I've said it before.... I hate eBay

I hate eBay, because I love it.  :(

There I was, just browsing around, when I found the cutest little antique watercolor box.  It has eight little pans (half pans, I think), and five little porcelain or ceramic mixing bowls in a 7x3" metal box.  It's old, and beat-up, but I think it has class.  I put it on "watch" and thought about it all night.

Today, I decided I'd better buy it.  I was a Buy It Now auction, and I was afraid someone would snap it up while I was thinking about it.  So...yep, it's mine now.  I'll try to take some pictures when it arrives.

But...as usual, I can't just buy one thing on eBay and be happy.  Oh, no...uh-huh.  As long as they know I have cash in my pocket, they just keep serving up stuff I can't live without.  So not 15 minutes after I bought the little box, I went back to the list of new items and found...a much larger antique water color box.  Yep.  Tin, with 26 (one is missing) little ceramic or porcelain (although...to be honest, in the picture they look like plastic) half pans, and a white tin mixing palette.  Of course...I had to bid.  Despite the fact it's in the UK and the shipping will be exhorbitant.

I love these little boxes.  And I do believe that cool art stuff is more inspiring then 'make it do' stuff.  Yes; I could use a white china plate from a thrift store to mix my paints.  But...where's the fun in that?  Yes; I do have a great palette system with my little metal gem trays -they work perfectly.  But, the sight of all those paints lined up in little open pans just waiting for anyone to dip in a damp brush wakes up my muse better than coffee and pancakes.  So...I'm indulging her.  I want to paint; I want to paint a lot.  So if this is part of the cost of motivating myself and the ticket to suddenly seeing "ART" in the mundane dust of my everyday life, so be it.

I probably won't win the second box.  But, I had to try. If I do, I'm not sure how to go about refurbishing it, or even if I should.  Maybe I'll just hang it on the wall for a while. :)

She's Alive!!!!

I know...I guess I'm not much of a blogger, really.  I keep thinking I'll post something, but then life just kinda gets in the way.  Maybe it's because I spend so much of my internet time reading and posting on the various forums that my little 'blog just doesn't seem to warrant much attention.

I've been wandering the halls of altered art.  I love some of it. I see beautiful, sometimes haunting images wrought from old junk mail, broken bits of machinery and tools, old books and little boxes.  I'm amazed.  But, some of it looks just like what it is -bits of old junk mail and broken stuff that belongs in the trash thoughtlessly stuck to other stuff that belongs in the trash.  Of course, I realize no one makes a masterpiece everytime, and my own "failures" at any project are often a huge majority.  I'd guess that I love about one finished item out of ten, and we won't talk about the stuff I don't bother to finish.

Anyway...my latest "project" is small journals handmade of cheap paper.  I'm loving this! 

I love it because:

1) I use up my cheap materials, of which I have so many that they've really become just clutter.  I have cheap watercolors -Cotman and Talens that otherwise wouldn't be used up at all.  I have old tubes of acrylics I've never opened and don't even know if they're any good.  I keep finding stuff I bought but have never used that can find a real purpose on these journals.

2) While using my cheap materials on cheap paper, I'm not so afraid of making mistakes that cause the whole project to end up in the trash.  That's one of my biggest hang-ups.  Everyone says "It's only paper" but for me that paper is expensive!!!  We have trouble just keeping our heads above water, so turning a $10.00 sheet of paper into trash is just too much for me.  So this cheap stuff lets me splash and spill without the crippling fears that come over me.


3) I feel more willing to try to experiement with things that I wouldn't even attempt on something I put more time or effort into.  This does lead to some disasters, though.  I made a awesome drawing of my art mannequin that really turned out great.  I loved it.  But I used a Micron pen to define it, and accidentally covered a place that should've remained white.  So, I got the brilliant idea to cover the area with a white paint thing that my Dad gave me...Yikes!...It smeared the Micron ink everywhere.  I didn't even know that ink could be smeared -nothing else ever has.  I tried to cover the smear with some Liquid Paper, which just made a bigger mess.  Finally, I used some white watercolor paint to cover it...that mostly worked.  Now, it still has a dark, smeary smudge on an otherwise pristine little drawing.  But...I've decided not to stress over it.  The whole point of these little journals will be to try new things, and see what works.  And I'm just going to keep reminding myself that if I can make an awesome drawing once, I can do it again.   It's in me somewhere, even if I do have trouble getting it out of me and on to the paper.

4) I love them because once a page is full, it really does look pretty awesome.   I have a space to do things I've never done before, and right next to something else I've never done before. :)  I can draw, paint, glue on stuff, play with everything and anything.  A bit of string, a picture from a magazine, an old envelope from a lost letter...it all works somewhere.  Or, if it doesn't, I haven't lost anything.  And, I've learned something one way or the other. :)

So...that's what I've been up to.  I've been buying old books from the thrift store and gathering free magazines for pictures and inspiration.  I haven't used any of them yet; they're still just lying around in stacks.  But I do intend to start ripping and cutting soon.  For one thing, I don't want to make another huge mess of unused stuff...so I guess I need to get off my computer and start sorting and trimming.

Daniel Smith Shopping List

QTY COLOR PRICE
1 Buff Titanium
284 600 009 $6.97
1 Moonglow
284 600 057 $9.49
1 Verditer Blue
284 600 173 $9.49
1 Terre Verte
284 600 104 $6.97
1 Undersea Green
284 600 109 $6.97
1 Verona Gold Ochre
284 600 123 $6.97
1 French Ochre
284 600 134 $6.97
1 Monte Amiata Natural Sienna
284 600 056 $6.97
1 Goethite (Brown Ochre)
284 600 144 $6.97
1 Quinacridone Gold
284 600 089 $9.49
1 Burgundy Red Ochre
284 600 151 $9.49
1 Italian Burnt Sienna
284 600 047 $9.49
1 Terre Ercolano
284 600 117 $9.49
1 Italian Venetian Red
284 600 122 $6.97

14 Items $112.70

Learning to make sketchbooks

I've been trying to catch up with some long overdue chores and tasks.

I had my hair cut for the first time in...ten years? I've decided to grow it out clear to my ankles and wear it braided up. That should be cool enough in the summer, and I think it will look nice. My stylist said to have it trimmed every month just before the full moon, so it will grow like crazy. I'm excited, and just can't wait. :)

I've been decluttering the house, and believe me, it needs it. Go through throwing things away is very cathartic, as long as said items actually make it to the trash. All too often, a family member insists on keeping it. ;(

Yesterday, DD and I tried our hands at making sketchbooks. I have to go over the sewing instructions again. I think I was doing it right, but then I got a big knot, and had to cut the thread and start over. The second time I think I did it wrong, and the third try was a disaster. So I gave it up for the night, and will try again today.

I bought a used copy of "Figure Drawing for all it's Worth" by Andrew Loomis. They're available -all his books- in .pdf form all over the 'net. But I just can't absorb anything that way. I have to stretch out, book in hand, and read and reread 'till I 'get it' and that just doesn't happen in front of the monitor. So, I went searching on eBay. They aren't cheap, but they are available. The copy I got is beat up and missing some pages, but it's good enough for what I want it for -learning.

But, I haven't been keeping up with my daily drawings. It just seems like as soon as I commit, I make it into a 'chore' and I'm just no good at that. ;( I have to find a system that works better for me.

Reading Wishlist

Artistic Anatomy by Dr. Paul Richer
An Atlas of Anatomy for Artists by Schider, Fritz

Happy Birthday to me...Happy Birthday to me....

My birthday plans went a bit awry. DH has the flu, and chances are he'll have to work tomorrow and won't be able to work on my car. :(

I made myself a schedule for drawing everyday. Yesterday was the first day, and it went just fine. This morning I started on the next step, but was having a bad-angle day...nothing went very well. :( Later this afternoon I'll work on it some more.

Posemaniacs.com

Here's a great resource for artists everywhere. Pose Maniacs is a flash-driven site with at least a couple thousand individual poses of flayed humans. Although the private bits have been removed, there's no ugly air-brushing (like those expensive Pose books), so it's the next best thing to a life drawing class.

One of my favorite features is the timed pose function. Just choose a time, and it will give you three seconds to pick up your pencil, then display a random pose for the amount of time you chose.

More time with Lucky Journal

I made a couple more drawings in my "lucky journal" and used it for a whole bunch of notes from a book I have to return to the library.

I've discovered a Micron pen #3 is excellent for writing in it. There is a little ghosting on back of the page, but very little. The size #4 bled through quite a bit, though.

I'll post some pictures, if I ever get my scanner to work. :(

I've been drawing and writing in the little "Lucky Journal" with the Lotka paper from Nepal.



Overall, it's a beautiful little thing. I love the texture of the binding and the little elephant button. It has a pencil loop too -always a good thing for absent-minded me. :) The oatmeal-colored paper is very thin, and apparently doesn't have any sizing in it.

I started with a simple sketch, but then decided I didn't like it. Erasing was bad news -even my softest gray kneaded eraser scuffed the paper's surface. I made a tiny hole when I made the second drawing.

My first attempt to paint in it -even using an almost completely dry brush was a mistake. The paint feathered and made a real mess.

Next, I tried the Coloursoft pencils, and that worked just great. I got nice, rich tones and am happy as clams with the results.

Overall, the journal is intended for writing. I haven't tried any ink yet, but I'm guessing that a plain ball point pen will work fine. I intend to try a Micron pen later this evening, and see how that turns out.

The journal was easily worth the $12.00 or so, and I intend to buy more of them when I use this one up. The tactile experience alone spoils me and makes me want to hurry up and write in it some more...it's just a lovely, sensual texture that draws me and holds my attention.