One word… come on, Thorsen— just one word… If I am to continue to commit to this artist life, answer to my gift, I must at least scratch out one word a day… just one word. Maybe it is this long winter, or old age, or plain old fatigue from getting up at 5 every…
Tag: artist
The permanent analogy of things by images which participate in the life of truth.
“I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am.” ― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar What am I trying to convey in my work? Is it of value? Does it matter? I remind myself that it doesn’t, that it CANNOT MATTER how I “fit…
LIFE AS A FREELANCE CREATIVE. #rentcheque
LIFE AS A FREELANCE CREATIVE Holy shit- let’s be honest- being a freelance creative is tough. It’s a bare cupboard lifestyle and yet there it is- that inexplicable drive to keep creating– knowing that you somehow do not have the option to stop. WTF is up with that? You need to create. It’s so fucking…
VanCaf reflections Part 3 of 6: Emily Cowan, comic artist
Fabulous afternoon at VanCaf Day 1- the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival last Saturday! I have broken down some highlights from my visit into 6 blog posts: 1. Julian Lawrence, Drippy the Newsboy, Conundrum Press: BLOG LINK 2. Kat Verhoeven, Towerkind, Conundrum Press BLOG LINK 3. Emily Cowan, Boundary Comic 4. Jasmine Schuett, Spaceclub Comic 5. Inspector Pancakes 6. Erica Moen, Boumeries…
Delightful local Vancouver artist: Amy Tom
I am delighted to introduce an extraordinary Vancouver artist, Amy Tom. I was introduced to her through my friend Anne Banner, owner/curator of Vancouver curiosity shop and paradise: Salmagundi West. Amy’s whimsical and magical style inspires me to no end! Check out her ETSY shop! I create postcards, magnets and art prints reproduced from my…
Michele’s Happiness and Joy Lessons for Parents and Teachers
I first met Michele Lilyanna in 1996 at Roberts Creek Community Elementary School. Through luck and serendipity, Michele taught both my kids. She and I quickly bonded over a mutual and voracious love of the creative process. We eventually taught art classes together to all ages. I learned so much from co-facilitating with Michele- how…
What I learned in 2013: honor your gift.
– Yesterday I posted what I learned about myself in 2013. I was going to write a long list of words and concepts I embraced in 2013. – – But I stripped it down. Stripped it down to the bare essence: – So what I truly learned in 2013 is that I have the right,…
My new obsession: artist Lisa Cinar of “Draw Me A Lion”
I had the pleasure of finally meeting Lisa Cinar at her Draw Me A Lion booth at the Strathcona Winter Craft Fair yesterday. What a beautiful person! I am a huge fan of Lisa’s work. Her art brings up such immensely pleasurable memories of my childhood in Sweden, artist Lisa Larson and my favorite children’s books. I…
Found #Guernica study from 2003. #Picasso
Found the following ink studies of Guernica in one of my 2003 journals: —
CHAD. Whiteboard series by Eric Wright.
Introducing “Chad” by Vancouver artist, Eric Wright I was so inspired that I HAD to make a sock version: I am so excited to watch Eric’s artistic path unfold! Stay tuned!
The beautiful collage journal of Darcy G.
Recall my wonderful afternoon last week with Darcy. Yesterday we spent some time doing beetle studies… … and I delighted in looking through Darcy’s marvelous collage journal (ca 1999). Here are some highlights: —
A day of creativity with Darcy Glip!
Spent an amazing day with Darcy yesterday creating and chatting and eating in his beautiful new space. Reconnecting with old friends is very healing. Find the recipe at: I added a few things, Tandoori spice to the onions near the end of cooking as well as crumbled pecans. Instead of dijon mustard I used a…
Jessica Chau’s delightful Glitch Series 1-5 (2012) at UBC’s annual BFA/BA Visual Art graduating exhibition
As featured in the Dorothy Somerset Studios at TOO DEEP FOR YOU | UBC 2012 BFA/BA Visual Art Graduating Exhibition This year, UBC’s annual BFA/BA Visual Art graduating exhibition is TOO DEEP FOR YOU. The exhibition showcases the ambitious final projects of graduating Visual Art students. Materially and methodologically diverse, artworks in the exhibition are representative…
Jasmine Schuett’s glorious painting ‘Pack: Not All Wolves Run On Four Legs’ (2012)
As featured in the AHVA Library Gallery during TOO DEEP FOR YOU | UBC 2012 BFA/BA Visual Art Graduating Exhibition This year, UBC’s annual BFA/BA Visual Art graduating exhibition is TOO DEEP FOR YOU. The exhibition showcases the ambitious final projects of graduating Visual Art students. Materially and methodologically diverse, artworks in the exhibition are representative…
Weekly artist series final: Week 10/10 Part 4/4 LUCIAN FREUD: Your self.
Week 10 Part 4 Lucian Freud The subject matter is autobiographical, it’s all to do with hope and memory and sensuality and involvement really… Lucian Freud Write in your journal whatever comes to mind as you focus on yourself: Draw a self-portrait. What happens? Next, I will be transfering this self-portrait to canvas with mod-podge…
Weekly artist series: Week 10 of 10 Part 3 LUCIAN FREUD: your self-portrait sketch.
Week 10 Part 3 Lucian Freud A self-portrait is a representation of an artist, drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by the artist. Although self-portraits have been made by artists since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid 15th century that artists can be frequently identified depicting themselves as either the main subject, or…
Weekly artist series: Week 10 of 10 Part 2 LUCIAN FREUD: Self-portrait prep. Exaggerate.
Week 10 Part 2 Lucian Freud As we prep for our Freudian self-portrait, let’s practice exaggeration of features. Choose a face that inspires you. Draw it without exaggerating the features: Now exaggerate the features slightly to better illustrate the subject’s character: Next time, we draw ourselves in preparation for Art House Co-op Self-Portrait Project: See also: 35 PART…
Weekly artist series: Week 10 of 10 Part 1 LUCIAN FREUD: Let’s be honest.
Week 10 Part 1 Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud (8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a German-born British painter. Known chiefly for his thickly impastoed portrait and figure paintings, he was widely considered the pre-eminent British artist of his time. His works are noted for their psychological penetration, and for their often discomfiting examination of the…
Weekly artist series: Week 9 Part 3 of 3 SUE COE: Portrait of Truth. Who do you celebrate? I celebrate Sabrina.
Week 9 Part 3 Sue Coe What draws me to Sue Coe’s work is the freedom in her truth telling. Her technique reflects the message and there is an ease to how she produces her work while at the same time she hammers her message home. She is her art. — From Americans Who Tell the…
Weekly artist series: Week 9 Part 2 SUE COE: A mother dying
Week 9 Part 2 Sue Coe The Last 11 Days is a group of charcoal drawings Sue Coe created from July 20 to 31, 1995 depicting her mother as she lay dying with cancer. The drawings reveal Coe’s private struggle with her mother’s illness and eventual death. [source] I’m not a big fan of the word “resonate.”…
Weekly artist series: Week 9 Part 1 SUE COE black, coffee brown, white, slap #lifeinaday
Week 9 Part 1 Sue Coe From my post Jan 27, 2011: I first came across Sue Coe’s work in the 1988 Annual Edition of Gallerie Women’s Art. “The work is in a series, a narrative, a novel or document in pictures. It records injustice and cruelty, and attempts to perform the role of witness. Art…
Weekly artist series: Week 8 Part 3 of 3 PORTRAIT POETRY #OttoDix #arttherapy
Week 8 Part 3 Otto Dix I adore this portrait by Otto Dix. Let’s simply revel in reproducing it and adding poetry to it. Firstly, write in your journal for 10 minutes without interruption. Just about anything that comes to mind in the moment. Secondly, circle every third word. Isolate those words and create…
Weekly artist series: Week 8 Part 2 DECONSTRUCT CONSTRUCT #OttoDix
Week 8 Part 2 Otto Dix As with George Grosz, I’m using the book LUSTMORD as my main resource this week. Look at Otto Dix’s paintings. See the cartoonish exaggerated style. DECONSTRUCT Pull off the cover of an old hard cover book: Horizon publications are wonderful for this. And the contents are perfect for collaging. Find a…
Weekly artist series: Week 8 Part 1 #OttoDix
Week 8 Part 1 Otto Dix OTTO DIX: Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix 2 December 1891 – 25 July 1969) was a German painter and printmaker, noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of Weimar society and the brutality of war. Along with George Grosz, he is widely considered one of the most important artists of the Neue Sachlichkeit. [source] …
Weekly artist series: Week 7 Part 4 of 4 Allusions and Changing Standpoints #deKooning
Week 7 Part 4 Willem de Kooning Find a de Kooning in nature: Draw something or someone in your environment: de Koonify it: Next artist: OTTO DIX See also: 35 PART daily journal exercise Weekly artist exploration/journaling series INTRO Weekly artist series Week 1 parts 1-6 FRIDA KAHLO Weekly artist series Week 2 parts 1-6…
Weekly artist series: Week 7 Part 3 ELAINE #deKooning. #husbandsandwives
Week 7 Part 3 Willem de Kooning Artists do not work in a vacuum. I am fascinated by artists in relationships. Frida/ Diego Camille/ Auguste Lee/ Jackson Sophie/ Hans Elaine/ Willem How did they feed each other’s art? How did they harm each other? Influence each other? Who was more powerful? Are they inseparable? ELAINE…
Weekly artist series: Week 7 Part 2 ERASING #deKooning. #arttherapy
Week 7 Part 2 Willem de Kooning To read about the erased deKooning, click ERASED deKOONING Look up de Kooning in images. Copy a favorite with charcoal. Now erase it. See also: 35 PART daily journal exercise Weekly artist exploration/journaling series INTRO Weekly artist series Week 1 parts 1-6 FRIDA KAHLO Weekly artist series Week 2…
Weekly artist series: Week 7 Part 1 A WOMAN’s MOUTH #deKooning #arttherapy
Week 7 Part 1 Willem de Kooning Willem de Kooning 1904-1997 That ferocious woman he painted didn’t come from living with me. It began when he was three years old. – Elaine de Kooning (wife) [source] — READ: de Kooning PDF handout — Find a photo of a face. — — Cut out the mouth. —…
Weekly artist series: Week 6 Part 3 of 3 THE DOOR #Basquiat #arttherapy
Week 6 Part 3 JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT Draw a door. Take out the words you wrote in Part 2: Pull out some words. Make a poem. Write the poem on the door. Invite a guest through the door to do an entry in your journal. I was so honored to have my dear friend, Darcy G.,…
Weekly artist series: Week 6 Part 2 DOWNTOWN 81 #Basquiat #arttherapy
Week 6 Part 2 JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT Downtown 81 (a.k.a New York Beat Movie), shot in 1980-1981, was directed by Edo Bertoglio, written and produced by Glenn O’Brien with post-production in 1999-2000 by Maripol, It is a rare real-life snapshot of ultra-hip subculture of post-punk era Manhattan. Starring Jean-Michel Basquiat and featuring such early Village artists as James Chance, Amos Poe, Walter Steding, and Tav Falco, the film…
Weekly artist series: Week 6 Part 1 A LIST OF MUSTS #Basquiat #arttherapy
Week 6 Part 1 JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT Jean-Michel Basquiat (December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist. He began as a graffiti artist in New York City in the late 1970s and evolved into a Neo-expressionist painter during the 1980s.[source]. I don’t think about art when I’m working. I try to think about life. — This week we dive into the…
Weekly artist series: Week 5 Part 4 of 4 STORYTELLING #FaithRinggold #arttherapy “She flew straight to San Francisco”
Week 5 Part 4 FAITH RINGGOLD As we have explored Faith’s art, we see it is one of STORYTELLING. Take a moment from your life. Using a full page in your journal and simply an HB pencil, tell the story. See also: 35 PART daily journal exercise Weekly artist exploration/journaling series INTRO Weekly artist exploration/journaling…
Weekly artist exploration/journaling series: Week 5 Part 3 THE WOMAN’s HOUSE #FaithRinggold #arttherapy
Week 5 Part 3 FAITH RINGGOLD The painting, called “For the Woman’s House,” had been housed at Rikers Island since 1971 but was nearly thrown away after being whitewashed at the orders of prison officials. The painting was based on interviews by Ringgold of female inmates and was the first of Ringgold’s public commissions. source…
Weekly artist exploration/journaling series: Week 5 Part 2 TAR BEACH #FaithRinggold #arttherapy #upontheroof #NewYork
Week 5 Part 2 FAITH RINGGOLD I can fly- yes, fly. Me, Cassie Louise Lightfoot, only eight years old and in the third grade, and I can fly. That means I am free to go wherever I want for the rest of my life. Listen to Ruby Dee read to Faith Ringgold‘s TAR BEACH and see…
Weekly artist exploration/journaling series: Week 5 Part 1 THE BRIDGE #FaithRinggold #arttherapy
Week 5 Part 1 FAITH RINGGOLD The magical painted story quilts of Faith Ringgold have inspired my work since the early 80’s. This particular image by Faith stays with me: The figure heavily influenced my Frida series. We will get into TAR BEACH and more of Faith’s work this week. Her work is about bridges….
Weekly artist exploration/journaling series: Week 4 Part 3 of 3 GROSZ-TESQUE and STEADMANESQUE #GeorgeGrosz #arttherapy
Week 4 Part 3 of 3 GEORGE GROSZ Take 8 minutes and watch: Compare George Grosz to Ralph Steadman: It was my first encounter with the works of the German artist George Grosz, when I was in my twenties, which showed me that drawing need not just be a space-filler in a newspaper: in the…
Weekly artist exploration/journaling series: Week 4 Part 2 DISTORTED REALITY #GeorgeGrosz #arttherapy
Week 4 Part 2 GEORGE GROSZ Looking at your research notes from last entry, pull out some words. Write them down. Block them out a la Grosz. De-form some human figures throughout. Do it in thin felt pen. Try not to hesitate. Distort. Be ugly. The painter once believed in something, but now he paints…
Weekly artist exploration/journaling series: Week 4 Part 1 NOTES #GeorgeGrosz #arttherapy #DADA #newobjectivity
Week 4 Part 1 GEORGE GROSZ We just finished Lisa Larson. She was all about the beauty of the simple form. Now we move onto an artist who is all about DE-FORMING. What draws me to to George Grosz is the brutal commentary through visuals. Something about it resonates with me. I was especially influenced…
Weekly artist exploration/journaling series: Week 3 Part 5 of 5 PORTRAIT and FORM #LisaLarson #arttherapy
WEEK 3 Part 5 of 5: Lisa Larson The essence of Lisa Larson’s work is FORM. In her ceramics and drawings, she captures the simple form and does not over-work it. That’s the biggest lesson I take away from spending this week with Lisa. The same principle applies to her portraits: Today, capture the simple…
Weekly artist exploration/journaling series: Week 3 Part 4 HUMAN FIGURE #LisaLarson #arttherapy
WEEK 3 Part 4: Lisa Larson In this part, we’ll take a look at the more organic human figure sculptures by Lisa. Playing on what we did in Part 3, use a bingo marker again to freely draw a simple human shape. Have the figures arms stretched out. Your sculpting in two-dimension actually. Draw a…
Weekly artist exploration/journaling series: Week 3 Part 3 MARK OUT WORDS ANIMAL FORM #LisaLarson #arttherapy
WEEK 3 Part 3: Lisa Larson Today we’ll take a look at the beautiful simple forms of Lisa Larson’s animals. To get into the mode of looking at form, do some brain gym. Use the following journal exercises to cleanse the mind and quiet it down. Part 1 JUST WRITE Part 2 DRAW OUT THE…
Weekly artist exploration/journaling series: Week 3 Part 2 THE ABC GIRLS #LisaLarson #arttherapy
WEEK 3 Part 2: Lisa Larson Among the most popular Lisa Larson stoneware figures is the collection ABC-Flickor (ABC Girls). When they were first released they caused much debate, since some critics saw them as depicting women with “such lack of respect”, but they quickly become extremely popular, especially among women! SOURCE I LOVE these…
Weekly artist exploration/journaling series: Week 3 Part 1 This is Lisa #LisaLarson #arttherapy
WEEK 3 Part 1: Lisa Larson Lisa Larson is a Swedish ceramic designer who started at Gustavsberg Porcelain Factory in 1953. Since 1980 she works as a freelance designer and sculptural artist. Browse among Lisa’s classic designs and unique work and read a little more about her and the current production at Keramikstudion Gustavsberg. Latest…
THIS WEEK on artist exploration/journaling series: #LisaLarson #arttherapy
Journaling is really helping me stay focused. Personal art therapy. WEEK 3 INTRO: Lisa Larson I am so inspired by the brilliant Swedish designer, Lisa Larson at Gustavsberg and I can’t wait to explore her work and my relationship to it this week. As I’m busy with my art event today, I’ll do part 1 tomorrow! As an intro,…
Weekly artist exploration/journaling series: Week 2 Part 6 PORTRAIT COFFEE DATE #Picasso #arttherapy
WEEK 2 PART 6: Picasso Last part before we move onto our third artist, Lisa Larson! Invite your journal and a friend out for coffee and draw while you chat. In Picasso-esque style. I had the luxury of spending an hour and a half with my mentor and my dear friend, Laura Mack: Self-portrait: See…
Weekly artist exploration/journaling series: Week 2 Part 5 INFLUENCE #Picasso #arttherapy
WEEK 2 PART 5: Picasso I can’t imagine my world, or our world for that matter, without the presence of PICASSO. Where do you see Picasso’s influence? Write about it or doodle in a Picasso cubist style. Immerse yourself. Here are just a few fun Picasso-isms: My cubist sock monkey: My cubist sock bird: My…