Illustration Friday: Fearless

Never Shy Away From Battle linocut relief print 8" x 10"

Friendly Plastic New and Old

I was cleaning the living room and discovered a couple of friendly plastic things. Here's a lady relaxing on a chaise lounge skritching a very pampered kitty. This piece is about 14" wide by 7" tall, all one piece. She's really fun and I guess I still have her because I really liked her. Every once in a while I put something away instead of putting it up for sale. I might make her part of a larger piece, maybe place her in a hand-printed background or something.

And here's something from my plastic box. I carry my sticks with me when I am out at the farmer's market and I keep them in a see-through Tupperware box with a lid. I remember I had my plastic underneath my chair and the sun came around and all it took was a few minutes of direct summer sun and this happened! A whole bunch melted together. You can see one of my handmade stands in there and a tag that I attach to my work all melted together. Sometimes I can pry this apart. This one is a write off. I will have to use it for filler for bigger pieces.

My current use for friendly plastic is as material from which I am making a set for an animation. I have indian red chairs and a table, all based on the set from Inside the Actor's Studio. Once I have it all set up I'll take some jpg's so you can see it.

Day Olds- Sept 12 '07- Viking Mirror

Here's another rare full-length wall mirror. The viking lady is masonite cut with a band saw, embellished with friendly plastic, and gessoed first, then painted with acrylic paint. The edges, which you can't see, were sanded and painted black. The same goes for the bird and the background is pine, gessoed and painted with acrylics. The jagged edges were cut on a band saw too. The glass mirror was glued to the background. A nice piece. I hope the owner loves it.

Here and Gone

Never Shy Away From Battle
8" x 24" acrylic on canvas

I painted this last week, debuting it at the Ottawa Farmers' Market last Sunday. It sold the same day. I really enjoyed painting it. The dragon was just so charming to me. Every stroke of paint made me feel that creature. I enjoy pairing up unlikely subjects with clashing colours. It's interesting to see how all that works out.

I'm working on several paintings now, getting ready for Art in Minto Park on Elgin Street July 21/22. I'm hoping to have several new works and a couple of extra large pieces as well. This year has been very strong for me creatively. I seem to have a lot of energy for making things. I credit going to school with that. It makes me happy to learn things and that happiness fuels my art. It's not always easy, and creativity does not always flow, so I appreciate times like these when it does.