Stealing Art

The new library has a used book shop room with books for sale cheap. Lots of books. Older ones, over-used ones, dorky ones, outdated ones...

Today I found a book called The Encyclopedia of Modern Art. It was a steal for $3.00. It's a heavy hard back, published 1961. On the inside flap it has the original price printed, $20.00. I wonder what that would be in today's dollars.

This book is in very good condition. The paper cover is not ripped or torn, hardly worn at all. A colorful image of Picasso's 'Pierrot and Harlequin,' adorns the front cover. Here is a sketch of part of the front cover:


I drew this as I was sitting in the back row of the library performance room, listening to a violin recital. And 'shusshing' the boys every now and then. The boys were losing their patience. I was stealing time to draw.

It's not possible to pay attention - to focus - on multiple things. The enjoyment of the violin song, the interaction with my boys, and the drawing all suffered at 2:45 pm this afternoon.
So stealing moments to draw... well, it happens. Though guilt, in some form, always follows. As well as some satisfaction. A drawing was drawn. The boys were exposed to culture and a lovely violin. And I did enjoy the violin, if only for a while.

Party

party
Originally uploaded by Tifty....

This evening after a PTO meeting I came home and decided to look through a box of old photos and see if anything would strike me as particularly creative or interesting.


I found this. As is, cut out and pasted on this painted card. Who cut it out? Why are those colors beaming from the tops of three of the people but not from the head of the handsome man looking into the camera? What kind of party is it? When was this taken?

Collages and More Cards

This Saturday my friend and I are going to an art yard sale. While there we will more than likely run into several local creative people and hopefully put the ATC bug in peoples ears.

For this latest batch of ATC's I tried doing some collage work. How could I resist with so much inspiration all over the web? Online at Veer there are some paperstock patterns that are really groovy and easily printed out in small samples. These patterns are fun to cut out and play with in art collages.

The small card format works great for me. With limited time and space around here, keeping it small increases the chance that I complete something. That's a big deal when my time is split ninety days to Sunday most everyday, it's nice to have found another way (besides photography) to be creative.

Collages

In the bottom drawer of the tall dresser is a box filled with old pictures and negatives that belonged to my mom. This box of pictures probably would have remained in the drawer until whoknowswhen except that now there is a plan and some creative ideas are coming to mind.



Claudine has a new book coming out and I can't wait to buy a copy. In the book she will share her ideas on creating creative collages using family photos, for example. Her style inspires me. Just the thought of creating something interesting with old photos is exciting!



Also, I have been making more ATC's. Hold your horses. I'll post a representative or two here later. I am gonna get a new scanner that will plug into my Powerbook today.



....just had a recollection. In high school Latin class our lovely teacher Ms. Price explained the expression "hold your horses" to us. Way back in ancient times, when people used latin, the latin for 'horses' also meant 'passions/ emotions' - hence the expression, 'hold (restrain) your emotions!'

Discovery

While in the check out line at the grocery store I paged through the latest issue of Home Companion. And I discovered collage artist claudine hellmuth.

Inspiration.

Wow.

I'm ATCing

ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) have been around a while. Now I am doing them also. I have five. They are at flickr. Click this one, the 4th one I made, to see the rest.

They fit perfectly into my son's plastic yu-gi-oh card protector sleeves.

Groovy!

Sketchbook

Almost a year ago I started sketching again on a regular basis. There were several folks posting their sketchbook pictures here on the web in their blogs and so on, and I was inspired to take up the pen a pad again after several years of "eh, don't have time to sit and diddle doodle - gotta do this or that..." But then I started to just carry the sketchbook around with me. I sketched whatever was in front of me.

I brought the sketchbook with me to work, to the ballgames, to the park, or just outside to the patio table in the back yard. I sketched pens, burritos, toilet paper rolls, and mint tins.


One time my friend Natalie brought me some herbs from her garden, and right there and right then I drew them as I sat in my work cube.

People I work with often compliment me on my drawings, and while it sure is nice to hear, I often reply with "You can also draw. All you need is a sketchbook and a pen you like." I would like it if people would believe me, and say, "Really? Do you think so? I would love to give it a try!" But instead most people say something like, "Oh, I couldn't draw a stick figure..."


When I drew and painted this half apple I remember how I completely zoned out. I was sitting outside at the patio table and it was evening, the late June sun was setting. The boys were playing in the yard and J was looking up some insects in the Peterson Field Guide.


This tomato slice - drawn and painted at my desk at work. After I finished the sketch, I ate the tomato along with fresh basil and fresh Mozzarella.

rainbow house

rainbowhouse, originally uploaded by tiftyart.

In a package from Morfar came a little art set for son Z. There was a little notepad shaped like a cluster of grapes with the art set.

Z brought the art set with him to soccer and later to his older brother's baseball practice.

This is a drawing of a little house Z did while sitting on the baseball bleechers while his brother was on the field practicing this morning.

idea starter

three interested, originally uploaded by tiftyart.

This illustrated blog is turning into a doodle depot.

This one was found on a page in one of my meeting note journals right under a bullet point list of things to do, or "next steps" as we call them here at the office.

(From December)

office doodle

office doodle, originally uploaded by tiftyart.

Yes, it's another office doodle, and this one will be used as the basic design for a painting.

Low Heeled Shoes

office doodle, originally uploaded by tiftyart.

This is another office doodle. There was no predetermined image in my mind when this little lady appeared on the sheet of paper under my pen.

After looking at her a while, the lyrics to the old TV commercial for a perfume came to mind:

"I can bring home the bacon, Fry it up in a pan....
...and never never let you forget you're a man...."

Searching

office doodle
Originally uploaded by tiftyart.

At the office when the hand doodles the brain is far from involved in the process. The doodles just appear, out of nowhere and days later when I page through my notes and find things like this I wonder "what is this dog looking for?"

No illustrations? Try illusions.

Transparent Screens at flickr.



Last week the prismacolors were on sale at hobby lobby so I splurged and bought myself a 48 count tin box of them. Because I love tin boxes. And I thought maybe a new set of colored pencils would nicely with the moleskine from the week before.

Finnish Rock Paintings

A new font at dafont.

backdraft

backdraft, originally uploaded by tifty.

Last night my son played outside until dark and when he came in and after supper it was time for homework. He can think of a hundred other things to besides homework, and he has no comprehension of the importance of getting the homework done, the rewards are not given in his 4th grade, 10-year old mind language. How do I encourage him to act without exasperating him?

Way Cool Trendy Me, My Mole, and a Latte

1mole, originally uploaded by tifty.

There were so many things going on at the office today and around 1 pm I finally broke loose and escaped for a while. Drove to the bookstore and ordered a latte and bought a blank page Moleskine, full price, since my book store membership card had just expired and I didn't feel like renewing it at the moment. Then I grabbed a stack of hip cool trendy magazines like HOW, Adbusters, PHOTOSHOP Techniques and sat down at one of the cafe tables and sipped my latte, paged through the magazines and after a while I started sketching this little bit on the 3rd page of the journal. I never start a new journal on the first page.

So, I now have one these famous journals I have been reading about and seeing displayed on umpteen blogs for a year at least or more. I am a moleskinevirgin no more.

Oh, and that handwriting would be my "not-wearing-my-glasses-and-I-just-drank-a-cup-of-latte" handwriting.

Walking the dog

This is how tall the late afternoon sun makes me look.

Fish Song

Guest Artist: Zane, 6 yrs old

Every little fish has a main "ambish".
One simple, little wish is just to splash and splish.
Everybody grins, dancin' on their fins.
So come on in and give it a spin,
and let the fun begin.

Out here in the sea,
Everything is free.
There's no admission fee in our ocean family.
Swimmin' when it's light, swimmin' when it's night.
In our ocean park, it's never too dark,
UNLESS WE SEE A SHARK!!!!!

Office Doodles

What do you do with office doodles?
Photoshop them while having a cup of tea on a Sunday morning...

Drawing

I could re-name this blog to office doodles because it seems like that is mostly what I end up drawing these days.

"The Gates"

I have been checking out the stream of photos of "The Gates" on the flickr website, but I have to say the pictures here are some of my favorites so far.

Wish I could see this art in person...
Would love to see pictures of The Gates from a birds-eye view. (oh! found some!)
I like that the color is called saffron.
The newspaper picture above is colorized with a solution of actual saffron strands, tapped gently in a shot glass, with just a bit of water added.

Practice

drawn, originally uploaded by tifty.

Sometimes, to get the creativity going, I look through the childrens books at the library. The other day I brought my sketch book and just started drawing some of the drawings. It felt really good! Like I was breaking out of a ball of knotted yarn.

Public Place

A few weeks ago on a rather cold January Saturday afternoon we went to the library. There is a little cafe in the lobby area where coffee and nibbles that complement coffee can be purchased. We had just checked out a stack of books, and decided to have a snack from the cafe before we left. The boys each ordered a chocolate milk, and I had a nice hot latte.
A small ladybug landed on the table where we were sitting and as Z tried to pick it up he knocked over his cup of chocolate milk. We used a short stack of small thin napkin squares to wipe up the mess. The chocolate milk soaked napkins were then tossed into the garbage can by the table. Then we left and drove on home.

Cut and Paste

When I get home I'm gonna shut off the computer and break out the glue and scissors.
Two links today:

Swirly Girl

Keri Smith

coffee sketch

Another little drawing that I drew during a meeting at work. If I remember correctly, my coffee had become cold, and I was wishing for a fresh cup of hot coffee. Seriously.

Then I took a picture of the drawing with my camera, and then adjusted the levels and curves in Photoshop.

sun doodle

At an afternoon meeting the listening turns into drawing. Sometimes I love going to meetings so I can draw pictures while listening.

The little drawings sometimes get tossed and sometimes I go to the trouble of cutting them out and saving them. Most of the little drawings will never be anything big in life, but every now and then one will inspire a larger sized painting.

These two 5x5's are examples of paintings inspired by little drawings I made in meetings at work.

Mossy Rock

Sitting on a thick wool blanket that J bought at the local surplus store for nineteen dollars I enjoyed the warm January sun on my face and the top of my head while drawing and painting on the spot plein air, my favorite way to draw and paint. Favorite.

Clock

Clock, originally uploaded by tifty.

This is a clock my mother in law received as a retirement gift last year.

Because this clock seems to convey my own concept of time so much, however, I think I may make one very similar for myself! That pre-fired clay place might be the way to do it... Or maybe make my own ceramic clock. Or maybe try mosaics. Oh, dear. And when will I do this?

This afternoon, for example, I drew out 5 invitations for my son's Pirate Party on Saturday. Whipped them out in a half hour then rushed them to the post office. Thankfully there were only five. And thankfully I have called all the parents during the holidays to invite their child via phone.

I have one of the invites left that will be hand delivered tomorrow. A picture of it might pop up here later...

So much clutter and stuff has been cleaned from the 'studio' these last several days that I can see my reflection in the shine. Literally and figuratively. Can't wait to get back to the drawing. A brand new set of Chinese Inks, a grinding stone, and calligraphy brushes await to be used. Thanks Sister-In-Law!

On watercolor cold press, Tombow markers, Dr. Phil Matins Hydrus, FC Pitt pen.

Office Santa Doodle

A high up in the company person visited the office today to engage in dialog about Article 12 in Cincinnati. During the introductions I drew this on my notepad. Not really sure why I am stuck on drawing this Santa figure, I usually don't draw just one thing. He is ending up on all the Christmas cards, and in several of them he is holding a tree. Here there is a dog too, and for some reason the dog ended up in attack mode. Maybe he thinks Santa should have left the tree in the ground so he could pee on it....