Weekly Art Challenge: SURREALISM!

Hello Folks!

 

This weeks art theme is Surrealism! I love Surrealism, its one of the most creative and thought provoking art movements of the 20th century. The movement evolved after WWI and was focused on exploring the inner workings of the mind through art and literature. In my opinion it was one of the emotionally liberating moments in art. People would let their imaginations fly as they looked inward for their inspiration.

 

Rj – Hell Toast, Pen and ink on Paper – I have yet to decide if RJ is feeling excited for the upcoming Halloween festivities or had a very bad experience with his breakfast this week and THIS is his surrealist revenge! The details, as always, are impeccable. That toaster looks very hellish and cavernous; and I feel rather sorry for the toast. My favorite detail, the tiny hearts from the heavenly toast crumbs, the toast found peace after its hellish experience in the toaster! 🙂

 

Tony: Mind and Self,  mix media on paper – Tony’s explanation of his piece:

“It’s about liberation, freedom of mind and being open to the possibilities of the Universe [ I drawn our Galaxy on the Lock to represent that ]. When you are attached to Love [ Heart ], or material things like money, or hurt feelings, you need to step back and think about more than all that and free yourself from those things. By doing so, your mind thinks [ thoughs are represented by the Energy on the guys’s head ] and those thoughs become acts [ Act = The guy’s big hand ] and you can detach yourself from everything [ water running out the tube and giving water to the flower which is a sign of nature, Earth. But also starts the mechanism that makes the hand moves towards the lock Then it unlocks the Brain – Mind, and the eyes in order to think and see more than what you usually think or see ]. The birds going out of the cage are obviously symbol of freedom that someone wants to reach. The phone is a part of things that makes us materialists, the chess-like floor is just a thing that is often used in Surrealism art so I took it as a symbol for this theme. The trains goes toward the left/future and is a part of the man [ smoke/beard ]. So it’s also one of the metaphors. The eye in the Hand is another sign. In Buddhism it is symbol of protection called Hamsa. I used Buddhism a lot in this drawing because my double theme represents something like reaching the enlightenment.”

 

Amber: Untitled Dreams, Watercolor, acrylic, graphite on paper – I still have some detail work to complete on my piece, but for now I am happy.  The inspiration came from a recent discovery of an old collage drawing that I started years ago, but never finished.  It was a terrible collage drawing of my yellow tea mug with a weird blue paper mosaic in the background. I thought that maybe I could improve it by using it for one of the art challenges, but I left home in a hurry for a work trip and did not bring the horrid artwork with me… I still liked the image I had in mind for the piece so I started fresh – I think it looks better than it would with the other piece.

For my piece I combined a variety of meaningful images into a composition that reflects a series of bizarre but relevant dreams I had not to long ago with my fear that should I settle then my life would grow stagnant and I would eventually begin to sink into the dreadful unseen.

 

 

 

Thats it for this week, Next art challenge: BOLD COLORS! 

Weekly Art Challenge: UNDER THE SEA

Hi folks!!

This week’s theme is Under The Sea.  A theme that was inspired partially by sea mythology and partially be the sense of unknown.

 

Rj – Untitled, pen and ink on paper – I love the woodcut quality of this piece, such beautiful mark making! When I asked RJ what his thoughts behind the piece were he said “its about the fear of whats lurking in the oceans”. And its true, people are generally terrified of what is deep under the surface, when we think about the deepest ocean trenches our imaginations run wild with bogey-man creatures. Interestingly, while this piece is about the fear of a monstrous predator and death by an unknown unseen creature underwater, the predator itself also has a heart and within his stomach is an object that should scare anything in our oceans, a fishing hook. The duality of fearing what is or should fear us is what I think makes this image strong and interesting. And while we are afraid of the unknown, we are still strangely attracted to it, despite the fearful consequences!

 

Amber – Sea I, II & III, acrylic and ink on paper – Due to a week of packing and saying good bye to some awesome friends for my big move back to NJ, I didn’t have the time or energy to finish my challenge for this week. Of course I am still gonna post what I did complete and hopefully you will see where I was going for the challenge. My intended goal was continue practicing my illustration work and make Under The Sea postcards. I wanted to make something that was light and fun to look at. I definitely took some artistic liberties with the marks and design of each sea creature; and I wish I used actual watercolors instead of thinned out acrylics. The colors would have been more vibrant and lively if I had followed my gut instead of using what was within easy reach. But, I do like the composition of the pieces and think I will play with the Sea theme again in the future.

 

 

Weekly Art Challenge: MYTHICAL

Hey Folks!!

This weeks art challenge theme was Mythical!

RJ: Blue Fairy, Pen and Ink with digital paint -RJ was inspired by the Blue Fairy from the story of Pinocchio. She is constantly giving  to and caring for others; and now she sits, alone, in a moment of self-reflection and exhaustion.  I like how RJ is focusing on the emotional impact that comes with being the blue fairy, a character that is endlessly needed and often taken for granted. Her surroundings are simple but indicates a space of comfort, she looks away from the viewer to instead focus on her own blue reflection on the surface of a cherry and she sits in a self protective fetal-like position. Great job, Rj!

 

Mikyla: Fashionista Fairy, pencil and crayon – Mikyla drew one of the most fashionable fairies I have ever seen! The details on her dress would impress even the toughest of judges from Project Runway.  She is consistent with her use and range of purples and pinks and offers just enough pop of red and yellow to make the fairy stand out. I love the her pattern of dark violet stars covered with a light shading of the same dark violet crayon. Not many  young and budding artists understand at her age how varying the pressure can be an artistic tool. Great Job Mikyla! Keep it up! 🙂

 

Tony: Yggdrasil, Ink and color pencil – I love the detail, texture and composition of this piece. Tony was inspired by Norse mythology; specifically the image of Yggdrasil, a massive tree the held Nine worlds with in its large branches and roots. He was drawn to the beauty and  strong element of nature within norse/nordic mythology. I am personally unfamiliar with norse/nordic mythology, I do recognize a story or character here and there; but now, after viewing Tony’s piece, I am very much intrigued to research the culture and learn more. Great job, Tony!

 

Amber: Medusa and The Golden Apple, Acrylic on wood – I decided to continue with the theme of snakes and their association with women. I always  found it interesting that the association between the two was meant to be a negative reference to the “true nature” of women when the “true nature” that was referenced always seemed to be strength, bravery, cunning, hunger for knowledge, seductive etc etc. Gosh, who would want to be burden with all that?

I picked Medusa for my Mythical creature and did some reading on her story and image in popular culture. Her myth is heartbreaking and the contemporary use of her image to depict female rage did not resonate with me. When I think about Medusa I tend to envision a misunderstood woman who constantly must protect herself from a cruel world, not an angry ugly woman. Considering all the awesome traits associated with snakes as mentioned above, Medusa must be one badass creature!  So I decided to give her the Golden Apple.

 

 

Thanks for visiting!

 

Next weeks theme: Under The Sea

Weekly Art Challenge: CHANGE

Hey Folks!!

This week the theme for our fun art challenge is “Change” and was picked by our new creative participant, Tony! Welcome to the fun Tony!

 

Rj: Change of Breakfast, Photographed Happening –  Lucky Rj was enjoying a week in France and with the limited materials he had to work with Rj’s piece became a reflection of a different pace of life one would experience while traveling. He wanted to show how a different location and can offer a change of perspective and using a moment that almost all people share, like eating breakfast, he was able to illustrate that feeling of change. And to add some playfulness to the image he transformed a sheet of paper too look like a croissant.

 

Tony: Same but Different, Acrylic – Tony’s piece is a statement that we all naturally change with age but yet we are still the same person from the beginning to end. Change is something that can not be escaped and those same changes does not make a different person, physically.

 

Amber: The Snake Girl, pen and ink with watercolors – For my piece I wanted to illustrate a spiritual transformative act, the shedding of one’s outer and confining layer to free the inner-self. My inspiration came from my own personal fascination with snakes, their use in religious mythologies and their often cultural association with women. When I began sketching this piece I intended to draw myself shedding the snake skin, but as the sketch progressed I saw that image wasn’t me, she was someone else unknown to me who I guess needed to be released.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Next week theme is: Mythical!

Weekly Art Challenge: HIDDEN

Hello Folks!!

The theme for this week is Hidden!

 

RJ: Hidden, acrylic – When I first looked at Rj’s piece I immediately focused on the missing piece and was thinking literally that pieces were hidden/missing/disappeared and therefore the incomplete image was hidden. Then I looked closer and realized that there was another level this this piece. There is an image that I didn’t see the first time around. I won’t share, because I want you to look harder and appreciate Rj’s cleverness!

 

 

Amber: Censorship, Mix media collage – When I first picked this theme I had this idea for nautical monster under the bed image; but no matter how many times I sketched the idea out, I just wasn’t feeling the piece. I tried a few other ideas, but nothing worked and time was running out. Then this idea of censorship popped into my head. I thought about how socially our communities hide what they don’t understand, what they don’t like and what they deem to be ugly and perverse; and then they redirect your eyes to some pretty facade with the hopes that you will not notice what was hidden from you. If I had thought of this idea days earlier I would have used different collaged pieces. I don’t think Van Gogh’s portrait is the best choice – I never heard of his work being “censored” from the public –  and I don’t know anything of the book whose pages I tore out for the background, but I do think that VAn Gogh is a good general representation for the artists who are often at odds with society when trying to honestly express themselves. The book pages are meant to represent banned books, though I don’t think this book is on that list. I whitewashed the simple collage to mute their influence and decoratively painted the word Censorship to show a distracting pretty facade that those who attempt to hide the arts and their influence try to redirect your attention.

Next challenge: Comfort!

Weekly Art Challenge: NATURE

Hello Folks!

‘Nature’ was the theme for our friendly art challenge this week.

 

RJ’s: Nature Bulb, pencil and digital paint – RJ wanted to make an image that combined nature and technology. Its a great piece of work! the detail of the beetle in the lightbulb is fantastic, I absolutely love it! The image reminds me that as we push for the advancement of technologies we often find ourselves pulled further away from the purity of nature. Ironically, nature was the inspiration for so many in the pursuits of improving our world; but she has also fall victim to our tech experiments – from the pollution, loss of habitat and from unpopular genetic modifications. The question becomes, is it possible to find a harmonic balance between nature and technology? For one to prosper does the other have to falter?  Great Job, RJ!

 

 

Mikyla: View from the Window. crayon and pencil – Mikyla did a wonderful job illustrating the sunny view outside her window. There is a lot of movement with her crayon strokes, perhaps there was a warm gentle breeze blowing through the garden. I like that she filled up the entire piece of paper, it reminds me that nature is everywhere, no space can go long without mother nature returning. Great job Mikyla!

Amber’s: Busy Bees, Graphite, acrylic and paper – Still painting my lovely dandelions. For this week’s theme I wanted to exhibit the role of the dandelion within nature’s realm by showing the busy bees working hard collecting its pollen. What impresses me the most about nature is that every piece of it has an important role in keeping the whole thing working. When one part goes missing, or extinct, then the rest of the system has to readjust and is never quite the same. The dandelion, though given the horrid status as “weed”, is one of the most useful plants a gardener could have. they are edible, their taproot helps break up compact dirt which will help other plants grow better and they are just plain pretty!

 

Thanks for visiting!

Next theme: HIDDEN 🙂

Weekly Art Challenge: Artist’s Choice!

Hello folks!

We decided to give ourselves a two week challenge so that we could come up with something great.. lol but two of us, the epic procrastinators that we are, didn’t quite finish our work. We are still posting them, but please don’t judge the adults! Mikyla, however, did complete her challenge and therefore deserves to pick this week’s theme: Nature. Great theme choice!

 

Rj – Chameleon, paint – I know this is a 2D painting, but the colors and texture really look as though he created the lizard from this foam sculpting material I have seen in craft stores instead of acrylic. Which of course makes me want to reach in to play with it! The detail of the thousands of colorful scales is great and I love the intense eyeball! I can’t decide if the chameleon has seen dinner or if he just realized he is dinner. 🙂

 

Mikyla – Disney Castle, pen and crayon – Again, Mikyla has an eye for mature artistic detail! Setting her disney castle at night under twinkling stars and a crater marked moon was smart and creative.  I love that she used a pretty violet for the night sky and drew in a few bricks instead of filling the castle with tiny squares, it echoes the scattering of tiny stars and creates a balanced patterning. Beautiful!

Amber – Dandelion Patch, acrylic, pen and graphite – Still drawing dandelions. What can I say, I love them! I still have a lot of work to add to this piece and I hope to finish it this week, if there is time. I want to glaze over the thick black border with a golden shimmer and add more pen and ink details to the leaves and flower buds. There are a few things I wish I did differently, mainly taken more time to paint the image in a better lit room, but I still think I can make it work 🙂

 

 

 

Next theme: Nature!

Weekly Art Challenge: HEARTS

Hello Folks!!

The theme for this weeks friendly art challenge is: Hearts!

 

RJ’s: Love, Digital drawing- RJ wanted to create a piece that signified the surge of love bursting within a heart. I think he succeeded! When I first saw RJ’s piece I instantly thought of a germinating seed, like love sprouting in wild, it was drawn very organically. I like how the colors of the heart are dull and mature in comparison to the youthful colorful ribbons representing love. It reminds a viewer that no matter the appearance of someone, there is a complexity of emotion and feelings surging beneath the surface looking for an escape – we all have ability to love and we all need love.  Great Job RJ!!

Mikyla’s: My Family,  Crayon – A portrait of her family. How very sweet and a perfect interpretation of this week’s theme! You can tell how much she loves her family by how she centered them perfectly in the composition and giving them a bright sun to shine over them. I love the border around the image, its adds an extra bit of summer fun to her drawing. Her second drawing – the one with two smiling hearts – is also a nice and smart piece. For me it looks like love is healing a broken heart and also strengthens the importance of family in the first drawing! Great Job Mikyla!! Can’t wait to see what you make next!

 

 

Mine: There Is A Bluebird In My Heart, And It Wants To Be Free, pen, ink and acrylic on paper – I was originally going to create a piece that had a more morbid gothic perspective on love, that was until I was driving through the Adirondacks and listening to a Vermont public radio station. A local singer, Anders Parker, was promoting his new album and the title – There is a bluebird in my heart – was in reference to a poem by Charles Bukowski. I instantly fell in-love with the title. Out the window went my original idea and the moment I was home I threw myself into my art supplies and began sketching ideas.

I kept the heart in black and white to signified the cold imprisonment of the Bluebird. The branches growing from the arteries signify the Bluebird’s desire for freedom and the hope that the heart will soon release its grip.

 

 

For the next challenge we are allowing ourselves TWO weeks to complete. We want to make something really special for the next theme: Artist Choice!

 

Weekly Art Challenge: KLIMT

Hello Folks!!

The theme for this week’s friendly art challenge is Klimt! One of the world’s greatest artists!

 

RJ’s – Fireflies in Forest,  Digital –  RJ’s artwork was inspired by Klimt’s use of patterns and how he would engulf his subjects with interesting fabrics or nature. He started with a previous sketch he created of a young girl, added some color and envelope her within a firefly pattern. I love how the pattern of fireflies echo drawings of star constellations along the pensive expression of the young girl lost in her thoughts. The longer I view this piece the more I find myself questioning if she is actually in the forrest or is imagining a forrest filled with fireflies around her. The hazy glow of RJ’s color palette emits a dreamy vibe and only connects further with Klimt’s symbolist perspective.

 

 

 

 

Mine: The Innocent Kiss, reused materials, graphite, ink, acrylic – I love Klimt! His compositions, use of pattern and texture have always been an influence for my own personal work and I was very excited to take on this challenge. For my piece I wanted to play with the various characteristics that are attributed to Klimt, but still maintain my own voice and style. I began by white washing one of the abstract mandalas pieces from the previous challenge, knowing that the patterns would seep through the gesso, and referencing a photo of my cousin for the image of the young girl blowing a kiss. I used various materials to enhance the muted mandala pattern and added additional Klimt inspired patterns. Klimt is well known for his use of gold leaf and warm tones – I prefer silver and cooler tones, it works better with my mark-making.

I’m looking at this piece as being a pre-sketch for a possible larger piece. working on it allowed me a chance to experiment with some material and ideas that I was mentally toying with for awhile. The young girl will need some additional work to look more like my young cousin. Her mouth and hand is a bit awkward. I wish I had placed her a little closer to the center, but I wanted to use the patterns from the mandala and had to work around them. Over all, I am happy. It was a good challenge and gave me some ideas for the future 🙂

 

 

And for comparison, the blue Mandala piece from last week that was reused for this challenge. 🙂

 

Next week’s Challenge: Hearts

Weekly Art Challenge: Close Up

Our second weekly Art Challenge!! This week’s  theme, chosen by RJ, was Close Up.  We both had some fun with this theme and both presented a series!

 

RJ’s: Butterfly Wings – Acrylic on mini canvases.

I love the large loose brushstrokes seen in Rj’s Butterfly Wings. They remind me of tissue paper collages from my childhood art classes.

 

 

Mine: Dandelion – watercolor and some pencil on paper.