Hawaiian Masks

This summer we took our entire family to Hawaii.  Aside from the gaping, eight inch in diameter coral injury that took me to the travel disease specialist (who knew?) it was an unforgettably wonderful trip.

One of the things my oldest son really liked was the Hawaiian warrior masks.  They were all so different and entertaining, I had to like them as well.

When we came back, I pulled out a couple photographs I'd taken and got out the paint.  I'm really satisfied with these colors as they're reminiscent of Hawaii, especially the greens and turquoises.  Sshhhh!  This one's a secret!  It's for my son for Christmas.

I did this one in a similar fashion as the angel I just finished; painting the background with warms.  After that, it was mostly painting negative space to do the masks, with some bright red to make it pop.  Much of the greens and blues I painted in with my fingers, leaving my fingerprints, a part of myself, there for him to see.  Much of the cool colors are applied quite thinly so you can see the primary layers.  I like it.  I'm taking a poll to see if I should make prints out of this one.

Stitches and Bolts (Frankenstein)

Well, I don't know if it's art, but I did the hair and makeup for our short black and white film 'Frankenstein.'  Yep.  Definitely art. :)

Just finished this one.  I painted the background in warm colors, and then the angel in cool colors.  My desire was to add some mystery by allowing the viewer to be able to see the streaky colors through the angel.  Once again, one of my paintings turned out pretty bright.  No surprise there!

These are purse-sized sketchpads I have filled over the past few years.  I never go anywhere without a pad.  Some of these are dedicated to particular trips; usually when we go on a trip I fill the entire pad with pictures and memories.  Precious.

Medium Experiments

Today I sat at Starbucks and did the work BEHIND the art.  Always lots of exploring and tests to do with materials, and some happily surprising results, after other disappointments.  Trying to find some good pens that won't move when I lay them down on YUPO.  If anyone has suggestions, let me know, please!

Piratey Pair

Here's a colorful pair.  Well, the parrot, perched on his friend's shoulder, was colorful, so I decided to make his friend colorful, too.  Just seemed right.

I'm not an erasing kind of girl; I just sat down (in front of Starbucks con caliente cafe) in the morning sunshine and lightly drew it out with a 005 Micron pen.  They're light enough that I can correct as I go.  Then when I'm done laying out the entire thing, by the time I start putting down heavier and darker pens, those light lines are pretty much obliterated.  I think the drawing took me about an hour and a half of laid-back, feet-up enjoyment.

Anyway, it was pretty fun doing a parrot as I've never done one before, and I particularly like the guy's blue/green expression.  And the gold earring.  Looks piratey.  By the way, when I ride my bike each day, I wear one gold hoop, too.  Makes ME feel piratey!

Market Street Artists

Last night Market Street had a special evening, 'Fashion's Night Out.'  They had models everywhere, free giveaways, food and drink samples, and also asked artists to station themselves at particular points to paint.  It was a really fun evening.  Here are a couple pics.

 Admittedly, I was a little skeptical about all this.  Although I am a social animal, when I'm creative, I want to concentrate and don't want to be bothered.  And I don't like people looking at what I'm doing! 

However, I also know that you're supposed to challenge yourself and do scary things, so off I went.
Turned out to be really fun.  I was lighthearted about my art, enjoyed my friend, and we talked to scores of people all evening.

A good time was had by all.