Silkscreen for son

When my six year old son saw my own silkscreened shirt the other night he wanted one. I went back to the drawing board and created an image based on the ghost rider cartoon with my son as the ghostrider sitting on the bike, complete with flames and the text "Jeremiah is born to ride". He loved it. I had a couple of issues with this one as I decided not to have a helper. This meant that I had to try to both manage the ink and hold the screen down flat, with mixed results. The next time I will definately use a helper. I don't see myself becomming any kind of a silkscreen artist, but it is sure fun to do for something unique and distinctly yours. Enjoy!

Painting #4

I have almost finished my fourth oil portrait, and it's of my friend Debbie. I wanted to show how Debbie had been "wounded" by events in her life over the past year. My idea was so have some areas of blood on her shirt which symbolized a wound. I found I was not able to do it however. Maybe it was because I was afraid of her reaction, or maybe because the symbolism was too strong even for me. Instead I used plan B, which was to paint an angel standing on her shoulder, symbolizing the loss she experienced and the fact she is not alone. I think I almost felt that by painting her with blood it could create further trauma. My gut told me not to do it. Sometimes as an artist you have to make decisions, take chances. I'm thinking I didn't take that chance, maybe I just wasnt ready to.

I still have a few more touch ups to do but I need to wait for the paint to dry a bit, which will take a couple of days due to the fact that I used oil. I feel the need to do something else right now, so I may hop in the van and take a half hour trip to Moncton to get another Burda pattern and some fabric. I feel the need to sew again. I really like being creative.

Speaking of fabric, I made my first silk screen the other day. It was a quote from Paradise Lost and a picture of myself with bat wings. It turned out great except on one edge where the dye leaked out a bit and created a line on the fabric. My 6 year old liked it so much that he wanted one. I made a new screen for him with him riding the motorcycle from the movie Ghost Rider.

Finished the dress

This weekend I sewed my first Burda pattern, and I have to say I was impressed. It actually fits. The neckline was a bit complicated, but otherwise it's a pretty nice dress, made from Burgundy knit, which a nice stretch width wise. My biggest complaint is hurt pride, as I measured a size 20. I was expecting a 16. I have signed up for Burda Style, which is a nice site with a lot of pictures of the clothes sewn by "regular" people. I saw one yesterday that I just have to sew. I was also impressed with the the simplicity of the directions. I could have made it in a day, but I preferred to work in spurts as I start making mistakes when I am tired. I think I am a Burda convert.

Tonight I am determined to start my latest portrait painting. Not sure if my friend will like it, as I plan to paint some blood on her blouse, symbolizing how she is wounded. She may not want to hang this one in her front room. Of course many of my pieces are not really for the front room.

Sticking to it

Yesterday I said that I was going to stick to my New Year' Resolution of doing something creative everyday. I managed to stick to it yesterday in spite of running after a day of teaching between a union meeting, power skating, working out, and doing homework with my 6 year old. I drew two portraits yesterday, one of my son and the other of my niece. Unfortunately I drew on scrapbooking paper, which means it likely won't hold up over time. Acid Free, heavier weight paper is usually the best bet. I just finished Gessoing a sheet of masonite, so later today I will put a graphite sketch down over the Gesso, then begin my painting, hopefully tonight, of my friend Debbie and her "inner Demon". That reminds me, I am all out of turpentine, and you need that to clean your brushed when working with oil paint.

I do have one roadblock to being creative tonight however. I have become addicted to the HBO series True Blood, having just bought Season 1 on DVD. I watched 3 episodes last night, and can't wait to watch more.

The New Year

I have many new years resolutions, including the usual lose weight and get in shape. I am happy to say, however, that I have actually been making a bit of progress in this area. Another big one is to try to do something creative every day. I find that like anything else, creativity can be addictive. If I am knitting a sweater, it is difficult to put it down. Once I start a painting, I have to force myself to walk away from it. The problem is actually getting started. Now that the holidays are done, my oldest is back at university, and my youngest's birthday party is out of the way I hope to start this. I am actually under the gun a bit, as I need to perk up my portfolio in the next month. The reason for this is that I am applying to the Masters in Painting program at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I am not happy with the current state of my portfolio, the main problem being that it is all over the place. I used to think that demonstrating I could do a bit of everything was a good idea. Not so. I need to focus. My focus this fall has been portraiture. Unfortunately I have found a way to spread portraiture out, working with it is fibres, painting, and drawing. The degree is in painting, so I am supposed to show a concentrated body of work in painting. I guess I know what I will be doing every night for the next month. Painting portraits of women. My focus now is painting them with their inner demon. For example, I painting myself knitting with a crow, which symbolizes my ever present struggle with depression.

Lucky for me I have done my creative thing for today. During my off class I did a sketch of my youngest son. He loves it when I make pictures of him. Speaking of which, he enjoyed the book and pictures I wrote about him for Christmas.