vampire or Marilyn Manson?

Ok, somehow this portrait ended up as either a vampire or Marilyn Manson. I'm not sure exactly what happened. It started out as female and normal looking, then kind of morphed into a kinda scary guy. Go figure.

I did this at Artfest, and the only reason I'm posting it is because the folks there who saw it loved it. I'm not all that thrilled with it myself. Oh well, different strokes for different folks, right?

Here's a fun little piece I did in Karen Michel's portrait class. We collaged, then painted. Funky!

Artfest

Finally I have a little time to sit down and write about the wonder that is Artfest. The piece above is a portrait I did in a class taught by Karen Michel, a very talented young woman and excellent teacher. I learned so much in her class, and can see I will be using the techniques she showed us often.

I've come back SO pumped up; the creative energy is almost keeping me up at night. All I want to do is paint, draw, collage and create. All art, all day, everyday. That's the space I'm in right now.

Artfest is so inspirational and such a charge for the creative battery. To be in that beautiful place, surrounded by Puget sound, forest and green (so much green!), then be with all those people (over 500 this year) that are artists, well, it's awesome. I met so many interesting folks this year. Several were from the UK, from France, and other countries as well. One of the highlights of the trip was the Friday night beach party. There's a little outbuilding down on the beach with a big fire pit next to it. The weather was really beautiful, pretty warm, so we hung out by the bonfire for quite a while talking and soaking in the view. I met the fellow who came up with the 1000 journals project (check it out...it's fascinating) among the group at the bonfire, along with a couple of gals from England. Let me just say...it was totally cool! I thought to myself, "I've found my peeps!".

I have more art I did while there, but am spreading it out a bit so can post more tomorrow and the next day.

Back from Artfest

I arrived back from Artfest last night, and am still catching my breath. School all day today, then home and a little more work before bed (and a quick post!).

I will write more about Artfest and post some pics soon, hopefully tomorrow.

blah!!

Have been sicker than a dog since I got back from the Cape. Fever, body aches, respiratory grunge. Yuck. And school besides.

I'm going to Artfest next week and I have nothing prepared for that; no supplies, nothing. Yesterday I was totally freaking out about how I was going to do everything I need to do before next week. And if I would even be well enough to go. Today I'm feeling maybe I'll make it, with a little help. We'll see.

I'll have lots to post about when I get back from Artfest. Till then, send me good healing energy (and some chicken soup!).

back from Cape Cod

I've just returned from a week in Cape Cod visiting my family over spring break. It was a relaxing trip, full of good food, long walks in nature, and fun with friends and family. It was my Dad's 70th birthday last week, so I was there to share in the celebration. It's funny...he turned 70, but he looks like he's 50 and has the energy of a 40 year old. In his case, it really is just a number.

His birthday started with a visit from some dear friends of the family, then continued after lunch with a walk on the Audubon trail. We saw about a dozen blue herons, ducks of various varieties, and of course seagulls. It was fairly warm (mid 50s) and the tide was low, so we walked out to the beach and drank in the view. That night we met some other family friends for dinner and cake afterwards. Lots of laughs and fun ensued.

The rest of the week was spent relaxing, going for walks around the neighborhood, shopping for beads with a family friend then beading on Friday (the day of the only winter storm they've had this year; snow, sleet, hail, freezing rain, you name it..yuck). I haven't beaded in such a long time so I really enjoyed it. Made a necklace and a couple of pairs of earrings. Got me interested in beading again. Don't know if that's good or bad!

Got a chance to draw while I was away as well. The drawing of the man's head I copied from the anatomy book I have, but the other two I did from life. The first is a portrait of my Mom. I like the drawing, but it's not a great likeness of her, so I'm not really happy about that. The second is my own hand. I need to keep practicing, but I feel like I'm catching on to using the drafting pencil and crosshatching.

some more drawing

Today between classes I finally got a chance to practice sketching from "Drawing Human Anatomy", a book I got last semester. It's full of anatomy drawings done in the style I'd like to learn. I'm really interested in using either pen or drafting pencils for drawing (I really don't like the charcoal) and using cross hatching for shading instead of blending.

I drew one of the illustrations from the book (see above) and was really happy with how it came out. If I can learn to draw from life this way, I'll be thrilled! It's one thing to copy a drawing; you learn a lot doing that, but to actually be able to draw like this on my own...wow. It just looks so much more lifelike and less cartoonish than the drawings I usually do.

I might add some collaging to this piece, embellish it a bit. I'm feeling a canvas coming with a figurative drawing and collage combined. It's been brewing for a couple of weeks. Maybe after school and my move to Portland.

Anyway, I guess the thing is, as with all types of pursuits like this; practice, practice, practice!