Current pieces and ACEOs

I decided to work on a larger piece that's about 4" x 6" roughly.  I named it "Difficult Journey Home."  It is ballpoint ink on a torn vintage page. This is a present work in progress as it will become a watercolor piece and an experiment with the crackle texture.

I completed this ACEO over the course of Monday.  Since I actually have to work, the original pencil and ballpoint ink portions above were done on breaks and taken as best as they could be with my camera phone.  I love the crisp lines of the ballpoint ink and believe it or not they blend really well when other mediums are added.  I start all of my drawings in pencil with basic shapes to make sort of a skeleton and approximation of where the features would fall.  In my larger work I let them stay as they only add to the final piece.  I built up a foundation with colored pencil on the face and watercolor on the veil.  I then layered on more applications, alternating between colored pencil and watercolor.  Then I overlayed portions of it with crackle glaze.  Below is the completed piece and a close up of the texture.  The challenge with the scan is that it whites out some areas due to the reflective nature of the glaze so the darks aren't as dark as they are in real life.  I am going to experiment taking photographs with my 10 mp camera to see if I can get a better rendition.  This is the first in an exploratory series I have tentatively named Exotic Symbolism.  It will feature close ups of ethnic women throughout the world and feature a sort of visual commentary on their different struggles.  This obviously is a Muslim woman.  Notice how her lower face is veiled but her hair is not.  I came across this article Joan Smith:  The veil is a feminist issue and was inspired to do a portrait based on this quote from the article:

"Women don't wear the burqa in Afghanistan because they like it; they wear it because they are afraid of being killed if they don't. Women haven't suddenly gone back to wearing the veil in Iraq because they're pious; they do it because women who refuse have been murdered. I loathe the niqab and the burqa when I see them there. And I can't pretend I don't find them equally offensive on my local high street." 

The eyes were once confrontational.  The glaze took the edge off of them and yet they are still confident.  I named this piece "Without a Voice (But Still a Choice)."

I came across a sketch in an old sketchbook from 2003, the start of my natural journey.  I had drawn a shattered glass with my image in it and had titled it "Missing pieces of my identity."  Seems I still haven't gotten away from identity issues or depicting fragmentation in regards to women's issues.  I have an old print I did of a woman from India wearing a burqa back from high school and another piece of a woman wearing one in college.  That image of being covered and having no voice sticks with me and creeps into my work every couple of years or so.

This is presently up for auction on ebay!  See the auction HERE!

More small pieces...

I've been doing a lot of writing over the past few days.  I can see a series developing out of this group and I have tentatively named it Awakening.  I love textures on a page.  It adds another level of visual interest to a piece and one of my favorite textures is the crackle effect.  Even in my earlier works from my late teens I incorporated these types of textures from torn edges to burnt edges.  My art professor from college still chuckles at some pieces I made my junior year he called the "burning women."  A great idea also that I may explore again....maybe.  The crackle effect isn't too easy to replicate and took quite a bit of running around to different craft stores and experimentation.  It is an ongoing process.

Anywho, I went in and messed around with the drawing from the previous post.

 I darkened it over all and messed around with the texture.  The nuances that occur with the crackle effect are much more noticeable and appreciated in person than through digital media.  Even the close up doesn't do it justice. 















I worked on several other pieces...it's just a matter of getting them all scanned in and resized.  This next piece was the second one that I worked on.  I tentatively named it, Closest to God. 

I really liked how it came out.  I remember this portion of the book.  It talked about how the wealthiest members of the congregation were important for the priests to stay close to because the parishioners with the most money were the "closest to God" and felt that God would be closest to them.  Obviously my subject doesn't fall into that category so it is an interesting juxtaposition.  Once again unintentional but  interesting to note.  I managed to get more of a crackle effect with this piece...I used a two part crackle glaze.  After it was finished crackling I overlayed it with a brown wash to make the cracks show. The close up shows the texture more.  It is a beautiful effect.  I am excited about where this is heading.

I'm Baaaccckkkkk....

After a rather long hiatus from this blog, I have returned to the world of ACEOs.  The past year has been a rather eventful one.  I have immersed myself into the craft of crochet which I explore in my blog HERE and I have been pursuing my venture with my store, Moya Arts.  I have moved into more local avenues of selling.  I haven't been selling on ebay in a good little bit but with the new promotion of free auction style listings through 9/3, I have a reason to get back into the swing of things.  I have a bunch of prints I will place for sale sometime this week.

Also I had been neglecting the great art of ACEOs and miniature drawing.  I participated in an art exhibition back in April in which most of my pieces were 17 x 21 -24 x 30 inches and in charcoal.  I love that body of work and I hope to continue to exhibit in the future.  See my larger format work HERE. 

What brings me back to ACEOs?  The exploration of the same ideas of my larger format work.  I love cats and all; however, the messages I want to convey with my art cry out to me much stronger than my niche commercial market.  My more recent work evokes contemplation and thoughtful meditation beyond what's on the paper.  I've had all sorts of reactions from discomfort (most common), to shock (more to come on that), to marvel.  The different interpretations I have been given by others has surprised me.  My work does convey a lot of pain and it is interpreted in many different ways.  On one of the pieces (Among Our Dreams), a viewer likened it to a domestic abuse victim because of the anonymity of the image (that was intentional on my part) and the unknown.  The eyes aren't shown so the depth of the pain cannot be measured.  Out of everyone I've ever spoken to only one person actually understood the meaning of my work as a whole.  It goes beyond my artist statement...there's only so much I could say there.  I am content with people developing their own interpretations.  The subjectivity of art is what makes it a worthwhile venture.

The works are large and unavoidable.  I am now going to play with that same concept on a smaller format which is more intimate.  I am going to explore the dynamics between having the viewer's space invaded to the viewer becoming the invader. 

I look forward to this new turn in my work.  Now there will still be cats and anything else I get the fancy to draw.  My primary focus will be on my new series.

This is the piece that has sparked my curiosity once again.  

I have this old book that's pretty much falling apart.  It has been read eons ago and had lost a few pages already.  The pages are slightly yellowed and a great backdrop to draw on.  The drawing is done in ballpoint ink, watercolor and goauche.  I do not know the archival quality of the ballpoint ink but it is much cleaner than pencil and shows really well through the letters without completely obliterating them.

It is roughly ACEO sized (2.5" x 3.5") but it goes over some because of the torn edges.  Working title: "...had invaded the inner citadels of her completely. There were no secrets the...barrier to throw up to protect herself...always naked, always open to pain." The wording wasn't intentional.  I noticed it after the drawing was done.  The child's withdrawn expression gives a lot of weight to the words.  This is very similar to the larger format work I have done that deals a lot with psychological effects of events, mostly past and ancestral events on a modern subject.   I went back in and made some areas darker like around the lips and the lower left.  That white area was competing too heavily with the details of her face and took away from the effect her eyes were intended to make.  I'll probably post the update later as an edit to this post. This was only a preliminary study.

Ebay auctions

I have two new kitty ebay auctions up for Labor Day! They were both done in ballpoint ink in July and August respectfully. I'm just getting around to posting them. It has been a busy couple of weeks. I'm back in school full-time in addition to working full time and the kids. The "Of Dreams" portrait remains unfinished; however, I will finish her up later this month. I was going to enter her in a contest; however, I changed my mind. I will complete her for my portfolio.

Pensive





R&R

New Drawings and Auctions

I have two new ebay auctions listed today:

Hummer



Good Conversation


This is a current work in progress that I am working on entitled, "Of Dreams." The scan doesn't do it much justice however I can still track my progress pretty sufficiently. I need to have this finished by September 4, 2009 at the latest.

Three new kitty ACEOs

I have three new kitty ACEOs up for auction on ebay this week. I completed them last week. I just noticed that they are all facing the same direction. I took three very different approaches in drawing them and I like both the similiarities and the differences between the three pieces.

Kitty Sketch

This one was done in ballpoint ink and colored pencil for the eye and nose on watercolor paper. It is a lot more refined than I intended for it to be when I began. I like how it came out.

Thoughtful

This one was done with ballpoint ink and watercolor on acrylic paper. I love the permanency of the mark with ballpoint ink as well as how clean the drawings look when compared with graphite. The texture of the acrylic paper is challenging.

Watching the World Go By

This one was done in graphite and colored pencil on watercolor paper. I really like how the eye came out in this one.

All the reference photos for these kitties came from the morguefile.

Old Faithful ACEO Completed

Well I ended up working on this through near completion. I ended up using micron ink, watercolor, colored pencil and goauche on this little piece. I'm not really adept in colored pencil yet; however with a little practice I'll get there. This really didn't take a very long time and I managed to work on it in between looking at the neighborhood fireworks with the kids.

New WIP

I am going to try something new. Well, it's not exactly a "new" method for me; however, I am experimenting with a different approach to my ink/watercolor/colored pencil drawings. This following drawing started in pencil. I had already began inking by the time I had the thought to scan the pencil drawing in so here is the inked version.



The next step I will place a watercolor overlay over the top. It will be a thin wash since I am working on bristol. I usually work on watercolor for this type of thing however that's being reserved for my pencil artwork (I love the rough texture). I will be doing more ballpoint ink work also. I love the idea of not being able to erase my marks. The reference imagery for most of my work is either from my own personal images or from wetcanvas. The above reference photo is from wetcanvas. I don't typically draw dogs, at least not as often as I draw cats or people. This is definitely going to be an interesting learning experience.

***UPDATE***

Ok it is two hours later. I had to do some chores for the most part; however, I did manage to get the watercolor wash underpainting done. It is in yellow ochre and cerulean blue. I like how it is turning out so far.

ACEOs for July Fourth!

Happy Fourth everyone! I'm not doing too much today. It's unfortunate (yes unfortunate) that everywhere I would want to go is closed for the holiday. At least we are close enough to Lake Murray that we can see the fireworks tonight without having to battle the crowds. I, for one, will be hitting the books and playing some ball with the kids later. I have listed three new kitty ACEOs today.


A Cool Drink of Water




Happy Fourth!





Little Surprises

This one was completed in ballpoint ink and watercolor on acrylic paper. I love the texture of the acrylic paper and I like the permenancy of ink as well as the variety of line you can achieve with it. Very similar to pencil with a much cleaner look and feel. I will play around with this some more.

I had to change my scanner out. I bought a new printer which can print up to 11 x 17 (my old one could only do letter size) however I haven't been able to really adjust it properly yet. The scans aren't terribly true to life and seem to have a bleached out look to them. I hooked up old faithful once again and the scans are true to life and much better. Newer isn't always better I suppose.

3 New Kitty ACEOs

I have three new Kitty ACEOs up for auction on ebay.

Among the Weeds


Peeping Tom


In Wonder...


I have just finished up an Art Survey class and I have four more to go. We have a break for next week so I am going to take advantage and get some drawing and possibly painting done. I have a lot of sketches from life I have completed that I'll probably post later.

Three new kitty ACEOs

I have hit the ground running with these three new ACEOs. They are listed on ebay presently at really low prices. These were completed in the little down time I can get a hold of these days.


Wide-Eyed Beauty


Cat and Mouse Games


A Likely Story


These are all done in pencil. I can execute drawings pretty quickly in graphite and drawing really helps me to relax considering all the activity that has been going on lately around here. I'll have more up soon.

Today

I went out walking with the kiddies today. It was unusually warm and put me in an oil painting mood. Unfortunately I did not get any painting done however the walk was nice. They were relieved to get out of the house to say the very least. I took a few pictures to use for reference later on. I also did another gouache relief, an elephant this time. They seemed to do well on ebay and I really enjoyed doing them. I have two graphite ACEO kitties I need to complete. I'm probably going to draw the pretty daffodil I took a picture of today with one of them. A butterfly friend with the other...or maybe a ladybug. I caught a few pictures of the tabby up the street however they didn't come out very well. A photographer, I am not, lol.

Gouache relief elephant

Graphite Kitty ACEOs

Daffodil photo I took today

Great News!!

I have finally opened an EBAY STORE!!! I have prints, key chains and I will have some blank watercolor ACEO cards for sale within the next week. I'm really excited about it. I get to offer some old favorites to those who may have missed out on the auction of the originals.

Here's a digital drawing I did of Barack Obama that I am offering for sale on ebay. It is not a reworked photograph...it is a real drawing that I did with my wacom tablet and pen directly into photoshop using the pencil and airbrush tools. It's a limited edition in the ACEO size. I will offer it larger in the future.


These are some gift tags for a baby boy/girl/both that I am working on to put for sale on etsy in the next week.


Pandamus, paper birds. I may offer a variety of these neat little birds for sale on etsy in the future, maybe even the template to make them. I made really small white ones that are just too cute and could be used for a variety of projects from card-making to scrapbooking as well as for wedding favors. The pink and red one I made for my four year old and the goldish one has been a hanging fixture in my kitchen forever.




I have been feeling particularly crafty lately however now it is back to the drawing board (literally). I am working on a few pieces that I am sure will please ;-). Thanks for stopping by and any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Happy New Year + New ACEOs

Happy New Year 2009 to all!!!!

I have two new ACEOs and one new bookmark (I took advantage of my day off). I brightened the original bird drawing from before so I rescanned it here. I did a tiger...I rather like how that one turned out. There's an Ace of Diamonds on the back of that one. I did the graphite kitties I entitled, "Hugs and Kisses."

Bird


Tiger


"Hugs and Kisses"



The Barack Obama bookmark I did as part of the Classical Painters group challenge on Ebay, which was to draw/paint Barack Obama. I was on this kick with the gouache relief so naturally that's what I did. I tied a red ribbon to it. I painted the flag with color (everything else including the face in white) before adding the ink. I like the final version for it's almost primitive graphic look. That appeals to me very much and reminds me how much I like linocuts and wood cuts. Click on them to see them bigger.

Barack sketch


Barack finish

New experiments and ACEOs

I love the graphic effect of linocuts. The lines are very bold and I find the stark contrast of black and white as well as the interplay of negative and positive space to be most interesting. I also love it when the color element is added as the colors seem brighter and the work has this "comic book" effect to it. I am in the position where I do not have the facilities or equipment (inks, press, linoleum) to recreate this method any time soon. So I improvised and created the following piece.





On the back of the card, I affixed the queen of spades playing card. I've been meaning to use these for ACEOs for awhile now and thought my little experiment here would be the perfect compliment. This is called a gouache relief and the resemblance to a hand-painted lino is uncanny to say the least. It is a beautiful process, albeit time consuming. I wouldn't say it is for the perfectionist especially since the effects are somewhat unpredictable.

I completed the following ACEO also. I entitled it, "Just the Right Size II," after a piece I completed some time in 2007 with similar content. I also added these interesting jewels as embellishment plants on the piece, a bit of experimentation on my part.

Two ACEO kitties

I completed these over a week ago. I haven't really been working on anything besides a commission of a few doggies and the maine coon kitties. When I get to a good stopping point I'll post the progress of those. I try to stagger my time as best I can around my schedule. I will have these up for auctions probably sometime tomorrow or Wednesday.

Sleeping Beauty


Christmas Stocking Stuffer

I did one similar to this last year called Christmas Sweetie. It will probably be the only Christmas themed work that I do (however don't quote me on that). I will attempt to update in a few days.

New Kitty ACEOs

I have two new kitty ACEOs. "Watchful" was completed a little over a week and a half ago and I just did "Casual Hunter" yesterday. These are going up for auction tonight. I am in the process of working on a Christmas Kitty similar to one I did last year...I started that yesterday also. The Maine Coon kittens are almost finished and I am about to start on a commission of four puppy dogs...I have two weeks to get them finished so I am about to get on the ball. Here are the kitties:

Watchful, watercolor and ballpoint ink


Casual Hunter, watercolor, koh-i-noor nexus ink pens, graphite

The Forgotten Kitten

I did this Kitten ACEO some time ago and for some reason never posted it. It is watercolor and prismacolor pencil on watercolor paper, standard ACEO (2.5"x3.5") size.