The Culprit

This is the painting that started it all.  My Great Aunt Pat was talking with my mother years ago about how the last time she saw me was when I was in High School and we were talking about my painting class.  We were studying Fauvism at the time where color was the big thing.  I was painting something that I was putting "red grass" into and it was my favorite assignment ever, to be painting something all the "wrong" colors.  

So I suppose she asked me to paint her something like that at the time of that conversation, something with red grass in it.  She didn't care what it was as long as it had red grass in it.  I had forgotten all about it and Mom reminded me of course.  Got to work right away and sent it to her for Valentine's day I believe.

The photo I was referencing for this landscape is from My Grandfather's Camp out in Vermont.  I looked at that photo and decided that the things I liked most about the mountaintop camp in Vermont were the colors of the flowers in the fields with butterflies, and the sky at night.   

Painting with those things in mind is how this came about.  This is the first painting I did in my "own" style.  

Stuffed Studio!

Hello Friends.

I have been much overwhelmed with craft supplies this year in my studio space.  I become interested in the process of one craft or another and I have this compulsive need to buy materials to make said craft.  Then sometimes it sits around for 10 years.  

This has been going on a long time. Growing up, a corner of my bedroom was my Mom's sewing "room".  Mom was in my room a lot making things and I would help.  I would say this is her main passion craft, whereas mine has always been painting or "coloring".  I would get excited and want to make things too when she was making her sewing projects, however I don't quite posses the passion or skill set she has for the actually MAKING the thing part.  

Around my Junior year of High School I lost my kitteh Sundae.  She was a shy and sweet Calico.  The boys in the house called her a scaredy cat... I called her a "Scared of YOU TWO!!" cat because they were loud and bad.  She was nice to me, and I loved her very, very much.

ANYWAYS I lost her, and started having my Mom teach me how to sew as a hobby.  I think at the time she was also taking a quilting class so it was nice to have her company when I was home in my room as she made her quilt squares.  I'm getting off track... anyways, I bought some fabric that I was inspired by at the time and now after 13 or so years I haven't done a thing with it.  

BURGUNDY FAUX FUR!

 ROYAL BLUE VELVET!

AWESOME IRIS AND FEATHER PATTERN SILK!!!

For the next month I am going to try to sell things that are cluttering my space and mind in my studio.  If I haven't used the thing in a few years... I'm going to see if someone else has a need for it.  So today I listed three luxe fabrics I have been seeing in my closet for years:)

PLEASE take a look on my esty shop "Paintventure" and pass it on if you know someone who would like these fabrics.  :)

SUNDAE from a page in my scrapbook.  :)

FAUX REALS YO

I have been enjoying my summer, working, just rolling along enjoying other activities besides painting, taking a little break. 

 Today I was inspired by this blog.

http://www.okaygreat.com/tag/studio-space/

Then I painted a wall in my studio.

PAINTED PANELING


I was attempting to re-create the look of the painted paneling in the studio displayed on the website.   I made a few spots look like the original stain might have bleed through the new paint.  Added a few highlights and shadow to give it a little depth.  I'm happy with it.

NOW IT'S A MORE INTERESTING GALLERY

Hypoallergenic

burning bush of color

I normally work every weekend of my life.  A last minute thought to stop and use the few extra minutes before my shift to get an iced coffee caused a change in blood pressure to my head and a nosebleed gusher blew.  Yippie.  Spring.  

I went into my job, and then walked right back out, on a sick day. The most activity I wanted to do for the rest of the day was, nothing.  So I got some oil pastels, and a piece of foam core board and made something colorful.  I draw this shape leaf all the time.  The color that I mindlessly grabbed next became the next color I used... and then I just drew some branches.  I'm happy about this one because I didn't put any thought into it at all, and it looks pretty neat. 

Just something to do while I'm was sitting here bored trying to drink a lot of water and move very little.  I looked up a bunch of zoo and aquarium websites too.  Did you know a lot of them have live camera feeds?  OOOooo.  GIANT FISH TANK!!!

Crayon Arts.

I started with a blue crayon.  Get some creepies on there.

Creepies of the deepies

Moved on to some glow in the dark crayons to make undersea Mariana trench type scene.  Glued some other crayons on there, then did that trendy thing and melted them so they'd get all dripp-ay.  

dippy and drippy

added crayon shavings then melted them

too much wax on the creepie

 Then I scraped away what got on my fish, hope he didn't feel the burn.  Or maybe he likes that sort of thing... actually the big one is a chick.  One BA chick.  The little one that's spying her is the boy... oh yeah.  Maybe they'll get connected.  Strange that the boy attaches and then grows into and lives on the girl for the rest of his life.  Sorry dude.  I guess 'cause it's so dark down there in the deep that you would lose her if you ever left and tried to find her again.  The lantern on the porch is on, but they all look the same down the block.  WHAT?  I hope you could follow that.  No?  I can't keep up with me either. 

scale that fish!

Close up Mrs. Creepville?

 Going to get in there with water color palettes and some watercolor crayons to add to the crayon art theme. 

Palette of watercolors I've had since 5th grade that I won at some school event for being awesome.

 Let's see how nice the resist technique works out. Special Effects! 

Wax Resist (look around the DEEP) Hey Creepie!  Brush those teethies!

  Not a masterpiece. It sure was fun without the pressure to make something AMAZING on my first try.  

TA DA!
It glows under a black-light!

Maybe to glue on some brass bits later... give it that steam punk glory.  

I think I see James Cameron's submersible...

Check out more crayon arts online.  Mostly you just see the drippy things, but they are quite simple and enjoyable!  

Dragon it out

Sometimes, I just let the dragons duel it out.  

Ever read "Eragon" ?  Yeah, I did too... So I made this, and it's in my living room,  as a reminder that a lot of my favorite movies/books/daydreams... involve dragons.  

I made the paintings in the background with acrylic using a lot of wet on wet with mop brushes to create a stormy look that this picture does not do justice.   Also those trees are a sea fan that I used a stencil brush to get the design.  Again the pic doesn't do justice.

Metallic Paints are my friends.

Mind-Gnoming!

I have had an amazing few weeks friends who read my silly blogtastic.  I have fallen behind on updating obviously, but the good news is, I have something to show!  Here is more of Matty's Gnome painting... with a few surprise guests.


Monthly updates apparently.  There have been a few things going on that were inhibiting my creativity, but slowly it's coming back.  Just proves how an Artist needs to be in the right frame of mind for inspiration to not only come around, but want to be released into the outer world.


I'm having fun at least.  I hope to clean up the characters soon so they don't look like some five year old painted them... but then again... maybe Matt loves it? 


We shall see... :)

Gnome of this makes sense

I want it to be a magical process.  It begins every time with a blank canvas.  The canvas always starts white.  I hear most artists have anxiety about the blank, white canvas.  

The first thing I do is paint it a different color.

 Not so scary now are you!!  A bright artist in my high school painting class declared one day that every painting starts with Dioxazine Purple.  I found that after the years, it is the best color to start with on nature paintings within the woods every time.  It is something that really works.  Gets that purple mountain majesty happening right away. 

 Add a little here, a little there. Familiar base photo.

Then this guy wandered in...

Then some grass started to grow

Then this fox appeared in the shadows.  WHAT IS GOING ON?!  Clearly the photo is gaining mystical powers and there is more to this picture than meets the eye!  

Stay tuned!

Painting for friends

not a great photo.  Took it on the day of delivery.

Second painting from the over processed nature photo taken at my parent's house in my youth.  This one was requested by my good friend Annie Stuart (Ridlon) Perry.  Annie Banani Ridlon.  Maker of  "Art Day", partner in city wanderings we called "Wednesdays" in college.  We have had few and far between "Wednesdays" in this chapter of my life.  Days where anything can happen and anything is welcomed when we walk out our front door.  I barely walk out the front door unless I have somewhere to go.  Gas is expensive, and the city is lonely.


I walked out the front door of my Parent's house near sunset my Freshman year of college and took this photo.  The light looked AWESOME, and I imagined in my head that the Hobbits were any minute going to be walking by in the woods.  I took the picture fully intending to process it and use it as a reference for a drawing with just that, fantasy creatures walking by.  


Never happened.  I used this photo to make another painting like this one for my cousin, and when Annie saw it she wanted one so I made one, and when brought to the Perry household on New Years Day to be gifted the story came out.  Matt wants one with a gnome.  No problem. 

Take three to be started shortly on the badly processed photo to be given new life.  Thanks CVS for doing such a horrible job on the developing, back in the day.