Artwork-A-Week #2, Finis...

My second 2D mixed media piece of the year was really just an excersise, and like all excersise, it wasn't pretty. (Actually, that's not true, I just said that...although I am still sore from my workout on Saturday...)

But I learned a few things, and I did have fun using my mom's ancient pastels. And this time of year, I just need time to work back into working.

One of the things I learned, while doing this little piece, is that the Artwork-A-Week idea is not the best fit for my working style. I tend to want to work on a few pieces at a time, and even though it was a construct of my own doing, I felt bound to work on that one piece only. Silly, huh? Well, I'm not very good with rules, but I love a good deadline, so when I found out that Riverside Studios is doing a February show, I decided to go for some Cupid Helmets... deep reds, maybe some fringe?

So I'm shifting my focus, (I do this an awful lot) off of a single 2D mixed media piece each week, to just getting into my studio every day and working like crazy: 2D, 3D... maybe even the Fifth Dimension? I'll still post photos of the work weekly, and aren't you curious as to what a Cupid's Helmet might actually look like? Check back here next week.

Artwork-A-Week #2, Begun

Or, Art Workshops with Myself...

Aside from the "artwork-a-week" project, I decided to start 2008 with some "workshop" time... first, by exploring the "interference" acrylic paint colors that Golden makes. These are undeniably cool, (they sort of appear and dissappear in different light) and with the 3D work, I had a specific way of using them that filled in some areas with the interference color, and left other areas without. But the 2D surface is different because I don't have as much texture to work with. Or maybe I do, (one never knows!) but I want to master this paint on a flat surface too...

I started this piece from a cardboard base I made a while back; it's covered in papier mache. Just a plain square.... we'll see where it goes. I had to run to San Francisco over the past couple days, but it will be finished by Sunday. Although working on this second piece made me wonder if I can actually carry on with this "Artwork-A-Week" for the entire year! Yikes...

Also on the "to do" for this week is the SmARTist Telesummit (an art marketing conference), which I signed up for... On the way down to SF I listened to a recording of part of last year's telesummit, and it got me primed and ready for this year. So, look out.