Storm at Sunset (Tom Jones again)

Charlie Myers, my water media teacher, played another Tom Jones video today. It was a long video, we watched it once, and then I attempted to remember what he had said (and remember the picture he'd painted!) (There's not book that goes with it.) My memory isn't that good--I can only remember a string of two-three things, so basically, I was flying blind, since there were literally hundreds of steps to remember.

This is done with watercolors on Arches 140 lb paper and I will glue it on a page. I wanted to give Andrea "real" watercolor, because that's what I like to do, but I cannot do on that greasy yellow paper (very difficult to do clean washes, granualization, etc). I don't think it is very much like the Tom Jones version. Click image to view larger.

Here's the video we watched:


It is very long, but I found a short excerpt from it here, if you are interested.

Half a collaborations for Mike in Andrea's

This is done in ballpoint pen and then tinted slightly with watercolors. Click image to view larger.

Skulls for Andrea

This skull picture is based on a similar one I did a while back. The last one was done in pastels, but this one, since it's in the moleskine, I did in pigment pens, watercolor and gouache. I did it especially for Andrea. Click image to view larger. I included a large print of the earlier version, which I copied from. They are similar but not the same.

Always Approaching: Collaboration with Steve in Andrea's Mole

Always Approaching: Collaboration with Steve in Andrea's Mole. This was a difficult challenge and I'm afraid I basically failed. I was trying to make something out of Steve's Jackson Polluck without disturbing what he had done, but though I scanned it and manipulated it with many images on photoshop, there were so many lines that I was unable to find anything that showed through them all. I finally decided on a skull, since Andrea had mentioned skulls, but even something as simple as that doesn't show through very well. But, here it is. I may try a different approach next time. There are many little fishies and artifacts in shiny silver (done by Steve) that do not show up well in the scan. Click image to view larger, though it is actually easier to see smaller. Also, there are titty objects and other things I could have used, but I was a little overwhelmed.

Another for Andrea's pocket

Since I know Andrea likes both photos an art, I am putting a print of this in her pocket, LOL! The model and my latest painting of him. Click to view larger. I painted this in my painting class without looking at K or at a picture of him, just out of my head--it was an exercise.

willie's

Egret for Andrea's Mole (Pocket)

I haven't gotten the next mole yet and am feeling a bit eager, so I made this painting for the next person, who I think is Andrea, and I am going to print it (4 x 6) and save it to put in her pocket. It IS Andrea next right?

Albuquirky House Tour

Home tour video 

More Fish

Skull of Fish

Collaboration with Ballookey

Collaboration with Mary

Heidi's book on its way to Ballookey (Late Again!)

collab/pre-collab

The above drawing is a collaboration with Ellen, who drew the cat. I drew the hungry T-Rex. Why, I don't really know, though my wife had a good title for this page, which I'll let you all figure out yourself (heh heh). The bottom page is my part of the collab with Mary (good luck with this one, haha!). I got a little carried away with the doodles I guess. Anyhow, I figured since Mary was still playing catch-up, I'd wait until tomorrow to shoot this one out into the mailoshphere.

Mary's Book

I had to scan the last page in before I even finished it. I was thinking of coloring it in, but I didn't, just left it b&w. Mary, you can add color to it if you'd like. Sorry I didn't get much realism in your book. I also realized I forgot to put your mixed cd in the pocket, I will mail that to you soon.

Collab Pages in Mary's Mole

Willie did not leave a collab page after his pages in Mary's Mole, so Mary you get to collab with me on this shitty page. Ba-zing!

These are, of course, from Elliott Erwitt's book of dog photographs.

Can't wait to see what lovely magic Ash works with this gal and her crazy ballooning arms.

Ash, Mary's book goes out to you today! Sorry for the delay.

Joan's Magnolia (Last one in Ash's Mole)

The magnolias are in full flower in Detroit, but going by soon. We stopped to enjoy Sam and Joan's magnolias when we visited them yesterday and I was inspired to paint them.

This was done with three "colors," Windsor Red deep (wc), Hooker's Green Dark (wc) and white (gouache). No other paint.

This is the last one, so Ash's mole will be packed up and mailed to Mike as soon as I can possibly do it. Hopefully tomorrow--I apologize for being a little late.

By the way, having had three semesters of dendro and looking at trees very closely, I know that normally, branches get smaller and don't wind into each other--but this tree was sort of knobby and had fat places and weird circular places.

ML Liebler Reads, in Ash's Mole

ML Liebler Reads, in Ash's Mole. ML Liebler is a poet who is big in the Detroit poetry scene and always doing amazing performances. This was at the Scarab Club Art gallery and the attending listeners shown are art pieces.

Watercolor and gouache.

One more to go and I can mail. Unfortunately, we have two commitments tomorrow.

Click image to view larger.

In Ash's Pocket: The Snipe Hunt

This is an illo for a poem that I wrote for National Poetry Month. If you are interested in the poem, it is here. The illo was made from the painting in Ash's mole.

Tom Jones in Ash's Mole

I took Ash's Mole to my water media class with Charlie Myers, thinking to spend the three-hour session working on her mole, and lo and behold, he decided to show us a video--something he normally does (DID!) only during lunch. It was a Tom Jones video and then we were told, after seeing the video once, to paint the picture described in the video. We are supposed to be learning how to make fog and rain falling from clouds and how to block out white areas etc. Mine didn't work too well in the mole--the paper didn't respond the way the arches paper does, so I did a second one on real Arches 140-pound paper, which will be in Ash's pocket. It's smaller, but came out better, I think.

Click the images to view them larger. The second one, if clicked, will be larger than it is in real life.

I am running a little behind, I apologize.

The video we watched was a full-length Tom Jones video of a whole painting, but here's a short one on You-tube that is very similar (but not exactly the same) as the beginning of the one we watched.

four collages in Andrea's Moleskine

Here are some collages made from small prints of various works of mine that didn't turn out as well as I would have liked. Instead of throwing them out, I made more art. I sill need to complete my collaborative pages and hopefully this book will be sent out tomorrow.

Insomnia, in Ash's Mole

I suffer from Insomnia and struggle to communicate to non-insomniacs what a dreadful experience regular insomnia is. Watercolor and gouache plus pen and ink.

Click image to view larger.

pocket item for Ash

Hi. My name is Mary. I am eight and a half years old. I want to be famous. Today I decide to be a famous artist. My Mom lets me use her paints. I paint a picture of myself. I am looking at a picture my father took of me, and I am wearing the same green and red bathrobe over my Pajamas. But you can't see the color in the photo. My painting doesn't look exactly like me. Mom says it's called "artistic license."

A sketch for a possible new book for my granddaughter if I ever have time. The black and white photo is me at age 8. (She's eight). You can click on the image to view it a little larger.

YIKES!!!!!!!!!

I still haven't received the Moley from Anders! Please pray to the postal Gods tonight!!!!!

In the pocket

I had a whole new plan for the pocket, but now, that I got home, I wanted to make something that's about both NY and LA. I found this little book in my building hallway this morning, people who live here, leave stuff they don't want for others to use, so I decided to use the paper from the book to make something.
Eventually I decided to make 2 State birds drawing, one for NY, and one for CA.

All done!
I'm going to have this packed tomorrow and send it to Anders on Monday!

Airport again!

So, as said, we got delayed at the airport on the way back, as well as the way to...

I finished the last drawing and started on this one, while waiting. There was a really cute 8 year old or so, that kept looking at me drawing, then whenever I made eye contact, lower his head and pretended not to look. After a while he disappeared, then, I noticed he went and stood behind me to look. He was whispering very loudly at his mom "See what she's drawing!"



I'm curious to see what Anders do with this...

LA

We visited LA last year at about the same time, Ned had a photograph in a gallery show and we decided to go. Last time, we stayed at a pretty cool motel, which was located in an area Ned knew really well.

This time, I was looking for something more affordable, and a little more homelike then a motel. I went to Craigslist and found a really nice couple who have a guesthouse they rent. And so, we stayed with them, in a BEAUTIFUL, large space, with a fully equipped kitchen, an awesome bed that felt like sleeping on marshmallow, a super nice interior design, and the most awesome back yard, and the best - two super cool dogs named Mila and Bruno.

The other nice side of this was that the area was entierly new to both of us, and so, we got to explore it together.

On the plane

I did most of this drawing on the airplane.

Ned and I don't have a TV, we have a movie projector, but rarely use it, I think it's been a year since I've watched a movie. by now, even youtube videos are too much, I guess it's mostly still images for us.
When I did have a TV, I had it on most of the time, but were able to do a lot of stuff while having the TV on, but now, even having it with the sound off is so distracting to me. I was trying to read a book, but my eyes kept drifting to the plane's screen where a whole bunch of NBC series were showing, following the plots despite myself.

At least this Queen Victoria movie was so slow and dark, I was not as distracted by it and managed to do the queen, planes and birds while still on the flight.

The Moon

So happy to be back home, in Brooklyn, with a scanner!

LA was wonderful, non of our plans came to be, but a lot of new stuff came up. Somehow, having room to improvise led to a lot of cool new things happening, and a lot of understanding about life, art and people.

Collaborative page with Heidi, done in JFK airport. I thought about how the square block with shiny yellow lights looked like an airplane window on a night flight. So that's where this page started.

The words say:
It doesn't matter what side of the ocean you are on, it's always the same moon above you.
Which is a thought that gave me a lot of comfort when Ned an I were living in separate countries.