Darn, I'm stumped

Gossip, Greed, Envy, Bigotry (Mixed Media) - ©R.Koleilat, 2007

I promised myself that I wouldn't post anything that's unfinished - but I'm stumped with this. Oh, well, I could always pretend this is a demonstration of some technique in progress... yeah, that's the ticket...

Anyway, I'm still trying to play around with image transfers using an acrylic medium. I started with the image transfer on a small canvas panel (4"x5"), then started experimenting with various tools.

I used my battery-operated eraser (love that one, I've had it since university) to take away further layers of paper and leaving only the faintest outline of the image. Unfortunately, I did this after I had covered the body in black, resulting in very uneven layers to wok over.

Because of the textured surface, laying in a wash didn't really work (background mostly), so I tried markers instead (black body, hair, contour, face and accent highlights).

Still, I needed to find something more interesting, texture-wise: the canvas is pre-primed, and some of the marker ink will just sit there.

I used a little bit of acrylic paint (mostly the flesh tones), but I get frustrated with acrylic on such a small surface. So out came the oil pastels. And here we are - I did all I could with this concept, and it's turning out to be just that: a concept that didn't translate very well. Heeelllppp!

Suggestions? Please?

Another Side of Wissam

(Sensations sur ma ville © W. Beydoun)

Wissam Beydoun is one of my favourite artists. Not only because we're family (par alliance) and I've known him, like, forever, and he's really cool and a sweetheart - but truly because of the dizzying, emotional, startling punch of his artwork.

A lot of his latest work screams about the raw, unbearable pain of being human. But some of it has the whimsy and fun of his youthful past as a cartoon artist and illustrator. To wit, this textured collage entitled "Sensations about my city". Can you see the urban jumble of an old neighbourhood?

There's a lot more that I'll be showing shortly on the gallery site as soon as I finish rehauling the whole dang lot of it. Which, by the way, is why I've been slacking off here - not enough hours in the day to take a break here and do the other stuff I need to do.

Tempests In A Teacup

(Tempête sur ma ville - W.Beydoun©2003)

Every few months or so, fate decides to bitch-slap us around just to remind us how blessed we really are.

BETWEEN YOU AND ME: An artist’s confession

"What we see depends mainly on what we look for”

– D.W. Winnicott

"Hide and Seek" - N. Doany © 2007

(This post by Neda)

I am almost never at a loss for words, except in two particular situations. One is a daily occurrence: “What’s for dinner, Mom?” with the customary answer “I don’t know,” and the other is a little bit more problematic: “What does your art mean?.” Although I may have another answer to the former (“take-out”), the latter always puzzles me.

Is art an expression of our inner psyche? An expression of our feelings or a reflection of our environment? An abstract thought or just a reaction to some stimulus? A message to the world? An aesthetic exercise? DOES one’s art mean anything?

At first, the artist might say: “yes, my art means something to me.” The tricky part comes when someone asks you - the artist -what it means.
If you are like me, you might not think much when you are moved by the urge to create. I often start a piece without having any clue whatsoever where I will be going with it. Only when I am “finished” with my artwork, do I begin to grasp what it means to me. Consider the collage above, do you really need to know the “meaning” of it to appreciate it or dislike it? Will it help you “understand” it better if I called it “Hide and Seek?”

So here’s my answer to the often-heard question,“what does it mean?”: “What do you see?”

The self-contained idiosyncratic image in the artwork that I am sharing with you, the viewer, is like an opening sentence in a casual conversation. What I mean by it has no immediate relevance to your response to it. It is true, I did create the collage - but it is you who will find your own interpretation of “what” it is about. The meaning of any art piece comes to life through the person who is experiencing it at that precise moment: you.

Darling Doily

(This post by Neda)

I think I am turning into a domestic diva of sorts. My new experiment does involve a kitchen item but it is not edible, more like a feast for the eyes and the crafty soul maybe.

(Darling Doily - N. Doany©2007)

My newest creation was borne out of rummaging through the dreaded stuff-everything-in-it kitchen drawer. As I was tossing old fridge magnets and countless twisty ties, I came across a tattered doily paper, the kind used for decorating birthday cake trays. For a minute, I considered it tossing along with the ex-residents of the drawer. But I hesitated. I never met a piece of paper I didn't like. So, I took it to my studio to neatly shelve it in my box of found treasures. But, the temptation was too great, my head was already buzzing with an idea.

I cut parts of the doily with scissors and glued them over a little drawing I had already started that morning. I painted over the doily pieces with Golden Acrylic fluid.

Things I’ve learned (Clorox 2)

(This post by Neda)
Having had a quite successful first experiment with the Clorox Bleach pen, I got hooked on the process. OCD aside, I could not resist experimenting more. Well, the results were less than satisfactory.
Before I talk about the experiments, let me remind you of the following safety guidelines (I know it is a bore but you really have to stick to these recommendations)

1. Be sure to work in a well-ventilated area even if using you are using just a drop of bleach.

2. Do not wear anything you care about, a drop of bleach could ruin your favorite Gap tee-shirt (unless this is the look you are aiming for).

3. Do not, I repeat, do not smoke/eat/drink/multitask when you are working with bleach.

4.If you get any bleach on your skin or into your eyes, follow the manufacturer’s recommended guidelines immediately!

Okay, now for the humbling stuff:
1. Bleach can ruin a perfectly nice drawing if you overdo it (see exhibit A - above). Be careful where you “draw” with your bleach pen.
2. Bleach does not work very well on pastels, at least on the Neocolor II I used (see exhibit B - left)
3. Bleach once, okay. Bleach twice, not okay (see exhibit C - below)
4. If you want to experiment, dip an old inexpensive brush in the bleach and “paint.” However, as soon as you are done, kiss the brush goodbye …uh..no, no, do not kiss it, just throw it out.
5. TIMING is of the essence. Within second, you will notice the effects of the bleach on your drawing. Rinse it under running water immediately and blot it between 2 pieces of paper towels. Let it dry BEFORE you attempt any additional work.
6. I have not tried spraying my bleached experiment with any kind of varnish yet. I am afraid a) to engage in some chemical experimentation which I might regret, and 2) I am at loss as how to preserve the bleached drawing without ruining it. Any suggestions???

Keeping all this in mind, have fun experimenting and please share your ideas with us!

Clorox anyone?

(This post by Neda)

I am notoriously impatient especially when it comes to following lengthy artistic instructions. Once, I even ran away in tears from a so-called “collage class” with a renowned collagist in Austin. In brief, I perceive myself as a spur-of-the-moment artist, which is why I love collage (instant gratification) and experimenting with whatever is available to me at the moment.

(Aqua-N.Doany ©2007)

Here is an example of such whimsy, aka a fun idea born out of almost nowhere (pictured here). It started when my 15-year old son accidentally spilled water on a photocopied color drawing he was working on. Having inherited a good eye and an adventurous spirit from his mom (of course), he came over to my studio to show me the interesting splashes of color the water had done to his design. He asked me if we could experiment with one of my photocopied color sketches. We then proceeded to the kitchen faucet where we experimented further. In the background, the washing machine was churning about and I came up with the idea of adding bleach to our experiments. I reached for the bleach bottle but something cleverer caught my eye: the Clorox Bleach Pen. Aha! Why did I not think about that earlier? A pen, I can handle. A bleach pen, I can experiment!

I took a small painting which I was just about to discard to oblivion and copied it using a regular ink-jet printer and photocopying paper. I then proceeded to draw squigglies over the photocopied image and to my surprise, the results were quite interesting. Wherever the bleach pen touched the colors, the latter seemed to fade instantly. I was afraid the bleach might ruin the paper entirely so I ran the photocopy under water and blotted it between two pieces of paper towels. Keeping with the laundry day theme, I let the photocopy dry over the dryer. Once set, I then re-colored the photocopy, making sure to leave the bleached parts blank. Et voilà…