Happy New Year everyone! New on newsstands is a magazine, Oregon Coast Magazine, in which is a 4 page article that I both wrote and illustrated! It was such fun to do a “sketching the coast” article for them that I want to do more such writing plus illustrating this year. Here’s a link for Oregon Coast Magazine https://oregoncoastmagazine.com/.
Once upon a time, not too long ago, some friends came from Oklahoma to visit us in the Pacific Northwest. Oklahoma does not have ocean access. The Pacific Northwest does. Our friends wanted to see the sea. However there was a catch; John has a mobility issue….
I drew pictures in ink and watercolor on paper as we worked together to get John as close to the sea as possible along the Oregon Coast. My pictures were made on location as the action happened. Yes, there was a lot of carefully balancing my paper on my knee, sand in my watercolors and sea spray dampening my paper for me. Still I got all of the pages done while we were on the coast, we spread them out in the car trunk to dry and when I got back to my studio I sorted the pages and bound them using a Japanese stab binding.
Here is a link to a video of the book: https://youtu.be/lTHsRbKrMiM
Here’s a still photo or two
In addition to getting ready for a new one woman art exhibit scheduled for October 2016 via Caplan Art Designs I’ve been working on a new Oregon Coast article. The August 2016 issue of Oregon Coast Magazine currently has an article of mine – and it was such fun to do that I’ve started immediately on a new article!
Which means that when “fine art stuff” and “pattern design stuff” needed to dry recently my wife and I took off for a day along the Oregon Coast. On the coast I used my on-location sketching kit pictured below and sketched what I saw and experienced as it happened.
Sue Clancy’s portable sketching-on-the-go gear
In my kit: mechanical pencil, eraser, ink pens, paper, a small watercolor set and a clip to keep my pages from blowing in the wind. It all fits in a small bag and can be held in my hand or balanced on my knee at my sketching location. When something catches my eye during my travels I do quick sketches with my pencil. Then I ink in what lines I want to keep. After that I’ll do some watercolor washes. Generally speaking it takes me about 20 minutes to do a page start to finish – I often work on more than one page at a time. On this sketching trip I did 15 pages total – as well as wrote notes, in longhand, in my sketchbook.
Then once I’m back at the studio sometimes I make an adjustment or two to the pages, and neaten them up (aka, erase pencil lines). My on-the-go kit doesn’t have a lot of greens and blues. So at my studio, for example, I’ll add a few more blue or green colors, if necessary, from my larger studio watercolor set. Here below is a photo of a few of my new Oregon Coast article pages being touched up. I do this immediately upon getting home from a trip while everything I experienced is still fresh in my mind.
Sue Clancy’s latest Oregon Coast sketchbook pages being touched up with the larger watercolor set at Sue’s studio.
Next comes the paperwork for my submission to the Oregon Coast magazine editors: photographing my sketchbook pages, creating the digital files, sorting out which pages work best as illustrations, sorting the pages so they tell the best story, writing a cover letter… etc.
And yes, I am likely to create a new artist book from these sketches! I’m also likely to make some new pattern designs based on what I saw on this trip. Which means there will also be some new fine art….
Basically I’m going to be a very busy camper! What fun!
If you’re curious about the current article I have in the August 2016 issue of Oregon Coast Magazine here is a link to a blog post about that: https://sueclancy.com/2016/08/04/sketching-the-oregon-coast/
A road trip to the Oregon Coast took my wife and I through the Oregon wine country. Hills flow up and down along the road giving me a view of vineyards from different angles – including a near “birds eye” view from above. The view inspired a pattern design and I made lots of notes in my sketchbook.
Back at my studio I use a number of techniques to make my patterns on paper: marbling, paste paper, stenciling… and more.. then when the paper is dry I make fine art with it, or an artist book, or art apparel or all of the above if the paper is large enough. Anyway, here’s a picture my wife took of me creating that “vineyard inspired” pattern on paper using my stencil-past-paper combo technique:
Sue Clancy creating a pattern on paper using a stencil-paste paper technique on hand dyed paper
When I think of a pattern design concept the pattern itself “tells a small story” – so I like to apply that “story” in several different ways. But how I use the “story pattern” depends on the larger story I want to tell. For example: one of my favorite things to do is sit with a glass of wine and read a book while wearing my pajamas – so I used parts of this vineyard inspired patterned paper when I created one of my fine art pieces that is about books/education. The art piece is titled “The Read Hat” and is specifically about how we tenaciously (like little dogs gather toys) collect information into our heads but I’m sure you’ll note the vineyard patterned “pajama’s” the dog is wearing. “The Read Hat” is currently at the Caplan Art Designs gallery in Portland Oregon.
Also I have friends who like scarves – and wine – so, while thinking the fun thought that someone could “wear” a vineyard – like the dog in my fine art piece – I did a scarf design with the same green dot pattern (titled “Vineyard Aerial View) that is now available via VIDA http://www.shopvida.com/collections/sue-clancy
Here is a picture of both projects:
The left image shows a fine art piece by Sue Clancy titled “The Read Hat” which uses the pattern design inspired by an aerial view of a vineyard. The image on the right is of a scarf designed with the same green-dot pattern design titled “Vineyard Aerial View”.
In the current August 2016 issue of Oregon Coast Magazine I have an article titled “Sketching The Coast”! Right there, in print, on page 42 it says “illustrations by Sue Clancy” (Wow!) !! On the title page of the magazine next to a big 42 it reads “An illustrator records her travel experiences to Newport in whimsical cartoons”. How fun is that for a teaser?! But just think, my messy sketchbook, in print, in a slick glossy magazine, Oregon Coast Magazine, a gadzillion copies of which are actually available on newsstands right this minute! Blows my mind to contemplate that. Here’s a link to their website: http://www.oregoncoastmagazine.com/index.html – so you can order a copy mailed to you if you live someplace like Ohio, Pennsylvania or Timbuktu – but you’ll only see my article up close if you get an actual physical printed copy! Yep, you guessed it, I’m loving the whole “my art in print” thing!
Sue Clancy’s illustrated article in the August 2016 issue of Oregon Coast Magazine
Back in 2009 I had the honor of writing and illustrating an article titled “Sketching the Coast” for Oregon Coast Magazine. (The 2009 article is pictured above) Well, I just heard from an editor that they’d like me to do a new article for them!! I am excited to be working with editors who appreciate my unorthodox way of doing travel articles! Yipppeee, I get to do more sketchbook pages about the Oregon Coast! Yes, stuff like you’ve been seeing on this blog. More visual stories! Wahoo! Going to go do my happy dance!
Here’s a few links to the Oregon Coast Magazine:
http://www.oregoncoastmagazine.com/
https://www.facebook.com/OregonCoastMagazine
Here’s a link to the Oregon Coast Aquarium: http://aquarium.org/
Oh and “our condo’s kitchen” refers to where we’re staying: the Embarcadero in Newport Oregon www.vrbo.com/619479
