All those other things that make me feel creative besides drawing on paper

As the title says, "all those other things that make me feel creative besides drawing on paper".


I wanted to do something for myself, for fun, without and pre-planning, and without the stigma of 'I'm going to try selling this later.' Ahh, how refreshing. This coat was given to me in '06, on my last visit to England. It was starting to fall apart and I haven't worn it for a year and one of the pockets is torn. Therefore, it was time to make it useable again by giving it a facelift. (Ok, I say no sale's thoughts here, however, throw $ at me and I'll play with your leather clothing too)

food


I've been enjoying making food lately. The first is basically an everything salad. (I also tried this as a sandwich, minus the pasta, but including the strawberries) and next is a potato, veggie, sausage dish. :)

However, the most fun I had besides eating these dishes, is finding interesting things about the food I never knew before, like this fascinating pattern I found after breaking off all the celery stalks from the base.



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And then some inspiration from something I have nothing to do with. Just an awesome car I saw while driving. I didn't fuzz the plate out because its so funny.
I would LOVE an opportunity to paint all over a car like this.

Day 7 - master copies

(as always, written the night of the day, and posted the day after)
Last night (1/6/11) I went to bed and wrote a note in my sketchbook to do some master copies.
Today (1/7/11) I actually followed through!
I've been wanting to do more studies, to avoid getting stuck in my own drawing/painting habits, and to improve skills.

I chose to paint from my favorite era, copying some of my favorite paintings. I have always been a fan of Pre-Raphaelite depictions of magic users. Priestesses, Sorceresses, Witches, etc.


"Very Dangerous Secret" --- After "Medea" by Frederick Sandys
5" x 7" acrylic on book page
(available at my etsy - $35)


my version of "Circle of Magic" after Waterhouse
5" x 7" acrylic on book page
(also available at my etsy - $35)

I could also get into a heavy discussion about the Pre-Raphaelites - they are a favorite subject of mine - After teaching art appreciation/history, I was quite astonished to discover that nearly all the art books I used to teach from AVOIDED the Pre-Raphaelite painters like the plague, as if they had no drastic impact on the modern art world. HA! (one of my books merely mentioned them with no explanation, and provided a poor representation of the movement in black and white, and then proceeded to wax poetic about Cezanne for 4 pages and how he was the most enlightened painter ever. I wanted to throw the book out the window! "The Story of Art" by Gombrich E.h." 10th ed - its actually a very good book, except for the Cezanne pages, and the chapters on modern art) I do understand why the Pre-Raphaelites got buried in art history, and why other movements won out in popularity at the time.
... but that is a story for a different time I'm not here to lecture, just to improve my self drive by showing publicly what I did today.

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INSPIRATION for Today:
Currently Playing "Mystery Case File: The 13th Skull" Hidden object and puzzle game for the pc - by Big Fish.
Why do I include it here? Because the graphics in the hidden object game has made me see EVERYTHING in a new light - Every time I look at a cluttered spot in my home, I feel like I'm in a big fish game and I have the urge to turn places in my home into 'hidden object' images. I am starting to feel a new appreciation for all OBJECTS. While I was cutting veggies earlier, I was making note of how all the food was laying on the table. The balance and volume of everything.
I was looking at everything with fresh eyes. And I mean EVERYTHING.

- my bookshelves with the cornucopia of trinkets on top, and on the shelves, and on the wall above the shelves I have a type drawer filled with tid-bits.
- my bulletin board , fairly empty now but OH the possibilities!
-The kitchen cupboard, filled to the brim with cans and bags and other food stuffs.

Anyway, time to stop rambling.

On the 4th day of art...
I made some sloppy expressons in the sketchbook-project sketchbook and took some creative photos.






The text on the hand says "I am forced to wear ambiguous labels and fit into limiting CATEGORIES."

I also painted D's belly before he got in the shower, but I don't need to include a photo here. ;)

The rest of the day was dedicated to magic.
Every first Tuesday Dave and I attend a magic show on Theatre on the Square. I've been doing the programs for over a year now. Its a layed back gig and I get to experiment with my graphic design skills. I showed the latest one on the blog yesterday.
This one had a special guest couple doing magic and face painting in the lobby. I got my face painted - she did a beautiful simple red shading with black white and orange streaks around my eyes and addd glitter- but I forgot to get a photo!

Afterwards, we went to the Old Point Tavern. Never far from my camera, I decided to take a few creative shots - I am always fascinated by the red wash of color you get in the corner area by the neon lights.


I took this photo covertly - I always feel a bit strange taking photos of strangers but I wanted a photo of the colors, and she fit in perfectly. I would have asked her permission but people look so much more natural when they don't know their photo is being taken.


This is Pat Smith. He will be performing at next month's Indy Magic Monthly - Excellent magician, and wonderful to have as a friend. I find the mood here quite ambiguous. At first I thought the red wash made him look like a dangerous person, but now it feels more contemplative.

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More Inspiration:
At he end of the day, I read a bit of Clive Barker's "Great and Secret Show".
In it, there is a special 'island' that gets described - like a dream place cathedral building, but more vast, complicated and strange than anything in reality - in a place where physics doesnt matter, and you can have 'towers as thin as reeds' etc. The full description isn't as wonderful as the images my mind was conjuring as I read. I would't be surprised if you start seeing more bizarre structures appearing. I could FEEL the images pasting themselves to my brain.