New Show!!

Whoop-whoop!

So after a 7-8 month dry spell, I've finally gotten into another art-thingy. :)
This time it is a juried art show and sale in Toronto.Yeah, that's the one. :D
I'm really quite excited actually. My friend Cynthia was in a show there this past May and I visited her and found that it is a very nice locale. I can only hope that the weather will be as good. I've opted for a semi-enclosed booth space, which costs a bit extra but is better for me since I don't happen to have a tent and with the space expense, renting one would cost more overall.
I'll be brining along work from my series "One step back, two steps forward." Which until recently I have not been too happy with. It's one of those things where, if you don't look at it, becomes skewed in your memory. I am starting to enjoy the series as a whole a lot more now. Funny how validation by others can do that. :S

Ah well, the image below will be what represents me in the show catalogue they're coming up with:

Untitled#1 (detail)

Coming up around September I'll be attempting to apply for two other shows, but they won't happening until around March.

We'll see how this turns out. I'm personally pretty damn excited. :D

W00t! another one bites the dust!

At least it always tends to feel that way once I finish a piece. It's probably because I take quite a while to finish things and begin to feel bored with them and frustrated at certain points. I am happy with it, for the moment at least. I am also very excited to get started on the new one (this will be the start of 3 of a hopeful 5 in the series).

In any case, the results:Poo. Acrylic on canvas. 42" X 42"

Poo, central detail.

And there you go. It is like being able to take a full breath after a bad coughing fit. :) Not that I hate the finished piece, simply that it is another step towards a complete series.

My next step? Sneak-peak: Neon pink ;)

A dream-sketch and experiment

So recently I have (aside from getting the jewelry itch) been wanting to create more drawings.

So I did.

:)

This first one is a simple graphite on paper illustration. He is a great big, greasy, fat guy who eats children. This is according to my friend Steph, who birthed the inspiration from a dream she had. I decided that I wanted to attempt a likeness from her description.Mmmmmm, gorgeous, is he not? I may end up working this into a colour illustration, but for the moment I am content.

I have also been experimenting with watercolour pencils. I have never been very inspired by watercolour paint, but decided to try the pencils out on a whim. I love being able to mix the lines together but maintain control.

This is a green penguin. I like him. He seems to like me. I will now attempt to create more animals like him. I am looking forward to seeing if, they too, like me. :)

Off to more drawing.

p.s. It may seem icky and creepy, but I blended the last entire image using spit. Hey, it worked quite efficiently. :D

Some thing's a doing

Hey! Finished a couple things over the last couple months.

They have nothing to do with the progress bars on the side of the screen. *sigh* they will get their rightful attention eventually.

I got an itch to create some necklaces, simply to see what I might come up with.


























Arn't they purdy? There are more images of each available at my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/damnitshilary?ga_search_query=damnitshilary&ga_search_type=seller_usernames

I had a fantastic time creating them. I love small, intricate pieces and truly enjoy the time it takes to finish. It's somewhat meditative and tends to calm me down.

The future may call for more ... once I come across some disposable income that is. I'll just have to wait and see.

New Series started!

Awesomeness, all!

I've finally finished a large 42" square painting that has been hanging on my wall since May. It has been neglected and pounced upon a couple times. The pictures below don't include a high-gloss finish that I plan on putting on, mostly because I wanted to details to show through without the shine from the lighting (can't afford professional pics yet).

It is called Maggot. The style is folk or Tole painting, with a twist. The imagery is not typical of the flowers, hearts and little dutch children one might normally find in folk art. The colours are as well much more garish and formed into a Buddhist Mandala-type format.

This style falls into possible categories such as Anti-craft, Outsider Art, perhaps even Surrealism (though I believe that is a bit of a stretch).

In any case, I loved creating it, plan on starting another one very soon, and hope that I can think of enough creepy icky stuff to make pretty. :)

Inspiration from the following:
http://www.jennyhart.net/
http://beinart.org/info/jon-beinart.php
http://www.stealthissweater.com/pics/shoottokill.html
http://theanticraft.com/

Maggot, Acrylic on canvas, 42" x 42", 2009.


Maggot, detail.
I really do enjoy bright intense colours. We'll see how that next one goes. It's going to be a bit more subdued.

ta.

Hey Hey!!!!!

New image finished

"Plum" is my first full Photoshop painting!

I am really happy with this new piece. Recently I have become a bit disillusioned with my works-in-progress and taking the time to work on this image has really put me into a much better mood.

I have decided to begin a series involving trees in one way or another. We'll see what happens with it.

hmmmmm, nice and cheery don' ya think? ;)

I enjoyed making it at least.

Time taken to finish: On and off most of August. :) We'll see how long the next one takes.

Keyboard cat Sold!

Woooo! :D

My eBay auction that I created for my Keyboard Cat Painting finished up yesterday afternoon while I was at work. Now I have sent an invoice with updated shipping costs and once payment has been made I'll pack her off and ship her out. *sniff*

It really was really enjoyable and relaxing making this painting. It has given me an idea to think about a subject matter that other people might enjoy and create some pieces to try and sell on eBay. At the moment I have a ton of other projects in the works, so this really isn't the greatest of times, but it's something to write on here and I can come back to it later.

List of possible subject matter:
- Trees (my favorite object to render)
- Cats (lots of peoples tend to like these)
- Flowers
- Blah

That's about all I've got this second. :D

I have also been thinking a lot lately about an installation project involving knitting (yay! knitting again!) And it does not involve Baby Hats or multiples of numbers this time. :)

It's still in the creation stages, i.e., Trying to make it not sound like a bunch of bantha-doodoo, but I'm getting kind of excited about it. Once I have a full proposal made up I have a couple places I'll try approaching about it. I was greatly influenced by a U of Guelph graduate named Kate Terry. My own project will incorporate the room a bit more, but her use of thread at certain points in a room got me thinking about the spirographs I used to play with when I was tiny. Then I started thinking about other craft-type products I used at that age and there sprung a seed for this new project.

We'll see what actually comes of it.

For now I'll spend the rest of my day looking at Keyboardcat while I can and reading more about Gimp. Too achy to go to the Gym. Blah.

So-long sweet kitty. I hope you are going to a good home. At least I know they appreciate your humour. :)