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.

New Website!

While I'm in the process of building a new home for my upstart, Moya Arts, LLC (www.moyartic.com), I have built a temporary website @ http://moyaarts.mybisi.com. .

What is Moya Arts?

Moya Arts is a Lexington, SC based company that specializes in beautiful fine art and cultural effects from around the world. Moya provides a variety of products as unique as the name, ranging from beautiful jewelry, handcrafted by the skilled artisans of Africa, one of a kind custom jewelry and artwork created by me (the owner), upstart and established local artists, African clothing in an array of designs and much much more! Jewelry, home decor, artwork, and much more can be found here at phenomenal prices. There is also a selection of handcrafted crochet and knit accessories. Moya Arts was founded in May 2009. I've been working through various ups and downs to officially launch Moya.

I hope that everyone that visits enjoys what they see and purchase a few of these unique items.

At Moya, we know that quality matters and we strive to provide the best quality products for the best prices. See the pic above for a sampling of the variety that we will provide. I also attend local venues in North and South Carolina!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and I hope to see you at Moya!

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.

Update

It's been awhile since I updated. I have still been working on some pieces. I will hopefully be able to post my progress soon. Just wanted to let the internet world know I was still alive!

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.

Pencil Portrait complete

This is a graphite pencil portrait I completed for my portfolio. It came out really well and I am going to be doing a few more pieces. I worked on this for awhile running the progress pass coworkers and classmates who were all complimentary of the results. I will be doing commissioned portraits of people and animals in the future and I am in the process of building up a repertoire of work for my portfolio. This is the beginning of many more to come. The reference imagery for this drawing came from morguefile.

The reference image.

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.

An Update

It's been awhile (4 months!) since I have updated my blog. Things have been really hectic. I'm back in school full-time (in edition to working full-time with four kids) and I have been working on some ACEOs for ebay off and on. I'm about to start back in earnest now. Most of my work will be in black and white versus color mainly due to time constraints. I am going to be working on some pieces for my 400 level art courses, so I will be documenting my progress from those also in edition to my ACEOs. I also have another blog that is in the works http://swhiteart.blogspot.com. This will include jewelry and other eclectic items for sale. A website is currently in the works and it is my aim that every piece will be truly unique.

I have a few ACEOs I will be posting for sale later today on ebay that I will post here.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the work!

A Break....

I am taking a "break" of sorts away from creating art as much. I will still do some however not to the extent I have been in the past few months. I have many drawings I have done however I have not posted as of yet. I have some commissions to complete and a cat show to prepare for that's coming up the end of the month. I am going to be going back to school shortly and I wanted to concentrate more of my efforts towards that...at least until after April. Then it's back to the grind. I have closed my ebay store...although it was short lived it was surprisingly successful and I will no doubt undertake one in the future. I would like to thank Linda (Linda's Blog) for her nomination for the Lemonade award! It is for blogs that have a positive outlook and that's something I try to do. Every cloud has a silver lining :-). I will complete the requirements in a future blog...I just wanted to drop a quick note for the moment.