Thing-a-week: Saturday doodlin'

I'm a chronic doodler. As a kid, all of my class notes were covered in doodles - everything from grinning puppy dogs to abstract swirlies. I was always more interested in making art than anything else.

These days, I doodle on envelopes when I'm on the phone, in my daytimer when I'm jotting down appointments, and of course, while I'm watching the tube. Here's yesterday's doodle, accomplished while watching reruns of Sex and The City with my lovely sister. 

Mike Kendrick's Thing-a-week is already posted! Check this shizzle out!

Portrait of the artist as a very awkward teenager

In early September, I attended the Kaleido Festival, in north Edmonton. It's a great two-day arts festival, with everything from street vendors like moi, to stilt walkers, to acrobatic artists, to live music...it's good fun.

When I'm at a festival, I like to make art during the quiet times. On Saturday, I was sitting at my table painting, when a shadow fell over my canvas.

"Needs more yellow," said a familiar voice.

I looked up - it was my high school art teacher, Mr. Jones! He taught me all three years, in fact, and taught me a heckuva lot about art history. Since graduating in '99, I'd hoped to run into him, so it was great to catch up. We went for a coffee a couple weeks later, and chatted about travel, art-making, and what some of my classmates were pursuing more than a decade after high school.

Naked virgin mother meets Alien King?

Anyway, this blast from the past made me think back to those important years. But, there's another side to nostalgia. As a friend of my sister's once remarked:

There are so many memories I feel awkward about.

Well said, Lauren. Me too. And lots of art I feel awkward about, let me tell you.

Every now and then, I flip through some of my old sketchbooks from that terrible era, and there's an awful lot of teen angst bleeding through the pages. I was really, really obsessed with Salvador Dali in those days, so there are plenty of melting trees, naked people missing arms and legs, and other dramas. It's awkward.

But, is it terrible? Well, not really. I had my teenage pretentious moments, but most of what I drew and painted was pretty honest and raw - I can't fault myself for that. I was just extra, super-duper passionate about art. Some of that has melted away over the years, although I still have that fire in my belly to make art.

Another weird one.

Maybe that's what the naked virgin mary drawing is all about...me, representing that super-weird impulse to make art?

Or, maybe it was just an awkward moment.

Thing-a-week: Comics? Me?

Yes, it's been two weeks since my last blog post -- sigh -- but it's been a crazy, whirlwind month. I had a couple of art things (including the Kaleido Festival in Edmonton), school started (I'm taking short fiction this year!) and I'm up to my eyeballs (ow) in writing gigs.

Craziness.

I should've expected as much, but it took me by surprise (as it does, every fall). Particularly the explosion of writing projects. I've been loathe to turn anything down since I'm heading to Europe Oct.6-18 (France and Belgium! Hurray!), and it's always good to fill up the coffers before I take time off!

Anyway, art-making has fallen by the wayside a wee bit - but I did make a wee comic recently. My friend Tammy Lee - a webbie, artist and comics genius - is showing me the ropes! So, over the last six months, I've been reading every graphic novel I can get my hands on (including plenty from the Library o' Tammy) and finally, FINALLY, I decided to start my own.

Okay, deep breath...here goes. Meet my alter-ego, "Grumpy Girl."

Yes, it's poorly scanned, and you can definitely tell that I got lazier with the second panel. But, I'm gonna give it the college try. There's so much you can do with sequential art (aka comics)! 

As always, do not (seriously, don't) forget to check out the fine art works of my blog buddy, Mike Kendrick. He routinely puts me to shame! Lately, he's been showing off his graphic design skills. Check this shizzle out.

Flirtation with orange (Thing-a-Week)

A family friend once told the story of his younger cousin, who went to art school in New York City in her 20s. One semester, she called him and exuberantly declared that she'd "discovered" the colour yellow.


I can't recall the finer points of his story, but at the time it made me giggle until my sides hurt. This young artist's "yellow period" was hilariously pretentious. It was the kind of story that makes me hope and pray I don't turn into a flaky artiste.


That said, I've had plenty of love affairs with colours. At the risk of coming across as a complete and utter flake, I think I'm a little enamoured with orange, this month. This piece, acrylic paint and acrylic ink on 10 x 12" birch panel, is all about colour and texture. It began as a painting of the night sky - complete with cartoonish planets and space craft - and evolved into a bright abstraction.

Where the magic happens

While chatting with a rural artist at a trade show, I remarked that he must have a glorious studio. I imagined a deluxe set-up in an old refurbished garage or an unused barn or heck even a yurt. I was salivating at the possibilities.

Where the magic happens.

But nope - it was quite the opposite. This established Canadian artist, whose work has appeared in galleries across North America and Europe, works at his kitchen table. Where he eats his morning cereal.

He must have noticed the look on my face.

"You can make art anywhere," he shrugged. "Why do you need a big studio?"

I can think of a few good reasons - but here's the biggest: domestic harmony. I may not work on huge canvases, or use fancy tools, like a kiln, but making art makes a mess. And, frankly, my spouse isn't thrilled with my junk all over the living room.

But, he's not wrong. There are ways to integrate an art space into almost any home. In our home, I've set-up my easel etc. in a sneaky little area between the couch and the fireplace. 

Sometimes, I'll drag the easel back to my office, at the back of the house. Thanks to my handy-dandy tool box, I can shut the lid and haul my paints and brushes down the hall to tuck it away. I keep my paint palette in a very portable cake caddy, as well, so the paint stays wet longer (and prevents colourful cat footprints everywhere). Sometimes, I even use the removal cupcake-holder as a palette.

But I love the bright light in the living room and since it shares the space with a TV, my mini-art studio is a more social place to be.  Most of the time, that's what I prefer.

Favourite shows include: Damages and Intervention (don't judge me).

Eventually, I'd love to have an entire room just for my art and I've got designs on a big room in our basement. It was recently re-done after a flood this spring, which destroyed the carpet and a lot of the drywall. Now, it's got this fancy, mold-resistant lino that looks like slate (it's not tacky, I swear!), a huge closet with mirrored sliding doors, and a brand-new window that opens like a dream. It's strangely bright in our basement, so I have no doubt I'd be comfy.

Problem is, the room is currently the office of our very lovely tenant. We're eager to pay down our mortgage quickly, and Natalie is the quietest, most considerate human I've ever met, so I hope she stays a long, loooong time. I'm happy to settle with the dream tenant and wait a little longer for the dream studio!

This big toolbox has a top storage area as well as three drawers that slide out. A great place for brushes/pencils/tape/etc.

Found at Canadian Tire: A cake caddy. It's air-tight and keeps paint wet for longer.

Inside, a removal 'cupcake tray' has become a large-but-functional palette.

No regrets (Thing-a-Week)

It's a painful thing to admit, but summer is already winding down in Alberta. It's pitifully short, but at this time of year, I always have regrets: should have maintained that garden/gone camping more often/spent more time outside.

But I have no regrets when it comes to my art. Lately, I've been painting quite a lot in my free time - even squeezing in an hour here or there during my work days (it's one of the perks of working at home).

This week, I finished a large-ish painting (20 x 24"). I think of it as an 'abstract landscape.' I'd intended to paint a minimalistic ocean scene, but it morphed into something far more abstract. And, of course, it continues the bubble motif I'm apparently obsessed with. But I think it's partially the result of all of the "swimming" I've been doing lately (I just splash around with a flutter board and look awkward).

I've got a few other new paintings up my sleeve, too, and also a comic. I'm a little nervous about pushing it into the world (I've got a lot to learn about the genre), so I thank my friend Tammy Lee for giving me the nudge I need.

It's finished, but I'll probably post it tomorrow, after giving her a sneak-peak first!

Tammy's very skilled in the ways of comics (and also fine art), so check out her stuff online.

And, of course, don't forget to visit my Thing-a-Week pal Mike Kendrick's blog. For once, I've beaten him to the punch, but I'm sure he'll have another super-duper post for you today or tomorrow. Certainly check out his latest blog post, featuring terrifying monsters from the depths of his imagination. They will haunt my dreams tonight, I'm sure.
 

Hey, remember me?

It's a bright, sun-shiny morning in Edmonton, and after two hell-ish weeks, I am finally turning my attention to art.

After many, many mornings at my desk at the break of dawn, writing like a maniac and conducting phone interviews, my schedule has relaxed. I'm looking forward to not writing 7,000 words this week and painting at my easel.

Oh - and blogging about it, too!

In spite of the craziness, I did manage to finish some art, believe it or not (just ran out of time to update you, dear readers). I painted today's piece with acrylic paint on a 24 x 30" wooden panel. I used some gel mediums to add a little shine to the piece, but I plan to spray it with a high-gloss varnish, to protect it from UV exposure and add a nicer finish.

I'm also behind on my next newsletter and plan to catch up later this week. It's time to reveal the winner of my first art give-a-way! I'm excited.

Not surprisingly, Mike Kendrick has already posted his Thing-a-Week. I'm always impressed at what that dude accomplishes. I really struggle with self portraits, but he makes it look easy (and Mike, you don't really look like a wanted felon. For serious.)