Collected Progress

As spring begins to give way to the first hints of summertime, changes are afoot in my artistic life as well. Last week I moved the majority of my art supplies over to my new studio, which I share with two other creative ladies (there will be more posted about this space in the near future - for now, we're in embryo-mode, getting the place tidied up and planning a myriad of exciting things).

It'll be interesting to see how this new space effects my production methods - it's certainly nice to get out of my wee apartment, away from my cluttered little desk and into a space with considerably more breathing room. I also now have access to a printing press, which means I've started to plan little printmaking projects to add some variety into my watercolour world.

Here's a glimpse of the studio-in-progress:



I'm also happy to say I've officially finished three pieces (of 20+, of course) for my next major show (February 2012) - here's one of the three!

Please say hello to Margaret X. Arthurson, the wife of Arthur A. Arthurson. She is wearing the regalia of the Very Secret Society for New Marine Taxonomy (VSSNMT) (being a little-known secret society dedicated to re-categorizing the sea), and flanked by the symbols for the VSSNMT proper as well as the bird's foot, which indicates affiliation with (or, in her case, leadership of) The Mollymawk Collective, the women-only offshoot of the VSSNMT.

Seven Languishing Victorians...

Please, won't someone think of these seven languishing Victorians, sitting lonely in a drawer and wishing for a lovely new home? If you're interested in getting a strange but personable new roommate, then click here!.

As an added bonus, anyone within easy TTC range can email me, tell me which Victorian tickles their fancy and I'll sell the dude or lady to them for cash, no shipping, no worrying about them surviving in the mail!

Here are the seven intrepid wannabe explorers currently hanging out online:



Florence Plover left her home in Bristol at the age of 14, stowed away in the hold of a merchant ship. After disembarking in India, she spent the rest of her life living in a series of treehouses in the jungle, learning the languages of the forest creatures, especially the elephants.




Harold Harkins spent the first half of his life living comfortably in London. The son of a barrister, he was set to step into the stern shoes of his successful father when a chance meeting with a magpie in Greenwich Park turned him to a life of poverty and ornithological study.




Samuel Redfarm prized only his perfectly groomed hair and his collection of rare Patagonian butterflies, which covered the walls of his London home




Pearl Palterson, daughter of one of the richest men in Victorian London, grew up with a love for the natural world. Restricted by her status from gallivanting across the world in the name of Science, she instead began to fund the travels of other naturalists. Because of her generous patronage, the number of scientific discoveries made by women skyrocketed.




Lawrence Woodbottom fell into the life of amateur naturalism quite by accident, having wanted only to identify a strange bird's call that had been waking him up at ungodly hours each morning. During his search for the bird's proper name, he became engrossed by the library's collection of ornithological texts and spent the rest of his life documenting the many birds of England.




Beatrice Goodside began considering herself to be an eccentric at the tender age of 8, prompted by the realization that not all schoolgirls obsessively collected, preserved and displayed insects. Her parents, both hobby naturalists themselves, encouraged her entomological leanings through the often painful derision of her classmates, and Beatrice grew to become one of the only female entomologists acknowledged as a scientific and exploratory equal by her male colleagues.




August Fawndale saw his first whale at the age of three, while on vacation with his parents in France. From that moment on, he became obsessed with the mysterious creatures, and, at the age of 15, designed a small, steam-powered submersible that he hoped would allow him unprecedented access to the world of his beloved cetaceans.


Visit these seven on Etsy

ART FOR SALE ON THE INTERNET!

Hark, those who like inexpensive art! This lady, among others, is for sale on Etsy (click to visit the shop) right now!



As promised oh, nearly a month ago (yes, I am a first class procrastinator, what of it?), I am putting work up for sale on Etsy. It is all original work (watercolours for the most part), and, as an added bonus, it is all very cheap!

The proceeds of any sales will go towards supporting my artistic endeavours, especially the book I'm planning on publishing along with my next show in February 2012. Click HERE to get yourself a new Victorian roommate!

Victorian-a-rama!

Though my life's been strangely busy for an unemployed lady (freelance design projects + web design days + Exciting Business Meetings + yes, a little too much sleeping in = surprisingly little time and very short-feeling weeks), I've managed to find the time to paint up a strange, Victorian storm.

The characters shown below (plus a few more, who will be featured on the blog in coming days) will all be FOR SALE up on Etsy by the end of the week - if one of them manages to strike your fancy, please welcome them into your abode, for every cent raised from their sale will go towards the support of the about-to-open gallery/working studio project in which I'm involved (as well as my own artistic endeavours).

Strange Victorians for a good cause - what could be better?

Without further ado, here's the first crowd. Check back soon for more info on how to invite these dudes and ladies into your life!

Click image for more detail, please:

Tuesday's Victorians

Since my last post a whole pile of absolutely thrilling things has occurred.

Here, let me make a list of the highlights:

• Last Friday, I found out I'd been accepted into the Graphic Design BFA at OCAD, meaning I'll be a full-time student again come September.

• I became part of an art collective, and we're opening a working studio/gallery on Queen West in May (!!!). Stay tuned for WAY more information on this point of interest!

• I'm learning to use Dreamweaver (a web design program) while redesigning my dad's website. FINALLY beginning to understand CSS/DIV layers/all those code-type things.

And the most relevant one for this post,

• I've been drawing stacks of Victorian portraits, many of which will be on sale in the coming weeks on Etsy (links will be posted as soon as they're up)!

Thus far I've fully finished fifteen of these dudes and ladies, with many more to come (I'm hoping to make it to 60 or so by the end of the project).


Four of the men, showing how dapper they can be!

Keep an eye out in the next few weeks for more info on the Strange Victorian sale - they'll be super cheap and looking for new homes!

Sunday Wanderings

Today I was rifling through my many (so, so many - I think I have a bit of a problem) browser bookmarks, I found something I'd filed away ages ago, most likely soon after getting this computer (so almost two years back). The something was this thing, an application that lets one pop ordinary digital camera images into a magical little box, then play with a pile of controls to make said photos look like something out of a proper analog polaroid/lomo/toy camera. Needless to say, this little toy thrills me to no end and I have spent the last hour-ish dragging pictures from my photo library and prettifying 'em.

Cases in point:


Tiny Pacific Octopus, photo originally taken at Ucluelet Aquarium in BC.


Tentacles!


Jellyfish floating around inside the Vancouver Aquarium.


Gorgeous daylily from my dad's summer garden.


Whilhelm the merfox on display at my last show.


Watercolour palette.


Rocky Mountains as seen from airplane (on the way back from BC).


A pair of bears menace a poor, encapsulated merfox.

I fear this application may become quite addictive!

Collected Collection Collecting

Just as with my last show/project, I am making use of the incredible variety of imagery that zips through my Tumblr dashboard (as well as picking plum photos and links from other places on the web) to create a digital scrapbook, accessible from any computer and always sitting around, ready to zap fantastic, inspiring ideas into my brains.

Click through below to see a smattering of the things that have lately been providing me with inspiration:

COLLECTED COLLECTION: A Scrapbook

For those of you who'd prefer a quick overview, some of the latest additions:


Description, from Flickr: This armchair is where Charles Paget Wade, owner of Snowshill Manor from 1919-1951, would sit and listen to the radio. It's not in the main manor house itself but in a converted outbuilding called the Old Priest's House in the courtyard adjacent to the house.

MEANWHILE, THE DOLPHIN CLUB by Wendy MacNaughton
- a series of gorgeous watercolour illustrations telling a small, nostalgic story.


A microscopic stunner courtesy of Science is Beauty


A silly postcard, found on Flickr

Elsewhere

My lovely Freedom Clothing Collective ladies were kind enough to ask for one of my images for the header of their March newsletter. I ended up altering the scan of my first fully finished Seahouse into a suitable banner image, like so:



And the final newsletter turned out like so.

It's always exciting seeing my work wandering around, getting into places it wouldn't normally be!

See? Houses!

Another strange set of items from the weird world of R. W. Brackley, an amateur Victorian scientist and intrepid marine explorer whose many curious discoveries stunned the world in the late 1800s, but were then lost in dusty London archives for over 100 years. He's also the main character of the next project (see? More info is trickling out - gradually, but it's coming!).



Seahouse (n) - pronunciation: /si:haus/
Formations nearly identical to human-built Victorian houses, found sprouting out of the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Spain. First thought to be strange rock formations, but later classified as coral-like organisms due to observed feeding behaviour.







See? Houses! Seahouses!

#80: A Practice Celebration

Well then.

It seems as if I have reached my 80th post since it all started just over two years ago with some clothes-wearing bears. Back then I'd just gotten back into regular art production, having left it behind for four years while I studied English literature at university. Though I'd never really liked watercolours much before, they were the only colouring method I had on hand, so I picked them up and man - I've not looked back since.

Two-ish years, two shows and most likely more than 100 paintings of strange creatures later, watercolours are my dearest friend, providing me with glorious washes and intricate detail and the most curiously luminous colours a girl could ask for. So thanks for being you, watercolours - thanks a bunch!

Phew, That was more than enough sentimentality, don't you think? To cut the sugar of my ode to art & watercolour-y goodness, allow me to show you some sketchbook experiments I've been performing in recent weeks.

The subject?

PEOPLE.



Can you even believe it? Look around you! These are PEOPLE in Victorian clothing! No animals in sight!!



I made the tough (for me...people are way more intimidating to draw than animals/birds/etc.) decision to have the main characters for the next show/book be Victorian humans, as they'd give me more leeway in the curious creatures their imaginary studies could cover (on that note, there will be more detail about my current project coming in future entries...man, I'm excited for this one!!).





These characters are all culled from Flickr, which holds a rich collection of scanned vintage photographs, many of which contain the most incredible faces - stunning beards, whimsical moustaches, elaborate hairdos and glorious noses abound, along with a plethora of delectable dresses, waistcoats, military jackets and suits, everything providing fodder for a whole new artistic direction!





After making myriad sketches, I've developed just enough confidence to begin transferring my favourite faces over to watercolour paper, where they'll eventually become pieces for the next show. Below is a wee timeline of one such piece:



This is the sketchbook version of an as of yet unnamed woman, dressed in the regalia of a secret society (which you will hear more about in later entries!).



And here's the current progress of the 'good copy' - initial washes complete, ready for layers and miniscule detail!


So that's a peek into my sketchbook's most recent denizens - please do stay tuned, as I have another entry coming up quite soon, which will contain more peeks into the new project as well as a few more details about the project's theme and such.