Getting Ready to Make Some Greeting Cards

I pulled out my watercolor and travel arting roller bags to gather up supplies for making holiday cards this year. 

 

My travel arting bag contains: cutting mat, work gloves, water color paper, watercolor pan, travel watercolor pallet, watercolor pencils, brushes, brush pen, woodcut block with drawing on it ready for carving, honing block with honing compound and power cut wood carving tools.

 

My travel watercolor bag contains: watercolor paper block, water color paper sheets, paper towels, wash brush, watercolor brushes, water container, ftisket, watercolor color paint tubes, spray fixative, watercolor pencils and of course my lovely pallet...

 

I'm planning on making some watercolor painted cards and some mixed media collaged cards. Anyway I was so enamoured with my watercolor pallet that I had to take pictures. Now I'm ready for some arting, as soon as the precut watercolor cards I ordered from Amazon arrive...

Illustration Friday

This week's illustration Friday theme is tool.  My "Twisted Needle" linocut fits the bill. It's 19x24" on Bienfang Marker paper. Ink is Graphic Chemical water soluble black.  Illustration Friday

Some other recent projects, two drawings, about 5x6" and a Styrofoam relief print about the same size.

Permanent marker on upcycled food packaging.

Permanent marker on upcycled food packaging.

Graphic Chemical water soluble black on scraps of various printmaking papers.

Some not so successful prints using Styrofoam take out tray for a printing plate.

Projects update and Nibblefest for May

I started carving an image of a vintage ink brayer on a woodblock when I was struck down by a nasty infection.  This is as far as I got but now that my energy is starting to come back and I've finished posting my entries for May Nibblefest Art Contest, I can pick this back up and finish it and maybe even print some proofs before month's end...

May 2015 Nibblefest Entries

Theme: Freak Show

I've decided to try and tie my nibblefest entries to tarot cards that fit within the theme.  I will try to do two ACEOs and one large painting using the substrates that I made by laminating layers packing.

  

Strength: an original ACEO created using Inktense watercolor pencils and sharpie markers (right). It's inspired by a vintage circus poster and the major arcana tarot card Strength. Click the following link to go to the ebay listing: 

 http://www.ebay.com/itm/231568592431?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

 

The Eight of Swords original ACEO created using Inktense watercolor pencils and sharpie markers (right). It's inspired by the tarot card and a vintage circus photograph. Click the following link to go to the ebay auction listing:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231568589429?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

 

The Magician is an original 7.5" x 10.5" acrylic painting on upcycled food packaging (right). It's inspired by a vintage circus poster and the Major Arcana tarot card the Magician and the Aces... Click the following link to go to the ebay auction listing:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231568572469?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

April Nibblefest Entries; theme was Space, Planets, Stars

 

Image on the left is The Star ACEO (2.5" x 3.5") miniature acrylic painting on 4 layers of re-purposed food packaging laminated and sealed with gesso.  The image on the right is the traditional tarot card that inspired it.

 

 Image on the left is The Moon ACEO (2.5" x 3.5") miniature acrylic painting on 4 layers of re-purposed food packaging laminated and sealed with gesso.  The image on the right is the traditional tarot card that inspired it.

 

Image on the left is The Sun 7.5" x 10" acrylic painting on 4 layers of re-purposed food packaging laminated and sealed with gesso.  The image on the right is the traditional tarot card that inspired it.

Upcycling Cereal Boxes and Other Food Packaging

One of my projects was to trim various food packages that I've been saving laminate 3-4 layers of same sized pieces together with gesso.  I did this to create illustration board like substrates for small acrylic paintings. Tea boxes I trimmed to ACEO size (2.5" x 3.5") then laminated three layers thick. Cereal boxes I laminated three thick. Acrylic paint, gesso and medium neutral the ph of papers they're applied to; making archival substrates of cheap materials! 

Recent Projects and CloseOut of Marketing Venues

This is one of my daily news drawings. It was inspired by a photo in the Washington Post on 4/1/2015. It was drawn on April 1st using Inktense water color pencils and water. The substrate is a page in a 5x7" Mixed Media sketchbook.

Chillin' mixed media collage ACEO

available this week on ebay: 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231521685042?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

I used the the previous sketch to create a mixed media collage ACEO format artwork.  I used decorative papers, acrylic matte medium, permanent markers and Inktense water color pencils.

Froggy With a Chance of Rain

mixed media collage ACEO

available this week on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231521692834?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Inspired by the theme I did another ACEO using the same substrate and mediums as the previous one.

Other projects I've been putting time into this week... 

I'm updateing my CV and resume to update applications for adjunct teaching positions I posted in the California Community College teaching register and with local colleges.

And I've been saving records of artworks I've offered for sale within several internet art marketing websites.  I'm doing this because I'll be closing accounts in two of the sites I've placed my work in.  Both the sites charge a hundred dollars or more a year just for the privilege of selling my work within their sites.  My website does just as much for me and it's a third of the price! Now the money would have been worth it if the sites did more than simply let me sell through them, some occasional marketing on my behalf would have justified the expense. But these sites require that I do all the work and for their lack of effort if my poor marketing skills happen to incur a sale via the site I get to pay them a percentage of the sale! And I've had zero sales from either of the sites in two years...so for two years I've paid a more than two hundred bucks to two websites that have had absolutely no return on the expense...Time to cut off the dead weight!!! SSssoooooo...

Abstract 32007

one of the artworks that can be purchased at 50% off

Get 50% off 

anything and everything in my Artfire storefront by typing CLOSEOUT into the coupon code on checkout!

I'm eliminating dead weight from my marketing venues...by that I mean all marketing venues that have shown no return for the costs involved. My ArtFire account is the first internet storefront that I'm closing. There are only a few weeks left in my ArtFire account so I'm offering a closeout sale on everything in my Artfire studio; everything will be offered for 50% off from today until the date the account closes (I believe it's on April 20th but it may be sooner).

Visit my Artfire page:

http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/home/Phare-Camp

If you desire any of the artworks in my Artfire shop simply type the coupon code CLOSEOUT into the coupon code field upon checkout and all items in your cart will discounted.

A few other examples of the offerings within this site:

Nibblefest Art Theme for March "Nursery Rhymes"

"Little Miss Muffet" ACEO printout of a digital collage preliminary sketch used to map out an ACEO paper collage of the same title.  Available at ebay until 3/27/13.

Little Miss Muffet - Original Digital Collage ACEO - March NFAC

 I like to participate in art challenges.  Themed challenges keep my art mind stimulated by challenging it to conceptualize.  

"Little Miss Muffet" an original ACEO mixed media collage created for the monthly Nibblefest challenge.

Available at ebay until 3/27/13:

Little Miss Muffet Original Mixed Media Collage ACEO for March NFAC

One of the themed challenges I regularly participate in is the monthly Nibblefest challenge; a collection of artists who put the themed artworks created for the challenge on ebay for auction with a starting bid of just 99 cents.  This month's theme is Nursery Rhymes.

 Front cover of "Mother Goose" a tiny 32 page book of illustrated nursery rhymes made from one sheet of 8.5x11" jet printed bond paper.  Available on ebay until 3/27/13

Mother Goose - A Teeny Tiny Book of Nursery Rhymes - March NFAC by Phare-Camp

For this month's challenge I did a digital collage then created a mixed media paper collage based on the digital composition.  Both the digital and paper collages are posted in ebay for the Nibblefest challenge.  But I also have the digital files of a little "one page wonder" book I created of nursery rhymes.  Which of course fits right in with the challenge.

 Inside "Mother Goose before its been folded cut and assembled into an itty bitty 1.5" x 2.25" book of nursery rhymes.

Mother Goose - A Teeny Tiny Book of Nursery Rhymes - March NFAC by Phare-Camp

 Fun With Color - Tiny 16 page Handmade Book by Phare-Camp

Available at ebay until 3/28/13.

I also included a few more works of art for auction with opening bid of 99 cents on ebay only during the Nibblefest  challenge.

Inside "Fun With Color" a digitally illustrated Book of color theory optical illusions inkjet printed onto onesheet of 8.5 x 11" paper, before it was folded cut and assembled into a tiny 2.75 x 2.75" book.

Tea Party - Digital Collage ACEO - by Phare-Camp 

available at ebay until 3/29/13

This is an original digital collage I developed as a preliminary sketch for an original woodcut print. The 2.5" x 3.5"size format is that of ACEO, or Artist Cards Editions and Originals. 

ACEOs are miniature works of art.  Wikipedia describes them as:

"An offshoot of artist trading cards are Art Cards, Editions and Originals (ACEOs), whichoriginated when some artists began to create cards to sell, in addition totrading among themselves. Many ACEOs are sold on internet auction sites, suchas eBay. As the term suggests, ACEOs may be small original works of art, oreditions of small prints."

Come Sail Away - Original Collage ACEO by Phare-Camp

Available at ebay until 3/28/13.

2.5 x 3.5 inch ACEO collage made using decorative and handmade papers. It was inspired by an IllustrationFriday.com challenge of "Sail." Signed and dated on the back. Sent inside an archival clear acetate art sleeve.

To see lots more artwork by lots more artists with opening bids of just 99 cents you can go to ebay and do a search of "NFAC" or you can just click the link below...

NibbleFest Art Contest:  http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=NFAC&_armrs=1&_from=R9&_ipg=&_dct=1&_rdc=1&_trksid=m194&ssPageName=STRK:MEFSRCHX:SRCH

Tea Party Proof

The next step in the barenforum.org exchanges 49 and 50.  These are the keyline proofs.  I'm thinking of cutting repurposed stryrofoam take out trays for puzzle printing the color fields.

Desert Tea Party

Been working on some new compositions for a couple of barenforum.org print exchanges.  One exchange is to be 3x7" the other is to be a 3.5 x 2.5" ACEO (Art Cards Editions and Originals).  The 3.5 x 2.5 size for ACEOs is a standard.  The 3x7" size is a traditional size for a few of the annual barenforum print exchanges.  The images I'm posting are the ideas I developed into digital collages.  I've made a decision on which ones I'm doing...have fun guessing!

Exchange Number 49

Exchange Number 50