Month: January 2018

time to gouache

A Creative Life, art techniques, artist book, Dogs in Art, sketchbook, The Sketchbook Project, visual story

As you know I’ve been playing with my new gouache paints in my various sketchbooks and art papers, practicing for my work on “Time Tavern”, a book I’m doing for the Brooklyn Art Library Sketchbook Project. https://www.brooklynartlibrary.com/  Now that I feel I have gouache skills under my belt – it’s time to work on my wordless story “Time Tavern”.

Here are some pages in progress:

page from “Time Tavern” by Clancy
page from “Time Tavern” by Clancy

The gouache is working well on the paper – and I’m getting the bold colors I’d wanted! Now, to keep at it….

 

staying wet in the Pacific Northwest

A Creative Life, art techniques, Sustainable creativity

I’ve been loving having independent art supply stores near where I live in the rainy Pacific Northwest – and on a recent trip to get more gouache colors I bought a “stay wet” palette. The theory of the thing, according to the art supply store clerk, was that water based paints wouldn’t dry out as fast. I bought one…

MastersonPallette

…and I’ve been using the same palette now for several days! Less paint waste! And I’m able to work in even better “short bursts”. All I have to do is pop the tight fitting lid off and dip my brush in and paint. Sometimes I spray a “mist” of water on the palette to add more moisture. Then when I’m done painting I put the lid back on.

Now I’m thinking “Where has this palette been all my life?”. Going to have to go back to the art supply store to get a second one.  Thank goodness for the local art supply store clerks who really know their stuff!

from my kitchen sketchbook

A Creative Life, artistic inspirations, comfort food, food for thought, kitchen art, Not-So-Sketchy-Food, sketchbook, sketchbook suppers, words and pictures

Around the edges of working on cat portraits I’ve still been working with gouache. Specifically I’ve been testing it in my bound sketchbooks. Here are several pages, created with gouache and ink, in my current “kitchen sketchbook”.  I have a series of kitchen sketchbooks, they are all small, around  3 by 5 inches, and I give each book a silly name. These books contain drawings of a recipe I was then-currently cooking – or a depiction of something I was drinking and eating. The following pages are from my “Mouthpiece Four” kitchen sketchbook.  I have ambitions of publishing these sketchbooks… but that’s another blog post topic.

pages from my “Mouthpiece Four” kitchen sketchbook
pages from my “Mouthpiece Four” kitchen sketchbook
pages from my “Mouthpiece Four” kitchen sketchbook
pages from my “Mouthpiece Four” kitchen sketchbook

color books and drinks

A Creative Life, artistic inspirations, Sustainable creativity

In the quest of keeping artistically inspired I like to haunt bookstores and libraries. Then I make time to sit and read the books – often with a beverage at hand. Recently in a local independent bookstore called Ampersand, http://www.ampersandgallerypdx.com/ – I found several inspiring tomes. Specifically a book in Japanese that I can’t read.

The book is in Japanese but has occasional bits in English. For example the books English subtitle says “A Dictionary of Color Combinations” by Sanzo Wada (b 1883 d. 1967) and this book was published in 1933. (its the book to the left in the photo) It was well worth my time to look at deeply and dreamily for several hours. I think it’s helped my color-game in my recent fine art pieces – at any rate I’m having fun with new color schemes and that’s what counts! Now to practice them in my sketchbooks and more fine art….

DSC_0027

 

finished the feline fiddler

A Creative Life, animals in art, art exhibit, art gallery, cat portrait, Cats in art, fine art, Uncategorized

I finished the cat portrait I’ve been working on and have titled it “Strad O’Varius”. It is already scheduled to be shown in upcoming art gallery exhibits.  My last post – here – tells a bit about what inspired this piece.

StradOVarius72

“Strad O’Varius” by Clancy – 30 x 24 inches – hand dyed paper, acrylic and color pencil on cradled board.

 

finessing feline fiddler

A Creative Life, animals in art, cat portrait, Cats in art, music in art

I’ve been very busy lately and mostly off-line because I’ve been creating a portrait of a Russian Blue cat. You can see my preliminary drawing beside the painting. My idea for this piece came from watching my fellow Pacific North-westerners braving the rain and cold in order to perform – or to attend a performance – of music.

SueWorkingOnStrad72

in the gouache

A Creative Life, art techniques, dog portrait, fine art

Here’s “Mandolin Man”, a piece I finished that tests my new red gouache color. On the musicians neck strap you can most clearly see the new red I’d mentioned in my last post. I also used the red as a “mixer” in the brown of the Labrador fur – so it’s more of a dark red brown. I also played with the opaqueness of the gouache – and tried to leave some colors “transparent” in places too.  I’m enjoying working in gouache. Of course “Mandolin Man” also has ink and color pencil (besides the gouache) and is on vintage sheet music.

MandolinMan72

gouache it’s red

A Creative Life, art techniques

I’ve been back to the art supply store recently – and have gotten a red gouache color I’m happier with! Check out my test swatches below…

MoreGouache

The red on the top left, both in the book and on my palette, was the first red, the one I wasn’t happy with. It’ll be fine as a mixer for other things but I think I will like the new red better! It’s the one in the book on the top right – or the blob of color 2nd blob down on the left on my palette.

Now to try it out…

oh gouache its cold

A Creative Life, art techniques, artistic inspirations, sketchbook

As I posted on my blog here I’ve been experimenting with Gouache, a new-to-me art media. Well, I’ve been enjoying my efforts in the studio that I decided to add gouache to my “running around loose” sketching kit. I took an old Altoids mint can – the mini mint size – and put some of my gouache colors in it and slipped that into my go-sketching bag. I also took my watercolors. The watercolors are in a flat tin about the size of a small I-phone but just a little wider.  My bag is about the size of the unabridged hardback version of “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams. (one of my favorites!) The sketchbook is 3 inches by 5 inches.

Here’s a photo of my kit and my sketchbook – with the page I did while out-in-the-world.

GouacheKit1 Judy and I walked along the Columbia River. It was so cold that about half-way through our walk we popped in to a coffee shop for hot chocolates. I did the sketch of the boats on the river quickly while drinking my hot chocolate. It took 10 minutes or so. The paint dried fast in the cold wind.

The result of today’s adventure: I think gouache is portable enough and is workable even with frozen fingers. My only issue is that I don’t like the red color that came with the kit. It’s too magenta for my taste and not red enough – it’s not fire-engine red.  So I’ll go back to the art supply store soon!

And yes, I took a towel with me on my sketching outing. A paper towel. Douglas Adams would be pleased I think. Note to self: bring gloves next time.