new year, new journal

my new journal is a moleskine sketchbook, every page is gessoed first and then i add a layer of acrylic paint. when that is dry completely i add acrylic inks and/or collage elements. i've been trying to write and doodle a bit more on my pages and i use faber castell artist brush pens for that. i think writing will come a bit later for these pages, i just wanted to scan them up and show them to you.

Haiti by Hand

it's been hard to hear the news reports about the devastating earthquake Haiti has suffered, that hundreds of thousands of people are dead and survivors are living in tents without enough food or water. but the outpouring of support makes me realize that every little bit of money helps. that each one of us can make a difference. i was especially moved by rebecca sower's stories of meeting Haitian people during a recent trip in december.

rebecca sower has started an etsy shop called Haiti by Hand. artists have been donating pieces of artwork to be sold and the 100% of the proceeds will be donated to aid relief.

i've donated two art prints that can be bought at Haiti by Hand
(click on the links below to go directly to the item)


click here to buy



click here to buy

please check out the whole shop & support our efforts! if you are an artist/crafter you can also donate items, for more info go here

forest

mixed media collage, 5x5 inches
acrylic inks, water soluble crayon and ephemera

i was inspired by topographical maps of national forests & how you can wander around and around nature.

inspiration board: natural wonders

1. Settle, 2. The Spiral Path, 3. CRW_9148, 4. an unwritten book page 6 - pour faire le portrait d'un oiseau

playing with backgrounds

pearl paint, an art store chain which has been a staple for many a broke artist in san francisco is closing. even though they never explicitly said they are closing, it's not often a store has EVERYTHING 50% off. and they mean everything. i was eyeing stuff i wouldn't normally buy. unfortunately they no longer had any gel medium in stock. the store never quite had the best selection (somehow i always had to end up going to dick blick or to flax for it's paper room, which is amazing) but in a pinch pearl would do.

i ended up bought 2 big watercolor paper pads 15 x 20 inches and i knew they would be perfect for making backgrounds with acrylic inks.

using large sheets of paper, i dribbled and splattered and painted with acrylic inks. then i cut up the sheet into smaller pieces, for postcards. while i made the background i realized that while i did not always like the background, it always looked a lot better when i cut it up. the smaller details show up & suddenly the strokes look so much more interesting.


the other thing i do to create different brushstrokes is to use my non-dominant hand, which is my right hand. i also use different paintbrushes and materials such as tooth pics, string and anything else that can be dunked with ink and make markings with!





i also made backgrounds with pre-cut atc blanks. since atcs are so small, i would dribble some ink onto one card and then if there was an excess, i would splatter it onto another card.

the results are always random, messy and fun to do! just be careful not make a muddy mix of colors by waiting for one color to completely dry before layering another color.

airmail addiction: findings at the vintage paper fair

the vintage paper fair, comes not once, but three times a year to san francisco. the main offering that dominates the tables are postcards which are sorted by categories from general topics like cats, to the obscure. it's also easy to see under glass, the valuable ephemera such as old books and carefully preserved photographs and other memorabilia.

but if you are an artist like me, and are on the look out for beautiful ephemera, there is plenty to go around. many vendors often display certain things while other items are under the tables or on top of shelves, tucked into corners or just are generally inconspicuous. i keep an eye out for old envelopes and photos. and everything i buy is very cheap.

i have a fascination with vintage mail, and what i look for is interesting stamps and postmarks and/or beautiful handwriting. often times i think that every envelope has a story of some kind. and if i get lucky there's a letter inside. most of them don't but i think even the surface is enough. i can imagine the story in a collage....

here's a few of my favorites:





these are definitely unique, most of the envelopes do not have red wax seals to them. both are from the 1970s & from nicaragua.


this envelope from africa is simple, & the real gem is the postage stamps.


i like the different markings and cross outs on this one, and of course the postmarks look great!


this fragile envelope crumbles at my touch. it's tearing at the address, which you have to look closely at the scan for, and the markings provide wonderful interest.

i find that i can easily spend several hours at the fair, just carefully sorting through envelopes and postcards, sifting through piles of old photos,and admiring the beauty of it all.

color splash

right now i'm on a nice long break from school. survived my finals & had a nice low key holiday with my family and friends.

recently i have been working with acrylic inks - i like how intense the colors are, they basically come in little bottles with a dropper application. i just add a drop or two, wet my brush and then spill the colors around. last night i splattered inks all over pages in my journal (intentionally) and also splattered color around my hands and face! that was definitely unintentional.

here are some of my latest artworks using the inks:


begin again


true romance


a day by the sea

i've been hoarding certain ephemera. vintage letters and envelopes, photographs, topographical maps. i always worry i will "waste" something in a collage that turns out badly, but i also don't like using reproductions as much. there's something so much more precious about using real ephemera. so all three pieces harbor ephemera i was hoarding.

i've also been enamored with holgas and diana cameras, all those fun toy cameras at lomography.com so i borrowed a friend's holga and off i went today to musee mechanique. i shot a roll of film there, but the mystery is how the photos turned out...i have to shoot more pictures and then get them developed. so that will be another post.