Decapitating Shadows

Work and Rework

November 01, 2009

I can't say that I spent a lot of time in the studio this weekend, but at least I was in both days. I think I'm realizing that going in there for half an hour daily or almost daily is better than waiting for that perfect opportunity to have several hours straight to work.

I was especially motivated this weekend after a harsh critique of the Little Red Riding Hood painting. All of it deserved, but it got me out of my complacency with the piece and I think it will be much better in the end. Here is the beginning of the rework:

Also got a little further on the second piece for the upcoming "Seeing the Light" show and also stumbled on titles for the two pieces. Umbra and Penumbra though I'll wait until this one is done to decide which is which. Adam will certainly keep me straight as to which way round is correct from the scientific viewpoint...

Posted at 08:53 PM | Comments (1) | Posted to Arts and Culture

Online Teaching Tools

October 26, 2009

Being the occasional Type-A mom, I've bought some pre-K workbooks for the Bug to use at home. Just coloring books that help practice reading, letter recognition, etc. and it seems like there are lots of that kind of thing available. I also found out about teacher printables online from Scholastic. The only problem with this site is that I can't find anywhere what the subscription packages cost without actually signing up for an account. That's kind of a bummer; it does look like there are various packages available, probably based on the number of downloads you use, and it is targeted to homeschoolers as well as teachers.

Scholastic, despite their penchant for pushing Bratz and Hannah Montana on unsuspecting preschoolers of late, does provide solid educational content, so if I were to homeschool this is definitely a resource I'd look into. Even though I don't plan to homeschool, I still think it's important to tackle reading skills and writing skills in a fun way at home, which we really try to do. The last thing I want to do is give my four-year-old homework, but I do want her to be familiar with this stuff. For the most part she's very excited to learn how to make letters (and now writes her name on EVERYTHING including her Halloween pumpkin, and, occasionally, the walls).

Of course, we'll see how I feel about worksheets a year from now when she's coming home from Kindergarten every day with an hour and a half of homework.

Posted at 07:11 AM | Comments (0) | Posted to Sponsored Posts | mommyhood

Happy Fall Happy Fall

October 04, 2009

Fall is falling. We're winterizing, enjoying the cooler weather, and watching the leaves change. I've always loved fall for some reason. It's kind of bittersweet, knowing what's coming, that the end of the year is not far off, but it's a season during which I allow myself to wallow in that feeling, almost a sort of mourning.

I'm also almost back to full health, which is a nice change of pace. I got a decent amount of studio time in today, and feel closer to finishing two pieces. The first, created to fit the theme "Seeing the Light." I was thinking of titling it "To the Flame" but the light sources look more celestial to me... I need to keep thinking on it.

The second piece I spent some time on today I've posted before. It's #3 in the "Extraordinary Creatures" series. I'm glad I gave it a break, because it's finally coming together. My critique group insisted that leaving the wolf/dog green was necessary, both to keep the focus on the girl and because it went so beautifully with the background. I realized that didn't mean I had to leave it unfinished, so I started adding detail but all in green tones. I need to go back in now with conte or charcoal and re-define the eyes and some of the other shading on the head. Bad glare on the lower left in this photo, but it's the time of day...

Posted at 05:47 PM | Comments (0) | Posted to Arts and Culture

Cough Cough

September 04, 2009

I admit it, Facebook has stolen my blog. I also find that the more I know people are watching/following me on all these various social networking sites, the less I really feel like writing about my inner life. I guess I'm a more private person than I thought. In any case, I have no problem continuing to share what is going on in my studio. Sadly, I've spent the last month battling some sort of upper respiratory THING (virus? infection? SARS?) that has knocked the wind out of my sails. It was my few weeks off from teaching, and I had hoped to get so much painting done that never happened. The last week or so I have, however, made some progress on the next two Extraordinary Creatures paintings.

The pirate is coming along; the body proportions came out well, now I need to spend some time working on the background, as I've really been focused on the face and clothing up until now. I want to put in much more of that light-colored, billowy fabric kind of texture. You can also see that the left side of the face needs some work, but really that eye will be covered with hair so I was just trying to get the tone right and I'll go back in with conte next.

This may turn out to be my favorite painting so far. My critique group insisted that the wolf should be left green. I do kind of like that idea, as it keeps it to more of a suggestion or apparition, and I plan to paint out more of the collaged elements at the bottom. Not sure how finished I want the woods in the background; there's a lot of metallic gold in there and I like the sketchiness, but I think I need more darker areas, especially because I want more wolf eyes glowing in the darkness.

I also ordered a few more pastel sticks to beef up my stock of colors appropriate for figure work. I finally got out the pastel paper and played with them a little bit today. I need some lighter oranges and pinks, but I got some good fleshy blues and greens and yellows. I did this little 5-10 minute portrait from one of the "pirate" photos of the Bug.

It's true that having good-quality pastels makes a HUGE difference. The colors really stick to the paper and to each other, making layering and blending much nicer.

I hope to get more work done over the long weekend.

Posted at 03:51 PM | Comments (1) | Posted to Arts and Culture

Bugs and Bugs

August 17, 2009

Unfortunately, productivity has practically ground to a halt recently. I finished up all my summer teaching, which went pretty well as far as I can tell, finished up some submissions for fall juried shows, and decided to take a couple of days off. What ended up happening is that I got a last-minute design project that I spent most of the weekend doing, accompanied by some sort of infection taking up residence in my lungs, and fast forward to two weeks later and I'm still pretty much sitting on the couch watching Dexter and not doing much else. I got switched to a different antibiotic today, so hopefully that will do the trick.

I did start sketching out and doing the underpainting for two more in the "Extraordinary Creatures" series. Pirate and Little Red Riding Hood are in the works, and I'm thinking of a Mermaid for one of the upcoming ones; haven't quite figured that out yet though.

I'm off to Texas (yes, in August) for a couple of days at the end of the week, so hopefully between prescriptions and R&R I will come back refreshed and ready to spend some more serious time in the studio.

Posted at 07:14 PM | Comments (0) | Posted to Arts and Culture

Indiana Etsy

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Drew | Work and Rework | 07:09 AM Nov 02

Julie | KNITTING!!! | 08:33 PM Oct 25

Lisanne | Cough Cough | 01:56 PM Sep 08

Lisanne | Placeholder Text Here | 08:53 PM Jul 30

Mom | Extraordinary Creatures | 04:40 PM Jul 09

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About Me

At different times in my adult life, I've been a museum administrator, production designer, and a bookstore clerk. I am currently focusing on my fine art work, and the occasional freelance job, under the banner of Studio Virgo. I'm also mommy to Lilybug, the coolest toddler on the planet, and am addicted to coffee, knitting, and yoga.