Little Dream Sketches for Aya's Pocket

As you know, I am in a sketchbook exchange program and these are for Aya's pocket.  The pocket is in the back of the sketchbook.  Aya's pocket says, add dreams here (Or something like that).  So even though I had previously done two pocket items, I did two quick little sketches of dreams for the dream pocket.

In my flying dreams, I am not always sure
if I am flying or falling.

Sometimes, I can walk through walls
in my dreams!
Click images to view larger.

These are just little, done with gouche on red-colored card stock.

New art and experiments in art with oil pastels

I have two pocket items for the first mole that comes my way.  The first one you've seen as a photo, but it's dry enough now to scan--It's the wandering minstrel, the Mandolin player, done in water soluble oils.

The Wandering Minstrel, The Mandolin Player
by Mary Stebbins Taitt
Water-soluble oils
for the first round 4 pocket.
size: I cut this exactly to fit the Mole pocket, hopefully.

The second pocket item is for fun.  It is a bit weird and silly.  I was playing with oil pastels.  My question was, how would they work on dark paper.  I actually went to the store and bought the paper just to experiment--I've got my teeth into exploring oil pastels at the moment.  I like them because they are bright and don't stink (like the fixative for soft pastels, chalk pastels.)  I had in mind sort making a mandala from a poppy.  When I was nearly finished, I tried to sand off on of the bumps that had formed and the layers of varnish and oil pastel delaminated.  This is something I'd been afraid of and had a series of other tests and had not managed to delaminate any of the tests--but this one did.  The peeled off pieces felt like flower petals so, for fun, I glued them on.

Poppy Mandala with Torn Petal
First Round 4 Pocket item
Mary Stebbins Taitt
oil pastels and acrylic varnish
Click to view larger.
8.5 x 11

 The next painting (drawing?) is another in my series of tests of oil pastels and acrylic varnish.  It's on one of my practice sketchbooks, an old one, painted (drawn?) over an old failed painting.  One thing oil pastels, I have not yet learned how to do detail.  Nor can I do it with a palette (painting) knife, as seen above.)  The oil pastels tend to shed little lumps of pastel material which then builds up with successive layers to make "pimples."  These pimples are weak spots from which delamination can begin.  I have no idea about the long-term survival of these pieces, but I think they will not delaminate in the short term, as they did in the poppy mandala above, unless they are subjected to undue stress, eg, sanding.

Ami, age 13
Mary Stebbins Taitt
oil pastels, acrylics and acrylic varnish
in multimedia sketchbook
9 x 12 (part is missing on right, as my scanner is smaller than the paper)

I am not sure how much longer I will continue experimenting with this media or whether I will use it in any serious art.  I will not use it in anyone's sketchbook (Mole) in the exchange unless someone gives me the go-ahead, since the archival nature of the medium is unknown (to me) at this time.  For some reason, I seem to be taken by the medium at the moment.  Trying to ascertain its possibilities.

Self-portrait Today

I wanted to complete my Moleskines BEFORE I took a video of the finished Moleskine.  I'd intended all along to make a painting on the back of my Round 2 Moleskine, so I did that tonight and the book is now, finally complete.  I will attempt to make a video of it at my earliest convenience, BUT I am still working on the Fellowship application.

This is a self portrait.  I painted it from a photo my husband took of me at a restaurant in Slovenia.

I took some pictures of the steps, but I will post the scan first.  Acrylic on Gessoed Moleskine cover.

Click images to view larger.

"final" (maybe--I always like to fiddle)

(Step 2) Blocking in with pig markers
I forgot to photograph the pencil sketch

(Step 3) Underpainting
(first coat)

adding detail

Two new sketchbook pieces and the card giveaway note

I got some new pens from Andrea--0h goodie--for participating in her collaboration challenge on Something Different. I love those blue energels. I doodled a little doodle first in the back of my Round ONE Mole--which still has some blank pages. Once I got a feel for them, I did a collaborative piece for Ammon. I have one more piece to do in Andrea's Mole, sorry it's taking so long--but it's a good thing I did not take the mole with me, because we got POURED ON camping and everything got soaked!!!! These came out in the wrong order. The collaboration is on top. The doodle to try out the pens is on the bottom. Both images enlarge if you click on them. The doodle enlarges to bigger than it is in real life, at least on my screen.

The Card Giveaway I am going to try to do tomorrow. If nothing goes wrong. So far, something has gone wrong every single day for a whole string of days, but maybe tomorrow will be an exception.

By the way, the collaborative piece is intended for Ammon, but if anyone else would like to play, I'd love to see what you might do with this.

Two New Moleskine Artpieces, Card Giveaway, Julyathon (not really)

My new no-strings-attached card giveaway is here. If you win, you can choose any three of my images to have cards made from.

As far as the Julyathon, I have made up, by extra walking, the two days I missed and have walked every other day this month, as well as jogging and biking.

Wind, Souffle. Click images to view larger. The first one is done in nail polish and Sakura Permopaque pigment markers, the second in Sakura Souffle pens. The souffle one was done from life with BB(K) sitting across the table from me at dinner.

Oops, I accidentally did an extra picture in Andrea's mole--by accident--I got confused. I had new pens and wanted to try them, but forgot I had only the collabs left to do--usually I do those FIRST, but I had something special planned for one of them. I think there are enough pages. Unfortunately, don't really like the effect accomplished by the souffle pens--it's very weird. I used only the 9 colors provided (with the except of a few extras in the curtain, plus a little colored pencil). I should always do the testing in one of my own moles first. AK!

We are leaving for a camping trip and I am undecided whether to take the Mole, as of yet incomplete, with me. There is always a danger camping of getting wet or dirty.

If I decide not to take it, I will not be able to work on it, obviously, and finish it, until I return after August 7. I will probably NOT be able to get online until I return, most campgrounds we visit do not provide internet access and I do not have 3G or a smart phone.

3 quick sketches

I'm working on filling in the final blank pages in a returned sketchbook that circulated around to 12 people in Jim Doran's Sketchbook exchange--I did these quickly with Faber-Castell and Pigma artist pigment pens. On the first chicken, I added a little white gouache. The second chicken is one of about 15 sketches I did on newspaper before I did the sketch in the Moleskine. On the last picture, I added a little colored pencil. The Moleskine is one with yellow paper, so they all look a little too yellow to suit me. Click images to view slightly larger.

Two more quick sketches

These are in a Moleskine that was returned from circulating among 12 other artists in my second moleskine group. I am filling in the blank pages.

The one on the left was designed as a companion piece to one done by AURORA FOX. I like hers better.

"poised"

Poised to Strike, Water color sketch in Jessie's book. Not doing
washes on the yellow mole paper, trying to see what effects I can get
without washes. Water color and a little gouache.

self-portrait sketch, age 8

When I was eight years old, my father took me on a long train ride down to New York City to go to the opera at the Met. We saw the Magic Flute, and the thing I remember most about it was Papageno, the bird man. I also remember how everything was gold and dark red velvet and how I was made to wear a frilly pink dress and bows in my hair. I hated pink. But I was awed by the Met. I have never been back and that was about 55 years ago.

This is a sketch with pencil and colored pencil in Peggy's sketcbook.

Sketchbook Exchange sketches

Five sketches in Peggy's book. One has a poem, a prose poem.

3 Raven sketch details

Three details from three raven sketches from Andrea's sketchbook. See the complete pictures at Imagik.

Fruit and Wine by Night Window

Fruit and Wine by Night Window, by Mary Stebbins Taitt

A Water-color quick sketch in a sketchbook exchange book. For Creative every day.