Over-the-Top Imagination

My summer read came to me in the airport bookstore while our flight was delayed. It had been a very long time since I had the pleasure of perusing through the recent arrivals in the bookstore and so I enjoyed the unexpected time and soaked up the words around me. Out of three books I wanted to read right then and there, one did accompany me out of the store and onto the plane.

"The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in 
a Ship of her own Making"

I feel in love with each wonderful visual that came to my mind as I read page after page. And because I was so delighted in this so very over-the-top imaginary story, I marked the selected page of inspiration with a turned  corner, either up or down, depending on where on the page my mind was caught. 

The other night before I went to bed, I went back through the recently finished book; back to those turned corner pages. I wanted to catalog those specific sentences or phrases so that I could enjoy these favorites a while longer, outside of the boundaries of the book.  I feel these phrases or sentences, in and of themselves, are a wonderful story all on their own! I find they conjure up such a strong image by themselves they aren't in need or in want of a supporting cast of additional words...... So with pen and paper in hand I wrote down the following:

1. "Several small clouds skipped huffily out of their path."
2. "A girl in want of a Leopard still has her feet."
3. "She folded up the stirring very carefully and put it away at the bottom of her mind."
4. "....a cauldron full of tomorrow."
5. "The sun hitched up her trousers and soldiered on up into the sky."
6. "...grief pack away for the duration of a bath."
7. "....the ears of folk with legs and noses and eyebrows are not made to hearken to the weeping of those with inseams and button holes and lapels."
8. "...past a moon like a bony knee."
9. "...the movers of our tales."
10. "...good grief and all gallows!"
11. "....nothing but string and time."

Aren't these delightful? Which is your favorite?  I would love to know if you have one!

P.S. on the link above, you must watch the "trailer" at the bottom of the page. It does an excellent job of giving one the flavor of the story - not to mention share with you the talents of the illustrator.  :)

Recent Animated Inspiration

In the mood for a movie, I came across The Monster in Paris. From the French story (romantic, quirky, imaginative) to the beautiful colors (as shown above - the greens of Emile's outfit complimenting Maud's magenta against the moody Parisian backdrop (my 2 favorite color palettes!)), I couldn't get enough and have since ordered my own copy for my collection*. Isn't it divine when such a whim of a mood is so fully satisfied?

  (if you can't tell, I would highly recommend watching this!) 

*my collection contains the movies that move me, most often artistically (i.e. Mary and Max or Alice in Wonderland or Coraline (to name a few). Though there are a few that hit the spot with their romantic nature (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day). And thus it appears my re-watching** of a movie dictates the mood I am in (according to my husband). Apparently he knows upon entry to a room....

**yes, re-watching a movie, in my opinion, only makes it get better and better. Yes, I know the story, but by knowing the story, I am able to better narrow in on and appreciate the details of the imagery when I watch it 100%. Though depending on my mood*, I find it can also be wonderful to have on in the background of the kitchen, as I bake or cook - whereas I don't need to know the visuals completely as I see it already in my mind - it is here I can appreciate and enjoy more of the language. Besides it is so delightful to revisit the imagery in my memory as I proceed through my days - a bit of escape, if you will.....

Say what your soul needs to say

I occasionally follow/read the words spoken by Danielle LaPorte, whom I came across a year or so ago. I originally fell in love with her blunt, say-it-like-it is approach to life and signed up to receive her "truthbombs" - I signed up for these to arrive in my inbox a few times a week. Some days I skip over them as they are unwanted. Some days they just don't hit home. But other days, the message, story or phrase will make perfect sense or give me an answer I wasn't aware that I was wanting. The latter of these keeps me coming back for more and holds me back from unsubscribing entirely.

This morning greeted me with the narrative titled, "Drama at the cafe...a tale of self expression". As you know (or perhaps you don't?), I love titles and was snagged. I took the time it took to read her story and was taken in with the moral of it all, "say what your soul needs to say".

How often, when I'm at home, and I have time, do I fret and worry about what to do with this free time. If I just instead ask myself "what does my soul need to say?", it might just be the kick-in-the-pants and self-love I need to pick up the paintbrush.....

The balancing of details

As I may have referenced/suggested/hinted at in previous posts, I'm drawn to detail and most often, lots of it. I decided to explore in my current works in progress, paintings in abstractions, the combination of detail and no detail. 

Shown below are 2 of the 4 (actually the ones I am most pleased by, at least, in this stage of the game) paintings I'm working on - the latest layers of ideas from the other day. I'm liking the bit of small detail amidst the larger splotches of color and forms......

 What do you think?

The detail is somewhat leaf and fish like, I think  :)

 A portion of the larger painting, the detail (captured a bit too dark??) here reminds me of a bubbly waterfall.....

Though some may consider these complete, I know there are many layers yet to do - both in detail and in not. And because I have not been able to actually sit down and paint much lately, I have been instead painting in my mind (a curious idea and certainly one that is not messy!) so that I know how I will proceed next time I'm actually able to pick up my paintbrush and paint.

So as always, stay tuned. I am looking forward to seeing if what I see in my mind can translate on over to reality!

I'm in love!

A couple of weeks ago I picked up my Tiny Little Houses from the Northfield Arts Guild. Before I departed I stopped into their Main Gallery and feel in love immediately with drawings completed in graphite by a local Northfield artist. 

Inner World by Mary Rose Gondeck

I was drawn to the so very intricate detail and beautiful organic forms, all in subtle and varying shades of warm grey. In some ways they reminded me of my own detailed oil paintings - full of creatures and stories waiting to be heard. They were indeed a world of their own. One I would absolutely love to visit and explore, wondering and wandering my way through....  I can almost imagine stepping into it all, but will need to instead be content with exploring these two-dimensional creations with my eyes only.

I had an idea and it involved a mock-up

I have found taking the time to do a mock-up certainly helps in the short and long run of things. I tend to, over the course of my day outside of the studio, noodle around my artistic ideas, checking it all out, seeing if what I'm thinking fits and figuring out how to next proceed. If I throw a mock-up into the mix, I can more accurately move into my next step. I'm finding it to be much more time efficient overall, plus it's a way for me to feel like I'm being productive as I have something to show for all of the noodles!  :)

Below shows case in point. I cut samples of different materials (see previous post) and combined them in their desired order, securing them at the top with a brad. Now having done this, I see I need to add another 1/8" to the overall length to give a bit more room for text under the samples. I passed this important tidbit onto my person who will begin formatting the booklet this next week.... Stay tuned!

An awl is on of my favorite tools......

A Bright Day!

The day finally came when the new light system for my home studio was going to be installed. It was so very exciting watching the transformation take place in just a couple of hours!

First, the heavy looking and so-very-not-attractive fan light that I burnt out (I accidentally overheated the system with higher than ideal wattage - I was just trying to get more light!) had to come down.

Next came the assembly of the parts.

The curve of the rail was created next 

(I wanted a very soft organic like "s").

Requiring 4 hands the system was then put into place.

Final tweaks,

additions,

and then, there was light!

I absolutely love the end result. 

All the waiting was definitely well worth it!   :)