NibbleFest Art Contest

Today I listed the following artworks on ebay for a monthly art themed exhibit/contest titled "NibbleFest Art Contest."  (NFAC)

Many artist participate in this online exhibit/auction by listing artworks based on a new theme each month.  All of the works have to be listed using the auction style with an opening bid of 99 cents.  There are no reserve prices or additional fees other than shipping.  I've yet to see any of the participating artists try to make money by padding the shipping.  I've only seen shipping fees that are reasonable for careful packaging and postal costs.  

I find these kinds of art challenges a fun way to step outside of my usual and experiment with materials and subject matter.  The theme for November 2011 is Penguins.  Click the following link to see an EBay search for this month's "NFAC" challenge:  http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=NFAC+Art+&_trksid=p5197.c0.m627

This artwork is a 2.5" x 2.3" mixed media collage ACEO (Artist's Card Edition or Original).  You can learn more about ACEOs at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artist_trading_cards

I got the idea for this image by googling "penguin" images.  I saw this pic of two penguins and thought they look like they're snowboarding.  So I created a digital collage on my laptop using that image.  Then I made this miniature paper collage based on the digital collage.  I used fun decorative papers pasted to a scrap of Stonehenge printmaking paper.

This one is an original 9" x 12" charcoal sketch on Canson drawing paper.  I saw this cute screen saver of a photoshopped photo on the computer in the Sierra College classroom where I'm a teaching assistant.  I mentally cropped it then sketched my idea and yesterday I created an open edition woodcut print from my sketch.

This is the open edition miniature woodcut print I created based on the above sketch.  Its a 2.5" x 3.5" ACEO on vellum Bristol board.

Phenomenon: Rabbits Rabbits Everywhere Rabbits...

"It's just a rabbit" 8x8" mixed media collage on canvas panel

"Its Just a Rabbit" sketch for barenforum exchange print

"Its Just a Rabbit" kind of where I'm going with this but I'm not happy with the flourishes. still playing around with the composition. I intend to woodcut print this for an exchange with other artist and then use the keyline plate for my year of the rabbit new years cards. I'll split it into thirds and get three new years cards per pressing...

While cleaning up old files I came across this drawing that I based a woodcut print off of back in the early 1990s. I traced it to start a mixed media collage. Since this drawing is on tracing paper I'm thinking that it would be great to put into an encaustic painting. The transparencies of the paper and wax mediums will work together beautifully. I just have to get over to the art supply store and purchase a clayboard painting panel for my substrate.

"Beep Beep Ritchie!" 12x12" gallery wrapped canvas mixed media collage (in progress)
This is no where near done. This is simply a painted canvas with the cut papers collaged onto the surface. I've yet to got into it with sharpie markers to give it detail and I'm going to put some red hologram paper into the pupils. thinking of layering some more of the orange paper into the hair to give it some dimension and i will be using a dense acrylic medium in the teeth to make them appear to come out of mouth. May also work on the background a little more too.

Peace Love and Pit Bulls Art Show

The large 36x46" mixed media painting will be showing in the above fundraiser exhibit. I've also been working on other ideas for the above exhibit. first i did some sketches of photos my son's dog one as a puppy and another as a a big dog.

Bubba da Beast - careful he just may lick ya ta death...





Then a friend said she loved the pics but wanted me to do one of her bully Lexi. So I worked with a photo of Lexi in a pink parka. First I sketched it, then I did a collage onto a 12"x12" canvas and added details with marker and acrylic paints. I'll be contributing the canvas to the fundraiser.

the above Snow Bully ACEO is a tiny mixed media collage
I just listed it in my etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/listing/45084666/snow-bully-aceo

I also plan on using the Snow Bully painting to shoot silkscreen positives for playing around with my new YUDO silkscreening system. But today I'm going to experiment with the sketches to try my hand at encaustic monoprinting...

The 4 Finals

Completed all four paintings for finals in my "Composition in Abstract Painting" class.

Still Life with Japanese Doll

Diana with Friend

La Luna

La Luna Zen

The Reference Photo for "Still Life With Japanese Doll"













The reference photo for "Diana and Friend." Photo by Karin Jurick






Reference photo for "La Luna" taken by hubby Merlyn J. Camp










Scan of .5" x 1.5" inch section of an 18x24" drip painting used to create "La Luna Zen"

Life Outside the Studio Window

I've started a new blog: Life Outside the Studio Window at http://studiowindow.blogspot.com/

It's all about the distractions that slow the making art. Of course it may just become one of those distractions...It's mostly about the backyard outside my deck studio. I try to make art out there but am so easily distracted by the goings on in the back yard full of wild bunnies, chickens, an irascible goose, occasional hungry hawks, migrating ducks and other wild birds that visit my feeders, creek and birdbath.

I hope others are as joyfully distracted by this blog as I am by the environment that inspired it.

Year of the Dog, Boar and Rat: Bareners beware, may ruin the surprise

I have finally finished the Year of cards that I have been grossly behind on for the past couple of years. I wont go into the details of the emotionally crippling life events that interfered with the completion of these works. Suffice it to say that they are now done and last week completed unfinished business. I am now back into an artmaking groove of my own! Remember, as always you may click on an image to see it enlarged. Simply use your browser's back button to get back to this page afterward.


Hand colored un-editioned block print of my golden retriever Keya. 4" x 6"

There was this one summer where each morning as I watered the veggies I,d note which tomatoes would be ready in time for dinner. I'd go to work & return to find all the ripe tomatoes gone. I told hubby I thought someone was stealing my tomatoes so he came home early from work to investigate. As he stepped on the deck he noticed Keya running away and shaking her head violently. Worried he ran over to discover she had a tale tell tomato hooked to her fang, Shewas trying to shake off the evidence before he discovered her thievery! I'd have never suspected as she was arthritic and I didn't think she could cross the two foot fence around the garden. Only goes to show that pain is no barrier to a juicy tomato at the perfect peak of ripeness! Keya left us later that year and I remembered our love for her in our hand printed holiday card.




















The Year of the Boar cards were influenced by a Lucite work of art by Brazilian artist Abraham Palatnik, the first Brazilian artist to explore the creative use of technology in art. See more info on the great artist here:

http://www.leonardo.info/isast/spec.projects/kac-palatnik.html

The Year of the Rat Cards for 2008 are influenced by photographs and articles about giant rats in Africa that are being used to sniff out mines. see the Washington Times article here:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070712/FOREIGN/107110094/1003

For more info see the site of the organization that does this work, they do accept donations: http://www.apopo.org/newsite/content/index.htm

All of these works are available for purchase in my Etsy site: http://www.PhareCamp.etsy.com

Eulogy for the Best Mouser I Ever Knew

So sad this week. We had to put down our little cat Buster Catitude. His kidneys suddenly and completely shut down and despite treatment his blood counts were rising rather than lowering. As we visited him at the vet hospital Buster had a violent seizure. It was definitely time to let him go.

Buster was immortalized in my artwork, our son's professional graduation photos and my husband's photography. Buster was also the protagonist in an art book I created last year about the backyard wildlife.

My friend Carol was especially fond of Buster and loved to hear stories of his latest escapades. She loved the art book he was in and read it often aloud to others.

Buster used to amuse us with his playfulness and spunky character. Every morning he would attack Jeff's shoe laces as he dressed for work. The night before he got sick he had snuck a rodent into the house (did I mention that Buster could open doors). I walked into the kitchen to discover that he had pulled a rug over to make a tunnel in which he trapped a small field rat. He saw me and ran out of the house leaving the rodent for me to deal with...I put a box over it and waited for Jeff to return home, letting him dispose of the creature as he saw fit...Buster gave us one last amusing memory to carry with us and once more proved to us of how much he earned his keep.