Busy bee - show applications

I'm going to be a busy bee over the next few weeks. There are some deadlines closing in for work and applications to some shows. The Plush You Seattle deadline is May 10. After that the Strange Figurations deadline is June 30 and the very next day is the deadline for Teeny Tiny Art show #7.

I've got several sketches that need to turn into paintings, as well as several plush ideas. I'll try to get some in progress shots while I work on things.

This little sketch is definitely one I'd like to finish in time to submit to the Teeny Tiny show. I'll be working on her and some others over the next couple of months.

I must say I'm really excited to get some of my sketches out of the sketchbooks and make them into final pieces. Some of them have been sitting in there for a long time, and are starting to get cranky with me.

Skull doodle - oil pastel

This is the result of last nights playing around with my new oil pastels. I'm actually pretty happy with how he came out. At the beginning I didn't think I would be. But I just kept on playing, and slowly things started to look better and better.

And while I didn't get super expensive pastels, I was really impressed with how well they worked. Definitely good enough for me to work with for a while.

I also loved my silicone brushes. The set I got was actually a bit TOO soft. The reviews had said the soft ones were good for pastels, but I think they were referring to chalk pastels. I forgot how heavy oil pastels are. However I also got some chalk pastels, so I'll use the soft colour shapers for working with them, and charcoal, and maybe painting. :D

I did order a kids rubber clay shaper tool, and that was firm enough to really blend the oil pastel, though the tip was a bit large. I'll probably order myself a couple of the firm brushes sometime soon. (oh noes! Suzi has to order more art supplies!) I can't say enough how much I love them. I can already tell that sore finger tips from smudging will be a thing of the past. And I really want to see how they work with paint.

Tonight I'll be doing the water color resist version. Which means unpacking the paint supply box. Then apparently Patriots is starting a Trivia night tonight, that will hopefully be every Wednesday. I've been wanting to go to one of these forever! My friends in other states go to them frequently, and I've been jealous for years.

Skull doodle test subject

I got the disappointing news that I did not make it into the Plush You LA show. While I was a bit bummed out, I'm not too down about it. I really am just starting out. So I'll work on making more cute things and try again next time.

Also I've been switching moods from my Plush Mood, to my Art Mood. I got the idea recently to make a simple little doodle to use to test some new methods. So here is my little skull doodle.

Nothing super fancy. Just something simple that will allow me to concentrate on learning to work with some new mediums rather than being too focused on a finished project. I've traced him onto several 6x6 pieces of bristol and will begin experimenting tonight. Mwahaha!

Here he just has some thick ink outlines. Just for fun. The other methods I'm gonna play with are:
- oil pastel
- water-color resist
- acrylic with resist


And maybe some others. We'll see. If they come out pretty decent, I'm going to donate them to the 6x6 exhibit.  More on the 6x6 show here. Its basically a fund raising exhibit where anyone can donate pieces of art 6x6, and the art center sells everything for $20 a piece. There are no names on the pieces (except on the back) and on one knows who they are buying from until after its purchased. It seemed like a neat idea, and I was going to do these little tests on this size bristol anyway. So basically its perfect! If I have time, I may doodle out some other little pieces, just to get myself into the art groove.