Saturday 22 January 2011

Playing!!

Over the past week or so I have been playing around quite a bit in my art journal.  I watched this video and then started following Diana Trout's process and ended up with this:


There are quite a few hours of work in this. but it is a lovely relaxing way to destress after a busy day.  It was done over a few nights of the past week.  I used a medium Pitt Pen, acrylic paint, water colour pencils, metallic water colour pencils and glimmering H2O paints.  The colours in real life are much more vibrant....just don't know how to get it from a piece of artwork on to the computer and keep the intensity!  I have done similar things previously, but it was fun to try a slightly new take on and old theme!

Today I have again been creating!  A few weeks ago I bought Carla Sonheim's book 'Drawing Lab for mixed-media artists - 52 creative exercises to make drawing fun!'  I have been working my way through some of the activities and today did Lab 8.  The idea is to use water colours (I used watered down acrylic paints).  You do random swirls of red, let it dry, swirls of blue, let it dry and then swirls of yellow and let it dry.  You then look at the result and break out with the pens and in my case charcoal pencils and start creating little critters with your swirls of paint.  If you need to you can come back with a little more paint to complete the image.  I did these four this afternoon and really enjoyed the process.  I think I will be trying these with my boys at school because they are nice and quick and the results can be lots of fun.





The great thing was that while I was waiting for the paint to dry I finally (after having been stopped by many months of coughing and spluttering), got my saxophone out again....I am very rusty, but had a great time getting back into it!  It will not be so long between tunes again!!

After all that 'playing' I still need to do some prep for my classes next week!  Can I find yet another distraction?

4 comments:

www.funkmelbourne.com.au said...

Great art work...... very talented.xxxx

Coralie said...

yes...I like that too!... and another idea is shut your eyes and scribble... slow at first, then speed up... moving the paper as you go... But not that quick its just a mess.... then pen down, eyes open, turn the page slowly until you see something... turn the doodle slowly... something will jump out at you. Then with your inks or paints or whatever you are using, start to give that 'something' form.
My year 8's are starting with doodles Thursday. I did lots of doodles with my year 9's last year and it was great to see their creativity release as they realised it did not have to look like anything to anyone else... just them! They loved it!
So.... Happy Australia Day for tomorrow mate.... I miss you heaps and just reading your blogs bring you back here each time...its also so lovely to see you being arty farty like me... when you get back we can doodle together, lino print together, draw together etc... I might even have my kiln up and running and we can be potty or glassy too!
Big news this week... I am allowed to run an after school art class for Primary kids this year... I'd also like to run an after school Primary teachers PD too.... but we will see how that goes with the powers that be after the primary student one has been running for a while.
Have a good Australia Day... hope you can do something nice with a few Australians at a pub somewhere... we are at the breakfast here in town then flag raising for Connor with the Moonaboola Scout group, then home for a bbq lunch and a roast for tea... in between a few drinks on the deck! loveya!

Jane said...

Hi Ali
it's great to see you exploring with your colours and i love the what you have created from swirling about. I see from over here that you are returning to self, which makes me smile. keep going lovely friend. happy Australia Day! we're having lamb on the BBQ tonight, of course. much love to you both, Jane xxxxx

Ali said...

Thank you all so much! It is a big step for me to put my art out there! I don't normally think about doing that, but decided that I have so much fun doing it why not! Jane the 'lot's of colours' is still one of my mantras and brings a smile to Richard's face when I am let loose in an art shop!

Coralie, you are right....no waiting until retirement we will need regular playdates when I come home! Can't wait to hear more about those after school classes....they sound brilliant! A big 'yay!' to the admin at Aldridge for supporting you!