The Beast

I haven’t been doing so great on my promise to give only hand made gifts this year, but I did just finish a pretty large birthday present for my Step Dad, Larry.

Brian and I have been working on this painting of his truck for a few months now. It’s a bit late but it is finally done! A lot of work and long hours went into this but it was worth it to see how happy it made him.

Brian did some awesome detail on the skeleton:and the license plate:

The Beast is a bit of a nick name for the truck. It is 30 years old. Originally bought for only $800, and still manages to start up on cold winter days.

Not sure if I will be able to get around to anything else this big for presents this year. I guess I should start now if I want to at least be able to do Christmas handmade.

Edited: August 14th, 2011

An Apple a Day

We’ve turned off our giant heat making TV and have been getting crafty for the summer. Last night Brian decided to give me another chance at learning to shade. Shading is intimidating, and I’ve tried to learn it in the past only to give up. But Brian is a patient teacher and I think it’s really important to push yourself with art.

The first thing I drew was a ball:

I was pretty happy with how it turned out. There is no doubt that is a ball with light hitting it. The shadow on the table is a bit off, but I like the darkness in the ball, and I think the blending is okay in parts.

One thing I found really hard about shading was putting the first lines down they just looked wrong. I had to keep adding and blending and adding before it started to look like something. It’s hard when things look wrong until they are about 90% done, I just want to erase them, but I guess it’s important to finish before judging.

Finishing was another problem.

“How do I know when it’s done?” Me, eager to be able to shade with the masters.

“When it looks good.”

“But it doesn’t look good.” Me, losing my eagerness.

“Then it’s not done.” Not the answer I wanted.

After a few more balls, Brian had me try an apple. Have you ever really looked at an apple? They have a weird shaped. Apparently this makes them great to practice on. Also, we have a lot of apples, so easy access to supplies.

My first apple:

Not bad. My plan is to draw an apple a day. Here is today’s apple, it was a strange shape:

I’ll keep up with the apples and post a few more to show my progress. I feel like I am going to get very acquainted with the fruit market on the corner.

Edited: July 19th, 2011

Weird and Fun

We got out the water colours the other night and had some fun.

This one made me smile so much. I like how weird and happy they are. I had some trouble scanning the picture in, trust me that in real life the yellow is softer.

When I started painting, water colours seemed too dull to enjoy. I didn’t like the texture that they created, and I didn’t appreciate how easy they can be to manipulate. I started to get interested in them by using them for backgrounds and just playing around. The more I use them the more I am starting to like them even more than acrylics. I will keep playing and posting some of my new work.

Edited: March 5th, 2011

Monsters!!

With all the gray snow and blah colours outside I’ve been trying to make some bright things to cheer up our apartment. Lots of things are bright, rainbows, sunrises, fruit, but I love monsters. I’m always imagining new ones with more arms and less legs, with eyes on their feet and mouths buried in their fur. My monsters aren’t scary though. They don’t eat people, they don’t jump out from under the bed, they hang out with their other monster friends:

I really like this piece. I’m in the process of making another one and I’m not sure that I would be willing to part with either of them on Etsy. Maybe if I make a few more I will find a way to say goodbye to one.

I’ve also started painting on MDF boards. I never thought it would take paint but was informed by an art teacher that it actually won’t scrape off – she was right! This blue octopus is going no where.

Edited: February 4th, 2011

Calls for Submission

I have a few call’s for submission I am currently working on and am really excited about. I hope these inspire you to submit something. Please let me know if you do, I love spreading the imagination!

    • The Square Foot Show I did this show last year and it was a lot of fun. They accept up to three pieces that are exactly 12″x12″ from artists. When the artwork is displayed it creates a sort of grid. The wall behind is painted black and each canvas has it’s own square to occupy. I’ve thought a bit about what I want to include this year and with the deadline coming up on August 10th, I guess it’s time to get moving!
    • Food: Not Just a Four Letter Word I think I could come up with something pretty cool for this and I am really excited to do a juried show. Again, August 6th isn’t far away (I should really be painting and not blogging)
    • Insomnia The details aren’t available yet but Red Head Gallery is doing a themed show based on Insomnia for Nuit Blanche. This is something I also took part in last year and hope to do again.

      Looking at only three small bullet points this doesn’t seem like it will take too much time… Add in a craft show on July 24th though and I might be spending a lot of long nights in the studio over the next few weeks :)

      Keep Up The Imagination,

      Melissa

      Edited: July 9th, 2010

      Obsessive Drawing

      Maybe it’s the slow summer months or maybe I’m just not marketing them properly but I’ve found that the blocks are not selling so well. Thankfully my business degree taught me the importance of giving up.

      I’m not supporting quitters but sometimes you have to know when it’s foolish to keep putting time, money and effort into a project. I will be selling the pieces that are left and working on something new.

      That something new is where the post gets a little more positive. Feeling slightly frustrated Brian gave me an old marker board he had around. Telling me that he had dragged it from Windsor and it was not a big waste if I ended up hating it and throwing it out. About 4 seasons of Daria later this is what I had…

      CommaIt is 15″x20″ entirely done with marker. The original is currently for sale on ArtBreak.com and I am hoping to have poster versions on Etsy and ArtBreak soon.

      Edited: July 8th, 2010