Nelka's ink, paint, photos, and other stuff

New Places

2011-07-28T12:25:00.000-06:00

I've started posting most of my stuff over at my new blog-- HERE. Come see what's going on there. (Lots of photography, for one thing.)

Sophia

2011-06-02T20:52:00.000-06:00

So I decided to start this quilt. I've been working on it for a few weeks now. It was supposed to be given to my friend in time for the birth of her baby girl, but baby girl came early. So now I'm behind schedule. But I'm still excited about it and hope that it is a loved quilt for years to come. Is that too much to hope for? I'm not sure.

I have wanted to do something with triangles for ages, and found some ideas for quilts in a few of the books I have at home. And then I went to the internet and looked for ideas and just knew I had to do a zig-zag quilt. This is seriously such an easy quilt pattern and it looks modern and fun. There are so many ways you can run with it, too. I made mine all pinks and white since it is going to a baby girl, but there are so many color options for this. Once I got going, I thought of other ways that I could incorporate the zig-zag (like mirroring it, or having it run long-ways down the quilt...).

A couple of shots of it in pieces--

And now a couple of views of the completed top:

A little detail shot:

My little helper:

For those of you that want a tutorial, I found my inspiration HERE and then just did my own thing, but THIS one is also pretty cool. I wanted the freedom to make mine in the proportions of my choosing, so I just got the general idea from these sites and ran with that. Thank you for the inspiration, fellow quilters!

Now all I have left is to finish the back, quilt it up, and thow in some binding. Should be a piece of cake, right? Wish me luck!

An innocent addiction

2011-05-17T18:50:00.000-06:00

My pen collection--
Fountain pens: 7 (one didn't make it into the picture).
Gel ink pens: 16.
Highlighters: 2.
Mechanical pencils: 2.
Other pens: 11.

Why am I bringing this up now? Oh, maybe because as much as I love my Lamy Safari fountain pen, I felt the need to buy a new nib for it. The Fine nib wasn't cutting it for me, so I just purchased an Extra Fine nib. (As wonderful as the ink flow is, I just felt like I had to write bigger than I like to with the Fine nib.) As it turns out, in order to get free shipping from JetPens, you need to have $25 of merchandise in your basket, and the one nib didn't quite cut it. So I may have bought a few more pens and a few ink cartridges. My excuse? I journal several times a week, and I've started writing real life letters again. I also sketch from time to time in ink. (Which I feel like I need to do more.) So I need a bunch of different pens for my different uses. Like I have one pen exclusively for writing on envelopes. (I bought it to address thank you notes.) I'm really excited to get my package in the mail, and can't wait to try out a few more ink colors.
My favorite ink colors? Thus far they are Noodler's Heart of Darkness (because it is SUPER black), the gray of my Zebra Sarasa (it almost looks like pencil lead on certain papers), various browns, and blue-black inks. However, I've also been won over by my Uni-ball Signo's Lavender Black ink. I usually shy away from overly darling colors, but this is not middle school purple. It is grown up and sophisticated.
So there you have it. I'll probably share which of my inks and pens are my favorites and why at some later date. Consider yourself warned.

In the air

2011-05-16T18:34:00.001-06:00

So, I've decided to change things up a bit. From here on out, most of my artsy photography will be going to The Desert Loves You. My more professional photos can be found HERE. Feel free to find me there.

For now the plan is still to post on this blog, just less photos, and more of my other stuff. We'll see how that goes. I've got some sewing projects lines up and have been making crochet hats left and right, so that's something I could share here... I've just been really feeling like a change was what I needed to get better focus, etc, and this is what I've come up with so far.

PS: I did take some pinhole photos for Worldwide Pinhole Photography day, but they just aren't developed yet. Soon, people, soon.

Who else is excited for this?

2011-04-15T10:22:00.001-06:00

Worldwide Pinhole Day is April 24th this year. Easter, I know. Its kind of a hard holiday to go running about setting up pinhole photos, but this year there is some leniency--the pinhole day website is allowing photos to be taken between April 23rd and May 1st. Still, a few Easter shots might be nice.
I'll be dusting off my home-made pinhole cameras and getting my Diana F+ all ready for that time frame as well.

It finds you in the smallest details of life

2011-04-14T13:26:00.002-06:00

"I still believe in paradise. But now at least I know it's not some place you can look for...

it finds you in the smallest details of life."

It finds you in the smallest details of life, originally uploaded by Janelka.

Thanks to this lovely young lady, of For the Easily Distracted (someone else with camera crushes!) I found out about a little friendly competition going on here. (The above image is my current entry, although I may add another one before the end of the day.)

The rules are posted here by our lovely competition hostess. Her blog, "See me everywhere" is pretty and a fun read.

While I would sure enjoy a Sprocket Rocket camera, I'm happy to just see everyone else's take on the theme. So many wonderfully lovely images to drool over.

Back from a while away

2011-04-14T12:01:00.002-06:00

I've been traveling and thinking and planning and house and garden fixing, and all of those things have kept me busy and away from my blogs. I want to consolidate things, but for now, I have to admit that I am having the hardest time whittling down my blogs. So, for now, this one continues. I want to keep a fun experimental blog going, and for now this one is my best answer to that desire.
So the good news is that I had a lovely holiday to my childhood homeland. The bad news is that my Polaroid 350 decided to rebel and I didn't get one shot out of it. The other goodness (because I hate to end on bad news) is that my other cameras cooperated, and I have a few scanned and ready to start sharing, and others that I have yet to get developed.
Lots and lots to share from beautiful Texas coming up.
For now, here's a Polaroid:

A rare day

2011-03-27T23:53:00.002-06:00

A rare day, originally uploaded by Janelka.

Pine Valley, UT. First it snowed a bit, and then it was just this lovely, dreamy, quiet. This was only about 45 min away from my house (driving), but it felt like a different world. And so different from my last visit there.
Polaroid Spectra (first edition), Image Softtone film.

Kauai through a plastic lens

2011-03-05T13:57:00.000-07:00

A few photos taken around Kauai. I brought along my trusty Holga and snapped quite a few shots.

This photo was literally taken while wandering around the island. It was taken on my first full day there. Jon and I just took off walking up the coast, and it ended up being quite a long hike.

If you click on this photo to see it larger, you'll see that there's a local fishing right in the line up of palm trees. This was taken near sunset and just after eating dinner.

This was taken on one of the stretches of road that we traveled on quite a bit. I couldn't get enough of the tree-line street, so I had to stop once and snap this.

Hanakpi`ai Falls, on the NaPali Coast hike. This was as far as we made it on our hike that day. The white haze at the top of the photo is the waterfall's mist refracting light. As gorgeous as the day was, being right by the falls felt like standing in front of an open refrigerator.

Queen's Bath. A beautiful and deadly place. On the hike in, there was a sign warning of the deaths that have taken place here. This photo was taken as the tide was going out. On that day we got to swim with a sea turtle.

Queen's Bath as the tide was coming in. If you click on the image to see it bigger, you can tell that water is rolling off of the cliff at the right of the image. Within an hour, the cove (where people in the foreground are hanging out) was completely submerged and the water looked like it was boiling.

This image as well as the photo below were taken on my last day in Hawaii.We did our best to squeeze every last bit of Hawaiian sunshine into our day before getting on a plane for 11 hours.

So much snorkeling went on this day.

Cedar Mountain

2011-02-14T16:28:00.000-07:00

A day of snowy wonder. I took loads of photos. And I carried a massive camera bag around in snow. Dangerous? Maybe. But I didn't fall too far into the snow as I walked about. In all, I used 6 cameras that day. Five are analog.

These are the shots I took on my Polaroid sx70 using px70 PUSH! film from The Impossible Project:

The trick to shooting the above film in the snow was to place it in a dark, sturdy, warm place to allow it to develop to its full potential. I found that using an old cold clip from a land camera worked quite well for the px70 PUSH! film.

The shot below was captured on my Keystone 60 Second Everflash camera, using vintage Polaroid 669 film that expired in 1999.

As you can see, the chemicals have started to get all weird, hence the color cast and "off" edges. But it still works. And by that I mean that it can still capture images. I think that my favorite use for this film is landscape photography, although photographing people and animals in blue green tones can be fun, too.

I'll be sharing more shots from this day soon.

Camera love

2011-01-21T01:57:00.001-07:00

A few of my cameras, clockwise from the top left: Polaroid sx70, Diana mini, Polaroid 350 land camera, Canon Canonet QL17, Holga 120N, Holga 120 GN. The camera taking the photo? Its pretty new (to me): a Polaroid sx70 SONAR OneStep. I received it from an amazing woman/friend of mine as a gift out of the blue. How wonderful is that? The film is from The Impossible Project, the px70 PUSH! variety.

I'm loving how this photo turned out, how the center is the sharpest spot, and how the colors all turned out dreamy. (My Holga 120N is in real life black and pistachio.) And aren't the crackles so lovely? You can see it cropped and more up and personal by clicking here.

All of the cameras pictured above have been getting a lot of love lately, with the Diana mini being the exception. Not because of anything she's done. She's just brand new. As in, I got her in the post today and barely loaded her up with her inaugural roll of film. A fresh batch of Lucky brand film, 200 iso. I'm so looking forward to snapping away. If you don't yet know about the Diana mini, she's a special kind of camera that can take either square format photos or half frames. That means that if I wanted, I could get 72 photos out of one 36 exposure roll of film. I can also switch between square and half frame during one roll of film, and still do double exposures like I can with my regular-sized Diana (or Holga). Besides, she's ridiculously tiny and cute. And my only white camera. What's not to love about this camera? I'm taking her out of a test drive this weekend. I'll let you know how that all goes real soon. By the way, I bought this baby on clearance, which always feels nice.

Lawai International Center

2011-01-18T15:51:00.002-07:00

As photographed with my Holga 120N camera.

Last August I spent a good portion of my afternoon wandering around this place. There is so much history attached to this tiny plot of land. So many memories, dreams, hopes, and prayers are attached to this location. My husband and I were the only two people on the tour so it was very peaceful and somewhat mysterious. (I called to schedule a tour only to find that they were closed for the remainder of my stay on Kauai. They graciously offered to give us a tour, anyway. Amazing people there at the Center.) This place has been a sacred ground for many generations and cultures, and you can feel it as you climb up and down the hill that's dotted with Japanese shrines.

The Gift of Spring

2011-01-14T23:11:00.000-07:00

Thank you for bursting into life in my absence, for being so abundant, and for being so fragrant and happy in the face of the duration of winter.

lots of developing

2011-01-03T13:58:00.000-07:00

So, since moving to southern Utah, I have found it quite difficult to get my medium format film developed and to get my 35mm film developed well. No one around here seems to be into film anymore. So I can get my frames cut in half at Walgreens, or just sit on my film and wait for the day I can get them developed.
Well, after two unsuccessful ventures to Walgreens for my 35mm film, I decided to just hold onto all of my film and develop it when I have the chance.
My first opportunity in a while came this past week. I was visiting the Cincinnati area with my hubby, and we went to a place in town that still develops film of all sorts. Hurray! I dropped off about 10 rolls of film to get developed and scanned. Yikes! I normally like developing my film as I go, so that I'm only paying for a roll or two at a time. But I'm in a tough spot what with no one around me doing a decent job developing. I'm so excited to get my film back. And I'm a bit nervous. I'm not a fan of mailing stuff as precious as my negatives. But I'm hopeful that they'll do a good job and I'm glad that they choose to send stuff UPS. (Tracking packages gives me peace of mind.)
What a wonderful Christmas present, and one that I can share with Jon and friends. There are lots of photos that I'm looking forward to seeing how they turned out, and still others that I'm sure will be a surprise.

Also, changes are a comin'-- consider yourself warned.

When the whole sky wanted to be a cloud

2010-12-23T22:57:00.002-07:00

When the whole sky wanted to be a cloud, originally uploaded by Janelka.

There are times when streams become rivers. At times rain is so fine that the whole sky becomes a single cloud that encompasses all that you can see. I was witness to just such occasions this past week. The rains came down for five days straight in my little part of the desert. Not normal. And somewhat destructive. However, there was beauty to be found in all the rain and storminess.
This little scene was in New Harmony, Utah.
This photo was taken with a Spectra camera using Paul Giambarba Edition Image Film.

Recesky on the Road

2010-12-19T22:48:00.000-07:00

I love my little plastic self-built wonder. The focus isn't tight or crisp, but sometimes you end up with some wondrous shots. But then again, I like the random distortion and vignettes you get out of toy cameras.
The following are shots I took a month ago while on the road:

St George, Utah

2010-12-14T01:30:00.002-07:00

St George, Utah, originally uploaded by Janelka.

St George, Utah temple. If you look closely, you might notice that the foreground contains a fig tree. You can also make out a window and the top details of the temple.
Taken on a Polaroid One camera using Silver Shade film (from The Impossible Project).

November roses

2010-12-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

November roses, originally uploaded by Janelka.

Now that everything is truly dying outside, I like looking at this photo to remind me how lucky I am that I have such a long growing season where I live.
This was taken using a SX 70 model 2 camera, using PX 70 First Flush film.

a winter evening in the desert

2010-12-13T01:08:00.002-07:00

a winter evening in the desert, originally uploaded by Janelka.

This shot on the outskirts of St George, Utah. Sometimes I just have to go out in search of new places to photograph. Its nice when those places aren't too far from home.
I used Paul Giambarba Edition Image film purchased from The Impossible Project in a thrifted Spectra camera.
The sky has this lovely ribbon of glowing color along the horizon; I'm so glad that I captured that along with the desert flora in the forefront.

hack canyon wilderness area

2010-12-12T01:04:00.001-07:00

hack canyon wilderness area, originally uploaded by Janelka.

This was taken a few weeks ago, but I thought I'd share it now.
The shot was taken with my Polaroid 430 land camera using expired 690 film.

Desert Moon

2010-11-30T03:46:00.003-07:00

desert moon, originally uploaded by Janelka.

The last little bit of sunset was ducking behind some distant hills when I turned around and noticed the lovely scene playing out behind me. The moon was out, snuggling with the clouds, and there was this vast, beautiful desert before me.

This photo was take on my Polaroid 430 Land Camera using expired Polaroid 690 film.

Farewell

2010-11-25T00:00:00.001-07:00

purple leaves, pink haze, originally uploaded by Janelka.

PX 70 Color Shade Film PUSH. New film from The Impossible Project.
Taken using my SX 70 camera (Alpha 1, Model 2)
Happy light leak-- I covered it as soon as it ejected from the camera, but some sunlight must have gotten on it somehow. Hence is lovely pink glow.

Can you believe that yet another year is wrapping up? My how 2010 has flown by. Is it just me or did it seem to go by faster than last year?

A tiny piece of desert, just for you

2010-11-24T23:56:00.001-07:00

, originally uploaded by Janelka.

Arizona Strip, outside of Paiute Cave. I love the desert. Good thing, too, since I live in it.
Polaroid 430 Land Camera.
Polaroid 690 film (expired 2009).

Cami and Andrew, part 3

2010-11-19T01:47:00.003-07:00

Kolob Couple, originally uploaded by Janelka.

I can't help from sharing another photo of the series. The big day is just under a couple of weeks away. So exciting!

This photo was taken on a Keystone 60 second Everflash camera (Polaroid clone)-- and the film is Polaroid 690 pack film.

The 690 and the ID-UV are tied as my favorite films. I think the 690 has a little more yellow to it, which is great fun in fields of golden grass, but the ID-UV has that amazing tendency to have the sky go all aqua. I can't decide what I like better.

Cami and Andrew, part 2

2010-11-11T14:49:00.001-07:00

Another of Cami and Andrew from our photo shoot. They did the hard work, scouting out the location ahead of time. Apparently Andrew stops in to photograph this area whenever he's around. He picked a lovely spot. And the day was just fantastic for photos. The lighting changed a few times. Believe it or not, I prefer the challenge of adjusting for the lighting. You get so many more options and moods out of one shoot that way.

This photograph was shot on my sx70 using The Impossible Project's px70 film. I love how this shot turned out. It is my personal favorite. And yes, now I'm hoping to have someone take a few more Polaroid photos of Jon and I dressed up in our wedding attire. And maybe a few Holga shots as well... yea, that'd be nice.

Cami and Andrew

2010-11-06T23:41:00.003-06:00

cami and andrew, originally uploaded by Janelka.

Bride and Groom. So cute. So sweet. So in love. I love Cami to pieces, and I'm so glad I got to take some of her photos today. She is such a beautiful bride, and she and her man look so good together.
This shot was taken on a Polaroid 430 land camera using 690 film (expired May 2009). I peeled it a little early so that the colors didn't finish developing, and the end result-- slightly more vintage colors.

Recesky

2010-10-29T17:19:00.001-06:00

So I had this box show up at our door last Saturday, and an hour later, I'd turned its contents into a TLR camera.

This is what it looked like once I took it out of its mailer.

Here it all is just out of the box.

Organization is key. It keeps you from losing the tiny, tiny screws that hold this camera together.

Ta-da! Camera complete. It took just about an hour (that's not counting the 20 min lunch break I took) to put this toy together. Considering that the instructions are all in Japanese, I'm quite happy with myself.

The Recesky is a do-it-yourself TLR camera. It is basically a clone of the Gakkenflex. It has two plastic lenses, and I think its a rather lovely contraption. Jon was impressed with just how well thought-out it was, and he had a fun time checking in on my progress.

So, just as soon as it was all put together and loaded with film, I had to take it out for a spin. We went back to the Babylon area near Leeds, UT. I have more plans for this area. There are more trails to hike and scenes to take in, and many more photos to take. The day was absolutely lovely-- all stormy and windy. And it was humid! It felt like we'd been transported somewhere far from the desert. It was a fun deviation from the norm.

You can see the rest of the set HERE.

granat

2010-10-17T23:52:00.001-06:00

granat, originally uploaded by Janelka.

Polish for pomegranate. I love this fruit, and I LOVE that it grows in my backyard. It grows just outside of our bedroom, actually. And occasionally, in night-time wind storms, the branches scrape against our sliding glass door and wake me from my slumber. But I don't hold a grudge. It'll do what it'll do.
It is very nearly time to harvest out bountiful crop this year and I can hardly wait!

This photo was taken on my SX 70 camera, using The Impossible Project's PX 70 color shade film. (I love this film more and more.)

Pens and Journaling, a History . . . and slight obsession

2010-10-14T01:06:00.001-06:00

After getting most of my art supplies organized and finding all of my pens, I have separated them out, donating most of my everyday workhorse pens to the general pile in the office desk. Then I organized my art pens and realized just how short I am on my brown ink pens.

I started writing in a journal when I was thirteen. A good age to start, right? I think I just began writing on a whim, when I happened upon a journal somewheres. I thought it was a good idea, so I stuck with it.

In the early days I used a lot of different ink colors, mostly ballpoint. My thinking was that if I switched my ink color for each entry, it would be that much easier to flip through it later in life. Also, it made keeping up a journal so much more fun that way. I also added sketches and doodles and in a few journals I wrote out the page numbers ornately. (Did I really have that much time on my hands back then?)

My preferences in ink color back in the early days were purple, sky blue, and the regular office variety blue and black. Pink made it into the mix from time to time, because as I remember, it came with the sky blue and purple in a three-pack.

As I got older and got my hands on more inks, I added orange into the mix. By the time I was in college, I'd entirely dropped the purple/lilac and baby blue inks from the mix and took to only writing in fine point. I added in grass green and had by that point almost entirely switched over to ink and gel pens. I kept a few ballpoints around for class notes, and that was it. Enough years had rolled by to convince me of the importance of archival pens, so ballpoints were pretty much out for me. I switched to writing in mostly darker inks and brown quickly became my favorite. I have one small journal that was 95% filled with brown ink. Then, my last year in college I took a figure-drawing course taught by a illustrator. He enabled my pen addiction and even encouraged it. So off I went to buy a greater variety of pens-- I finally branched out of fine and extra fine points while sketching and drawing for class. And I bought a greater variety of ink and pigment pens. I had so many pens to choose from, and all at my university's bookstore. Graduating didn't keep me away. Nope, it was when I moved to Lehi that I stopped my regular trips to the bookstore to get my pen fix. By then I'd built up quite a stash, so it wasn't much of an issue.

But here we are, years later, and I'm running low. And I've moved about four hours away from my beloved bookstore. And in my lovely little town, I can' seem to find really good pens to save my life. They have a limited selection at the Michael's-- mostly scrap-booking pens that are too thick or they are puffy. Not what I look for in journaling and sketching. There are a few inky pens, but most of them don't hold up for any length of time.

So I decided to do what any sane person would do, I decided to research good pens to buy and then bought some online. I mean, if a brown gel ink pen is going to get me to journal more regularly, its worth it, right?

Thank you The Pen Addict, for making me realize that I'm not the only pen-obsessed person out there. I feel like I can trust you and your reviews. (Your site's minimalistic style and your handwriting were an added bonus.)You led me to Jet Pens, which led me to my purchase today. (Their prices are quite reasonable for what I needed.) So I have a few pens that should be showing up in the next week.

This will probably bore most people to tears, so I won't go into particulars right now, but suffice it to say that I have two blue black pens, a couple of black pens, a couple of brown pens (One is called tea brown, I can hardly wait!), and a green black one as well. The mix is almost entirely gel ink, but there is one fountain pen as well as one Pilot Envelope Address Writing Gel Ink Pen. I stumbled upon that one through the Pen Addict when I was getting all geared up for writing out my wedding announcement addresses. It didn't work out then as they were sold out, but I'll be getting one now! I'm not sure how many more envelopes I'll be hand-addressing any time soon, but that's beside the point.

Oh, and I'm getting a new travel sketchbook, too. Reason to sketch more? I think so.

101010

2010-10-10T03:01:00.000-06:00

Cedar City

The above photograph was taken on my trusty Berkey Keystone Everflash camera. Man I love that thing. I have had some shutter issues with some of my Polaroid cameras, especially when shooting on really bright days, but my Keystone has yet to fail me. I always get some kind of image. Sure, this one is a little over exposed, but that's my doing.

I may have picked up yet another Polaroid camera at a thrift store. I had the intention of finding and bringing home shelves to better organize my art space, but there weren't any to be found. Well, I didn't count rickety plastic ones as an option. But as I was passing by the small "Collectibles" area, I couldn't help but spy a small group of lonely cameras. After looking at them all, I decided to take the Polaroid Big Swinger 3000 home with me. You can check out a commercial for it HERE. They're funny plastic beasties, and this particular model can only take ISO 3000 film. So, it isn't all that versatile, but you can still get film for it easily, and that's what matters, right? Also, this guy used spreader bars rather than rollers to push the goop that develops the photos. So far all my other Polaroids have rollers. There is probably a reason for this-- the rollers probably work better, but well, I couldn't help myself. I just had to try it out. So, I'm sure there will be photos with that little guy that'll show up here soon.

Ribbons and Bottles

2010-10-05T12:38:00.001-06:00

Little painting, inspired by the scene in my last post. A couple of weeks ago, I sat down and started sketching and painting in earnest since moving down to St. George, and this was one of my practice pieces.
I'm also working on another series, we'll see how long it takes for me to share it with the world.

Promises

2010-09-24T15:42:00.001-06:00

promises, originally uploaded by Janelka.

I'll let you decide what kind of a spin to put on this one. Are they empty promises or do the bottles hold promise because they are empty?

where i live

2010-09-21T18:26:00.001-06:00

mint and sweet potato, originally uploaded by Janelka.

New home, new routines, new life. But not new like fresh from the store new. My new life is freshly pressed or overly starched. Nah. I'd compare it to a soft thrift-store sweater, but would that sound weird? The new life is comfortable, is what I'm saying.
Jon and I are coming up with our own new habits, rituals, and family activities for our new family of two.
Here is a snapshot of a little corner of a backyard, where the mints and sweet potatoes are growing into one another, pressing up against eachother, and filling in and overflowing their boundaries. It makes me happy.

Taken on my SX-70 camera, using Impossible Project's PX 70 First Flush film.

santa clara valley

2010-09-20T13:49:00.002-06:00

santa clara valley, originally uploaded by Janelka.

On a whim, Jon and I took a lovely long walk to check out the petroglyphs in Santa Clara. There was some really fun/stunning/amusing rock art. The scenery was rather lovely, too. Jon and I tried to imagine how the ancient natives lived out there, when the climate was a little different. Jon pointed out that where the petroglyphs are, there are alcoves where you could hide from the sun or prepare meals as well as large flat rocks to lay out and sun yourself on. It painted a pretty picture in my head.

This photo was taken just after the sun ducked behind a desert mountain peak.
I used my Berkey Keystone camera, on expired Polaroid ID-UV film.

Instant Utah

2010-09-13T00:26:00.003-06:00

View From The Depths

I snapped the one above while hiking around Bryce Canyon on Sept 6th. We met a guy there who used to use a Polaroid 180, and was very intrigued by my use of instant film in this day and age. We had a good little chat and then ran into him (and his wife?) a few more times along the Navajo Trail. This picture was taken with my Berkey Keystone Everflash on ID-UV Polaroid film that expired 03/2008. Hence the color shift and corner that didn't quite work out. I love it all the more for its imperfections.

In comparison, the next two photographs below were taken on the same Everflash camera, but on Fuji 100-C film.

Grafton here, send more tractors.

The ghost town of Grafton was a fun little site to walk around. Besides using my Everflash, I took photos on my Diana camera (and possibly my Holga as well). There are a handful of structures that remain standing as memory of what could have been. This was a failed pioneer project not too far from modern-day Springdale, Utah.

Rock Hounds

Jon's friends Mike and Phil came in from the Cincinnati area for the wedding. When they came through the St. George area we took them to Grafton and this rock pit. Aren't we great hosts? I'm not sure what they thought of Grafton, but to be honest, they all got a kick out of our local pit. Mike LOVES rocks. He ran around with this excitement and enthusiasm that was infectious, flipping through rocks and finding a few to ship back to Ohio. I didn't quite focus on the guys too well, as the pile of dust in front of their feet is what came out crisp, but you get the general idea of what's going on, right?

The Tiniest Island

I obviously didn't take this last photograph. Jon did. On my Everflash, again. And the ID-UV film. As you can see, there was a lot of fun color-shifting going on, plus it came out a little over-exposed. I love the blue shadow and how my hair looks auburn. Hmm... auburn hair. There's an idea.

Hawaiian Polaroids

2010-09-04T01:26:00.005-06:00

In trying to decide which of my Polaroid cameras to take with me to Kauai, I kept coming back to The Reporter, and my Polaroid knock-off, a Berkey Keystone Everyflash. Both big black cameras-- the Keystone had already made some lovely images, but it is a huge brick of a thing. While The Reporter was up til then untested, it is much more compact and manageable. Ultimately, size and weight mattered when hiking. I have posted below the shots I took with my Polaroid camera, titled The Reporter. These photos remind me of the feel of each of these places more than the crisp images that Jon and I got on our digital cameras.

Waimea Canyon. The Grand Canyon of Kauai. It is indeed a grand place, home to mountain goats and soaring birds and trees and a wild wind.

We were in a place where the clouds rubbed up against the mountain's edge, where they bumped, jostled, and rough-housed until they finally fell over one another and rolled over the tree tops and over the edge of the mountains themselves. . .

Lawai International Center

How I loved this magical, quiet, spiritual place. Whispers of hopes, wishes, and prayers nestle among the ferns and shrines that line the hillside. I couldn't help but feel peace settling down into my bones as I walked the trails of the grounds. It felt as though this sleepy, quiet, powerful place woke something in me.

This is how I'll remember these sites-- in the magical, nostalgic, slightly blown-out sepia tones of my expired Polaroid film.

The Start of Something Lovely

2010-07-21T06:00:00.002-06:00

So, I have recently obtained two old Polaroid cameras. One is a Super Shooter, and it looks like THIS. The other is a land camera, model 215, and it looks like SO. Or, if you want to look at it from the side, look HERE.

Snow Canyon, at dusk-- A Super Shooter photograph.

Cedar Breaks. Super Shooter shot.

I love how it got all melty along the right edge. Some might call that a mistake, but I'm rather happy with it.

Desert Blossoms.

The photo above, I took just outside of Jon's house with my 215.
The one below is the same subject matter a little bit later in the day taken with my Super Shooter. I decided that out of focus helped me focus on the color better. Plus, as a bonus, you still get the impression of flowers and clouds and deep blue desert sky.

And, a shot Jon took of me when we were hiking around a couple of weekends ago...

This shot was taken on my 215 up American Fork Canyon on a little side trail that we stumbled upon.

Trying to do some closer focus using my 215, I should have known better than to trust Leo to hold still. It was getting dusky, so there wasn't much light, and Leo loves to roll, so here's what I got:

Polaroids

2010-07-10T15:58:00.000-06:00

Heads up: Polaroid shots will start popping up here soon... Just as soon as I get them scanned and get to the internet again. I have a couple of old school Polaroids that I have been putting to work lately, and I'm excited about what they have been putting out.

The Holga Show Opening Reception

2010-06-22T15:25:00.001-06:00

So the opening was June 18th, and it was a lot of fun. Besides checking out the Holga Show, it was also Gallery Stroll night, so I also got to see a bunch of other art in nearby galleries.

Below are some of the photos on display. There are a few of mine in this shot. (One of them had an honorable mention. Yay.)

I had photos from my travels to Texas, Indiana, Washington, and all over Utah on display. I loved how the shots were displayed-- they were organized by subject matter/theme rather than artist, which I think made the whole thing flow quite nicely. It was also pretty cool to see how other people photographed similar images, or how many variations on one theme were shown.

The amazing 3-d Holga cake. It was as delicious-tasting as it was good-looking. Also, they had this fabulous mint lemonade... mmm mmm....

The above photo is of me with M. Bryan Thompson. He is a photographer and the owner of Saans. You might notice that he had on a Holga t-shirt under his white button-up. (Also, even though it may not look like it, he's a friendly guy.)

The Holga Show 2010

2010-06-15T20:25:00.002-06:00

I didn't mean to keep this all to myself, but I submitted photos and am officially in. I heard over the phone a few days ago that some, if not all of my submissions got into the show, and then today I got word via e-mail that all nine of my photos made it in. Super exciting, right?
I'm not going to spoil your experience of seeing my stuff in the gallery by posting the shots here, so you'll have to go to the HOLGA Show yourself. The show is at the SAANS gallery in downtown SLC, and the opening reception is June 18th from 6-10pm. You're all invited and I'd love to see you there.

-- If you can't make it opening night, however, SAANS is keeping the show up and running for two months, so stop in some other time.

Little Adventures

2010-05-23T00:49:00.004-06:00

I have been lazy in photographing my paintings lately. But I haven't been too lazy doing photography. So, here are some of my latest fun photos. They are through the viewfinder of my Kodak Duaflex II. I ran a roll of film through it, but have yet to get it developed. So, in the meantime, I've been taking photos through its viewfinder, as well as the viewfinders of my two other TLR cameras. The following photos are all from the Duaflex II, though.

1. Indian Paintbrush atop Black Rock Mountain.

2. Pines near the summit of Black Rock Mountain.

3. Jaw bone on windowsill. Discovered while walking around Eureka, Utah.

4. Ancient mining machinary in Eureka, Utah.

Analog shots from last year

2010-04-18T22:48:00.002-06:00

Ah, the joy of analog. My Holga and now defunct Windsor have given me more fun shots. Most of these are from last year, but I only got around to developing them a few months ago. That's yet another reason for loving film cameras. I remember that I took a bunch of photos, but I don't always remember the shots in great detail, and I never know just how most of the photos will look (since I often shoot on slide film and then get it cross-processed), so when I actually get around to developing and printing these kinds of photos, I never know exactly what to expect. And therein lies the allure. Every time its an adventure.

As you scroll through these, take a moment to enjoy the vignettes along the edges (all thanks to the magic of cruddy cameras) as well as how everything gets all soft-focused the farther out from center you look. Plastic lenses make for some dreamy images. And any photos with crazy color shifts? Yep, those are cross-processed. Hope you enjoy them.

Holga photo of sandstone mesas in Zion National Park. This photo was taken just after doing Keyhole Canyon. Summer 2009.

Windsor photo taken in Indiana, on break from work. April 2009.

Windsor photo of capitol building in Indianapolis, April 2009. I loved the light when I got to this little park area. I took way too many photos just then.

Windsor photo of courthouse in Lafayette, IN. April 2009.

Lafayette, Indiana statue man. Notice the real sword in his hands. Windsor photograph, taken April 2009.

Holga photograph containing part of the statue man and his building. April 2009.

Windsor photograph of (I believe) a bank in Lafayette, IN. April 2009.

My dear little sister, days after I took her through the Subway in Zion. I believe she was fully recovered by this time. Holga photo taken September 2009.

Little Bird

2010-04-15T20:26:00.001-06:00

Close-up of my latest little piece. I think it is pretty cute, and it was a lot of fun to do.

A bird in hand

2010-04-10T00:49:00.003-06:00

Songbird for a songbird.

I made this small painting for my great friend Jenna when she came back out to Utah for a visit. She's an amazing person and a talented singer/song-writer/guitar-player.

Painting for Jon

2010-02-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

I think I'm still going to add some more layers to it, but this is what I've got so far.

Art and Music

2010-02-09T17:00:00.004-07:00

One new painting finished. A few more paintings under way. Many, many sketches and doodles accomplished over the last week and a half. And I have a new reason to keep going. I have a deal with a musician friend of mine that goes like this-- "For every painting you do, I'll write a new song." And why not? He's a great musician, and I'm okay with what I do in the art realm. (I may have to enlarge our deal to include my photographs and collages.) And art and music do blend well together.

He and I have been thinking that to brainstorm out some ideas together, or to bounce energy and motivation off of one another would keep our momentum going. I think this just might work. And, while I don't have internet, and am using the public library, you'll have to make do with some recent-ish photos I've taken.

Trumpet Flower

Frozen Marsh

Winter Field

Bright, Shiny, Happy

December

2009-12-30T11:43:00.003-07:00

I know I still have a lot of catching up to do. But for now, this is the only photo I have on hand of any recent stuff. So, while I have internet access, I'll post it.

I had a lot of fun with this one. It was inspired by my time spent in Texas, and painted there. There are lots of subtle layers, and I like the texture.
It has a home already, and I believe it is happy there. :)

Oily

2009-12-09T16:58:00.003-07:00

Oil is a good soothing happy medium for me. How I've missed it. Only, I didn't realize how much I love and miss the stuff until this past weekend. I have been opting for acrylics lately, because they dry quickly, and well, they aren't as toxic. And I've decided that the clean-up is easier when you just have to rinse out your brushes and pour your dirty water down the drain rather than the multiple steps it takes to properly clean up after a session with oils.

But this weekend when I went on a trip, I packed up my oils by mistake. (I recently reorganized my art supplies and got my tackle-boxes confused.) The mood struck and I wanted to paint, but I didn't have what I wanted. I wanted to finish some acrylics I'd been working on, and some that were only sketched out so far. I wanted to be neat and tidy and I didn't want to bring out the Turpenoid or my Liquin.

I now think that rather than being a total accident, life simply had other plans for me. I didn't get what I wanted but what I needed.

I pulled out several colors, and therapeutically mixed them. I just love, LOVE mixing colors. I have a whole method to it, and it so relaxing for me.

Getting my colors ready set the stage for me to start on a couple of blank masonite panels.

I painted wild and loose and had fun with my oils. I used colors I normally shy away from for the first one (yellows, grays, and black) and pale creams, skin tones and reds on the second one. So far I just have some nice abstract shapes, vibrant colors, and tone variations going on, but I hope to get some more accomplished on those panels soon. I didn't pack my Cobalt drier, so I'm going to have to wait a few days.

Something else that I thought was totally awesome is that I was painting in the same room as my friend, who was on the computer, and I got no complaints from him on the smells. How lovely. The fumes and odors that oil painting are associated with is too much for most people, but my friend didn't even so much as comment on it. I think I'll keep him around.

* I'll post pictures soon, once I get my own internet again and don't have to use the library.

More work to be done

2009-11-11T19:03:00.001-07:00

I've been revisiting an old theme lately: patterns. I started on a few different paintings Fall semester of 2005. I was reassessing things, reviewing my life, and remembering where I came from. When I started on these paintings, it was around the one year anniversary of my grandfather's death. Soon after, my grandma passed away. Painting was not only a welcome distraction, it really helped me cope.

I set to work, recalling the patterns at play in my own life at that time, the patterns that I got into on my own, as well as those passed down from my parents and grandparents. There were patterns of behavior that were beneficial, that helped and supported me. But there were still others that I recognized were holding me back. I had cast some of them off by then, but there always seems to be little dust bunnies hiding, needing to be swept clean from time to time. So this series of paintings was an experiment. It was a way for me to attempt to portray behaviors and habits in a visual way.

I had only ever known that one set of grandparents, on my mother's side. They were my strongest connection to Poland, and I knew with both of them gone, visits there would be completely different. Painting was a way of processing. It gave me energy and a project to focus on completing.

Then my father passed away a month later. I felt deflated and worn out. I never finished all of the paintings. But they have stuck with me. Perhaps they haunt me because there is still some unfinished problem-solving to be done. Or maybe I just don't like looking at them as they are, half-finished, undone, quiet reminders of a time where I didn't keep going. They have gotten under my skin.

So here are some some of those older paintings, as they stand now. But I believe I now have the pluck to get back to them, to finish them. And maybe in so doing, I'll have new ideas sprout from these old patterns.

What I do like about these images is that, like in our lives, some are concise, some messy, some patterns obliterate others, some grow and become more defined, others fade out of existence, some are complex, and others are quite simple.

I don't normally believe in love at first sight...

2009-10-27T10:42:00.003-06:00

But for you, I'll make an exception. I have a confession to make, I've fallen for you, Seattle. I am, at the very least, totally and completely infatuated with you. I am smitten by your history, by how nature is reclaiming you crumbling brick by brick, by how close you are to both mountain and sea, by your sites, and smells, and the people that fill you.

I admit to even liking your quirks. I figure that's a good sign. A sign of potential perhaps. I quite adore how wonderfully mismatched you can be--how sleek, crisp skyscrapers jut out, protectively shadowing clusters of softened, worn-in mortar and brick buildings...how in some places you have crammed yourself right up to the edges, to the brink of falling into Puget Sound, and yet you have space for parks and grass and trees and courtyards...how you can be so full of grays and yet so vibrantly colorful. And I didn't even mind that it rained each time I visited you, even though it was not my favorite kind of rain. That's sort of a big deal for me.

You are large, but still have quaint corners, full and yet somehow still roomy-- how do you do it? How do you still leave me thinking that there may yet be room within you for me?

Some day, just maybe.

Geometry and Lights

Observe

A Corner Peeling

Various Stages

Neatly Arrayed

Arcade Fruits

Tasty

Terrarium

2009-10-21T17:24:00.008-06:00

How to make a closed-environment terrarium:

Get your supplies ready and set up, and just do it. If you're into that sort of thing. I used the counter space in my bathroom, but anywhere that is easy to clean up works just fine.

Supplies

What you'll need:

Terrarium. This can be any number of things. An aquarium with a lid, a pickle jar, an old apothecary jar, a mason jar that you want to retire from canning, whatever you like. It just needs to be able to be closed tight, if you want a closed-environment terrarium, and transparent, so you can see your creation. (Keep in mind that ornate glass jars and containers, while nice on their own, can detract from visibility.)
Live moss, and if you like-- a small selection of plants.
Small stones/large pebbles, for drainage at the bottom.
Activated Carbon, to stave off weird smells.
Sheet moss or moss-like greenery, to use as a filler and to hide unseemly dirt. (Can be purchased at any craft store.)
Skewer, pencil, or other long thin stick-like apparatus that can be used to get into the terrarium. This gives you better control of where things go and how the end product will appear.
Floral wire. This is optional, but can really help you keep your live moss in place.

To get started, you'll want to put about an inch or so of pebbles in the bottom of your terrarium. I used a wide-mouth container, so I just placed them in by the handful, but if your container pinches in at the top, just make a funnel out of some stiff paper to make your life easier. Then cover that with a small layer of activated carbon. Like I mentioned before, this keeps icky smells away. Then, what I did was stuff some "moss" into the terrarium to create a mound to work off of. I then covered that with a little clean fill dirt (potting soil).

It's all about layering.

I arranged the plants and moss somewhat in a bowl to see how they'd interact with one another, and then I recreated that (kind of) in the terrarium. I put the plants in and then live moss around them, patting them into place. There are three different kinds of moss in there, but I'm pretty sure they'll all be happy together. (I found two of them within 3 feet of one another.)

On the areas that slope, you may want to pin your moss into place.

To make the pins, I just cut a few inches of floral wire, and then bent the pieces in half. Easy-peasy. Then you just stick that through your moss so that it is secured. (Photo further down.)

When everything was in its place and I was happy with how it looked, I watered the terrarium just a little bit, and put the lid on. I'll watch it for a while to make sure it is stable, not too wet, and not too dry. And after that? I'll just sit back and enjoy it for a while (making sure that it gets plenty of indirect sunlight, as not to cook it).

Looking down onto the whole of it.

Terrarium, complete.

Terrarium, up close.

So right now this terrarium is a very green space, but I'm considering putting a little glass or ceramic figurine in there.

So you get done and you find you have a little extra moss hanging around, what do you do? Why, you make a second, smaller terrarium. For this one, I used a pickle jar. I happened to have a tiny little faux terracotta pot, so I put a couple of pebbles in the bottom of it, then some carbon, and piled the soil into a mound. I most definitely used pins that I made out of floral wire here.

Pins, lined up.

I loved how over-flowing the tiny little pot looked, and was content with just that simple design.

I decided against having the lid as the top of this particular piece. Assembling it the other way around gave me a better view of the moss, and better utilized the space.

Small terrarium, done

Winter is coming, and I wanted to save a little green for myself. Mission accomplished.

A Little Abstraction

2009-10-16T08:20:00.000-06:00

...never hurt anyone.

Since I've been on this photography kick lately, here are two of my abstract digital shots, taken on my Canon:

Since they ARE abstract, I'll let you decide what they might be. Oh, and no titles for these.

Cross Processing

2009-10-15T11:54:00.004-06:00

Always some risk, sometimes a reward. . .

Here are some of my more recent cross-processed Holga prints for your viewing pleasure:

And Then The Clouds Came

This shot was taken in July sometime, just outside of Zion National Park. (Just before my friends all got severely rained on.) I hardly ever get any light leaks with my Holga anymore. I'm not sure how I got so lucky with this one. I'm guessing it happened after I took the film out, maybe it was wound loosely on the take-up spool? Either way, I like the occasional light leak. It adds to the adventure, never knowing just what you'll end up with when you pick your prints up.

Just look at the crisp edges on the tops of those tulips. And isn't that shade of green amazing?

This and the following photos were taken just outside of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. A lovely garden and a nature hike area snuggle up against the museum--such fun exploring if you're ever in the area on a nice day.

Delicious Three

Well, isn't it? I'm quite happy with how the colors turned out on this shot. And I think the reflections are so fun.

Numbers Times Two

Here I did a double-exposure and then cross-processed. I am quite pleased with how the numbers line up just so. . . As always, I'm also a big fan of the vignetting along the outer edge.

A Windfall

2009-09-30T21:32:00.003-06:00

Remember when I said I'd post some pin-hole photos? Has it really been nearly 5 months?

Well, I just got a bunch of my negatives printed. They are, of course, from a variety of my toy cameras. I love it. There is something so... reassuring in having a print in my hand, a physical representation of a memory, a place visited, people I care about, some experiment played out. . . It is like catching hold of an emotion, change, or some evolution mid-process. You can look back and trace your personal history, how you've evolved as a photographer or person in general, have a witness to how things were (with some flattening and distortion), recall places you've been, or glance back at the seasons as they've marched on.

I'm getting all mushy and nostalgic, but that's how I get about my toy cameras. Maybe it is because I put more of myself into them, I modify them, paint them, I stake claims. There's also the process itself: it is slower, and as a result, I have to slow down, be more methodical and aware of my surroundings as a photographer. (Thereby imprinting the memory of the place/moment more fully upon my mind.) Or perhaps it is that the images themselves have a more romantic nature-- All full of soft focus, vignetting, color shifts, and happy accidents. (Light leaks, buckled film, surprise double exposures...) Then there's also the memory of what it took to make the photograph happen that attaches itself to the images. It isn't always as simple and point and shoot. There is the construction and modification of cameras, finding where to place a pinhole camera where it will stay still for seconds at a time, and recalling some of the odd looks you get from people that might wonder just what it is that you're wielding about.

Whatever the case may be, I am completely and utterly in love with my little photographic experiments. So I hope you like me sharing some of them with you.

The following is a photo of two of the cameras used in the production of photos in this post:
Whew, that was a lot of p's...

The Holga at the left has had its lens temporarily removed and replaced with a pinhole pierced into a bit of Pepsi can. I set the shutter to the "bulb" function, which means it will stay open as long as I keep the shutter pressed down. It is a great function for long exposure pinhole photography, but you need to remember to switch it back to normal when you're done (or like really shaky photos.) I ran a roll of black and white 120 format film through it.

The minty-pin on the bottom right was also enlisted in the documentation of my adventures. It has a very short focal length which actually makes it better suited to close-up shots. I didn't really pay attention to that and just went and had fun. The minty-pin began its life as a Small Altoids tin and I converted it into a 35 mm pinhole camera.

From my minty-pin I got these images, to share a few:

Accidental Double

I really didn't mean for this to be a double-exposure, but I like how it turned out. I also heart the light leak in this one.

Waiting To Play

That playground sure looks lonely, but I couldn't seem to find an opportunity when there were children just sitting there nice and still.

Cactus bloom

These next shots are from my pin-Holga. I didn't properly tape up the back of my Holga (which has a red acetate window to view the paper-backed film as it rolls through) and light leaked in. That is what contributed to the grainy images as well as the fact that if you look closely, each picture has dots emblazoned onto it. The dots are most obvious in the dandelion scene below.

Sunset From The Point Of View Of A Field Mouse

Train Rest

Photo taken by my friend Jeff Hansen in Nevada. I'll mention here that while this was black and white film, the images all came out with this brown-black and white effect. So fun. To me, at least.

Desert Mystery

Next to the Tree of Utah sculpture. I love how the foreground is all crackled and dry, and how dreamy it all looks.

Afternoon In The Garden

This place was actually full of colors the day I took this shot. The sky was a brilliant blue, and all around were several shades of green from the trees, bushes, and grass, as well as pink, cream, and purple flowers in bloom in the beds. Maybe I could have pulled off a dreamy feel to it if I'd taken a color photo, but I didn't. And you know what? I'm glad I did what I did.

Grasping At Memories

Someone described this photo as looking like "a half-forgotten memory." I felt it was an apt description. It is a photo of the Bonneville Salt Flats. Don't you just love the fluffy clouds floating overhead?

All of the above photos (minus the one of the actual cameras themselves) are examples of pin-hole photography. If you stop at think about it, isn't it grand what what one tiny little hole can do?

The last that I'll share today are from my dearly departed Windsor. I shared some scans in my last post, but these are scans of actual prints. Yay!

Delicate Arch

Indiana Forest

The trees are so softly focused that they look hug-able, don't you think?

Developing Ghosts

2009-09-15T23:21:00.002-06:00

So I developed a bunch of my Holga and Windsor shots. Some date back to February. Yikes. But I'm finally doing it. And it makes me happy. I got 5 rolls of medium format film developed and one roll of 35mm. They are all images from my "toy" cameras.

I just had the film developed, not printed. I like a lot of the shots, so I'm going to have to get some of them printed out next.

At the moment, I have a small preview of some of the photos. They are the scanned and manipulated negatives which is not so pretty to look at, but, it'll give you an idea of what's next.

At the Wave, February 2009

The above photo was taken on my now deceased Windsor camera. Before it decided to warp out of functionality, I happily toted it around along with my Holga.
See--

I've discovered that the Windor's shutter works just fine, so I've hacked and sawed what was left of my little plastic baby into pieces. I'm hoping I can salvage the shutter mechanism and Frankenstein it into some kind of working camera again.

Mostly I just need to find a new lens. I can build a camera body fairly easily... but I'm daydreaming and will stop now.

The following two photographs were my first foray into night photography with my Holga. They just so happen to be photographs of the Fourth of July fireworks in St. George and Washington, Utah.The first is more easily recognized as fireworks, but I like how the sparks and trails of lights line up in the second one. (The second photograph is a double-exposure.)

4th of July, Holga style

Holga doubles your holiday fun

Lastly, I've included a few more scenes that my Windsor captured. They are a triptych of Indianapolis, Indiana. This was from my excursion walking around downtown Indy alone, so I didn't venture too far with a plastic camera hanging off my neck. The locales are probably all within about ten blocks of one another.

Donuts

Theater

Statue

Sunless Sunflowers

2009-09-08T10:30:00.003-06:00

I stumbled upon these little lovelies while taking a night walk around Provo, Utah. In the daylight, they would have just been gigantic sunflowers. Big, sure, but just sunflowers. But seeing them at night, with the inky blue-black sky as a backdrop, that was magical.

Towering Giants

Sunflowers at Night

Sunflowers and Stars

Evening Bouquet

The tallest flowers were over seven feet in height. They were a quite impressive treat.

August paintings under way

2009-08-19T21:00:00.002-06:00

So I didn't make it into the show. But I now have a handful of happy and fresh paintings that I can either try to get into some other show or possible give away. Or then there's etsy. . . maybe there's something worth trying out. We'll see. Either way, artist's block, what artist's block?
I'm back to painting and creating again, and I think that's a way better thing to be able to report than just being in one little ol' show. Don't you agree? :)

In the meantime, here's a few of my latest little ones...

Minnesota

ixulus

The Beginnings Of A Family Tree

Fingers Crossed

2009-08-15T23:50:00.000-06:00

I been painting and sketching (I need to photograph those...) and keeping myself artistically busy, when a call for entries link was delivered to my in-box. I only had a few days to get my act together and submit up to five entries. And here was the catch--I had to be prepared to sell the pieces if they were accepted. What could I do? I'd been working on a few things for friends and family lately, so those most definitely couldn't go, even if they are beauties. (Yes, dear friends and winners of my give-away... I have you on my mind and I am working on your prezzies.)

After much scribbling, scrawling, doodling, sawing, gesso-ing, and painting, I came up with four paintings on masonite (hardboard) and a photograph to enter. I sent five of my creations off into the world today.

The photo is the oldest piece that I submitted, and it can be found here. It is one of my favorite Holga photographs and was taken last summer.

The other pieces range from a portrait to an aerial landscape to a couple of more abstract/narrative pieces. I'll include photos of them soon enough. For now I'm just going to relax as much as I can while I await the verdict. I find out on the 19th if I'm in. (Send me good vibes.)

If I get in, I'll celebrate with cake. If I don't... I'll still be happy that I got so much painting and art done in just a short chunk of time. And I'll have more gifts to give.

Minimal

2009-07-22T19:12:00.005-06:00

Photos I took on my last trip to St George, Utah. I usually spend most of my photographing energy within slot canyons or while scrambling around with friends. But sometimes it is nice to switch things up. Wanting to find color swatches, I walked around part of "downtown" St George and found these beauties. It was right around sunset, and while I usually like bright sunny images or moody canyon shots, I found this subdued lighting rather lovely. What do you think?

Blades
(by the BLM office)

Meter

Hydrant

Station 2

Blades 1

These aren't my typical subjects, but oh how I love them. Turns out, if you want inspiration, sometimes it isn't so much the locale as a change in perspective that that is in order.

Skipping June

2009-07-16T16:53:00.006-06:00

These are images that make me happy. I like the colors, the textures, and the memories associated with them. So I'm sharing a few recent photographs, taken in May and July:

Dappled
Photo taken in Eugene, OR.

Dodge Tire
Photo taken just outside Zion National Park.

Blue on Top
Photo taken just outside Zion National Park.

Theater
Photo taken in The Dalles, OR.

J.C. Penny Co.
Photo taken in The Dalles, OR.

Opportunistic
Photo taken in The Dalles, OR.

Honeysuckle Sherbet
Photo taken in The Dalles, OR.

In Spite of Circumstance
Photo taken in The Dalles, OR.

Inspired

2009-07-14T20:32:00.001-06:00

Everything lately is encouraging me to make art. When I've been feeling happy or content, I sketch away. While having a rough day, I lay down color on canvas. When I've been thoughtful, I focus on detail. I've been working on a few different projects all at once and having the best time.

I have 3 canvases going, and one painting on a wood panel. I am sketching out ideas for a children's book that my friend wrote. I have turned an old romance novel into a sketch book and I'm painting, sketching, and writing notes to myself in it.

I'm totally absorbed in creating, and it is wonderful. I haven't been this way in a while. I could feel it coming on, and I'm glad it is finally here. A part of me has been gearing up for this for some time, but something had to give first. And it did. I'm enjoying this productive season in my life, and I am grateful for the people who stand behind me and cheer me on.

And yes, I'm using material I've been getting since my concussion, as mentioned here.

My littlest canvas, and potato print.

I got a little experimental and went back to basics, all at once. I have been wanting to mess around with prints in my paintings for a bit, but I haven't really wanted to go buy the linoleum and other supplies that I used back when I did that sort of thing... so I thought, why not use a potato? I couldn't come up with a good answer for that, so I did. And yes, the shape is roughly one that I saw in my head over and over one of the nights I couldn't sleep.

A sneak-peek of my works in progress.

Here's a grouping of my main three canvases in action. The furthest left is my least complete canvas. I have sketched out a pattern for the background, and that's about it so far. The one on the right is a color pattern that I kept seeing over and over again while listening to the sound of A/C unit outside. I think it may be a self-portrait. (It has been years since I've tried one of those.) The one on the bottom is my first potato-pattern canvas. If it goes well, it will be one of my give-away gifts this year.

The not-so-wonderful romance novel of the 50's (turned sketch book).

This has been a fun one. I found this old book at Desert Industries for $1. It is nicely bound and with a lovely greenish fabric cover. But that was all that it had going for it, as far as I was concerned. Ann of the Woodlands held no magic for me as it was.

I've taken this sad little romance novel and gave it new life. I have doodled in it, painted a couple of water-color sketches, and done some pen and ink drawings. I went in and glued pairs of pages together and then painted out gesso on the front and back of those, so that they can hold up to being painted on with acrylics. Exciting, no? I'll put in more photos of that fun once I get rolling with it.

Fail

2009-07-13T19:38:00.001-06:00

Lookey what happened:

Five minutes in a car unattended, and my Windsor got all melty and warped. Luckily I just finished a roll of film, of there would have been some exposed photos, making this double sad. I guess now I have a new project on my hands, if I ever get the time. I think I'll frankenstein this and turn it into a 35 mm camera. I just need to figure out a make-shift lens and I'll be gold. Any ideas?

Desert Travel

2009-07-06T16:53:00.008-06:00

Here are some recent desert findings:

Spirals

Valley of Fire State Park

Unfortunate Lizard (rib view)

Unfortunate Lizard (head view)

61709

2009-06-17T21:37:00.003-06:00

a moment.

Birthday love

2009-05-04T15:06:00.007-06:00

I just wanted to report that I got an awesome present from the Folks for turning another year older. I'm not sure what the big deal is. I mean, really, I should be giving my mom gifts on that day... but I'll go along with custom.
Now, it may have started from a recycled thought, but the product is brand new. My step-dad decided (again) that I might like a new digital camera*. It has been nearly 4 years since the first camera-giving, and even though it was an old idea, I'm more than satisfied with the new camera: a Canon PowerShot SX110 IS. A mouthful, I know. I can't even tell you just how excited I am about using it. Besides having all kinds of automatic and specific settings, it has a manual setting. It isn't quite a SLR, but I'm not quite there yet. Besides, I'm currently borrowing Jon's film SLR for practice, and any time we're out together, he lets me take all the digital SLR shots I can handle with his Nikon.
Now I'll be able to take really nice, crisp digital photos along with my Holga and toy camera shots. Oh the possibilities!

* I'm so grateful I have people in my life that support what I love and love me, and that my folks get me. I get that that's a big deal.

success

2009-05-02T12:05:00.006-06:00

There will be some pinhole shots to be shared. Soon.

In the meantime, I'll let you drool over my creations:

PinHolga and two home-made Pinholes

Close-up of my bittiest pin-hole camera.
It is made out of a small Altoids tin.

If you want to make your own minty-cam, you can learn how to do so here. The website tells you how to turn an average-sized Altoids tin into a pin-hole camera, but it is fairly easy to scale it down to a mini-tin.

If you'd like to try your hand at making a pinhole camera out of matchbox, you can do that, too. People make pinhole cameras out of a can of SPAM, oatmeal containers, and I've even seen one made out of a walnut.

To get your minty-cams to work, you need an old film canister to wind the film onto. I went to Wal-mart and asked the lady for a couple of said used canisters, and she cocked her head to one side and raised an eyebrow. When I explained, that it was for a project, she was moved to action. "Oh, for a project, I understand." Maybe she thought I was just a nutty canister-collector until I relayed that bit of information to her. At any rate, I was successful in that endeavor.

When I showed Jon my army of pinhole cameras, his response was, "Your kids are going to love you." They had better.

Worldwide Pinhole day

2009-04-23T10:32:00.001-06:00

It's on my birthday this year.

And, yes, there is a website!

I'm prepared. I have a Holga that I now know how to easily convert to a PinHolga. Later this week, I'm planning on making a cheap little pinhole camera with my own two hands. Two pinholes for Worldwide Pinhole day, for my birthday. What a treat.

Indiana Photo Adventures

2009-04-22T16:59:00.009-06:00

I have taken a good number of photos while I've been in Indiana. If the weather would have cooperated, I would have taken a great deal more. As it stands, it has rained here more than it has not. That hasn't been beneficial to my photography explorations. I'm not going to complain too much, however, since I did have a few gorgeous days out here, and I put those to good use.

In the days to come, however, I will have a few rolls of film developed and scanned to share. I'll admit that those are the ones I am the most excited about. I spent one day walking around Indianapolis on my own with a borrowed SLR Minolta (thanks, Jon), my Holga, my Windsor, and my old Nikon Coolpix E4600. Yep, that's the scrappy little digital that I use. Nothing special, but I have fun with it. Here are a couple of the photos I have to share for now:

self-portait on museum grounds

Garden Symmetry

This, my friends, is my Holga. I lent it to my dear little Jenna, who took it on adventures with her. When she returned, I took a couple of photos of her on a hike we took. Those photos can be seen here. (She's got this one shot with an amazing sun flare in it--I'm a little jealous.)

Since being reunited, I turned my Holga into a pin-Holga for a few shots, and then finished out the roll with the lens attached. I did this while my Holga was rigged to take 35mm film. I have that roll as well as a roll of color 120 format slide film to look forward to from my time out here. My Windsor has gone through a roll of 120 format B&W film and is working its way through some color slide film as well. When I took the Minolta with me to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, I took all sorts of photos on it while walking around the gardens. It was mostly for play, so I'm not sure how the shots will turn out, but either way, it was exciting.

The only wish I have left when it comes to all of this photography fun is to go back to Lafayette, Indiana before I leave. I would still like a nice day out there to photograph the buildings around the Tippecanoe County library. They have so much personality and history.

Singing

2009-04-01T21:00:00.002-06:00

I've been doing lots of singing in Indiana so far. Mike's been writing his own music to use as the soundtrack to one of the documentaries, and I've gotta say, it's pretty good. He's been having me listen in, comment on the lyrics and tempo, and sing. He's got me doing the harmony, and it has been a lot of fun. I usually save my singing for car rides or alone-time. So, it's been fun to actually be asked to belt things out and to really give some input. I'm not sure if we'll actually record any of them with my vocals, but either way, it's nice to get to use my voice.

As far as visual arts go: I packed up a total of four cameras to Indiana. I've got two toy cameras, one really nice SLR, and then my fun little point and shoot digital. I aim to use them lots and lots while I'm out here, and I hope to get better at the SLR business. Today after I went on a run around a local park, I got my Holga out of the car and took a few shots.

I've also brought along a fresh new sketchbook, and I hope to put that to good use out here as well.

Some time in the next week or two, we're going on a field trip to the Museum of Art in Indianapolis. I'm so excited.

That was fast

2009-03-27T11:04:00.004-06:00

I now have my five.

1. Ashlie
2. Hayley
3. Chrissy
4. Sannah
5. Michael

Thanks so much for playing along. I'll be in Indiana next month and will be working on these on my down time. Sannah, thanks for the note about your preferences. If anyone else has some ideas for their gift, let me know. If I feel like playing along, I will. ;)

FOUR IS NOT FIVE

2009-03-27T07:19:00.000-06:00

So far, my give-away list consists of:

1. Hayley
2. Ashlie
3. Sannah
4. Chrissy

Maybe there are some sissies out there too scared to list a reciprocal offer on their blog or whatever. That's cool by me. I don't care. Just give me one more name. ;)

Fun Stuff

2009-03-05T09:57:00.003-07:00

The first five people to respond to this post will get something from me!
My choice.
For you.
Handmade.
This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year.
4- You have no clue what it's going to be (nor do I at this point).
The catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.
The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they want to receive a homemade gift from me will indeed receive one.
Be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!!!

Thanks, Ashlie for doing this. Now I have a reason to get off my bum and make stuff for other people. ;)

Life in February

2009-02-28T10:10:00.002-07:00

I've been busy. Photographing, doodling, and moving. Life has been full of all kinds of things to do and see and accomplish. It'll be another couple of weeks before the doodles and sketches and little watercolors start showing up on here though.

I promptly followed moving across town with a road-trip to Arizona. So while this gave me loads of new ideas for paintings, and lots of opportunities to take photos, I haven't yet had the chance to get my computer set up at the new place. (I'm not even back at my new place yet!) So, no recent sketches to post, but here are some photos to check out:

The first few are from the Wave, near Kanab, Utah. (Coyote Buttes, to be more specific.) The last two I took at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, Arizona.

ah, the new year

2009-01-28T21:34:00.003-07:00

I can't say that I've always liked you, January. We haven't always gotten along, but this year you've been treating me well for the most part. I appreciate it.

Thanks for cooperating while I've been going skiing, spelunking, and swimming in hot springs. Those were some of your most perfect moments. There are still days that you're mean and bitterly cold, but I'm trying to look past that.

Even when you're in a rotten mood, you're not too bad. I've found ways of overlooking your faults. On those ridiculously cold days I've been keeping myself occupied quite well. I've started up a couple of projects, and I'm making some great headway.

What I'm saying is I think we can be friends now.

Hopefully the same goes for February.

Hiatus

2009-01-21T18:46:00.005-07:00

After a very long dry spell, I'm back. I decided to kick things back into gear with a few of my travel photos from my road-trip to Texas.

This first photo is an example of some of the stuff that Ike did to Galveston. There are still beached boats strewn about. It was kind of eerie to see all the wreckage that is still there.

This is a shot I took while driving through New Mexico. I tweaked it a little by adding a little vignette, cropping, and framing it.

This photo was taken in Bastrop, Texas on New Years Day while walking around with a couple of friends.

Here's one that's just for fun-- a picture my mom took of me in Montgomery, Tx.

More stuff to follow in a more timely manner.

Paint brushes galore

2008-08-18T16:36:00.001-06:00

I got to see "too much of a good thing" in action today. Stopping by a craft store to get a couple of new brushes isn't a big deal for me. I walk in knowing what I want, and quickly get it (as long as it is in stock). At times, sure, I am lured into buying more brushes than I had on my agenda, but overall, I'm pretty good at limiting myself.

I saw something totally different unfold today in the paint supply aisle, however. As I was deciding between a number 5 or 6 round brush, a girl with her class list of the types of brushes she'd need for art class walks up to the paint brushes, and stops, her jaw dropping open. Her mom follows quickly behind, asking her just what is needed. Then the mom reaches out and grabs her daughter's list, trying to see if she can make sense of the teacher's directions. She then makes the amateur's mistake of going for the super cheap-y bagged brush set (bumping into me in the process). She looks it over and says, "I think this will probably have all you need..." But then after a quick over-view, they realize it still falls short of the variety they needed. (Plus, who wants brushes that won't even make it through one painting??? Who cares if they only cost $4 for 5 brushes if they're going to shed all over.)

By this time, I had my number 5 round in hand and had moved on to try to find the next filbert I'd take home with me. The mom and daughter duo were still not agreeing on what to get and were having a tough time deciding which of the brushes were truly "crappy." (As the daughter said.)

At that point, I just couldn't hold it in anymore. I spoke up, and volunteered some information, first showing the daughter the type of brush I think her teacher was trying to steer her away from, and then explaining what a flat brush does and which one is a filbert when they asked a few more questions. They seemed to have things under control, so I moved on to look at the selection of archival pens they had. On the way, I got a little distracted by some yarn on sale... but eventually made it to the scrap-booking section where the pens were hiding.

Right then, mom and daughter go walking by, the daughter waving at me. But then the mom stops in her tracks, does and about-face, and heads back to me. "Can you help us?" She sounded beat. She explained that she couldn't figure out just what brushes would be best and was giving up, but when she saw me, thought she'd give it one last shot. So off we go back to the brushes.

As it turns out, I would have been just as frustrated by the materials list her daughter had been handed. The only size brush that it mentioned was the flat brush, and even then, it said you could take your pick of 1/2" to an inch. The only other things it said was that she'd also need a filbert, a round, and a detail brush of her choice. Yikes! For a first-time high school art student, these kinds of decisions can seem all-important and incredibly daunting, like your future life as an artist depends on the right brushes now. (Or at least looking cool and knowledgeable around your classmates.)

So, we went through what types of brush strokes she'd make with each brush and explained when she might use each. From there, she had an easier time imagining what size she needed, and after narrowing down her choices for her, she ultimately picked some great brushes to get her started. Daughter seemed excited to get started, and Mom seemed relieved that art shopping was finished--my work was done.

So, part of the moral of this story is: it feels really great to do nice things, even if they are really little teensy tiny nice things. But here's the other part of the story that I like so much--That mom. She got frustrated, and she realized quickly that she couldn't help her daughter out with what she knew about art/painting, but instead of just giving up, she asked for help. Now there is some creative, out-of-the-box thinking. Plus, bonus points for being humble enough to ask for help (from someone who looks like a like a little kid) in the first place.

Fun with old books

2008-08-12T07:07:00.001-06:00

The way I was raised, books were pretty much sacred in our house. When my dad invested in encyclopedias for us kids, we had to wash our hands before touching them. We were not allowed to leave books open and face down, even if we were only taking a short break from them. Even folding the corners of pages in library books that were already well worn was frowned upon. A book was an important thing, and it was meant to last, to impart the wisdom from the pages within for generations. So, anything that might distort, damage, or destroy a book was strictly forbidden.

Even in my art classes in high school, I never thought about using books for anything but what they were intended for--reading and study. Even when we'd make collages, there would only be a few types of things that we were given to cut up. Perhaps some cheap or pop-culture based magazines might be up for grabs, but I never considered cutting up a National Geographic. And, surely a person would never used a bound book for collage material. There were certain things that were off limits.

Since high school texts are reused time and time again, we weren't to to write notes in them or write answers in the quiz portions. So, when I first got to college, I had a hard time even highlighting and writing in books for the purpose of enhancing my studies. Basically, I had a complex.

In college some of my art classes required me to collage. I eventually did start using old National Geographic magazines since they were so readily available at local thrift stores and their images were far superior to fashion magazines. But it was a rough transition for me at first.

Then, my last year in college I took a book-binding class. I got to make books! That was such a joy. However, I did have two projects that required me to alter books that already existed. So I scoured the thrift store for books that looked totally out of date to use. (Things like old psychology texts, or engineering books from the 1960's.) I still have a tough time thinking about taking apart or writing in books that I think someone might still find useful or interesting. But with these books that I felt sure would never find another home, I found that I could cut pages out, glue pages together, paint, draw, and doodle, and collage without feeling like a terrible person.

I was at a friend's place last week and we decided to collage together. I was aghast when he pulled out books to collage from. There were old Time Life books as well as a few other nature/science books in the mix. I don't think I would have dared to use some of those books except for the fact that they were already cut up and there was nothing salvageable about them. That's when I decided to really go for it.

This is what I came up with:

Flight, mixed media

Besides the astronaut, there are two other figures about to take a leap.This was basically a stream-of-consciousness type collage. From start to finish it took me about an hour to put it together and I just grabbed up images that I liked, without really thinking about how they'd work together. (Which explains the imbalance going on...) Most of the images came out of various science books, with that splash of color behind everything as the only thing I got out of a magazine. I've colored in some of the images and added pen and marker to it. I'm realizing what a find these vintage science books really are. They have all kinds of cool scenes and old-school technology. I'm just beginning to scratch the surface. I had a lot of fun with the process, and think I might just do it again soon.

June paintings

2008-08-11T15:44:00.007-06:00

Here are the two paintings I did for my mom back in June. They were my first attempts at doing photo transfers. They are also what got me back into acrylic, at least part-time.

Roots

First of all, this isn't exactly how this piece looks. I left both of the paintings from this post in Texas and forgot to photograph them. My mom tried her best to get a good shot of this piece, but the area she was working in wasn't cooperating, so there are shadows and light streaks... but I think you can get the general idea from it, so here it is.

For this piece, I painted on masonite board. I laid down some background washes, then did the photo transfer. I finished it by distressing it some and adding a few details, like the trees in the background and the roots at my grandparents' feet. It is approximately 5"x7".

I loved this image of my grandparents because I didn't get to see them like this very much as a kid. I'm pretty sure the original photo of them was taken before I was born. I remember them most clearly as either taking walks with us to parks or to the grocery store, or just hanging out/cooking/and cleaning around their place. As a youngster, I didn't photograph them much except outside of the chapel they went to for church, or at their place, in Warsaw, Poland. So I liked that this captured them happily together near the Wistula river.

Heritage

Here, I painted on canvas, 9"x9" I believe. Unlike the previous image, where the printout I used was straight black ink, this was a full-color black and white print. The differences are obvious. While some mid-tone values came out(which I liked), it didn't transfer as well (I'm not a fan of that). I didn't really mind that it went purple-ish. I'm into random "errors" in my art, and think that in this case it added to the piece. After doing the transfer, I went back in and added some more detail and some washes and then glazed the thing for good measure.

I wanted to capture a happy moment for my mom with this painting. The original photo was from her visit with Dale to Poland back in 2004. It was taken in their home, but I cut out all of the background that was initially a part of the image to simplify it. I like all of the different prints that they are wearing. In real life they were all kinds of different colors, so I like how the transfer process helped unify them in a way.

Toy Camera

2008-08-04T12:15:00.000-06:00

I have fallen for my toy cameras. I started out with just my Holga, but I now have a Windsor as well. There is something magical about a plastic lens, about leaving things open to chance. There are things that happen that you have no control over. At times it just a mess. But sometimes you end up with some really amazing accidents.
Because they are the way they are, you get some weird looks from people. I take them around with me pretty much anywhere I go these days, so I'm getting used to the extra glances or even random questions. "Is that thing for real?" or, "How old are those things?" Sometimes you end up having some pretty cool conversations.
But enough about all that. Here are a few of my latest Holga photographs:

Lehi summer

I love this shot. I had to put my camera over a fence and maneuver the camera around with my arms between some metal bars to get it (a little awkward), but I think it was worth it.

Geometry

I love how with a Holga, no line is ever really straight. I also like the colors here, as well as the little fluffy clouds over those nearly straight lines.

Frank's

This shot was taken while walking around San Antonio, Texas. These buildings were tucked away, but we spotted them walking back to our car. It was on color slide film, but I liked this shot better in black and white, so there you have it. I love how grainy it turned out. Oh, and check out the vignetting on this shot. Beautiful.

Fig Tree

This shot was taken on my folks' property in Magnolia, Texas. First, I love that they have a fig tree. Second, I love that I got to eat a fig before the squirrels ate them all. Last, I love how you sometimes get random light leaks and flares when you use a Holga.

That's all I've got for you for the moment. I'll share more later.

Pilot Whales

2008-08-02T00:30:00.003-06:00

I made a little painting for Clint's birthday. It was an interesting process. Parts of it came easily to me. I knew I wanted it to be a seascape, and I had some ideas for patterns I wanted to use in the background. I even knew the colors I wanted to use, in general. However, I was stumped about what else exactly to include. I had so many ideas floating around in my head, but I wasn't sure which to settle on. (There may well be other things that come from all that brain-storming. Later.) Well, sneaky me, I asked Clint a few "random" questions that helped me along. His favorite animal, what he could be if he could be any animal, is a pilot whale. I knew this, we'd even talked about this while walking around Sea World. So how did it escape my memory? I'm not sure. I'm glad he played along, however, and reminded me. I took that idea and ran with it.

Here's what ended up in the painting: Sea, sky, kelp, and pilot whales.

2008, Acrylic on canvas

Even just a few years back, it was really difficult for me to do pieces specifically for other people. I don't know if it was so much that I was worried that they wouldn't like it, but maybe that played a part in it. I think there was also a stubborn part of me that had a hard time wanting my art to be overt/easily deciphered, and I felt that art for gift-giving was meant to be easily read by the recipient. I was scared that gift-art would end up being cheesy or inauthentic.

Whatever the reasons, I used to have the worst time trying to come up with ideas when the art wasn't:
1. specifically for me
2. an experiment
3. a way of problem-solving

But these days, things have changed. I did 3 paintings for my family during the last month and a half. Two for my mom, and one for my step-dad. I'll post images of those just as soon as I get the photos of them. (I forgot to take some pictures of those pieces before I left them with their new owners.) Those paintings came surprisingly easily to me.

I can guarantee you that part of the ease and quickness of those pieces can be attributed to the medium I've been using. Until these last few pieces, I worked almost exclusively with oil paints, making a few ventures with watercolors. Oil paint is what I got used to in college, and let's face it, it is still my main squeeze. But I'm making room for other friends. And lately, I've gotten reacquainted with my old friend Acrylic.

Where Oil is nostalgic, and into long slow walks and drawn-out tales, Acrylic is all about life in the fast lane. Acrylic gets to the point. Acrylic has no time to mess around. That used to be a big turn-off for me, especially when I'd gotten so accustomed to my dear sweet rambling Oil. However, I can now see the benefits of having the option of speeding things up now and again. I have to be in a different state of mind with Acrylic than with any other medium, and I think the practice has been good for me.

I expect that I'll continue to get to know Acrylic better, as well as some of my other long-neglected pals from days gone by.

Accountability

2008-07-28T13:54:00.000-06:00

I've got a couple of new paintings under my belt, a few more in the works, and few blank canvases ready to get started. I've got my supplies pretty well organized, and plenty of ideas in my head. It's pretty obvious where I'm going with this: I'm going to use this as a way to keep myself on track with my artistic ventures, to keep creating.

I have another blog that I've been using primarily for random meanderings, moments, and thoughts. I have posted a couple of things about a couple of my pieces, but I like the idea of starting fresh, and narrowing down my focus to just art and art-related posts. So, here's post #1 of this experiment.