Jen November 4th, 2007
Day 35 - The final piece to finish of artsomofo and a complete set of 7. I ran out of old collage pieces so this is on maybe 80lb watercolour paper with a base of Golden’s Absorbent Ground. I cut out the image as it was quite large for my 4 x 5" paper, leaving the intricate cat’s cradle intact. As a result much of the texture from the ground is visible and I used that to my advantage. I took the colours directly from the photo, Burnt Umber and cream (folk art paint), emphasizing the edges with the darker colour and applying the cream to the center portions. Very simple but a very striking image for Number 35.
Tomorrow I’ll be posting some new assemblage pieces I’ve been working on. Thanks for hanging in for the month of October. It’s been quite a ride!
Jen November 3rd, 2007
Day 34 - LOVE the textural quality of Micaceous Iron Oxide! And it fits so well with today’s image - love that little guy’s concentration. The fish stamp is from MadRatRubber. Go see Gretchen’s rubber folks. Awesome! I used the mica right on the substrate, added a layer of Titanium white to brighten it then another watered down wash of Micaceous Iron Oxide on top. Initially I had planned on mixing in some Burnt Umber or cream or more titanium white but liked it just the way it was. Added my new fish stamp - LOVE - then punched in some holes on the top of the image. I was going to wire in some fish bones there but liked the simplicity of the holes as they were so wired in a sand dollar - a coat of micaceous iron oxide over a base of black gesso - at the bottom.
We’re in the middle of a hurricane. Wish us well! Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.
Jen November 2nd, 2007
hmmm. The photograph is a bit dark - I’ll try to get a better one. But not today. 
Day 33 - Using a base wash of Turquoise (Pthalo) - LOVE this colour - and Transparent Iron Oxide - LOVE this combination of colours *slurp* - I then glued down the image. I wanted to create something that would emphasize the fist and frankly, being a product of those early Batman shows immediately thought of those BAM! and POW! graphics. So I drew some of those in. And used iron oxide as the main colour taking them right to the fist. Went in with full pigment turquoise to reinforce their strong lines. Iridescent Copper (fine) was used to pick up the bubbly texture. So simple. Yet striking.
Ross Creek Secret - In other news, there is a show/sale in support of Ross Creek Centre for the Arts today and tomorrow taking place at Argyle Fine Art Gallery in Halifax. If you’re local do check it out. All postcards are $50. The pieces are anonymous until you buy. Kinda fun. Some big hitting artists are taking part. Including me. 
Jen November 1st, 2007
Artsomofo is finished for this year and I have to say it’s been a fun experience - even though I haven’t fully stopped yet. Nothing like a challenge to keep you in the studio when you aren’t completely inspired. While I’ve only been posting these specific challenge pieces, I also have a bunch of other works started, things I’ve been procrastinating on and by just being in the studio, I finally got over that first hump. All this to say, don’t go away because after Sunday there will be a plethora of non-artsomofo works ready to be showcased. Onto today’s piece…
Hands #4 - Praying hands are a very strong image and I found it difficult to incorporate them into a cohesive piece. Each pass of acrylics, heat gun, silver ink and I felt less and less enamoured with what was going on. I started with a base of Pthalo Blue, Transparent Iron Oxide Red and Iridescent Blue. I quickly lifted the iridescent. NOT working.
And therein began the struggle. I added some Mica Stainless Steel which gave a grittiness I liked but still didn’t quite offset the rest. I needed SOMETHING to the right of the image and I tried a bunch of different things including a leaf stamp with silver. Not strong enough so I overlaid an impression with Art Print Brown which I loved on the hands image but didn’t like in the very place I was looking for something. More layering, drying, bubbling, picking up texture until I felt I’d overdone the whole thing. I may revisit this one tomorrow. Today? It stays this way.
Jen October 31st, 2007
Day 31 - Decided to change the shape of the image by cutting it as a circle, keeping the focus squarely (heh) on the pointing finger rather than on the elastic about to be let loose. I decided on Cad Yellow and Payne’s Gray as my 2 main colours, creating a wash of yellow on the right blending into gray on the left.
Keeping with the circular theme, I used sequin waste to overlay the texture on the wash backround being careful to mask over the image, fading from a light gray on the right to a darker, full pigmented gray on the left. Once dry I then over lay the sequin waste again and added some yellow to the right hand side circles only. I faded the yellow to Titanium white on the right as well.
I thought I’d like some text and used a transfer of handwriting but for the most part it didn’t work though you can still see some faint traces on the right hand side which I rather like. While quite a bit simpler than my last few pieces, I like how this one turned out. But then, I AM a sucker for circles!
