fifi’s graffiti

For Illustration Friday theme: hatch

Cropped from a recent journal page. I meant to rework it but didn’t have time.

Trying some new things - especially crayolas over random blocks of text.

Most of us have heard stories about the tormented artist suffering for art. I don’t want to be one of those wretches. I decided if I’m feeling frustrated or disgusted I’m walking away for a little while. If it’s not fun, it’s not art.

I’ve been working on a Moleskine Japanese-fold notebook. The pages are thicker than the regular moleskine, so I can paint and glue to my heart’s content. I’m working on two-page spreads, but maybe by the time I get one side of the book done I’ll be ready to move on to 3 or 4 pages at a time. I’m just happy my brain has grown beyond the ATC-size layout.

And I do mean bright! Two more pages a la Teesha Moore

I love cadmium yellow. It was a little bright for this project, and unfortunately distracts from the cute characters, but I was mainly interested in how my various pens would react to the paint’s surface.

This page was painted with some cheap acrylic from the local craft store. My first acrylic paint bought when I first discovered collage a few years back. It clumped so badly I had to attack the blobs with the non-business end of my brush, and the only pens that seemed to like the surface were my Gelly Rolls. Ms Bright Idea was my favorite character from the weekend, though!

LADIES… The Queen of Color reveals the magical secrets of fly extermination. You no longer have to suffer the miseries of filth and distraction wrought by the nasty beasts. Simply aim the COLORVATOR in the general direction of the offending beasties and upon impact with the patented laser lamp all associated body parts explode in a burst of color. Safe and Effective.

Yes, I’ve got the bug. There has been a sudden upswing in art journaling posts in the webosphere since Teesha Moore graciously posted a series of videos depicting some of the techniques she uses to create her fabulous journals. Thank you, Teesha!

I didn’t have the same kind of paper or paints she uses, but I had fun PLAYing, which is what my brain needed. I went ahead and added the thoughts that were generated from the creation of my crazy collage people; I can hardly wait for Teesha’s tutorials on lettering, though.

IF - “blur”

This is how I see the world, sans lenses. Blurred by the camera, not by me. I just added a bit of texture in Photoshop.

for IF theme “skinny”
Recycled oldie from an altered book experiment.

A few of the many wonderful expositions at the Day of the Dead celebration at the Rose Maine Theater in Fort Worth. I’m so glad this holiday has taken root in North Texas. I’ve long preferred it to Halloween. It’s such a joyful celebration to people in our lives. If you click to see the larger photo you’ll see most of the skeletons are smiling!  Below are some tiny fanciful creatures about 2-3 inches tall. The two quadrapeds reminded me of a dog & a cat.