The Hidden Gallery

Watercolours or Acrylics?????

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:56:10 GMT

Or both????

I don't know! Where should I invest my efforts??? UGH!

Thoughts?

It's hard to be competent in both never mind in just one of them... but...but... I want to get better with one technique at least.

Friday Update

Fri, 30 May 2008 20:32:07 GMT

I've been watching really good tv. I finished all 5 seasons of HBO's The Wire and the miniseries John Adams.

The Wire is epic television. It is a commentary on what is happening in our world and has left me with so many questions and some despair. What an education I got from watching that show. Season 4 and 1 are tied for my favorite, then season 3.

John Adams is a really great miniseries 7 episodes long with embellishments on one of the Founding Fathers of the US. who was also their 2nd President. The show is so steam punk. Very Cool. And really interesting. I found the world history during that period fascinating. I wish historical television shows would mention that these dramas are very loosely based on historical events. I am watching The Tudors now which is an embellishment of King Henry the 8th's rein. Also loosely based on historical events. I will say that it does make me read more about history to see how accurate shows are and how much they go off track from real history.

I finished reading Hermann Hesse's The Glass Bead Game. I enjoyed the book and the fictional account of the Glass Bead Game was something I wondered on. I read somewhere that Hesse imagined his story was set around the 25th century. Whoa. Because I used to play piano, I really appreciated and admired the way Music is described and respected in this book. Anyway, I'm still have to read the last part of the book which consists of poetry and short stories.

Okay, now art pimp:

Click to see whole painting.

Monarch Butterfly Fairy

16 in x 12 in

acrylics on cotton canvas sheet

Hello?

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:31:45 GMT

Hello out there?

Art Collaboration with Judy Boardman a.k.a. artsygoddess part VI

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 22:45:56 GMT

It's finished!!! And the colours are so much more brilliant than this terrible and low quality scan.
My favourite thing about this painting is how the mermaid's expression came out so serene...

Thank you to the wonderful and talented Judy Boardman, who is otherwise known as artsygoddess, for her wonderful mermaid drawing! It's been a pleasure and an honour to have worked with you on a beautiful piece of artwork. Thank you Judy!!!

I hope you enjoyed looking at her as much as I enjoyed painting her!

Phew! I can now go read journals without feeling guilty about not posting art!

Art Collaboration with Judy Boardman part V

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 20:25:13 GMT

Okay, I guess I got carried away and forgot to make a scan before it got to this point...These are the very first layers of watercolour paint. Things look flat at this point. The colours, the shapes, everything. I've started shading with cobalt blue and highlighting with some rose dore for the mermaid's skin then washed over everything with yellow ocher. I've also started indicating some of the background elements with more defined shapes. Whatever bleed I was losing my mind over has now been resolved. I've incorporated the bleeding ink into the watery paint. Thank goodness! Judy's art looks even more amazing with colours added!

Working through the email i've neglected over the past couple weeks. I'm down to 56 emails. wo'hoo... back on track soon I ~~think~~ hope.

Part VI and the finished painting next!

Sea Gods Artist Collaboration with Judy Boardman a.k.a. artsygoddess part I

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 03:17:50 GMT

In the past, I've always hesitated to do any kind of artist collaboration because I found that it was filled with conflict but I realize that was a product of our maturity or lack of it...

As with my art, I think I've grown more mature and I think it shows in this collaboration with the very talented artsygoddess I'm delighted with how it turned out and I hope she is too!

Judy illustrated her beautiful original drawing on a really heavy piece of watercolour paper. It was very thick like cardboard and was very textured with lots of "tooth". I've never painted or drawn on such good quality paper before and I think this is why I hesitated for so long before I actually got down to starting my half of the collaboration which is the painting part of the delicate drawing.

I really didn't want to mess this up. First of all, it's another person's original artwork!!! I was very nervous that I would "wreck" it somehow with my inexperience. Second, it's a damn fine drawing! If I goofed, then the drawing might not even be saved... you can see how concerned I was! And third, well, it's on nice paper so I certainly didn't want to ruin the investment Judy has put in me. Both her amazing talent, artwork, generous materials, and most of all her time.

It's hard to tell from the crappy scan but the lines are quite delicate and soft. There's a lot of movement in the hair and underwater foliage. I think this compliments her pose very well and I like how her tail's texture contrasts against her figure. I like Judy's composition too and how the cave's opening frames the whole setting. Little details like the coral and fish add to the magic and sets the tone for how all the figures relate to each other... it seems like everyone is kinda minding their own business in another lovely day in the underwater fantasy world of Judy Boardman. All the character's expressions are quite serene and I wanted to evoke that same kind of feeling with colour. It's like a distant and soft admiration of fantasy.

Anyways part II next...

still trying to catch up...

Inconsistant

Fri, 11 May 2007 19:47:53 GMT

... watercolours or acrylics? oil or acrylics? drawings or paintings? big or miniature? paper or canvas? digital or old skool? I just don't know...some stuff...

Well, I guess I finally finished this abandoned painting. You may remember this from this post. This painting was based on these reference pictures provided by </a></b></a>magical_krystal in fantasy_models . That was a long time ago... I found the unfinished painting lying around in a big pile of other unfinished paintings.

Acrylic on Canvas 12 x 16.

This:

is junk. Done with very little time and consideration (I know, it's obvious) in Photoshop.

I still don't know how to organize my layers best. And am still unfamiliar with the different brushes... If you got any advice, or links or anything that can help me... bring it on... Mucho Gracias!

Art Collaboration

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 20:42:19 GMT

Sorry if I depressed you with my last post. We are now returning to our regular programming.

* * *

Recently, I participated in a teamwork challenge! It was very cool. A group of mermaid artists joined up for artistic collaborations. One person would do a drawing and another person would colour and paint it. The results have been wonderful! It is really cool to see how each artist's style emerges from the art!

Well, I did a drawing and inked some of it. Then I mailed it over to geckoartist who then painted (and what an improvement!) it.

This was my original drawing. bah!

This is my drawing enhanced and beautifully painted by the talented Aubry Chapman!

I think she really improved the face. I like her expression so much more after Aubry painted it. I love it! It's gorgeous! I secretly procrastinated on mailing her my sketch because I was so dissatisfied with it. WOW! I think it's beautiful now!

Go visit Aubry's website!

Then you can go check out the art of the Sea Gods group here!

Long Time No Post

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 18:34:39 GMT

I got into that mood again where I feel like everything has lost significance compared to the crazy stuff happening in the world. Everything I write seems trivial.

Can someone please explain this to me? WTF is going on? People buy and wear this? o___O Considering how the American government treated prisoners at Abu Ghraib and how the Iranian government treated the British hostages, social commentary such as that makes me want to puke.

* * *

Back to my little world.

I never had a fast enough computer to be able to digitally paint with the tablet. I'd try, but the lag would be so bad I'd give up. Now I do have a fast enough computer, but when I tried to paint, there was still lag.... until now.

I dunno what happened (well, I did reinstall os x and cleaned up the computer after the nasty hard drive incident a few weeks ago). Having enough ram now I decided to give it another shot... and photoshop is responding nicely. There is still tons of lag when I want to use the smudge tool but who cares if the brush is working so wonderfully! (I don't care now, but I have a feeling I will in the future). These paintings were done with just the airbrush tool.

My first goof off:

Yeah, I know, it was just a quickie. I had to abandon it because we went to all-you-can-eat sushi for Larv's birthday.

Next try:

Way better I think. Mostly painted while watching The Daily Show.

Digital painting is way faster than actually painting. And way cleaner too. Having control over each layer of paint and also having the "free-transform" tool sure makes it a lot easier. I haven't decided if this is a good thing or a bad thing. It certainly makes me sloppy and less accurate knowing I can change the proportions and I can always "undo". I have to get familiar with the other brushes and tools in photoshop. Using only the airbrush just doesn't bring any texture to the painting.

The paintings themselves are nothing to write home about, but I am pleased with my use of the tablet with photoshop and for my first tries, they aren't so bad. This also makes me realize even more that I'm better at painting than drawing.

* * *

We played the Wii at Brenden's house this weekend. I am hooked! Where the heck can I find one? I've been faithfully and regularly checking out Zellers, Toys R Us, EB Games, etc...etc... I'll even buy one at Walmart if I have to even though I've been successfully boycotting it for months.

* * *

I hate racism, homophobia and misogyny. I also hate it when people stoop to that level to insult. Why are those people so evil? And the phrase, "Compassionate Conservative" is the most ridiculous thing ever. Compassionate to who? Other selfish bastards? (Please excuse my horrid language... I just don't know of a better word to describe these people).

A Second Go

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 20:58:43 GMT

I thought I would try the theme and composition of this aceo again. But bigger.

5 x 7 watercolours and ink

Been busy because of some good news! I just can't say until I am 100% sure. :)

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 02:09:53 GMT

"Reunion" 5 x 7
SFA is an acronym for Small Format Art. It is art that measures no longer than 14" in any direction. SFAs include ACEOs and OSWOA.
Enjoy.

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 20:51:34 GMT

The original is much more vibrant with color in real life. Enjoy this scan anyway!

Enjoy!

Fairy OSWOA

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 05:12:05 GMT

"Hello" Original 4 x 6 Watercolor Painting

ACEO

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 03:27:00 GMT

Original Small Works of Art

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 03:38:30 GMT

Mermaid Pond
4 in x 6 in
watercolour, ink, pencils on 140 lbs. paper

OSWOA is short for original small works of art and are sized at 4 in x 6 in. Visit the official website for more information about this new art movement.

Enjoy.

Love to Hate

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 04:35:13 GMT

It's too bad that the web images can't pick up all the colours. I can only imagine how stunning the aceos created by you guys are in real life! *swoons*

After experimenting with a variety of pens, I've decided to go back to using the old school pens that have nibs. *sigh* None of the other pens worked for me. I don't like how the line is one width without variation or movement. It's boring and I am unable to make it interesting or make it come alive. So, back to simple and affordable dip pens. How much I love to hate them.

Well, hate is a really strong word that I try to reserve for things I really do hate, like nazis, racism, homophobia, etc, etc.

The saying "love to hate" is something many of us can quickly understand and sympathize with but they are rather strong words.

I also have a love/hate relationship with religion. I think in this instance the feelings are penetrating enough to justify using such forceful words.

I love all the inspiration that comes from religion, the incredible art and music, philosophy, poetry, etc, etc. But I absolutely hate all the wars, perversions, fears, genocide, abuse, etc, etc that also comes from it.

Anyway, back to the pens.

I'm using Speedball Drawing Nibs

with FW Acrylic Based Artist Inks.

I love all the fine, delicate lines and how they can be used to create different widths. I don't like the possible ink spillage or mistakes or the scratchiness to the paper. The problem is that I'm shaky. It developed a few years ago. Every single picture I took in Costa Rica is blurry because I am almost always shaky. At one point it got so shaky that my eyes and vision was shaking so much I couldn't read and navigation started becoming risky. Going cross-eyed is also becoming a concern.

Fortunately, it has calmed down quite a bit that I am able to make aceos. I just have to remember to take a lot of breaks!
So that is the compromise I have to make to use this pen.

Oh, and back to the religion thing... I'd like to think it's spirituality that has value. It isn't a compromise. It's a choice. But that's just my opinion.

Troublemakers

Since no one really knows anything about God,

those who think they do are just
troublemakers.

Rabia of Basra (717-801)

Girlfriend, you said it! This is one of my all time favourite poems. Anyway, I was thinking about this stuff because I read this article.

Oh, and I hope you like the aceo!

(Why is the fairy so sad? More on this later.)

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 23:28:33 GMT

The scanner really does take away the brilliance of colour. Enjoy anyway!

* * *

Have lots to say, but don't know how to say it. I'll post later again.

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 04:06:10 GMT

More ACEOS

Do you know what it feels like to paint entire walls after painting tiny 2.5 in x 3.5 in cards?

Wonderful.

Finished reading:

Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster
by Svetlana Alexievich (Author), Keith Gessen (Translator)

Need proof that nuclear energy is not a good idea? Read this book. Prepare to be saddened and horrified. Anger at poor government, petty politics and costly bureaucracy that led to such suffering. It is criminal what happened.

* * *
I don't want to be depressing after that so here is a shot of warm fuzziness (a.k.a. serotonin):

New Venues!

Sat, 03 Feb 2007 21:39:22 GMT

Check out these new websites where you can buy cool, handmade things!

The community art market:
lov.li

and independent art and design:
www.elsewares.com

I've already seen quite a few beautiful things there! Then you can visit www.lov.li/users/thehiddengallery where I have started listing art!

***

In another earnest effort to create more real estate around here, we moved the furniture around again. I had misplaced the Alice painting unfinished for weeks. And I found a whole bunch of unfinished paintings that I had completely forgotten about including this WIP:

Out of sight, out of mind!

Anyway, Larv told me he thought I was doing better because he noticed I was reading again. That's a good sign. And, I've started making my weekly pilgrimage to the library again. More blogging.

Because we moved the furniture around, I haven't really been able to use the easel for big drawings of late. Acrylic paintings are still left undone until I figure out the jenga solution to the problems.

This new arrangement allows me to look out the window from my desk. My neighbours across the street have a huge big screen tv in their living room. I can see everything they are watching when they leave the curtains open. They recently got a Nintendo Wii and I have been watching vicariously as they play. lol

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 22:42:27 GMT

It has not been a good photoshop day.

But looky here!

Here too: clickey me!

I just finished reading:

I enjoyed this book. I kept hearing about it and I heard they made a movie of it. It is thoughtful and gives a hopeful feeling. It will cheer you up and soothe your soul. I wonder how the movie was?

And I also read:

Now, I've heard that there was some controversy concerning the truth in this book. I didn't know much about it - only that it is recommended by Oprah. So when I saw it in the library on the "Best Bets" shelf, I thought, "well, why not?" I was curious.

What a disappointment. The beginning of the book was interesting because I could relate a little to the main character. But it started getting tired really fast. About half way through the book, I was wondering when the heck it would end. It's so long because of all the repeating phrases and he does
this
a lot.

I mean
a lot.

It was hard to read at first because he uses strange grammar. There are no quotation marks in the whole book so it gets confusing as to who is saying what or when they say it. Not very many commas. And he uses the word "and"
a lot.
I mean
a lot.
So much so that it gets really
annoying.
Annoying.
Really annoying.
And he capitalizes certain words which is fine but confusing. Sometimes I couldn't tell if it a word was capitalized because it was important or because it was a proper noun.

I had to finish it. That's the kind of obsessive person I am. It wasn't easy. The most interesting thing in the book is the character named Leonard. I wanted to know more about Leonard and because I'm am a glutton for punishment and a little masochistic, I had to read:

which is just as
confusing.
Confusing.

Losing a couple hours of your life to crappy books is one thing...so thank goodness i didn't lose any $$ over them. The library rocks!!!

I can't recommend these books and I cannot just tell people not to waste their time with them. These books are books that you either love or hate. It seems a lot of people love them. You'd have to find out for yourself by reading them.

I am looking forward to reading:

which is a parody of "A Million Little Pieces". I'm sure I will appreciate it! This will also help me justify wasting time to read "A Million Little Pieces" just so I can enjoy the parody to its fullest.

A little harsh of a review?
Perhaps.
But it leaves me smiling.
Smiling.
Smiling.
Smiling.
Because I'm being Honest and Real and sharing my Experience and I hope you're laughing too and I bet you find it just as funny as I do and if you don't that's okay and this is the kind of writing Structure that works sometimes and you happen to be e. e. cummings and can write beautiful poetry.

(lmao... I'm sure you're laffing at my journal entry too if you've read his books!)

Still here!

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 04:07:42 GMT

It's that time of the year again when I get all quiet so I have to make an extra effort to post. My bad!

Here is some new art for you!

"I know a talented crab in town who can cut your hair!” proclaimed the crab.

"You don't say!" The mermaid looked pleased.

"The finest claws in the seven seas! Mermaids travel far and wide to have their hair cut by my friend,” the crab said with pride.

Here for your pleasure: CLICK ME!

I hope you enjoy and I will catching up will all of you!