Funny story - so I woke up this morning, and thought, "Monday - time to write the blog - hmmmmm - have I done anything this week?" (While I remember that I've done things lately, it's sometimes difficult for me to relate them to a week by week timeline.) Checking last week's blog entry and uploading new photos reminded me: "Oh, that's right...I carved a new block, made to completion 2 collages, and rephotographed everything for the flat file submission."...so, there's that, haha.
The flat file deadline got extended (most excellent O:) ) - and fortuitous, because when I went to pack the collages, I realized I was out of the correct size sleeves. So, I'm waiting for a supply delivery before packing and submitting everything. I'm not very good at letting things sit.
I decided that both sets of 3 needed one more collage (of course they do ;) ). The thing is, the compositions of the sets of 3 are pretty tightly coordinated, so to add a 4th, I decided to do something a little different and print the background in gold on black and use the change in color to represent the same space in a parallel universe.
This was incredibly fun because it allowed me to use some of my favorite blocks and block combinations - in particular the tiger with wings and the winged rats.
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| The four 20 x 16" collages together |
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| The four 12 x 12" collages together |
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| new 12 x 12" collage |
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| detail of new 12 x 12" collage |
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| new 20 x 16" collage |
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| detail of new 20 x 16" collage |
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| detail of new 20 x 16" collage |
Of course, as much as I told myself that I would focus on making these collages from existing blocks without carving new ones... it "needed" a new tiny carousel. Fun times carving this - it's still magical to me seeing the finished proof for the first time. Working this small is especially rewarding in that way because, even though I carve conscientiously, I really don't know what it's going to look like until I see it. It's still kind of surprising to me when something turns out looking the way I wanted it too. (Though it probably helps that this is not the
first carousel block I've carved :p ).
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| 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 minute poses |
By Sunday, I was pretty tired (and also really need to clean the studio), but I decided to go to figure drawing anyway, because it's been a while, and I miss it. Also, I wanted to try something new. With this group, the poses are relatively short, the longest being 25 - 30 minutes. Other members of the group use wet media to effectively cover large areas quickly - like these by
Gretchen Kelly. I admire these but don't want to give up charcoal completely (I like its sooty darkness). Last week I saw this nice
Jared French drawing at Stair Auction House - it was good timing. It reminded me of this traditional technique - combining white gouache with drawing materials on a toned paper. I thought it could be a good compromise for me to use wet media for the light and charcoal for the dark. So that's what I did. Like anything, more practice, but I think it did work pretty well - thumbs up!
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| 10 minute pose |
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| 25 minute pose |
And in non art news - first snow! (I don't really like snow, but I like seeing how happy it makes Honey to play in it - look at that head and tail blurred with joy!)
Also, an update on the new bed...I came home from writing last week's blog to discover that "chew proof" did not last 24 hours against Honey... (Ooooo Pup - we're working on it).
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| first snow sunrise |
Of course, as much as I told myself that I would focus on making these collages from existing blocks without carving new ones... it "needed" a new tiny carousel. Fun times carving this - it's still magical to me seeing the finished proof for the first time. Working this small is especially rewarding in that way because, even though I carve conscientiously, I really don't know what it's going to look like until I see it. It's still kind of surprising to me when something turns out looking the way I wanted it too. (Though it probably helps that this is not the first carousel block I've carved :p ).
