Posts tagged art
This is the kind of drawings I’ve been working on lately. Either word-heavy or very scenic, drawn in pen on paper and then scanned in and colored.
This is the first time I’ve really worked digitally — at least since 6th grade, when I spent a summer drawing in ClarisWorks in my basement — and I’m still not sure what I’m doing with it. I still get to physically draw, but then I can make many more — and cheaper — color experiments.
So I’m not painting. But at the same time, I’m sort of getting to play with paint. It costs a LOT to experiment with oil paints, and you have to spend money to get the good paints if you’re going to mix color. I’m really enjoying being able to hone color on the cheap.
Right now I think my next step will be to choose a drawing and work it into a painting. It would be interesting to interpret a very digital look into a very ancient, much more beautiful, veneer of paint.
I made this drawing this weekend.
Met with my assistant this morning to prepare for our figure drawing night this week. Now I’m heading to the shooting range with Kyle.
I enjoy that my day starts with coffee with Riane over project to-dos, continues with writing posts, and then moves on to shooting guns. This afternoon, it’ll be back to writing before my monthly critique group meets in Ames.
I love Des Moines because I can live like this.
The new art vending machine in Ames
Did you know ArtVend set up in Wheatsfield Coop grocery in Ames last week?
You can go up there now and use a vending machine to buy art. Here’s what Kristin Roach, the girl who coordinates ArtVend, wants you do know:
This project is really great for a few key reasons that we love to point out to anyone who will listen:
- It’s 100% local – everything was made within 50 miles of Ames
- It’s art and craft side by side! 20% is donated to charity (thanks to Wheatsfield’s generous donation of their “cut”)
- It’s 100% paid for! We were able to raise enough funds through kickstarter and our rummage sale to fully fund the machine.
Awesomeeeeee. Cannot wait to try it.
Go read about it. And submit here if you’re an artist in central Iowa.
Best art I’ve seen today: foam sculptures by Etienne Gros
I have to wonder about his process. How much of these sculptures is the result of a happy accident? Does he draw sketches first or just go? Some of these lines are so real.
A decommissioned firehouse revived as a flaming pipe organ
This beautiful building stopped me dead when it popped up in my RSS feed.
The photo is from a Lost at E Minor article. It’s an old firehouse in Detroit which the community is reclaiming by turning it into a fucking flaming organ.
On July 22, the artists group 2:1 will be staging alive, filmed performanceat one of Detroit’s beautiful and historic de-commissioned fire houses. This performance will feature the Detroit Children’s Choir under the direction of Carol Schoch, members of the Street Poets Society under the direction of Peace Project founder, Al Taylor, the Detroit Fire Department’s Honor Guard, some of Detroit’s finest composers and musicians, and a “pyrophone” instrument that spans the façade of the building.
Through the repurposing of a historicFire House, Engine Company #4 will become the location for staging a live event where by contemporary artists and composers will engage with Detroit’s inner city youth in a truly collaborative way. Artists group 2:1 received submissions from the Street Poets Society on broad themes: their perceptions of Detroit, their individual aspirations, and their hopes for the future of the city in which they live. These writings have been transposed into lyrical content for modern compositions, which will be performed by the Detroit Children’s Choir.
In addition to this collaboration 2:1 will be transforming the façade of this historic structure into a resonant musical instrument. This “pyrophone” is similar to a pipe organ that uses a single, small, precisely controlled flame, that when projected into glass tubes produces a beautiful, sustained tone. The temperature difference between the flame and the glass tube causes the air to oscillate, which is perceived as sound.
Amaze.
Buy from indie artists. They have all the good ideas, anyway.
Someone asked me what’s different about the fact that there are dozens of people on Etsy who make goods akin to this — states with hearts in them.
It is 1,000,000% true that there’s no such thing as a new idea, and that artists are “stealing” from each other all the time. But if you saw my Etsy shop — filled with goods identical to what your friend makes, and even using her copy, you’d thing I was a BITCH. Because I would be.
Not cool Urban Outfitters, not cool.
Long story short, this Etsy seller, truche, is a silversmith jeweler. Her signature piece — the one that allowed her to quit her job and make things full-time — shows up is a state with a heart in it. Then Truche opens her email to find her piece copied by Urban Outfitters. UO bit the design.
Happy follow-up: her sales have seen quite the bump today.
It’s not like this is the first time this has happened. But this is a really lovely example of a great time to skip the mall and shop real indie makers instead — or, you know, a local market?
Click through below to read truche’s post about it. And if you’re in Iowa, come to Market Day this Saturday.
imakeshinythings wrote:
One of my lovely customers sent me a message today with this link.
And here is my United/World of Love line:
My heart sank a little bit. The World/United States of Love line that I created is one of the reasons that I was able to quit my full-time job. They even stole the item…
(via marketdayiowa1)
This week I have 5 commissions to work on. This one is a preliminary/brainstormy drawing for one of them. It’s not “there” yet, but I still dig it.
If you want to order a painting for Christmas without rush shipping, get on it! I need to get paintings out by Monday to make sure they get to you on the 24th.
There’s a new painting over at Rocket Assembly. It’s a perfectly sweet holiday gift: a simple heart on wood with a blank banner. This banner will hold a name or a 1-2 word phrase, and I’ll fill it in for you all pretty and quick like a bunny. So go look at it.
These are a couple of preliminary drawings I worked on yesterday for a commission. This week is commission week - three things to work on! So there’ll be lots of fresh photos.
Happy Wednesday! Our freebie today is a smartphone wallpaper of Rocket Assembly’s gypsy skull girl. Enjoy her.
