XY

Yesterday was eXtra busy which is Y I did not post anything. This is today's project - based on a monotype print. Working on the print, I did some overpainting to pop the colors and add detail, but kept the soft loose feel.

I am imagining this bouquet on the Thanksgiving table. 

K is for Kitchen Art

Kitchen art, for me, usually refers to a bowl of fruit or teapots or other cozy images that suit my favorite room. This piece may work in someone's kitchen, but it was created in mine.

One of the techniques I revisit from time to time is monotype printing. I have modified the more traditional approaches I have learned in classes and books to meet the needs of my senior students. It is so easy and so fun that I do it for myself whenever the urge hits.

But, because this method involves water, and soaked paper and spoons and a rolling pin (!) I find I do this best in my kitchen on the big counter under the lights.

This piece began as a drawing in caran d'ache neocolor watersoluble crayons on acetate. It is printed on wet cotton paper 9x12.

 It is always interesting to discover which details transfer over, which ones get lost, and how the changes effect the overall piece.

V is for Vibrant Variation

It is a cold, rainy and windy day. I need something warm and bright  - so I played with my soft landscape monotype  - inverting the image and playing with the palette - turning the lovely greens and yellows to yellows, reds and violet.

I love the vibrant crazy colors that result. They completely change the landscape image - day to night, calm to energetic - very different.
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Q is for Quaint

Yesterday was cold, windy and clear. The light was that sharp, high contrast sun in the eyes that turns the world to silhouette.

I needed something warm and lush and green to remind me of summer.

 This is a simple watercolor monotype - done with Caran D'ache watersoluble crayons, a favorite technique.

I like the rolling, tree-filled landscape - reminding me of simpler times and places - quaint is the word that came to mind when I looked at the finished print.

Faces and Figures - It's Time to REGISTER NOW Something Special For Spring Break

SPRING BREAK CAMP at Multnomah Arts Center

 

Faces & Figures—Drawing, Painting, Printmaking & More

Explore the art of creating fabulous faces and figures. First focus on drawing in pastels, painting with acrylics and creating richly colored monotype prints—all about faces. Discover useful ways to draw strong expressions and create vibrant works of colorful art.

 

Next, learn tools and techniques to draw hands, feet and the whole body. Draw the figure from life as well as photographs. Finally, learn how to bind your favorite creations into beautiful artist’s books to take home.

 

Ages 9 - 12

1003836 M - F

9:30 am - 3:30 pm Mar. 24 - 28 $260 [5 classes]

Nate Orton & Tobi Kibel Piatek
To register,
please drop by the office or  call us at (503) 823-2787.
You may also register online  by going to
Portland Parks & Recreation

Dd is for Done and Done and some Digital too

We've made it to the final day of the Challenge Month. November is almost done and December is just ahead with all the busyness, bother and pleasures it is sure to bring. So, I am glad that I have completed this task, but I will miss the daily-ness of thinking, planning, writing and creating.

Though I worried about my ability to fulfill my personal challenge of using the alphabet to structure my month's work, I find that I  have once again learned a great deal about my art, process and need for structure by doing things in this way. I still find that using the alphabet to organize my posts results in creative ideas - I don't fight myself, just let the words and themes appear. Then something always works out.

Today's piece combines monotype printing and some interesting digital tweaks. I won't share the process - just the results.  Thanks to all of you who have been following my work, and especially for the comments and connections. I am grateful to you all. Till next November ...

Cc is for Crazy for Caran D'ache Crayons

I first encountered them by accident. A practically brand new box of 15 Caran D'ache were part of a garage sale hoard of art supplies.From the first time I used them I was thrilled by their intense colors, and the variety of ways I could use them. Wet, dry, combination of both, rough surface or smooth - always a great result.

They have become a staple of my senior art classes because they are both easy to handle and bright enough to see, even with vision problems. And they ability to see work get better by adding water is always a huge hit.

So, if I wasn't crazy for these cool crayons before, my newest application for them would have put me over the edge. They are an amazing tool for use in monotype printing. I can use them to draw on even the smoothest plates and surfaces, and their water soluble nature allows them to transfer beautifully when wet paper is laid on top. I can't stop experimenting.

This is one of the pieces I have created. It is based on a favorite painting, and the colors are a close match to the original. The first print was a little light, but because the paper was wet, lightly going over the shapes restored all to full color.

Monotype with Caran D'ache on Arches paper. 16"x20"

Aa is for Art Accomplished

Today was a busy day. Art class in the morning resulted in three monotypes.

This one was created in class two weeks ago and I just got it home. It is the second print, created on the ghost of another. It carries the background greens and yellows, which I enhanced and then added the imprints of the flowers I carved and a butterfly stencil I altered to add more round shapes. This is a very interesting process - I have so much to learn ... yay.

Art class for my seniors this afternoon resulted in some "gourdgeous" work as we created patterned pumpkins and squash. I am always fascinated by the variety of images created, and how, once we get started, past the initial confusion and lost looks, silence and focus descends, and art is made.

I love this one by Betty.

Happy Thanksgiving all.

N is for Next

Today was my monotype printing class; my chance to be the student.

I am proud to say that I was much neater and made much less of a mess this week. I find working with oil based ink, and all the unfamiliar tools, and all the stuff you need - such as stencils and mark makers, and bits of textured this and that, a little challenging. I am not neat by nature, but I am eager to learn new stuff.

In this class I am learning to work with the paint knives and the brayers, and the different (unlimited) techniques for making marks on the Plexiglas plate. Its a little overwhelming, and as I keep saying, absolutely fascinating.

These two prints are from the last class. The top one was done first and printed. The second was designed on the ghost of the first - bringing some color, texture and shapes along. I followed the same process today - and the three prints I created are drying in the print workshop. You will have to wait a week to see them.

These are approx. 8"x11"





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M is for More More More Monotype

I am experimenting with different ways to create prints. I am especially thinking of ways to simplify this process to make it work for my Seniors.

So, this latest trial was painting with gouache on acetate. I chose a simple abstract pattern and light paper to print onto.

Once again I wet the paper and transferred the image - which turned out quite delicate. So, I felt the need to continue to play with the lovely shapes that appeared. I added lines and dots with sharpie - staying true to the printed underpattern and colors.



Acetate Plate

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L is for Learning Curve

I am completely fascinated by the process of learning how to create printed images. Everyday it seems that I am discovering more possibilities. I am interested in this not only for my own work, but as a way for my senior class to work as well. I think the element of surprise and the potential for working on top of the printed image have lots to offer this group.

So I have been practicing what I am learning (through classes, books and videos.)

To create this image, I reused the "ghost" of the earlier cat I painted on this sheet of Plexiglas. The ghost is the paint or ink that remains on the glass after the image has been transferred (printed) onto wet paper.

As I worked with the image I realized I could change and enhance and play with the earlier cat. Because the first image is on the bottom, everything I put on top will be stronger on the new print. This seems easy enough to understand, but I felt like I was discovering all these ideas as I worked along. I loved the sensation of growing understanding as I played with the paint. I learned, for example,  that the new layer of gouache paint adheres better to the ghost paint than to the plain Plexiglas (or other material.) I also discovered how much of the ghost makes its presence known on the second image.

I liked this process so well I have tried several more - using different patterns and materials. I also figured out that I could scratch or draw texture into the paint. I can't wait to play some more.

  

The Top Cat is the print - you can see the texture. The bottom is the painted plate.

 

J is for Jumping In (to something new)

Two new things have appeared in my art life this week. The first, I have already mentioned. I am taking a class in Monotype printing.

All of the new things I am learning here has been eye-opening. Thinking about printing is helping me see an entirely new way to create images.

Though we work in oil-based inks and use a press to create work in class, I had heard rumors about using watercolors to create beautiful images as well. I am interested in learning to do this because I think any of my students would find this a great way to work.

Then, some new materials appeared in the studio where I teach my kid classes. Little tubes of gouache. I have little experience with this medium, and my lovely program director suggested I take some home to experiment so that my students can get the most out of these beautiful paints. Also, and purely by serendipity, a sheet of Plexiglas appeared on my work table at home.

I asked Google "How to create monotypes with watercolor?" Google responded with several excellent UTube videos. It was clear I had everything I needed, from the all cotton paper that I would need to soak, to the high quality paints, and an abundance of  fun images to work from. I chose this cat because of the clearly defined areas I drew into the original pattern, and I like the contrast of colors.

This image (my first try) is created in gouache on Plexiglas, and printed onto Arches paper. I can see lots of possibilities for this method, and plan to revisit the "ghost" (the image that is still on the plate) and see what that will allow me to do.

D is for Dabble

dab·ble

1. • become involved superficially:
2. • to have a casual or superficial interest in something
3. • splash: to paddle, play, or splash in water
4. • dip something: to wet something by dipping it in a liquid

Synonyms: experiment · try your hand · dip into · play at · putter · fiddle · toy with

 

I have just begun a new class, Monotype and Collage at Multnomah Arts Center. The first session was a wonderful demonstration of the tools, the press, the inks and an introduction to the possibilities that can happen in a print studio.

To finish the class, we were introduced to a very simple process, Trace Monotype. This is done by covering a Plexiglas plate with one color of oil based ink, laying thick paper on top, and simply drawing an image into the paper. No press is involved.

 

When the paper is removed from the plate, the image, and lots of background texture appears on the back of the sheet. Because time was short, I did a quick fish in the water sketch, and it looked very cool. However, when I brought it home, I decided to experiment (dabble, see above), with the image by adding some color.

My first idea was oil pastel - that didn't quite work, so I switched to dry pastel which blended and mixed beautifully on top of the oily ink of the image. This was just an experiment, but I like the softness of the color over the dark of the background. Most of all, I learned something by simply allowing myself to play.