Monday, January 31, 2011
Travel Art Journal Page Leaving On A Jet Plane
I recently took a trip to Sanibel Island in Florida (these drawings are from the first 24 hours) and this sketch was done at the airport. My husband kept singing "leaving on a jet plane". The bags are my carry on suitcase, camera bag, and a large zippered bag I bought in Hawaii. We got to the airport at 6:00 am for a 7 o'clock flight.
Never say at the airport "at least I never had to sit near the rest rooms", it's not wise to tempt the seating gods. The good news was we were as far away as possible from the crying baby and the seat between us was empty.
It was so nice to hear the surf and see palm trees again; I missed it. It was particularly sweet when the temperature was -23 in Minneapolis (without wind chill). Fort Meyers Beach was a nice way to start the vacation but we preferred the more quiet beaches that Florida has to offer.
Dunkin Donuts has left Minnesota but we remembered it fondly and had to stop for a dozen.
The sea gulls spotted me taking a bagel out of my bag and swooped down; I was really impressed since it was wrapped in a paper napkin. I should have brought the rest of the donuts.
Sanibel Island and Captiva are home to over 250 varieties of shells. The pristine beaches are a joy to walk along. The airport screener wasn't happy when he opened our suitcases and had to go through the shells we brought home. The suitcases are still airing in the garage.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Duck Camp T-Shirt Design
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Kleenex Box Book
Friday, January 28, 2011
Cabbage, The Vegetable of Mystery
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Extreme Close Up Of A Pine Tree Abstract Painting
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Handmade Art Journal From The Book The Winged Horse
Found this lovely vintage book, The Winged Horse, and turned it into a new art journal. The end papers are green toned mythical scenes. It's nice to find a use for some of the art tablets have sitting around. 50 pound paper would not be a first choice for a serious drawing but it works well for a journal.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Acrylic Portrait of A Young Man
I liked attitude of Sandro Botticelli's Portrait of a Young Man 1482-83 so I reinterpreted him with a more modern twist. He has a backwards cap, purple t-shirt and was painted in acrylic black, white and the complementary colors purple and yellow.
What caught my eye the most from Botticelli's original was the way he held his hand, the gesture had a hip hop attitude.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
3 More Recycled Book Art Journals
I debated turning this old book into a journal but I loved the gold paw print despite the ring mark on the cover.
They couldn't sell this old Gregg Shorthand Book since it had so many ripped out pages and the numerous notes written inside. It's nice to find a use for misfit books.
The Red Badge Detective has a wonderful graphic that speaks to the designer in me; the funny part is is the name is red badge but the color is actually purple.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Carved Angel Folk Art Whistle
Friday, January 21, 2011
Recycled Art Journal With A Sailboat Cover
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Rootin Tootin Art Journal
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Hand Carved Flying Santa With Horn
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Manga Art Journals
Alethea developed journal envy when she ran across these hard cover Oh My Goddess books from Japan. She selected several original pages from the books and we included them along with the drawing paper. It's interesting that the order is reversed and the cover is on the back; they would be perfect for a left handed person.
Alethea designs jewelry and these will be fun for keeping her drawings and records in.
Monday, January 17, 2011
The Frogs Zine
This frog visited our yard 2 years ago and he was so huge he merited B movie monster treatment. My husband was a little horrified when I did a version where the dogs were being chased by a giant frog so I stuck with 1970's style creature feature shots.
The pages are laid out in a signature and the finished zine is 4" x 5"
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Snowman Kit
Monday, January 10, 2011
Portrait of Nissa Dressed As Link
My daughter Nissa, enjoys cosplay and this is her Link costume. The pop art style painting was done with acrylics and took considerably less time than it did to make the ensemble.
We made her shield from foam core, the sword is carved foam, the scabbard rests on her back. She has an orcarina on her belt along with a fairy in a bottle and a pouch for essentials. The gloves and boots were made from faux leather and the boots were hot glued over an old pair of tennis shoes. She found the elf ears online which was wonderful since I had no good ideas for making believable ears.
She attended the Chicago Comic Con and won Fan Girl of the month by winning all the challenges.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Handmade Art Journal
I complete a sketch book about every 2 months and have recently started making my own. Miss Pickerall On The Moon was a vintage book that my daughter Nissa spotted at Half Price Books. I cut the spine off and bound it with a spiral binder. The paper inside was cut from drawing tablets that were bundled in a back to school selection at Blick.
An old book was upcycled, a neglected tablet found a purpose, and I have a fun new art journal. It's a total win.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Feather Christmas Trees
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Upcycled Video Box Book
I've been making journals with vintage books using the covers and some of the interior pages but today I repurposed some old VHS boxes. The Nightmare Before Christmas book was from the interior sheet that was inside a plastic VHS box. The sheet was only heavy paper so I backed it on acid free cardboard. The Benny and Joon book was too thin so I included the spine and was also backed on acid free cardboard since it wasn't as heavy as I prefer. I keep art journals in my purse and that's a challenging environment for a thin cover.
The paper inside is acid free sketching paper that came in a back to school bundle from Blick. I used a paper cutter to cut the paper to size.