Cay Denise

Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) is having its annual benefit auction Sep 10-Oct 3! The art quilts that will be available are all made by organization members and are sized 12" by 12".  Below is a screenshot of my Dream Collection--8 of my favorites from the array of images that range from realistic to abstract, and color to black and white.   Visit this link to learn more:   https://www.saqa.com/auction/  

The class (focusing on a working journal and birds) continues, and I've done a lot of research, play and productivity.  That productivity has been through finished work and work intentionally left undone.  If I've left it incomplete, that in itself is a remarkable feat of letting go because I normally like to do finished work.  Working with watercolors (a personal choice) during this class has provided a bit of release from the rule of 'coloring between the lines' because they don't always work the way you want. That has been a relief so that I could have more fun in the doing of the work...and to focus on exploration.  Beyond that, focusing on birds has involved a great deal of learning too--since we do a deep dive into this subject focus. Some of the work done most recently includes these.  Descriptive words I'd use for them in order are: structural, surreal and sensitive.   In your creative work, have you ever done a deep dive into your subject area...

The underlying pen sketch for this owl (that outlined a skinnier bird) has been altered some with the crayon work, and I'm liking the overall sense of intensity of the creature in this practice piece.  It came together pretty easily, and I learned some things about using the crayons too.  What was interesting was using the crayon to add squiggly lines across the chest area to imitate the alternating dark and light feather design of it from a reference photo.  It works in suggesting it!

For my 'Journal of Interesting' course with instructor and artist, Ardith Goodwin, I'm using a Strathmore Visual Journal.  It now has a unique cover of painted Australian Galahs (though I didn't know the species before painting them).  It also has some beaded bird terms along the spine.   Some images in it already are included in the photos below.  It's amazing how varied the avian kingdom is, and what a marvel bird wings are.  The journal will be serving as my research and play tool to learn more about birds, their lives, how they fly, working to capture their essence in a drawing, and other things... throughout the course.  Can you tell I'm excited? 

Using a new Gansai Tambi Japanese watercolor set, I painted a sketch that has been in storage for years.  First, the paints were absolutely a delight to work with! Second, as only my second watercolor, I'm happy with it--and it yells funky besides!!