Tuesday, October 23, 2012

belmont shores

9th ANNUAL BELMONT SHORES SIDEWALK ART CONTEST


it was a whole lot of fun !! a drizzly morning and occasional threats throughout the day.  but our little section of the street definitely seemed to enjoy ourselves !!  willie zin ended up winning best in show. as always i didn't set out to win anything (and didn't) . . . . but to create something.  this time staying with the halloween season and my flying monkey !!!! 

this was the first time working on paper.  i've worked on paper and do work on paper all the time . . . but this is the first time at a sidewalk chalk event !!! it was fun . . . i've used lenox paper before so i knew it can be a little unforgiving . . . and using a chalk eraser on the background color . . . not the best idea because it can start to subtly come off like skin after being in the water when drying with a towel. you have to be very careful not to overwork on paper.  on asphalt i can usually remove an area with water and lots of towels.  no do-overs today.

i had scribbled a flying monkey idea awhile back . . . and then a couple years ago started to play with the idea in watercolor . . . . this year was the first time i took it to a finished product while adding a little want-to-be flying monkey.  the stages are below:




willie zins best in show
creativity in the window behind us
i liked our little block of the street.  all the artists were friendly.  i had the honor of working next to willie zin . . . who won best in show.  the people were great !! they even suggested i go first to the restroom so i could get back to work . . . several see the art as it progressed.  my square was used as a back drop for a cal state long beach student broadcast.  i also made the press telegram photos of the event (i was in as well as named in 2 out of 6).  i had fun going crazy with the color . . . and shaping his face . . .  then adding lines of color !!!

other works from belmont shores in various stages . . . 
            
more event wide pics at 
justinrudd.com
and
the press telegram !!



Tuesday, September 25, 2012

carlsbad artsplash

DAY TWO



the final piece !!  and no that peach color chalk . .  . not mine . . . over flow from the square next to me!!  i cleaned my work up . . . punched the colors . . added some details (esp. the fish and panda which were first done in the dark of the night !!)  added blue one of my favorite things to do to black (some purple too).

and because i was running around i wrote below . . . can u find the 10 animals and name them !?  parents were doing it with their kids on their own.  once i wrote it everyone joined in.  the baby guenon monkey on it's mothers back . . . the hummingbird and the cat were the most missed in about that order.  the lemur was often called a raccoon.

in the center of the event was a celebration of the 10th anniversary !!! a 26 foot multi artist piece with lots of x 10 items to be had !!!




i had a train to catch but was going to stay through the 3:00 artist award announcements.  but since i was done i washed my face and hands . . . put on a clean shirt.  was going to slide jeans on b4 the train . . . try not to look too dirty and homeless !!!  but nearing the 3:00 hour i was approached.  another artist had to leave.  so i grabbed kyra and we got the kids who did the letter 'z' to help. . . . along with one of the artsplash coordinators of the day.  oh and one of the kids was being picked up within 30 minutes.  it was a drawing of this tree with some flames coming out . . . just the initial drawing . . . some colors laid down on the landscape and that was about it.  turning chalk into powder . . . using erasers . . . crushing the chalk and all those hands  . . . we were the fastest square in the west !! about 15 minutes . . . we took a sketched out square to completion !!! yay !!! see below . . . oh yeah the camera was on it's way thru !!!


on my wanderings i had the pleasure of talking with amy and amanda burkman . . . turns out they won judges choice !!!  


more shots from the weekend:  including the honorable mention work, ever galvez, willie zin and others on my wanderings i had the pleasure of talking with amy and amanda burkman . . . turns out they won judges choice !!!   enjoy the small shots below:



oh and the silent auction . . . i last checked on it at mid day . . . my wine bottles had bids of $45.00 . . . the recycled piece was in a more crowded space and was one of many without an bid  . . . 

all and all a successful weekend . . . at least from the artist side !!! hope goals were met in $$ raised !!!



Monday, September 24, 2012

carlsbad artsplash

that time of year again !!! 
DAY ONE

once again doing a small square ! i love the small square it gives me time to play and talk !!!

this year was our 10th anniversary and there were 76 chalk artists !! i arrived late because i had to catch a train.  but i did send a sign as to create excitement instead of a void in my absence ~~

i was greeted at the train station with the news that my pic made the north county times !! this time in the artsplash insert. yay !!!

my square was way down on the end ! but i was next to kyra again (my 'fun with chalk' neighbor) . . . patrick who is 12 was in the square above mine doing a charles shultz tribute:  the great pumpkin patch !!! and yes, somehow i did not get a pic of patricks !!! oh . . . and we were on the end by the family activity area !  the other end was music, featured artists and silent auction (yes the vessels!).


so my plan was to illustrate the 10 year "tentastic" celebration . . . a dragon for year of the dragon . .  . and then last week i found out that TGI FRIDAYs was my sponsor !!  oh and 10 animals . . . which i would get the crowd involved with !!!


so . . . . i chose a mouse as the waiter for FRIDAYs . . . red/white stripe shirt and cupcake !! plus the button of flare on his shirt.  i put a little blue and black on the far side of the dragon as a note of the dark background i wanted.  then i focused first on the mouse . . .  thought it would help the square read better since the dragon would take a bit . . .

the cupcake originally was on a plate but since we are a seaside town (and have an ocean view from the event) . . . i made a hybrid (skateboard/wakeboard/boogie board).

the guenons on the tail and the ringtail lemur on the neck are a reoccurring theme of mine . . . . but all the others were suggestions that took life !  the bat was patrick's idea . . . i made him swooping in on the cupcake.  the cat (in the lemurs arms) was a suggestion from a nice gentleman who loved drawing cartoon characters (out of his head) in his freetime.  someone suggested a bird and since the lemur looked like he was talking to someone it fit in just perfect.  the frog fit nicely on top of the head.  and a fish was suggested several times . . .  a fish without water hmmmm. . . . ahhh the tail has a nice flip how about it launching a fish bowl !!!  oh the panda bear . . . that was the result of a five minute conversation with a little girl where i figured out what she liked by talking and waiting for a head shake 'yes' or nothing for 'no i don't think so'.  her parents were cracking up . . . i guess she usually isn't so shy.  at least see answered (sort of) . . . at least she didn't cry !!!!

everything was out of my head . . . no looking at pics or sketches.  the dragon has about 4 colors to make the red . . .  5 if you count the purple . . . . but the color variations are not picked up by my camera . . . esp in the sunlight.

close up view
so day one had me working into the evening while the concert was hopping.  but had to clean up because it was hard to even see your own hand where we were !  fortunately my son was there to help me clean up.  i did want to finish laying down all the color and characters.  i find it soooo easy the second day to clean up colors and punch the contrast.  the pastels seem to settle in the night air.


oh one interesting thing that happened to me on day one is the kid that ran across my square and came right up to my face and went "ROAR" . . . i moved really slow not wanting to scare him and have him run through the picture again.   besides i could hear his mom behind me . . . a little mortified and very apologetic . . . i knew she could lift him up and out with no problem !!  well i guess my art is entertaining the kids !!

near the later part of the day we . . . artsplash . . . was missing an artist so some of their young volunteers decided to take on the large square.  but they wanted to recreate something.  being just 2 squares down they snagged my book, alphabet kingdom, and chose the letter ‘z’.  they told me what they liked and i drew a quick layout for them.  they broke the box with the wave all their own (but like my book illustration).  first time i had my artwork recreated . . . at least that i know of.



more to share on day 2 plus event pics  !!



Friday, September 14, 2012

silent auction #3

VESSEL #3 FOR THE SILENT AUCTION . . . CARLSBAD ARTSPLASH



this is the most truly recycled of all three vessels !!!




if you hadn't read the preceding post then you won't know vessel #3 is the middle one.  this one centers on a scrap piece of paper.  a piece of paper which most would throw away. the lutradur to the right is white and has wholes through it . . . so when you paint it you may want to lay down a piece of paper.  and there u have how the paper on the left was created. this one was created when i was working on a project for ct publishing.

i  proceeded to spray with crystal clear and varnish with matte medium.  i painted the reverse side orange and using matte medium adhered it on top of the organge.  light weight lutradur . . .  . i used medium weight lutradur to reinforce the base of the vessel . . . along with grommets and ceramic stucco.
i use all these products in painting.

next phase was lining up the grommets and making holes . . . or in other words fun time with my mallet.

      base piece                                     inside                                             reverse outside

 upside down . . . . . drying

inside view . . . 
next were adding the grommets up the side of the vessel where i planned on lacing it up.

then before attaching the large grommets at the base i stitched the medium weight lutradur into a box . . .  and added glue . . . actually i did one side at a time and then did the grommet for that section.  to keep more control i used a heavy screwdriver to flatten the grommets.  they are paper grommets and have the prongs to fasten with.  i filled in holes added weight and the texture of my paintings with the ceramic stucco.

the final piece was still pliable . . . easy to flair out the sides above the bow . . and it still could get a cress if crushed.  maybe it would even become more interesting ?  but it has the feel of thin leather. even though i made it i think it is very cool and hope to make my own down the road !!!!


FINI !!





silent auction #1#2

VESSEL #1 + #2  FOR THE SILENT AUCTION . . . CARLSBAD ARTSPLASH





so the carlsbad artsplash is coming up and i have been a little more involved this year.  in the past couple years i loved their silent auction projects . . chairs and albums turned into clocks.  this year it was vessels . . . was vessels or is . . . oh never mind i think you have the picture !!!  i've been wanting to break my 2d mold and now i had a purpose . .  a challenge !!

at first i tried some stuff  called paper clay . . .  love finished products made with this.  but it is much softer than clay and i was having some very unsuccessful hours.  but not defeated !! still have some projects in my head but later . . .  .

so new goal:  make my vessels from things i have around my studio !  recycled studio !!!

VESSEL # 1 :  the lion


the bottles to the left i have been hauling around with me since 2000 . . . yes, the year 2000 maybe 2001.  from a large wine bottle charity auction with livermore winery assoc. i wanted more variations in my painting and mediums . . . as well as not being able to scrap it off as easy . . . so i worked with a rice paper and gesso.  did some test runs and so i had some extra bottles.

so vessel one took to life (on the back bottle u see the makings of vessel #2).  so with ballpoint pen and acrylic washes we have the first vessel.




VESSEL # 2 :  sir draagon

so i did a quick tracing of my 'sir draagon' illustration and then proceeded with the ballpoint pen and acrylic washes.  smooth and easy . . . well as much as drawing on a round slightly textured surface can be easy !! choose the dragon for the year of the dragon and for the kids . . . fantasy fans . . . . the decision was the background . . . went with the yellows and golds.  my iridescent gold was south in the gallery teaching supplies so in the am when i had better light i played around with colors.  blues, lavenders, orange and yellows were in the mix.

the photos make the gold look better . . . but the blue is really cool !!!!



first . . . closure



jack-in-the-bowl

so i did finish jack in the bowl . . . the background became too blue (still photographs with strong blues) and i was going to take it back to the original cement looking background and then during the process found out i liked the totally dark design too !! something a little different.

so that is about the end of this tale . . . .  on to the next postings !!!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

misc projects



WHILE SITTING AT THE GALLERY . . . 




artBEAT on main street . . . i was able to be a little creative.  i had the pleasure of painting one of the vegan bags sewn exclusively for artBEAT !!!  i want to add more stars to the inside design.  which i feel is a little lacking . . think i rushed before having to close up for the night !

inside












OTHER CREATIVE STUFF GOING ON RECENTLY:


i've continued working on jack-in-the-box the cat painting in the last post but i need better picks !!  



and 

had fun painting some 'monster mile' jr lifeguards !! this year they were all dragons !!! one wanted a dragon painted on his back !!

so should be starting something new . . .  hmmmm what shall it be ?  we will see !!!





Friday, August 3, 2012

mo' paintings

FIRST . .  . THE SKETCHBOOK SERIES











another sketchbook series . . . . a little larger canvas.  ran into a few problems: a loose canvas was the main one.  i first sprayed the back but i don't think it was gesso'd very well so i had some water bleeding into the ink pen . . . in the end i believe it worked out.


THE LION


so the other work i started and finished was a lion . . . on lenox paper.  i have used smaller sheets for block printing.  and larger pieces for my orangutan and gibbon works.  i love it but it is unforgiving so i sketch out a few details and project it on to the paper.  i do a light line and then i go to work on the piece (after putting the projector away) . . .  all the movement and emotion.  this pic doesn't show all the little details but there are a lot of white lines on him.  this time i used a white eraser that i cut a sharp edge on with an exacto.  the work is a little lighter on the face, too.  i was considering putting matte medium glazes over the whole work but when i unrolled it at the gallery i sold it . . .  as is.  they are going to put it in a simple frame.  i think this one will look awesome that way  !!!

then during the workshop at the gallery . . . 'JACK-IN-THE-BOX'

i started to work on a canvas with stucco, charcoal, pastels and matte medium . . . .  it was the second meeting held at the new gallery in vista called ARTBEAT on MAIN STREET.  it was a very productive day.  good energy, warm sunny day . . . great light and just really fun !!!




volcano 4 lauren

SECOND VOLCANO PAINTING FOR LAUREN



the camera of course misses all the subtleties of color layers i use.   the stars show up way more than they do in person.  there are greens peeking through the shadows of the mountains . . . . the flowers are playing hide and seek more in the darkness . .  . there is more texture and color in the smoke . . .  

in person it is a good addition to her other piece . . . . but i like the early stages with more of a day sky so guess that will be the first element in planning the 3rd volcano painting . . . but onto other paintings instead for now. 

but then again i could always . . . make some changes . . .  ahhhh the joys of acrylics . . . yes, my wheels are spinning.








Monday, July 16, 2012

fun with chalk

DAY TWO


final
end of day one

so the task begins on day two . . . with the chalk settling adding more shape and fur to sir georg (the orangutan) and friends . . . as well as the coffee cup design !!!  oh and to the right notice any thing different from the above finished work ??  the squirrel became more active by adding an arm reaching for the ringtail or is the coffee he is after ?

i continued to entertain with the coffee aroma helping wake them up (or teasing as in the case of the ringtail's activity !!!

the black and white animals became an advertising tool . . . . they need their coffee to wake up !!!  they need help getting out of their greydrums (dulldrums) . . .

the scene below became my favorite !!! i was totally enjoying myself and i think others did too !!!




the difficulties:  the surface was completely pitted . . . well not completely . . .  90% ? and the flowers from the trees . . . but it basically made it look like they were having more of a party . . . . 

learned new tricks to use in the future . . . met new friends  . . .  i wanted to share their amazing work but my camera broke for good :(  fortunately the connection to the computer worked and i saved the photos i did have !!!

fun with chalk

DAY ONE . . .  in the beginning 



so an early morning arrival to start off the weekend . . .  fun being in rancho once again !!! the day begins cool . . and then the sun pops out !!!    i was in square 21 . . . up front near the food and all the other activities  !!!!  i arrived knowing i was going to do an orangutan and work in black-n-white but it wasn't until i saw my square sponsor that i came up with the full composition !!!  as you can tell i don't for the usual chalk art . . . i find the fun in creating a story . . . the repeat viewer and the kids tend to get a kick out of me too !!!  this weekend especially !!  i had tons of fun interacting with the crowd as well as getting to talk with several of the incredible artists !!!

the view from my square
kyra working on 'cujo' or as her dad named it 'dog's breath'
carlsbad artsplash 2o11

























to my left was kyra mcdonnell who was doing her first black and white she was inspired by her favorite work at last years carlsbad artsplash . . .  a black and white lion.  well that was mine !!!  it was fun listening her tell that story all weekend !!!

so i decided on my yellow and orange mixture for the background with the addition of saddleback mountain (which was a stones' throw away)  . . . . and then of course we must not forget the bagels and coffee !!   . . . . there were also more animals added to the mixture !!!  the stack bagels came about because i was building with wedgits on skype with my grandson just the day before !!


end day one












the squirrel in the upper left corner decided to join the more exotic wild animals in the drawing . . .  jumping in from the trees of course (along with all the flowers) !!!  and yes some kids knew what the marmoset was.  all the animals were drawn by memory except the orangutan which i looked at sketches and several pics to create his personalty !!! i was really bothered by the warped shape to the lemur then i did a quick search of the net and found lemurs do or should i say can look like that !!!!  this guy is such a tease !!!  the poor treekangaroo
  
the other change i made as i worked . . . and pretty early on.  take a look at the pic on top of this page do you notice the blues and browns added to the black . .  . i decided that since there was to be color added not to continue on this path . . . but it might make for an interesting piece somewhere down the line.

so covered in plastic just incase of drizzle (it did rain thursday and friday) . . .  and a note to self :  look up bagels and brew for the coffee cup design.

fini day one !!!

Friday, July 13, 2012

volcano beginnings

started a new painting . . . 



but not my norm . . but this is the second in a series for my daughter . . .  the volcano lover !! painted the under painting (landscape) then added prussian blue and payne's grey mixtures of glazes . . . rebuilding colors lost in the darkness.  working at making in night but with the light of the sun down behind the volcano . . . as well as the eruption lighting the piece . . . the butterfly and flower will be in darkness with bits of light but i find several layers of adding dark and light give it a more three dimensional feel.  gives more of that feel of trying to see through the night air.
1st painting of series

i have to stop for a few days to participate in the fun with chalk fest this weekend !!!! so it will sit at this stage for now . . .

the composition is a combo of about 5 different photos . . . a recent iceland volcano gave of the horizontal smoke and the foreground was from our yard in oceanside.  yes keeping meaning somehow connecting the work to me.

the first painting in the series was the work to the right.  all acrylic glazes and layering. the landscape looks black but is full of greens, purples, blues, etc . .  . the trees are from her wedding pics . . the eruption flow is from when i was born in hawaii (my dad took photos of the volcano eruption on his trip to the big island) . . . and the night sky and lightning from photos i have admired.








Monday, July 9, 2012

woke up this mornin' . . .

. . . decided to make a hat !!



it's the 'coming and going' hat for the newest addition to the family (and sticking to his bear theme) . . . took a risk . . it may end up on one of his stuff animals because he has a big head !!  i was going to make it four panels but went for two  . .  . supplies helped with that decision  and living in the heat of vegas it would be cute sitting higher on the head rather than hiding his handsome face ( no i am not prejudice ).

had this felt from germany from the toy store i use to work at . . .  about 8 years ago.  i think it's called boiled felt?  it has an amazing soft feel and amazing colors as far as i am concerned . . . so hopefully it fits !!  or he can turn one of his monkeys into a bear like his older brother and i did . . . but that was T bears into monkeys !
                                                                                                                                                      


on another note:  i would never want anyone to look at my layers of handsewing . . . though it is made with love . . .  i continually go back and reinforce areas most likely to the extreme.  this is totally hand done just sat in all day cutting felt and sewing . . . no pattern (don't really know how to make a hat).   if it does fit it is complete luck . . .  i adapted the cornering techniques from quilting for the corners to the left . . .  other than that i think everything is straightforward. 


and that is simply how i spent my sunday !!