So there have been earthquakes in Ottawa, tornadoes in Midland and Jen is in the studio. Yes dear readers, the end IS nigh!!

Some of the unsold work that has been at The Flying Pig was returned to me, so I’m adding them to etsy. I figured, Why Not?!? But if you see something you like and for whatever reason don’t want to go through etsy but want that piece, lemme know and we can work out a deal!

Long-timers may recognize some of the mixed media pieces from artsomofo way  back when – 2007? 2008? Ack! Can’t remember. A favourite of mine, if for no other reason than its title makes me smile “Sometimes A Frog Prince Is Just A Frog”, with the central metal piece dating back to when I did Stephanie Lee’s book project by project.

Sometimes a frog prince is just a frog - detail

And. AND! I finished Cynjon … Judah mea culpa Mr. Man! …’s assemblage challenge (hide your eyes if you want to stay surprised). I know. I can’t quite believe it either. Here’s the finished piece … a rather HORRIBLE photo but ’twill have to suffice for the time being.

Assemblage Challenge - Cynjon/Judah

Teri, your “parts” are being pondered on the table … can you BELIEVE it?!? I know. Me either!!

ETA: A MUCH better photo of Cynjon/Judah’s finished piece:

Assemblage Challenge - Cynjon/Judah's Finished

Day 35 - Hands

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!

Day 34 - Hands

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.

hmmm. The photograph is a bit dark – I’ll try to get a better one. But not today.

Day 33 - Hands

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.

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…

Day 32 - Hands

 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.

Day 31 - Hands

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 background 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!

Day 30 - Hands

Day 30 – In contrast to yesterday’s image of ethereal freedom, this one is definately about “constraint” – physical or pyschological is your choice of interpretation. I used a combination of Iridescent Copper (fine) and Metallic Copper from Modern Options for the base and then patina’d.

I added the eyelets prior to the patina’ing process so they’d blend a bit more with the background. Mars black and some more iridescent copper to pick up the bubbly texture. I used copper wire woven in the eyelets to reinforce the chain/shackles in the image.

The bottom still needed a little something extra and I added some marks with my trusty Pigma pen (.005) but didn’t like them and wiped off with a damp cloth. I reinforced the left hand corner with the pen and I liked that. Then thought some words would work. I sat with my box of cut-ups until something jumped out at me. A piece of text from a book on entymology,  it was “the body is transparent” part that spoke out, hence my comment about physical or psychological constraints.  A wash of watery copper and mars black sloshed on and wiped off quickly to blend the paper and Day 30 is done.

Only one more day of Artsomofo. How quickly this month has gone. See you tomorrow.

I was actually planning on doing “Hearts” as my final week but could NOT find any decent imagery to work with. Frustrating because I KNOW I’ve seen some great images but could I find’em? Nope. So “hands”. Probably the theme was fresh in my head because guess what I did for a good portion of yesterday? Went through my entire blog archives and revived all the dead photo links. Can you say a waste of time fun? heh. And if you’ve been here long enough you’ll know I’ve done a few series with a “hands” theme over the years. Onto today’s work…

Day 29 - Hands

Day 29 – I’ve got the whole world in my hands … I love the gesture of the hands in this image – caring, gentle yet would allow the earth to fly away if it wanted. I actually attached the image to the bottom right hand corner but as I was working it was much stronger in the upper left – perhaps a nod to early kindergarten drawings?

I started with a wash of Burnt Umber, let it dry then added a wash of Quin Burnt Orange (qbo). I put down some painter’s tape – the old style paper kind, I find it works much better as a mask than the green or blue tape as it doesn’t harm fragile layers of ground/acrylics/paper – then washed some Antique cream (folk art paint) over the whole.  Once the mask was lifted, I worked back into the rays with some straight qbo, as well as with some full strength cream on the ‘between beams’. I hold the paper in place while working to keep the edges clean.

I added Mars Black and qbo around the image leading into the beams. I smooshed some burnt umber into the textured recesses then a quick topping of cream. I think this is a really really strong image and a good start to another week.

As soon as I saw this image I knew I wanted to include it in this week’s theme – I mean what says “bicycle” better than one built for five?!? Plus it’s one of Hulton Getty’s and I just love his photos. A very wicked sense of humour that appeals to my very warped off-center outlook on life. Because I knew these would fall on the weekend and because I knew I would be tied up for most of Saturday I started these on one day and finished them today. They span both pieces of watercolour paper, sliced lengthwise to even further elongate the silliness. The full-sized pieces are further down.

I looked over the past days work and decided I hadn’t used enough Quin Gold – ironic because I really am forever sloshing it over anything that stands still. Honestly, if you want something to look aged, Quin Gold is your paint.

I did a very pale wash over everything with Nickel Azo Yellow and then went back over with a loose wash of Quin Gold. I heated up the spaces in between each image to bring out some bubbly texture and then decided to add some vertical lines in those spaces as well. I used a black Sharpie, medium and created varying widths. I figured that the horizontal nature of the bike could still use more vertical balance. Too much though, so I scaled it down with liberal coats of Quin Gold, Titanium white and some Mars Black accenting.

Oh so close. I had noticed a circular pattern from the previous collage near the first cyclist’s head and decided to add one with my Pigma .005 pen. What’s good for the goose… so I added one around each guy’s head and connected them all with a dotted line. With all the vertical elements I needed to add a further dotted line about 2/3s the way down across both pieces. And I was done!

Next week’s theme? Hands. And even though ArtSoMofO ends on Wednesday I want a full “set” of images so will continue on through next Sunday. After that? Who knows?!?

Day 26 – I went overboard with the bubbly texture today. I wanted so see what would happen if I left my heat gun on the paint for longer than I usually do. Turns out it bubbles – I already knew that but – it REALLY bubbles. And they travel. In fact, at one point I thought the entire surface of just painted Titanium White was going to completely bubble up. Think sealed plastic wrap on a bowl of pasta in the microwave and you’ll get the idea. Interesting!

I divided this image in three because, like a previous one, it was really too large for the 4 x 5″ substrate that I’m working with. Division helps lessen its weight. Troweling paint between the pieces? Not so easy! But I eventually got it to work with a downward swipe with just the tip of my knife. After the bubble experiment, I didn’t like the excessive roundness so took my paint scrapper to it. Oooo! A whole NEW texture to play with! Word to the wise: make sure the paint is cool even cold before trying this kiddies or you’ll end up peeling rather than scraping the paint off. Luckily it was quite cool outside this morning and I let the paper really chill while I checked on how the bugs were doing cleaning my bird carcasses. Oh! Come on, you DID want to know that!

I played with a couple of other colours – grey, more Quin Crimson than shows up on the finished product and ditto, Mars Black – but it kept looking overdone. Maybe the texture needed the quieter palette. At any rate, I slubbed on some more Titanium White and then a slash of crimson on the right hand side. A circle to link the first two images, in crimson and the composition finally looked balanced to me. A few smudges of black to counter balance the intensity of the crimson and along the edges and it’s Full Speed Ahead!