….thanks to Leanne for hosting Monochrome Madness https://leannecole.com.au/monochrome-madness-capturing-dragons/ and Cee for hosting the Black and White Photo Challenge https://ceenphotography.com/2023/02/09/cbwc-carvings-sculptures-and-statues/
…thanks to Sue W and GC for hosting Weekly Prompts https://weeklyprompts.com/2023/02/04/weekly-prompts-colour-challenge-valentine-red/
Red has always been my favourite colour.
…results of yesterday’s free on-line class
I’m always getting offers for free on-line classes to make art. Some of them are good and some have way too much talking and not enough ‘making’. Yesterday’s class was one of the good ones. It was hosted by two artists, Amy Maricle and Ali Manning. I’ve taken classes with Amy before called Inchies but this was my first class with Ali. Ali instructed us on how to make books. I’ve done this before but it was a good refresher and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think I may make more books over the weekend.
After the books were made, Amy took us through a process of using India ink and a bamboo brush to make botanical marks in our new books. It was a way to experiment with ink and diluted ink. In the past I’ve used Micron Pens in her classes, which is much more controlled. I enjoyed learning from both artists. Here are the results of the hour spent with these two lovely ladies.
….I haven’t posted any of my art in recent months
…the reason for that was because I couldn’t find a space to make my art. Yes I have a studio space dedicated for my art making but in recent months it had become a dumping ground for my bills, Christmas cards, craft supplies and more. All my supplies were unorganized and I didn’t know what worked and what needed to be thrown away. A lot or reasons excuses to not make art.
Last week I finally put aside time to start organizing my space. I cleared the art board and the extra table I had for my sewing machine and making my mono prints. I went through all my pens, pencils, crayons, paints and brushes and threw away those that were dried up and cleaned and repaired those that were worth saving.
During the cleaning process I came across a pile of small ink line drawings of mugs. I made them years ago and two years ago I took one of them and added colour and more line detail. I found that one in one of my sketchbooks and I decided to take another one and do the same. The one above has a bird perched on the rim of the mug. I made him before Christmas out of a strip of paper that I folded and cut into the shape that you see. I added some line detail to the mug and then some watercolour to the coffee in the mug. Like I said earlier, I’m taking baby steps to get back into making art.
To inspire me I’ve enrolled in another year long on-line art class with Carla Sonheim called Year of the Rabbit….how appropriate. I’ve already made a few sketches of ‘rabbits’ that I will share later in the week.
…thanks to Ragtag Daily Prompts for today’s word https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2023/01/28/rdp-saturday-burst/
….thanks to Cee for hosting the Fun Foto Challenge https://ceenphotography.com/2023/01/24/cffc-legs-and-feet/
….thanks to Jez for hosting I’m a fan of….. https://jezbraithwaite.blog/2023/01/23/mallards-fan-of-192/
Denyse Thomasos was a Trinidadian-Canadian painter known for her abstract-style wall murals that conveyed themes of slavery, confinement and the story of African and Asian Diaspora. Sadly she died tragically in 2012. The first time I saw her work was at the McMichael Collection of Canadian Art, an art museum in Kleinburg, Ontario. I instantly liked her work and looked forward to seeing her show at the AGO.
The show is title: Denyse Thomasos, just beyond. It brings together more than 70 paintings and works on paper that she produced spanning the last 15 years of her short life. The first thing I noticed at this showing was the size of her canvases. They were large and some of them went from the floor to the ceiling.
…thanks to Sue W and GC for hosting the Weekly Prompts https://weeklyprompts.com/2023/01/21/weekly-prompts-weekend-challenge-bend/
Bending implies that you or something is flexible, either physically or mentally. When a person bends mentally they are able to see both sides of an opinion or argument and can ‘bend’ or change their own way of thinking. Bending physically is easier to demonstrate in photographs.
…thanks to Xingfu Mama for hosting Pull Up a Seat https://xingfumama.blog/2023/01/20/pull-up-a-seat-photo-challenge-2023-week-3/
A great way to explore the finer details of such a large painting.
The painting is by Denyse Thomasos at the AGO where the entire 5th floor is dedicated to her huge collection of art that she made in her short life. The show is called Just Beyond and runs till February.
…thanks to Sue W. and GC for hosting Weekly Prompts https://weeklyprompts.com/2023/01/18/weekly-prompts-wednesday-challenge-bored/
How does one convey bored in a photograph? Is it someone napping in the middle of the day, a grim look on a child’s face or the sad look in an animal’s eyes?
It’s hard to see what someone is feeling in a photo unless you use your imagination.
Mama Cormier 