Mary in Aya's: Pocket items and envelope

Pelicans, front of envelope
Markers

Georges Braque
Back of envelope
Markers

For the pocket, I decided to make small note cards.

Fantasy in red
watercolor

I did the Fantasy in red first.

Fantasy in Blue
Mary Stebbins Taitt
Markers and pigment pens

I picked up on some of the shapes and composition of fantasy in red for my fantasy in in blue, and added an eye and a nose.  I "organized" the random lines in the wide band in fantasy in red into an eye.

Fantasy in Yellow
Mary Stebbins Taitt
Markers and pigment pens

For fantasy in yellow, I added a second eye and a mouth.  On the wide band, I made two eyes.

An Organization of Mind
Mary Stebbins Taitt
Markers and pigment pens

Because the two eyes on the wide band in Fantasy in  yellow resembled a mask, I decided I need one more (I had only planned to do three, in primary colors.)

The completed series

After I "completed" the series (or thought I had), I made one more card for my mother-in-law, who was having dinner with us, and although I hadn't intended it, it ended up to be the 5th in series.  However, it is not in the pocket because I gave it to her.

An organization of Mind II
Mary Stebbins Taitt
pigment pen and colored pencil
(NOT in pocket)

Kissed Frankie Goodnight
watercolor by Mary Stebbins Taitt
for my book
click to view larger.

They partied for days, weeks, months and years;

the sound of their laughter filled everyone’s ears.

They partied ‘til the moon came up in the sky

and then all creatures kissed Frankie goodbye.


*

I painted this with watercolors, finishing it (after many days of work), on 8/21/14 and today, I added the moon in Photoshop.   It is for the book I am working on for my grandson hopefully for his birthday, otherwise for Christmas.  He will be four years old on his birthday, and has just started school.

I posted it before, but I think this is the finished version (I hope).  This is in my largest Moleskine, and I wanted to share it with you.

I have mailed Aya's book to Mike (yesterday--9/15).

Two new pieces in Round 2 and some experiments

I decided to experiment with oil pastels BECAUSE I had made two oil pastel images in my round 3 Moleskine.  I read that there were actually several fixatives and varnishes that could be used on the oil pastels and decided to try for myself.

First I made a light oil pastel picture just as an experiment on pastel paper and coated with with acrylic varnish.  It seemed to work well.

test 1

Then I did one with a number of layers of oil pastels, acrylics and varnish.  This also seemed to work well.  It's supposed to be a self-portrait, but it's unsuccessful in that regard.  I started with a painting I'd made of someone else and tried to make it into me.  It's not in a Moleskine, but in another sketchbook.

Self-portrait of the arist as an aging insomniac

This next one is all oil pastels and varnish over a failed acrylic painting which is entirely covered by the oil pastels.  The texture is quite rough from multiple layers of oil pastels and varnish.

Nan's House in Maine

After 3 trials which SEEMED to work very well--I don't know how well the will LAST THOUGH--I painted some acrylic varnish over the two oil pastels I had done in my round 3 mole (The pink elephant and the rowboat in the mountains.

THEN, I did a mixed media piece in my round 2 Moleskine.  This was on a page Anders skipped because of bleed-through from Markers.  I put on two layers of acrylic gesso and then drew a monochrome picture with pigment markers (pens) and then colored it with water colors and oil pastels and varnished it.

Red-shouldered Hawk
Round 2 Moleskine
click image to view larger

I would not have attempted using oil pastels again in a Moleskine if I had not done the previous tests.

Then, I did the final piece in the round 2 Moleskine, which is a collaboration with Milo called fish for Milo--it's pencil and colored pencil.

Fish for Milo
pencil and colored pencil
collaboration
Milo drew the curlies at the top and bottom

So Now the Round 2 Moleskine is totally finished and soon I will have a movie of it (a slideshow, probably.)

Lotus Meditation for Lost Souls, 3rd in Roma's

This is done in Faber-Castell PITT Artist brush pens, pens, pencils, colored pencils. The second is the two-page spread. It wouldn't fit on my scanner so I took a snap. Sorry about the reflections. Image size increases slightly when clicked upon.

One and a half in Gretchen's

Persephone and Hades

Half a collaboration for Ammon.

Click images to view larger.

005 micron pens, colored pencils, Prang metallic brush pens.

Biffybeans: 1st and 2nd pieces in her own book

My 1st entry in my own book. Black Bob Ross Acrylic Gesso (which isn't very black) and Colleen colored pencils. Big mandala.



2nd entry in my own book. Artist grade watercolors, Liquitex Black Gesso & white Uniball gel pen. The woman on the left seems to be pointing to the left coast.....  another hint to go and visit Portland OR?

When I was making these pieces, it suddenly dawned on my that when I send this book off, I won't see it again for a whole year. Sure, I'll see some of the art online, but to think that it is going to travel the states through the hands of 12 different people... that is just too cool for school. Oh, and not to mention that I get to leave my mark in 11 other books! What fun!

More for Ellen

Alrighty, I posted Ellen's pocket goodie on Sunday while traveling. Now that I'm home, I can more thoroughly & conveniently post the rest of my latest efforts (click on photos if you'd like to see them larger). I did an extra page as pennance for being a total slacker these past 2 months. I don't know what happened, but I just couldn't get focused on art for art's sake. The good news is that while artistically unproductive, I did manage to shore up some other areas of my life. Happy New Year to me :-)

Top image: In keeping to my personal pledge of doing a 2-page spread in the last few large Moles I've had, I painted this image of depression. I did "fall down a well" emotionally, about 3 months ago, so I tried to paint it. (Don't worry, I've long climbed out by now.) I had planned to do a 2nd painting on this theme -- a view looking up the inside of the well to see moon & stars above -- but didn't feel like it, once I finished this. Mood swings can do that to a girl.

Middle image: More acrylic paint & Prismacolor pencil. My Auracana rooster, done from a photo of him. Isn't he a hottie? I hope he stays as nice as he's been, cuz it'd be a shame to end up eating him for bad behavior.

Bottom image: When inspiration fails me, I turn to bananas!

Books Wide Open

Back when Aya was airing some fears about going to an A3-size, while others offered tips & encouragement... that got me thinking about working BIG, which I never do. It certainly did sound intimidating, to use big space in full. You know, big art says loud & proud? The bigger we work, the more exposed we are? Yikes!

Since I have all large Moleskines in house lately, I am trying one double-page spread in everyone's to force bigger art into my regular repertiore. Ballookey's book was my first try, that 2-pg. Monarch butterfly. That went OK, but filling that much space was daunting for sure. Mike got this frog, which went a little easier. It's more about background textures than the frog itself, but hey, it's BIG so I think I'm building confidence. I used glitter again, so this frog is loud, trust me.

Oh, and I photographed this on a bed of tomatoes... cuz I had to work the garden into it somehow, HA!

More in Mike's Big Book

Top image: "Potatoes wishing for more expressive eyes." Really, they do, you know :-)

Bottom image: More garlic & a potato. What can I say? The garden is almost over, I swear. But while it consumes my life, it permeates my art...

Both are acrylic paint, colored pencil, Crayola (kids) marker & black Pilot pen. I am going hog wild with acrylics lately, as part of my mixed media stuff. Much as I love water soluable pens for water washes, they bleed thru Moleskine paper something fierce while acrylic does not. So I'm trying to use the water soluable washes very sparingly, while I compensate with acrylics.

Collab for Aya in Ballookey's Book

Oh yeah, here's a milkweed drawing w/real seeds & fluff, for Aya to play with :-) Have fun!

Also in Ballookey's Book

Yay, I remember how to post! Here's the balance of my work in Ballookey's book...

Top: I mentioned some volunteer work in my last post. One of the things I had to do was a poster for a local stage co.'s production of Alice in Wonderland, so I was playing with Cheshire Cat imagery. I know Ballookey likes cats, so I used her book for some feline painting practice.

Middle: We're in the throes of garden harvest. I spend part of each day picking not only these things, but a lot more. Ballookey got beans, cherry tomatoes, squash, jalapenos & corn. I sure hope Mike likes garlic, onions & potatoes, HA! (I already started his book.)

Bottom: A 2-page spread with an adult Monarch butterfly (I tipped it in, so the wings can "flutter" a bit). I'm all into watching the life cycle on the Monarch lately. We have them all over the yard. I slideshowed the transformation from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly on my blog, if you've never seen it. I even made Ballookey a Monarch caterpillar "finger puppet" from the amputated finger of a rubber glove. It has Sharpie marker stripes & black embroidery floss for antennas, HA!

Various Cliches for an Alternate Holiday

Various Cliches for an Alternate Holiday, by Mary Stebbins Taitt. Done on Thanksgiving. Hope yours was happy (if you celebrate). This is in Ammon's Moleskine. This completes my sketches for Ammon's book and I will probably send it off to Jessie early next week. Technical pens (mostly my new one from Poland), Pigma pens, various colored pencils (Derwent Colorsoft, Prismacolor).

Portholes in Ammon's Mole

Portholes, by Mary Stebbins Taitt--from what into what is unclear! In Ammon's book.

(I added a digital smudge painting of my last sketch of BB to that post).

Biker Buddy

Here's my daily sketch of my husband, this one in Ammon's Moleskine with Derwent Colorsoft pencils.

I made a rough digital smudge painting from the sketch in Ammon's Mole:

Ammon, I am printing you a copy and will put it in the pocket in the back of the mole. So check your pocket when you get the mole back.

The Equinox

The Equinox, by Mary Stebbins Taitt. In Mike's sketchbook, for sketchbook exchange.

I hate to be a whiner, but this really didn't scan well--the blues are actually darker than this and the pinks pinker. Oh well. Does everyone have that problem?

7 and 8 in Johnny Norm's: a bit of silliness

This is from a Wings 4 you challenge called Zen Suitcase. I made a "Zen backpack." It's all the stuff I want to take with me into my new improved life: my husband, love, happiness, paintbrushes, camera and books, my manuscripts, and the paper dolls represent friends and family. LOVE, yeah love. The backpack is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, the dubloons represent abundance of all good things, LOL! Ink and colored pencil with gesso and Wite Out for white.

Process

Here are two of the pix BB took of me working and two I took myself. The last one shows the two-page spread of the "finished" images (sketches). I like to work outside, but don't always have all the pens and pencils I need out there, so I tend to go in and out.

One for Johnny Norm's, page 5

Amanita Muscaria, the Fly agaric, by Mary Stebbins Taitt. Pen and Ink and colored pencil. OH, and I used gesso for the white--I hate the yellow paper! You could theoretically get high on these mushrooms, but the dose to get high is alarmingly close to the fatal dose. I'd rather just admire them.

2 more in Johnny Norm's: Sheeraffes and moonbirds

1)The Rendezvous of the Wild Mountain Sheeraffes, pen and colored pencil. 2)Why the Moonbirds Flew to the Sun, graphite pencil.

2 in Johnny Norm's

1)"Madonna and Child," "Paintastics," colored pencil, ink. I wasn't crazy about those "Paintastics!" They were basically markers with a brush and didn't seem to work well on the yellow slick Moleskine paper, guess I'll try them on water color paper and see if they work better there.

2)"Power to the People." Ink and colored pencil. Used metallic pencils but they don't scan well. :-( (I seem to be good at discovering things that do NOT work well.)(Wahn!)

I really enjoy looking over all the wonderful art--each Mole that comes has more to see. So fun! (But feeling a little inadequte). Clicking on these makes them a little bigger for viewing details.