In Ballookey's pocket

Butterfly paper mask! I'm a little obsessed with those recently. 

Half page in Ballookey's

Officially, I am the last person on this book, but there are some more pages, so just in case Ballookey want's to finish it, this is my half page.

Ballokey's book pages 5-6

One of my all times favorite quotes.

Ballookey's book, pages 3-4

I don't think I've ever had a book from Moleskine exchange that took me this long to finish! I got interrupted by a flu, a pulled back and some other virus, then work got in the way, but finally, it was done, and a couple of days ago, send out.

Kept with the imaginary fairy tales theme.

Mary's book is on the way home to her!!

Here are some snippets of my work in Mary's book.  I'm so excited for it to get home to her!!  We made it y'all.  It wasn't speedy or very organized by your leader, but thank you all so much for taking time out of your busy lives and contributing to each other's books.

Pocket item for Mike: Block print card

Dining Out
A Block print card for Mike by Mary

I worked on this for three weeks--Duh, couldn't get it right.  I wanted to make Mike a block print because I like his highly graphic work and I wanted to give him something that honored that. I would do it over, because it isn't quite right, but I think it's time to finish up and send this on home.

Ballookey in Mary's

First was this collaboration page with Aya. She did the work on the left, and I did the right. I taped "Funk to Funky" over her original sign to turn it into a David Bowie reference.

Next was a collaboration page for Andrea to finish. I sketched some paper gems I'd made that were sitting on my table. (these are made with templates from Mini eco, in case you want to make your own)

Paper gems made following directions at Mini-Eco. The large pink one is a separate tutorial from the rest and a bit more fiendish - lots of tiny flaps to cut and glue. I'm rich?! #minieco #papercraft

A photo posted by Ballookey (@ballookey) on Dec 27, 2014 at 7:39pm PST

I should have done this next one in watercolor, but I didn't pick them up again until after I'd already done it. It's a phrase from one of my favorite TV shows, Doctor Who.

NOW I start playing with watercolors again. I wanted to practice some techniques that I'd seen done on YouTube, so I sketched out four roses to start with. I took a time-lapse video while I painted them.

Four Roses from Ballookey Klugeypop on Vimeo.

Next page: Four more roses, which I like better. Practice, practice, practice.

One of those roses is based on a photo I took at Huntington Gardens:

A photo posted by Ballookey (@ballookey) on Jan 20, 2015 at 8:46pm PST

I tried a couple of anemonies, but they're going to take a lot more practice.

Lastly there was a collaboration page flagged by Mary for me to complete, so I turned her dragon into a two-headed monster of some kind.

Mary in Mike's (slow progress)

This is from a book of digitally produced designs, which I colored,
not terribly skillfully.  My hands aren't steady enough,
click this or any image to view larger.

I included a copy of this same design, blank, in case Mike wants to try coloring it (or pass it on to someone who might?)

the first three shots show some of the steps coloring the page
the last one is the first one inverted.

Tiny oil pastel painting in piece of scrap paper (may not be finished)
for pocket

Running along the Grass River
this was digitally made from a digitally altered scan
of the above image
for pocket

3rd draft of plan for block print
black pen ran out of ink

I wanted to make a couple new block-print cards for the pocket, but haven't completed the PLAN yet, never mind carving and printing.

I have a book!!!

I'm so excited! I feel like it's been years since I posted anything here! last week I got Ballookey's book. Does that mean that this is the one-before-last round?!

Anyway, I couldn't wait to start and so, without farther ado - pages 1 and 2 in Ballookey's book!

I started out with one idea about doing just birds, but then decided against it and changed midway to fairytales, I guess the page is a little confused, but overall, I'm happy with it. Also, since there are still a nice amount of clear pages, I decided to draw on one side of the page only so that I can use Sharpies without worrying about the ink bleeding (yay!).

More Mary in Mike's: Angry Man, Weird Keith, collab

"Angry Man"
Acrylic and oil pastels on Moleskine Paper
Mary Stebbins Taitt
Click any image to view larger

"Biker Buddy #20140218"

Acrylic and oil pastels on Moleskine Paper

Mary Stebbins Taitt

Click any image to view larger

This scan looks a little lighter on my screen than the actual painting.

Collab, first half, for Mike
Faber Castell artist pens (including dry one for dry brush)

Mary Working in Mike's" Early "Had Races and Won"

Often, when I start a new painting, I get very discouraged and wonder why I pretend to be able to do this.  It seems obvious I can't.  I want to give up, because it seems hopeless.

"Had Races and Won"
Acrylic on thin Moleskine paper
1st coat
click this or any image to view larger

"Had Races and Won"
Acrylic on thin Moleskine paper
2nd coat

The images are photos with a point and shoot camera, sorry about the reflections.  I'll start scanning, if I can, I'm having difficulties with my scanner!  :-(

This is a slow process for me, but I am working on i!  It is as of yet quite unfinished.

"Had Races and Won"

Acrylic on thin Moleskine paper

3rd coat

I added another layer of paint.  Most of the paint I am using is fairly transparent (although some is thick and opaque.  I Have to put many layers on to get it to look the way I want it,  I scanned this one, but the scanner is messing up and I don't have time right now to fiddle with it, and since it isn't done yet, I'll just post this--hope you can see the difference between the layers (versions) (drafts).

"Had Races and Won"

Acrylic on thin Moleskine paper*

4th coat

I've added a fourth layer of paint, which took about 4 days, and as you can plainly see, it is till quite a ways from being finished.  I added turtles in the audience at the lower because the space seemed too empty, but they need work, and I painted out the head of the wolf on the furthest left because its legs were too short.  Since the light is coming from above, slightly behind and to the right, I will have to do some work with the sun and shadows, which right now is just plopped on (To make the turtles more visible.).  Too bad, because I was reaching a point of being almost happy with the grass before.  I think the Dachshund is finished or nearly finished, and maybe the cat, too. The elephant is getting closer. (Too bad the scanner won't scan the gutter! :-( )  Frankie is my grandson and this is for a book for him.  The four dark corners are where the clips were holding the pages down.

*The paper is getting progressively thicker!

"Had Races and Won"

Acrylic on thin Moleskine paper*

5th coat

I changed the color of the grass, added the head back on the left-most wolf, worked ont he turtles and miscellaneous other changes.  I think I am nearly finished.

Mary In Mike's, Biker Buddy and Giraffes conversing

Biker Buddy, by Mary Taitt
mixed media on Moleskine thin paper

Biker Buddy with the flu
mixed media on thin Moleskine paper

I started the first one in markers, but I didn't have enough colors for shading so I added oil pastels and then I added acrylics.  The second one is what I made from the bleed-through from the first.  I'm not counting it as a page, because the paper is very thin and I wanted to make the bleed-through into something.  I also thought it would be fun to make it into something somewhat different from the original.  In the first painting, I was experimenting with unusual light sources and also concerned with flat (dead) colors--and how to make them live (add light).

dead and living colors

I chose colors that I thought looked particularly "dead" on their own, olive green, Indian red, flat grey and burnt umber.  Some of the ways to add light included dry brush, adding other colors, glazing.  I am not a fan, generally speaking, in my own work, anyway, of large areas of single blank dull colors.

test prints
giraffes conversing
Mary Stebbins Taitt

We recently put my mother-in-law, ML (for Mary Louise), in assisted living.  She used to be a teacher.  One of the books I inherited when she left her home is called printing for fun, and I read through it and discovered from printing techniques I hadn't heard of.  One is printing with paper masters--not like mimeograph, but cutting and pasting masters with shapes and using them to print with.  I decided to try it with textured papers and did my first two test prints in Mike's book.  I then made a card and included the master, because as I discovered, paper masters do not last too long--they begin to wear out and disintegrate.  It is only for fun and very small "runs."

Pocket items: Sample card
paper master

sample prints
giraffes conversing (NOT in pocket)

I included a scan of a few of the sample prints I made and you can see the disintegration of the paper.  (although they are not in order).  It was still a fun and relatively easy project and would probably be good with kids who have a short attention span anyway.  Just cut out and glue the shapes, make a few prints and move on.