resourcefulness of Female Transformateurs.

Curated by Sarah Paulsen and Lyndsey Scott

Art & Actions @ Fort Gondo * March 2010

***********************************************************

We would like to highlight how you uniquely craft your space – be it physical or intangible: nest, home, public space, relationships. We celebrate the spirit of woman as gatherer and nurturer and seek work that is created from what is available. This material use or process reflects a resourcefulness that could honor the original object or alter its original purpose – ultimately, reflecting abundance and imbuing worth. So:

How do you make nice ?

In what way are you an alchemist, carpenter, or cook?

How do you describe ‘homemaking’ minus the perjorative?

How do you find a use for each scrap around you?

Also, this show will inspire inter-activity inside the gallery ‘nest’:

Tentative schedule:

Woman’s Circle coinciding with the New Moon on Moonday March 15^th

Women’s Make Hour on “International Women’s Day” March 8th

Little Woman’s Make Hour on Monday March 22

(Our intention during the Woman’s Make Hours is to collaborate on a Wonderjardin quilt that we will secretly install prior to the closing of our show…)

Deliver work March 8^th/9^th – Install 10/11/12. Opening Sat March 13.

Painting

Hey all, I love it when you post what you've been doing, but wondered if I could demand an update. :)

Are you all still painting/drawing/creating? (Laura, love your work that you've been posting - I enjoy it even though I don't always comment.)

Where are you all? (Facebook doesn't tell us everything!)

Anyhow, hope you are well and busy creating!

more books...

its been a creative past few weeks for me at work... here are some of my favs!

with 'winder hollow' the author supplied me with a crusty. old, black and white photograph... so i colored it a bit... and i really like the affect of it like this...

i just heard back from the author on this one... he loved it! which makes me very happy... he has supplied a 'mock-up' that was AWFUL! it has gross colors, horribly stretched images... blah... so this is what i came up with... and it went over well! that doesn't always happen (sad to say)...

this is one that i haven't heard back about yet... its not exactly what the author asked for (i think its better, but the author doesn't always think so... here's hoping he likes it!

another cover

i just finished this one the other day... but i think that its really fun! haha!
the author was asking for something like the geico cavemen... but i couldn't find any good images like that, so i thought that this was a fun alternative... the original image had the cave paintings, and i added the little guys with brief cases and cars...
we'll see what he thinks... either way, i really like it.

cool photo blog

i love what she does with light in her photography .... very inspiring! i'm hoping to get out soon, and take some pictures! (not to mention that i hope to edit all of the photos i've already taken!)

http://is-theblog.blogspot.com/