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 !!!

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.

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 !!  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

the sketchbook series

CONTINUES . . . 

the two stages / sketch to ink on canvas and then color

sketch to painting

finished my dried rose sketch . . . like the others . . . then went on to do one of my favorite sketches . . . my walking wood penguin.  i do love my wind-up toys and this one i enjoyed sketching !  but while i was working on my penguin i started another . . .this time i used my printer . . . i took an 18"x 24" charcoal  drawing of

drawing to painting

a t-shirt and shrunk it down using the computer and transferred it to a to a 9"x12" canvas using transfer artist paper.  i then painted on top of the transfer with a mixture of glazes and opaque acrylics . . . i added two shades of lighter grays and revisited the shadows with a black and burnt umber for depth of darkness and warmth.  the gray i used was paynes grey with white and glazed with a cad orange . . . the lighter shades were just a mix of the three . . . NOTE: part of the canvas was cut off in the scan.

so the problems with this work that ended up guiding me to the finished project . . .

one was the TAP . . . transfer artist paper still came off in spots so i definitely could not draw directly on top . . so i layered with paint . . .  i actually like the transfer with just a simple acrylic glaze on top . . .  if i was a photographer i may have left it at that but for me it was
                                                    lacking  . . . that is for my own personal work it was lacking.

so i have extended my sketchbook series to include drawings and other mediums to make them part of a final work . . . it is fun to use my sketchbooks and drawings that fill my shelfs to explore other styles and mediums !!