Don’t be fooled by that cute little face. Because behind it, somewhere in the ATTITUDE section of her little canine head, is a monkey butt. MONKEY BUTTTTTTTT……
I came in from the studio and caught her on the table today. The dining room table. Like a cat. But she’s not a cat, she’s a D.O.G.
It wasn’t the first time.
Disclaimer: The cat does NOT get on the table. Mostly never. Oh no, she gets on my shoulders while I’m sitting at the table. Like she’s auditioning for a future role as a fur wrap. Which she might be.
I just thought you should know.
And now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about ART!
This week was all about exhaling. About breathing deep and letting go of expectations. And commitments. About taking time for me.
I came home early from work one day, like 10 AM early. Wasn’t feeling well. I stretched out on the sofa and crashed for a couple of hours. When I woke up I put my feet on the coffee table, grabbed a notebook and started sketching.
And yes, the notebook already had notes in it but they were so…yesterday. Or maybe last year. Whatever. They had served their purpose and were talking up paper. So I drew right over them.
From the very first sketch, the one up above, I realized I had NO idea where I was going. I just began making marks. Anatomically incorrect marks involving women with interesting parts.
I’m quite fond of lady parts, especially my own. So I just let it happen as I sketched merrily along.
A day or two later I picked up the notebook again (hereafter referred to as the Art Journal because it sounds so…arty) and decided to take the little sketches further. Thought charcoal for be nice for depth. And then fixative to keep the charcoal from breeding with the other pages. Spray Fix is something I recently discovered that I have cans and cans of, proving it pays to organize the supplies once in awhile.
Well, the charcoal was fun but blah. These suckers needed some punch. So I added pastels. And more fix. And then acrylic markers because they make everything pop. And some collage because why not?
Gaia Susan Lobb-Porter
Before I knew it these journal entries turned into mini-paintings. Or studies for future paintings that can be developed further, like maybe next week.
Surrender to Love Susan Lobb-Porter
Oh, my best, best, BEST beloveds…I can see you scratching your heads (heads, yes, you have at least two in my world) scratching your heads and saying but Susan, this is soooo not what you usually do.
And you would be right.
So check back next week and see what happens. You might be surprised.
Spent so much time in the studio lately, Mr. Spouse almost put my picture on a milk carton. It was only the sound of loud music rattling the windows of Studio Grande that convinced him I hadn’t gone far.
Oh…if only he KNEW!!!
I went to Arty Life BLISS. I listened to music. Danced. Meditated in the comfy corner. And recycled all sorts of stuff.
Like old books and journals. Really, who needs to buy new when you can just gesso over the old stuff. Life is all about layers and textures anyway. The book up above was a journal from 20 years ago. A few pages of blah blah stuff about life back then before I got bored and stopped writing in it. So I gessoed and glued pages together and transformed it into what will be an art journal.
Ohhhh…but I used too much gesso. You can only paint one spread at a time. Rather than pour the gesso back into the bottle I started on another book.
This one is The Artist’s Way. I think turning it into an art journal is positively delicious.
Then it was time to give new life to old canvases. I found a bunch of ’em during the recent move/purge, Bunch as in they must’ve been breeding like bunnies because I swear, I NEVER made that many half-assed, half-finished crappy WHAT was I thinking??? paintings in my life. So I slapped on some gesso, tore up some paper for texture and scribbled with charcoal to get rid of the arctic blindness.
By the way, notice the tools. There’s a brush. There’s also a skewer and a credit card, two of my favorite mark making devices. Ummm…lemme see…and in the photo down below there’s that black circle thing I salvaged from a slide projector tray and the beige cone from a microwave angel cake pan. Nothing is safe when it comes to making marks.
Don’t be confused by the can of furniture polish. That doesn’t belong there.
I ended up with a dozen repurposed canvases of different sizes. Here’s some of them ready and waiting for da muse.
Somewhere around the middle of the R&B playlist (I Heard It Through the Grapevine) I looked out the window and saw Mr. Spouse working on his next project…Studio Grande’s soon-to-be patio. Can’t keep a good man away from concrete… Or maybe it was Marvin Gaye. Yes, I’m sure the musician in him was diggin’ Marvin.
Meanwhile, back in the studio I didn’t really have any idea or direction what I was going to do with all those canvases. Just started painting. Two of them told me what they wanted to be.
They’re still works in progress. I believe this will become a series of striped (pronounced strip-ed) animals. For an Etsy store. I don’t have an Etsy store yet but stay tuned.
Confession: Truth in Blogging Disclaimer
Oh my best beloved sweetums, a couple of months ago when I redesigned Arty Life, I made the grand proclamation that I would post something EVERY day. Mwhahahaha! What. Was. I. Thinking???
I wasn’t thinking about my sanity, that’s for sure.
So I’m pulling back. I’ll be here a couple of days a week. Monday. Definitely Monday. That’s when I’ll show you what went on in the studio over the past week and weekend. Later in the week there’ll be other stuff…photography or apps or musings about life. But right now I don’t have a schedule, only the sense of freedom that comes from knowing I’ll have that many more hours to paint. Or play.
Oh my sweetums, today I’m going to show you step-by-step how I create a page…no, no, a spread… in my arty life journal.
First, despite the fact that this is a prosperity journal, I’m using a cheap Composition notebook. Made even cheaper with back to school sales. I love these little books, especially now that I don’t have to have them, don’t have to fill them with spelling and penmanship and math.
Look at that. Brings back memories, eh? Can’t you just smell the pencils and eraser dust?
Okay, before we do anything, got to slap on some gesso. Because the paper has no substance, none at all. In fact, it looks like the page on the left has an owie. Think I closed the journal before it was dry. Whatever. Adds to the texture, don’t you think? Because it’s all about texture here. I love the way the pages feel at this stage. A little more substantial. A little crinkly. Just begging for paint.
In keeping with the cheap theme of the notebook, I used (what else) cheap craft acrylics. But only because they have little binder and a softer, chalkier finish. Better to write on. And besides, I happen to have quite a few on hand for working with plaster. Notice how carefully I apply the paint. Umm…not!
Then I covered the pages with text, in this case a prompt from Michele Morton Bergh’s Prosperity Blooms e-course. Yes, I see the irony…bragging about cheap notebooks, cheap paint while creating the prosperity intention. I used a variety of pens and pencils as I wrote the prompt forty times. Just to keep things interesting, you know.
The text begged for an illustration so I added figures representing my parents and myself.
And then a bunch of arty bling because it’s fun. And it’s ALL about the bling today.
And now, in the words of the great alien philosopher, Mr. Spock…
Her name is Jasmine June. A lovely name. But the kids used to call her Mom’s Hairy Ass. And this week I spent a lot of time scratching MHA in that special spot right between the shoulder blades, the place that no amount of tree rubbing can satisfy. It went a long way towards taking her mind off her hurt.
She had an abscess in her hoof. Not the first, probably not the last. I knew when I adopted her over a dozen years ago she had bad feet. Just part of who she is, I guess.
She spent the week hobbling around on three legs, or lying down. Obviously in a lot of pain. But pain meds don’t relieve an abscess…don’t even touch it… and the vet couldn’t relieve it either. It wasn’t organized enough. He did as much hackin’ ‘n hewin’ as he could, packed the hoof with a poultice, made a duct tape bootie and asked if I had anyone to help me when it came time to change the dressing. Which was fairly often.
Well, it turns out I didn’t have anyone to help me. So I decided to do it by myself. And I did. Just walked up to her in the paddock and did it right there out in the open, without tying her or anything. She could’ve hobbled away if she wanted. She could’ve given me a decent kick. But she didn’t.
You have to know Jasmine to know what a miracle this is.
She’s a donkey. ‘Nuf said. But this week, she was a princess. She knew, despite her pain and the annoying things I was doing to her foot, she KNEW I was helping her. And she co-operated 100%.
She’s much better today. Looks like things came to a head. YAY!
Even if my hands will never smell the same…
And now…news from the studio.
This weekend Mr. Spouse made stairs to nowhere. In a few weeks they’ll connect with the sidewalk that will lead to the door.
Eventually, maybe even this week, I’ll begin packing up the construction debris.
I’ve been playing with art journaling lately. Fun. fun. fun stuff!
And as for the new! improved! Studio Grande, well, it’s beginning to look like a place where art is made.
YAY!!!
Back in a few days, my best beloved sweetums! Now go out and make some art. Or hug someone. Better yet, do both!
