Chicken Collage Day 9 (October 20, 2011)

Chicken Collage Day 9 (October 20, 2011), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Today I went to the studio and worked on this collage for a while, a chicken made up of patterns. (This idea came to me while I was admiring the patterned feathers of some real live chickens.) Today I worked mainly on the tail feathers, pasting black and white patterns cut from recycled paper. This is like doing a jig-saw puzzle, trying to make the little pieces fit, and progress is slow.

Colorado Drawings DIllon Step 3

Colorado Drawings Dillon Step 3, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This is a small (5 x 8 inch) mixed media drawing, based on a sketch from a small sketchbook (also 5 x 8 inches) that I took along on a trip in the Colorado mountains in the 1980s. I tried to capture the lines of the mountains with quick pencil sketches, quick because I was a passenger in a moving car. The original sketch is labelled "Dillon". I want to a series of drawings based on that Colorado sketchbook, so I have been thinking hard about the choices I make as I begin. In this drawing's first stage (posted here Oct. 17), I created areas of color with conte crayon, keeping the areas of color pretty flat. I liked the color, but thought the lines were getting lost. I had been fighting the urge to draw over the conte crayon, and finally gave in and quickly drew some lines with fine line marker. (That version was posted here yesterday, October 18th.) It felt great to draw those lines in, but it also felt like I had created a problem, but I decided to try to solve it. I decided that the lines didn't seem integrated with the rest of the drawing. So I adapted the color scheme and added dark areas next to the lines. I also drew over the lines with conte crayon in some places to make the lines softer. When I was done, I was happier with the drawing. And now I have a better idea of what I want to do with the next drawing.

Colorado Drawings Dillon Step 2

Colorado Drawings Dillon Step 2, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

I am working on an idea for a series of drawings based on a small (5 x 8 inch) sketchbook that I took with me on a trip to Colorado back in the 80s. From the passenger seat, I used pencil to draw quick sketches, trying to capture the lines of the mountains from a moving car. Now that the sketchbook has reappeared, I want to create mixed media drawings based on the sketches, and have been trying to work out how I want them to look. Yesterday, I worked on this drawing, using conte crayon to create flat areas of color. But I felt like the lines were disappearing, and the lines were the point of departure for this idea. I had been fighting the desire to draw back into the image with fine-line marker pen, and I succeeded in fending off the idea. . .until I gave it, just before I was ready to leave the house on an errand. (I already had my coat on.) I picked up a blue marker, and quickly traced over the lines. I took a quick picture, and left. I didn't know whether I liked the result or not. I liked the lines, but thought the image had looked better before (see yesterday's post) and so was at least a little bit horrified. But no matter what, I had the digital image of the earlier picture. I took courage from the voice of one of my favorite college painting teachers (Robert Daigle), who would urge me to try the unfamiliar approach, saying, "Good, Randi. Now you have a problem to solve." The idea that having a problem to solve leads to more creativity was a great lesson (and can be applied beyond art class). So I started to think about how to solve the problem that I had created. . . .To be continued.

Colorado Drawings Dillon Step 1

Colorado Drawings Dillon Step 1, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This is a mixed media drawing (in progress), the first in what I hope will be a series of small drawings based on an old sketchbook that I used on a trip to Colorado in th 1980s. Yesterday I posted a "dress rehearsal," a trial run that I made of this sketch to see how the conte crayon and marker pen would work. Today I started "the real thing". This time I used a more constrained color scheme, and used less modeling, going for somewhat flatter areas of color. I liked the result, especially the color. I took this picture and I was going to stop here. Maybe I should have. . . .But although I thought the color was working, I felt like I was losing the lines. I had been fighting the urge to draw back into the image with fine line marker. I finally gave in. (Maybe I shouldn't have.). . .To be continued.

Colorado Drawings Trial Run (Dillon)

Colorado Drawings Trial Run (Dillon), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Last week I posted a line drawing of this same scene (mountains somewhere near Dillon), from a little 5 x 8 inch sketchbook that I had with me during a trip to Colorado back in the 80s. From the passenger seat, I tried to capture the lines of the mountains with quick pencil sketches. Since this old sketchbook reappeared a few weeks ago, I decided to do some small drawings based on the sketches. The image you see here is just a trial run. For each drawing, I am starting by making a new line drawing by tracing over graphite paper. This morning, I wanted to just try out my idea, mostly to find out how the conte crayon and perhaps some marker pen would work with the lines made with graphite paper. (I have already discovered that the graphite can smudge pretty badly and can't be erased.) So I made a second copy of the line drawing, just to use to experiment. I wasn't really thinking about the color scheme, just wanted to see how well the lines would show up if I used conte with various values. I also tried a little bit of marker pen, too, just in case I decide to use that. Then I got interested in the drawing and kept going, and this is the result. This little dress rehearsal was a good exercise.

Hand Picked Bouquet (Posterized Photo)

Hand Picked Bouquet (Posterized Photo), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Yesterday I published a photo that I took of a bouquet (hand-picked at Field of Flowers at Long Hill Gardens). Tonight I used Painter to create this posterized version of the photo. I think the effect emphasizes the light.

Hand Picked Bouquet

Hand Picked Bouquet, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

While I was at Long Hill Gardens yesterday to get vegetables from the Food Project (a CSA), everyone was invited to cut some flowers from "Field of Flowers," right next to the CSA's herb garden. Their flowers there are usually for sale, but because frost will come soon and there are still a lot of flowers, bouquets would be free for the taking. Even though it was raining, it sounded like fun, so I spent about ten minutes taking pictures and cutting flowers. Let me tell you that it isn't easy to do both, especially on a rainy day. But I had a good time and a nice bouquet to show for it. I took some pictures of my bouquet on Thursday night. Tonight I edited this one to get the effect I wanted, soft light and soft edges.

Red Leaves in October

Red Leaves in October, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

We went to Long Hill Gardens today. (Today was Thursday, pick-up day for our CSA.) While we were there, I saw a small tree with bright red leaves growing at the edge of a field, so I took some pictures. Tonight I used iPhoto to crop the original photo to get this composition.

Colorado Sketchbook Dillon 1

Colorado Sketchbook Dillon 1, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This is a sketch that I made sometime in the 1980s during a summer car trip in the Colorado mountains. This sketch is one of many in a small 5 x 8 inch sketchbook. My daughter recently found the sketchbook, which had gotten mixed in with her things during our moving out and moving in to the studio that we share. Anyway, I remember using this sketchbook to try to capture the lines of the mountains as we drove along. (I guess this was one of my first forays into capturing images from a the passenger seat of a moving car, but now I use my cell phone camera!) Sometimes I wrote down approximately where we were; this one was near Dillon. I have been thinking about these little drawings and what to do about them. I like their simplicity, and the immediacy of the line. But I also want to create something more from them, and have been fighting the urge to draw into them with pastel, markers, or pencils. My idea is to make something like the transformational drawings I did a few years ago. (To see them, search for "transformational drawing" on this site.) Well, I worked out a way to both keep the original sketches just as they are, and also use them sketches for something new. The first step is scanning each original sketch into the computer, and saving it as a digital image, which is what I did with this one, and the result is the image that you see here. The next step is making a new copy of the sketch. To do that, I printed out the digital version on computer paper. Then I cropped out the 5 x 8 image, put it over a piece of graphite paper, and retraced the lines onto a new mixed media sketchbook (also 5 x 8) that I bought for this purpose. (I draw over a copy on computer paper so I don't ruin the original sketch.) So that's what I did today, and everything worked. The next step will be to draw into the "new" version of the drawing with pastels, pencils, markers. I think this is going to be fun, and a good project for my home studio, with computer and printer close by.

Chicken Collage Day 8 (October 11, 2011)

Chicken Collage Day 8 (October 11, 2011), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Yesterday I went to the studio at Porter Mill and worked on this project, a collage of a chicken. (A few months ago, I saw some chickens at Long Hill Gardens, was admiring the elaborate patterns in their feathers, and suddenly imagined a chicken made out of patterns, and that is how this project got started. Well, the past few weeks have been crazy, and I haven't had a chance to get back to this project. Besides, I had run out of the black and white patterned paper--cut out from the border print of an Arches watercolor pad. But yesterday, on the way to the studio, I stopped at the art supply store and picked up another Arches watercolor block in the same size. The watercolor block will be put to good use soon, but I took off the cover right away and started to cut up its black and white border.) So yesterday, with a fresh supply of black and white printed paper, I did some more work on the tail feathers.

Delicata Squash (Digital Woodcut)

Delicata Squash (Digital Woodcut), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Yesterday's post was a photo of delicata squash (edited and posterized in Painter). I took the original photo last Thursday at the CSA at Long Hill Gardens. I like the patterns in the squash (which is why I took the photo) and thought the image would look good as a digital woodcut. So tonight I used Painter to apply the digital woodcut effect. I fiddled with the controls to adjust the number of colors, the amount of black, etc., with the goal of emphasizing the lines and patterns in the image.

Delicata Squash (Posterized and Edited Photo)

Delicata Squash (Posterized), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

On Thursday afternoon, we went to the Food Project at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, This is a CSA project (community supported agriculture), and every week, Thursday is the day for members to pick out, pick up, and in some cases, actually pick the vegetables for the week. It is getting late in the season, and this week there were huge carts full of pumpkins and different kinds of squash. These are delicata squash (which I know because there was a sign). I liked the patterns and colors, so I took some pictures. Tonight I cropped this image out of the original photo. Then I used Painter to clean up the squash a bit with digital pastel, and then posterized the image. I think this might look good as a digital woodcut. . . .

Path in Autumn

Path in Autumn, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Tonight I cropped this image out of a photo that I took about a week ago, on October 1st. This was during a walk at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA. It was still raining, and there were leaves on the path from the recent storm. I liked the way the leaves looked against the dark surface of the pavement. As we walk along the path, the seasons change, leaves fall, and time passes.

Earrings in Purple, Pink, and Silver

Earrings in Purple, Pink, and Silver, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

While I was visiting my aunt in Denver, we made jewelry, which is something we both love to do. We went to a couple of bead stores in Denver, and I bought some beads and put things together at my aunt's. I made these earrings to go with the necklace I made that day (seen in the photo I posted here yesterday). I forgot to write down what these beads are made of, but I think they are magnesite and dyed turquoise.

Necklace in Purple, Pink, and Silver

Necklace in Purple, Pink, and Silver, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This is a necklace that I made last month when I was visiting my aunt. We went to a couple of great bead stores in Denver. Then we went back to her place and I put this together from what I had bought. My aunt helped me with the fasteners, something that is still quite a struggle for me. (She has been making jewelry for several years now, having started when she was in her eighties.) I forgot to write down what these beads are, but I think they are magnesite, dyed turquoise, twist beads, and the pendant looks like it might be agate. Anyway, I had a great time making jewelry with my Aunt Edy. I like the necklace and have already worn it several times, including to my high school reunion in Colorado, as well as to the Open Studios event at Porter Mills last week here in Beverly, MA. I have been meaning to photograph this necklace, and tonight I finally did. There are earrings, too. I plan to post a picture of them tomorrow.

Three Chickens (Inspiration for Collage)

Three Chickens (Inspiration for Collage), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Tonight I came across some pictures that I took at Long Hill Gardens back in early May. The ones that caught my eye were the photos of the chickens, covered with black and white patterns, so I cropped this image to focus on three chickens with black and white feathers. These are the chickens that inspired the collage I have been working on, a chicken made out of patterns. I haven't seen this photo in months, so I was fun to realize that some of the paper patterns I am using are really not that far from the patterns in the feathers of these chickens. It has been a crazy week, and I am eager to get back to work on my little collage.

Pillar at Long Hill (Posterized Photograph)

Pillar at Long Hill (Posterized Photograph), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Tonight I used Painter to create this posterized version of the photo I published here yesterday, of a pillar at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA. This is one of two pillars that mark the entrance to one of the gravel paths on the edges of the formal gardens. I think the pillars look mysterious, and the posterizing adds to the effect. These formal elements at Long Hill Gardens are beautiful, but somehow strange and a bit surreal in this natural setting. Seeing them sometimes makes me think of the mysterious gardens in the Alain Resnais movie of Last Year at Marienbad (the novel by Alain Robbe-Grillet).

Pillar at Long Hill

Pillar at Long Hill, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This image started with another photograph that I took at Long Hill Gardens during a recent morning walk. The gardens are located on an old estate (Sedgwick Gardens), and the centerpiece is an old house surrounded by gardens close by, and trails further out. I like the mix of natural and formal elements. This is one of two columns at the beginning of a gravel path. Elements like this at Long Hill always make me I was looking up and admiring one of the columns, and I decided to take a picture. I was shooting into the light, so it took some editing later on (in iPhoto) to get the column to show up. I also cropped the image and used the retouch tool to get rid of a branch that was creating a distracting line.

Sapphire Berries After the Rain

Sapphire Berries After the Rain, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

I took this photo during a morning walk at Long Hill Gardens, here in Beverly, MA. I took some pictures of sapphire berries, with drops of rain from a morning storm still on the leaves. Tonight I cropped one of my photos to get this composition. Until I moved here, I had never seen or heard of sapphire berries, with color so bright that I couldn't believe they were real.

Pink Mums

Pink Mums, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

It's fall and autumn flowers are on display in front of the grocery store, bright mums along with tiny pumpkins. I was running a quick errand after a very hectic week, but I stopped for a minute to look. I like the fall colors, but my favorite color for mums is pink, so I took a couple of quick pictures. Tonight I used iPhoto to crop this image from the best photo.

Little Apple

Little Apple, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Yesterday, I found myself with time on my hands in the waiting room at the vet. So I got out my iPhone and drew this image on my Brushes app. Once I got the image into my computer, I used iPhoto to crop it to get this composition. I am going to use this little apple to wish friends and family a sweet new year.

Two Autumn Roses (Digital Woodcut)

Two Autumn Roses (WDCT), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Tonight I cropped this image out of the photo of autumn roses that I posted here yesterday, using just two of the roses. Then I used my Painter program to turn it into a digital woodcut. I used a lot of trial and error with the controls, trying to get the effect I was after.

Autumn Roses (Posterized)

Autumn Roses (Posterized), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Back on September 18 I saw some beautiful red roses still in bloom, so I took a picture. We were walking the dog over at the Cummings Center Pond, here in Beverly, MA. The color was amazing! I have been meaning to do something with this image, so tonight I edited it in iPhoto and then used my Painter program to posterize it. There is a lot to love about autumn roses, but what I admire most is the optimism of a flower that produces such vibrant color just when the autumn leaves are starting to turn.

Two Paintings in the Gallery

Two Paintings in the Gallery, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Today was open studios at Porter Mills, so I was in the studio all afternoon talking to the people who came by. At six, the gallery downstairs opened for the reception. All the artists at Porter Mills have work on display in the gallery. I have two oil bar paintings on display, "Path to the Beach" and "Still Amazed", and tonight I finally my first chance to see how they looked on the gallery wall. I was happy about the studio, happy about the event, and happy about my paintings, so I took this picture.

Two Pastels in the Studio

Two Pastels in the Studio, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This morning I went to the studio at Porter Mill to get ready for the open studio event tomorrow, and spent a couple of hours straightening up and hanging art. I put two of my pastel still life drawings on a brick wall. The one on top is a drawing of petunias in a windowbox, and the bottom drawing is of a basket of flowers. I liked the way these drawings looked against the brick background, so I took this picture.

Guinea Fowl with Green Beans

Guinea Fowl with Green Beans, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Today was Thursday, so this afternoon we went to Long Hill Gardens to get the weekly haul of produce from the Food Project (Community Supported Agriculture). I was out in the fields picking green beans when I heard a funny noise, which I realized was coming from one of those rather comical birds I had seen there. (They are actually guinea fowl; they look like a chicken and a wild turkey hybrid, and they make the strangest noise!) Anyway, I dropped the green beans and got out my iPhone. I tried not to startle the bird, but it was alarmed by the sound of the phone, and made lots of sounds of its own as it ran away toward the other birds, warning them of papparazzi. Well, this is the best of the pictures I took, and I had to work hard in iPhoto to make it look as good as it does. (I may try to make it into a digital woodcut.) If you look hard, you can see that its feathers are grey and white polka-dot, so I guess this counts as research for the chicken collage I have been working on.

Water Lilies in September

Water Lilies in September, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This is a photograph that I took today during a walk at Bradley Palmer State Park. (We stopped there for a quick walk on the way back from the vet.) The weather was a little cool, but the water lilies still looked great, so I took some pictures of them. Tonight I edited this one in iPhoto and cropped it to get this composition.

Chicken Collage Day 6 (Sept 17 2011)

Chicken Collage Day 6 (Sept 17 2011), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This little chicken is a work in progress, a collage inspired by some real live chickens that I saw last month. The patterns on their feathers gave me the idea to create a paper chicken made up of patterns. I did a little work on this today up at the studio. I used some yellow paper to close up gaps in the body of the bird. Then I started placing pieces of paper on the tail feathers to see if my idea would work. (I am using black and white patterns cut from the border on the cover of an Arches watercolor pad.) I liked the idea well enough to paste the pieces down. But it looks like I am going to have to buy another watercolor pad because I am running out of black and white pattern.

September Hydrangeas

September Hydrangeas, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

I saw some hydrangeas today during a late afternoon walk, so I stopped to take a few pictures with my iPhone camera. During the summer, the blossoms are white, but when the cooler weather comes in September, the hydrangeas turn to cream and dusty rose. I didn't do much to this photo except for cropping it just a little bit in iPhoto.

Evening Light and Low Tide

Evening Light and Low Tide, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This is a photograph that I took Tuesday night, during an evening walk at Obear Park, here in Beverly, MA. It was low tide and the sun was going down. The shapes of the exposed sand bars were interesting, and so were the shapes and colors in the evening sky, so I took this photo. Tonight I used iPhoto to crop the original to get this composition.

Necklace with Blue Felt Bead

Necklace with Blue Felt Bead, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Last week I learned how to make beads from rolled felt. This is something I had first heard about from my Aunt Edy, over the phone. (She in her nineties, and started making jewelry six years ago.) Her designs are beautiful! Well, the idea of making beads out of felt sounded intriguing; it was hard to get an idea of the process over the phone, so I looked it up on line and got the general idea, but had never gotten around to trying it. But last week I had a chance to spend some time with my aunt, so she got me started in person. I rolled a strip of blue felt around a skewer, and then closed the end with needle and thread. Then I started adding pink and silver beads with needle and thread, pretty much in a random pattern. (Not that I had a choice: I don't have much control yet!) When I was done, I took the felt bead off the skewer and put the it on a ready-made leather choker that I had picked up at the bead store. It was fun to do this and even more fun to spend time with my aunt.

Front Range Memory (Posterized Photo)

Front Range Memory (Posterized Photo), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Tonight I used iPhoto to crop this image out of the background of a photo taken during a recent trip to Colorado (close to Colorado Springs I think.) Then I opened the image in Painter and used color overlay on the sky. After that, I used the "magic wand" tool to posterize the image by sections, following the lines of the landscape. I liked the effect, a soft quality suggesting a daydream or a memory. I decided to call this "Front Range Memory" because most of my trips back home to Colorado involve driving up and down the highway along the front range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

Cloud Over the Mountains (Posterized Photo)

Cloud Over the Mountains (Posterized Photo), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This is another image of the Colorado mountains, seen from Colorado Springs. I cropped it tonight out of the background of one of my photos from a visit to my home state. Then I used Painter to adjust the focus and then selectively posterize the sky, the cloud, and the mountains.

Colorado Sunset (Posterized Photo)

Colorado Sunset (Posterized Photo), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This image began with a photo that I took during a recent trip to Colorado. I cropped this view of the mountains from the background of a picture that I took during a drive along the Front Range. This is a view of the mountains seen from the highway between Colorado Springs and Pueblo, the landscape that I knew when I was growing up. I used Painter to fiddle with the focus and exposure, and then posterized the result to get this image. This is the landscape I imagine when I think about home.

Across the River

Across the River, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This is a photograph that I took during an after dinner walk. I took this picture from a little nature path behind a local Starbucks. This is the view of the Bass River, looking toward the Ryal Side neighborhood here in Beverly, MA. Even though it was still hot after dinner, it was nice to cool off by the river. I liked the long lines of the river bank, so I took this photo. Tonight I did a little bit of editing in iPhoto to adjust the exposure and crop the image.

Composition with Water

Composition with Water, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This image started with a photograph that I took on August 24 during an evening walk at Obear Park, here in Beverly, MA. There is usually a spectacular sunset to photograph during these evening walks, but there are quieter scenes as well, such as this view of waves near the shore. You can see some of the sunset colors reflected in the water, and the colors enhance the patterns of the waves. Tonight I used iPhoto to do a little post-production color correction on the photo, and then cropped it to get this composition.

Chicken Collage Day 6 (Sept 3 2011)

Chicken Collage Day 6 (Sept 3 2011), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Today I went to the studio and worked on this collage for a while. This is going to be an image of a chicken, done in patterns. I got this idea while looking at the beautiful little chickens at Long Hill Gardens here in Beverly, MA. (In the photo I posted last night, you can see all the patterns in their feathers.) So I resumed work on the tail today. Last time I worked on this collage, I had run out of the orange and white paper I was using, cut from a pet store bag , but yesterday I bought some dog food, so I had another bag with me this morning. (Thank you, "Unleashed" by Petco.) So I finished the orange lines that suggest the structure of the tail feathers, and then added the five white squares with black circles. I liked the way that looked, but wasn't sure what to do next. I tried out a few ideas with pieces of paper, but I didn't paste anything else down. So I decided to stop for the day, and give myself a chance to look at what I have so far and think about what to do next.

Chickens at Long Hill Gardens (Resource Photo for Collage)

Chickens at Long Hill Gardens (Resource Photo for Collage), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

These are some of the chickens that inspired the collage I have been working on, an image of a chicken made up of patterns. Tonight I cropped this image from a photo that I took at Long Hill Gardens a few weeks ago. If you look closely, you can see the beautiful patterns in the feathers of these little birds. I plan to do more work on my funny little collage this weekend. . . .

Herbs (Pen and Ink Sketch)

Herbs (Pen and Ink Sketch), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Today was Thursday and time for the weekly trip to The Food Project at Long Hill. It's fun to go there and collect our selection of vegetables, and today we also got to pick green beans, cherry tomatoes, and herbs out in the field. But the trip to Long Hill is never the end of the story. Once I get home, everything has to be cleaned up, packaged, and put away in the fridge. By the time I got finished with all that, I just wanted to sit down for a few minutes. But I had an idea for a drawing, so I grabbed a Sharpie pen and sketch pad on my way to the couch. I thought it would be a good exercise to sketch the herbs in pen and ink, trying to capture their different shapes, lines, and textures. I worked from memory (very recent memory because I had just put them all away in the fridge). I think most of the herbs are recognizable. In any case I had fun, and even though I was resting on the couch, my pen and ink technique got a little workout.

Chicken Collage Day 5 (Aug 31 2011)

Chicken Collage Day 5 (Aug 31 2011), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

I got up early and went to the studio for an hour to work on this collage, an image of a chicken done in patterns. Although I am far from finished with the body of the chicken, I had an idea for making the tail-feathers, and I decided to try it out. I started by laying down the basic lines in orange and white, cutting the pieces out of a paper bag (from the local Unleashed by Petco). I cut little strips of orange and white, and pasted them down in a loose pattern. My idea is to finish the lines of the tail in orange and white, and then suggest some "feathers" with a black and white pattern cut from the Arches watercolor pad. (I tried out a few pieces but didn't paste them down because I want to finish the orange and white lines first, but I decided the idea would work.) So today I went as far as I could until I ran out of orange. I will have to get another paper bag. Well, we are regular Petco customers anyway, but now I am suddenly eager to buy a box of dog treats!

Sunset and Low Tide

Sunset and Low Tide, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This is a photo that I took last night during an after dinner walk at Obear Park, here in Beverly, MA. These walks become almost routine during the summer, something I do several times a week, but the sunset is always different, and last night, it was anything but routine. The tide was low, the sky was purple, and even the sand became pink. Tonight I used iPhoto to crop this image, but apart from that, this is just as it came out of the camera.

Chicken Collage Day 4 (Aug 29 2011)

Chicken Collage Day 4 (Aug 29 2011), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This morning I went up to the studio to restore it to "pre-storm" condition. (On Friday I closed all the windows and took stuff down from the walls and tucked things away just in case.) After the studio was back to normal, I got to work on this little collage, an image of a chicken made up of patterns. (I got this idea looking at some real live chickens over at Long Hill Gardens a couple of weeks ago.) I closed up gaps on the chicken's body with pieces of yellow paper and also used yellow paper to make the shape of the legs. Then I added black and white pattern to the legs. The geometric shapes come from a chart that I found on the flip side of the cover of an old watercolor pad. I had black squares on white rectangles, but I cut them in half to make the triangles that I used on the legs. I was having a great time, but I had to stop for today.

Dad's Grade 8 Graduation (Posterized)

Dad's Grade 8 Graduation (PSTR), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

My dad was born on August 28, so today would have been his birthday. Last night I was looking through some early photos of him that my Aunt Celia gave me after he died. One of my favorites has always been a picture of him holding his eighth grade diploma. (On the back of the photo, someone wrote: Hy Zagon, 8th Grade Graduation, 1932.) This morning, despite the stormy weather, I decided to try to do something with the snapshot. I scanned it into the computer and took a good look. The snapshot was great to start with, but it wasn't straight. And I saw some problems that I hadn't noticed before because I liked the photo so much. There were several people in the background and I didn't necessarily want to include strangers in this picture. There were garbage cans lining the sidewalk, but what was worse, there was garbage strewn along the sidewalk. So I decided to clean up the streets of Brooklyn for my dad. I usually start by straightening the image, but this time I waited because I wanted to preserve as much as of the original as possible. I used a combination of cut-and-paste and digital chalk to cover up the people and the garbage cans. In the process, I had to "invent" part of a facade and rebuild a sidewalk, fence, and curb. This took a while. Then I used color overlays and posterizing to add the color. I am simplifying here because it took a lot of tries to get what I wanted. After that I used iPhoto to straighten and crop, and finally used the iPhoto "retouch" tool to soften some edges. It felt good to spend a little time on this, thinking about this little boy who grew up in Brooklyn, and years later moved to Pueblo, Colorado, where he met my mom, got married, and became my dad.

Chicken Collage Day 3 (Aug 26 2011)

Chicken Collage Day 3 (Aug 26 2011), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Yesterday I made a quick trip up to the studio. I needed to get all the windows closed because of the expected storm. I couldn't stay long, but while I was there, I worked on this collage for a little while. This is going to be an image of a chicken done with patterns. I used more of the yellow paper to fill in the body shape of the bird. I am pasting black and white pattern over the yellow, and yesterday added a few more pieces, trying to suggest feathers and wings.

Chicken Collage Day 2 (Aug 25 2011)

Chicken Collage Day 2 (Aug 25 2011), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Yesterday at the studio I worked on this collage, an image of a chicken made up of patterns. I pasted some more yellow paper down, and wanted to add some more pattern. The black and white pattern on the wing comes from the border print on the bright green cover of an old watercolor pad; printed on the other side, I found a black and white chart which I am using for the second pattern (black triangles on white squares). Now I am beginning to think my idea is going to work.

Chicken Collage Day 1 (Aug 24 2011)

Chicken Collage Day 1 (Aug 24 2011), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

Yesterday I went up to the studio and started this little collage of a chicken. Last week I saw some chickens at Long Hill Gardens and the patterns in their feathers put an idea in my head: an image of a chicken made up of pattern and texture. So I made several sketches, and moved on to this collage. Yesterday I posted the pencil drawing on the cardboard that I am using for a base. But I also started pasting down paper, and here is how my collage looked when it was time to quit for the day. It was easy enough to find this yellow paper in my collage bin. The black and white pattern was a little harder, but I decided to use the border print from the edges of a water-color pad. This isn't exactly like the image I have been seeing in my mind's eye, but when I started pasting down the black and white pattern, I felt like I was beginning to get somewhere. In any case, I had fun and a little comic relief, because this little chicken makes me laugh. To be continued. . . .

Chicken Collage (Pencil Sketch)

Chicken Collage (Pencil Sketch), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This afternoon, I went up to the studio, and got started on a collage I have been thinking about. This is based on a little series of chicken drawings I have been making recently, inspired by some beautiful chickens that I saw at Long Hill Gardens, in Beverly. I loved the patterns and colors in their feathers, and seeing them gave me an idea for an image of a chicken done with patterns, so I decided to do a collage. I began with this pencil sketch on cardboard. I drew based on memory this time, but made lots of corrections. When I was nearly done, I took a peek at my previous sketches (using my iPhone), and made some slight adjustments. Then I took this picture with my iPhoto. Afterwards I kept going. I started making the collage, cutting paper and pasting pieces onto this drawing. I plan to post that here tomorrow. It seems silly to pay so much attention to an image of a chicken. Well, I could justify this by saying "it's good practice" (it is), or "I am interested in patterns in nature" (I am). But the truth is that sometimes art is just plain fun, and these days I think everybody could use a little comic relief! Anyway, today I was very glad to be back in the studio, hatching out this little project.

Spectacular Sky

Spectacular Sky, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This is one of the photographs that I took tonight during (another) after dinner walk at Obear Park, here in Beverly, MA. This is a great place to see the setting sun because there's a clear view of the sky and water to the west. I have taken a lot of photographs there, so why take another one? Well, the sunset is different every time, and tonight the sky was spectacular, so I pulled out my camera as the clouds turned neon pink. Back home, I used iPhoto to crop this image and adjust the shadows just a bit.

Another Chicken (Sketch with Woodcut Effect)

Another Chicken (Sketch with Woodcut Effect), a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This is the pen-and-ink sketch that I posted yesterday, but with some post-production work. Tonight I used Painter to adjust brightness and contrast, and then applied a "woodcut" effect to strengthen the lines. That's about as far as I can take this little chicken, but I am still thinking about a collage or applique.

Another Day, Another Chicken

Another Day Another Chicken, a photo by randubnick on Flickr.

This morning I went up to the studio at Porter Mill. I spent most of the time putting things away and hanging some art on the walls. By the time I was finished, it was really hot up in the studio, but I didn't want to leave without making art. So I decided to give the chicken drawing another quick try. (I have been inspired by some mighty fine chickens that I saw during a recent walk at Long Hill, and decided I wanted to draw them. See last night's post for my first try.) I want to play with the textures and patterns that I saw when I looked at those amazing little chickens the other day. I have a vague image in my mind's eye, but so far can't get it down on paper. Well, I have been wondering whether what I need to do is a collage or applique, and in fact, this morning I started looking through my collage materials. But I knew I didn't have time for that this morning, so I decided to just try a quick sketch of a chicken to see what would happen. I got out a sketch pad and what I thought was a black sharpie, and began to draw. Well, the sharpie turned out to be blue, but I couldn't find a black pen, so I kept going. I drew this bird from my imagination and memory, in one go without looking at any reference materials. Even though my sketch is not exactly anatomically correct (proportions are off, for one thing), I was more playful with the lines and textures, and in that sense, I liked this drawing better. Tonight I transferred the image into my computer and through the magic of iPhoto, transformed it into black and white. I also plan to turn this little drawing into a digital woodcut in Painter, and if that works, I will post that tomorrow. Eventually I plan to try a version of this idea as a collage or fabric art project. . . .