Project from Helen Well's Workshop on 'Interesting Shapes'

As a participant in Sketchbook Revival 2023, each guest instructor provided a free gift to the people who took their session. Helen Wells was one of the instructors I studied with and she provided a short video workshop on 'Interesting Shapes'. Helen is an artist from England whose work I love for its originality, bold colors, and her detailed use of patterning/mark-making.

As a result, I've been working on a piece this week with Bristol Paper for the substrate and using Bic Intensity and Muji pen (both black) for outlining and detail work plus Sharpie and Posca pens for the color and non-black decorative elements.

What I like in this are the patterned portions intended for those areas to recede into the background; the pink dots (over the yellow) that echo a few of the green lines in the bottom; and the overall color choices.

What I get from this piece is the sense of giving oneself a warm self-hug. How this comes through for me is from the green and purple/dark blue triangular sections in the center (pointing in the opposite directions) -- looking like the arms folded around the body. That said, this was done without any intention as to theme and is completely abstract. So whatever is seen in it -- is serendipitous.

So, what do you see?

Comments

Visiting The Hague and Amsterdam (Netherlands), and Paris!

Since late March, I've been planning an international solo trip that included meeting up with friends. The planning is what makes a trip an adventure, and it was definitely fabulous -- now that it is in the rearview mirror -- so to speak. During my two weeks abroad, the sights visited included the: Mauritshuis, a lovely art museum (The Hague, Netherlands) Binnenhof (The Hague, Netherlands) Delft (Netherlands) Kasteel de Haar, a castle (Haarzuilens, Netherlands) Museum Speelklok (Utrecht, Netherlands) Walking Tour of Amsterdam (Netherlands) Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Dutch Resistance Museum (Amsterdam, Netherlands) De Oude and Nieuwe Kerks aka old and new churches (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Anne Frank House (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Sainte Chapelle/Conciergerie (Paris, France) Giverny - Monet's residence at one time (outside Paris) Versailles (outside Paris) Musee d'Orsay/VR Event titled 1874 Impressionists First Exhibition

New Project in Progress

I'm working on a new project with multiple layers and shapes of different colored organzas. It is an interpretation of lighting on an ice rink...from a show I recently saw. There is a lot more stitching to do, but I like how its coming along. I'm learning organzas are not easy to work with especially when you layer them and have overlaid edges. The fabric also tends to ravel easily. This post also linked to http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com .

Concertina Dazzle Days

If you don't know what a Concertina Sketchbook is, it is folded paper (back and forth) that looks like the bellows of an accordion when done. Concertinas can be home-made or purchased, and they are fun to work in. The photos above are of three continuous two-page spreads from my own Concertina (the one on the right - the latest). The mark-making was done with Sharpie markers, Posca pens, Micron pens and Sakura PenTouch markers. All the shapes and color choices in the images above were spontaneous as well as the details. There was no plan. What I like about these is that each two-page spread collaborates with the next one and so on (as the designs spill over from one spread to the next). As new ones are created, they add to the wonderful visual feast. One of the things I love doing with these also -- is to crop sections and digitally mirror them to form symmetrical designs. The results are occasionally delightful. In fact, this one was made from such a process and has a n

Cay Denise

Search This Blog