Artist's log.

I should really post a picture od this room. I's digraceful, and i love it. Paint tubes, scraps, old shoes, papers, toys, books, bottles, and numerous projects tacked up on the walls. I started my cellophane piece, and it started out fine, but then i rushed into it without really thinking, and it's a real mess now. It'll be fine, i guess, if i work on it a little more, mull over it a bit. I didn't think about the colors at all, and now it's all mucked up. Yuck. Also, i have all these great ideas, but i'm not sure how to combine them. I decided on the name already, "Blackberry Memories." It's going to be kind of like a self-portrait, an homage to all the people who i've known.

Do you mind if i rant? I need to, to see if there's an idea locked up in here somewhere.

It's about 3 feet by eight feet. It strectches from my cieling to my floor, and then some. I dug through all my old junk, pulled out all my old toys and stuff, really got wrapped up in nostalgia. The focus was going to be this black fan i got for my 10th birthday, the one where it was just me and Shidainer and Anna, and we rpretended to be pop stars and did karioke. It kind of symbolizes that time for me. The inspiration for the name comes from all the blackberry containers i have; i took the stickers off the front and stuck them on in a row. Then i put old toys and random junk in the containers and glued them on. A lot of this stuff is really... girlish. Old barrets, lipstick, a girlscout patch. I wanted looking at the piece to be a kind of adventure.

The problem arose when i tried to paint overthe stuff. I decided to paint my leather boots with the really long red laces, because i was tired of painting portraits and i've been wanting to paint them for a long time. Anyway, i pianted the laces first, and they were okay, but kind of flat and bland. Then the bg around them, with lots of yellow and green. Ugh. It looks awful. Then i painted in the shoes, and i used a really dark purple. I was going for a burguny color, even though the boots are light brown (again, i don't know what i was thinking) but i put in too much blue and ididn't want to waste paint, so i just stuck it on. It's practically black! And the whole 'transparency' idea is lost.

I think i'll just rip off the part of the tissure paper that was painted, and it will take off the most of the black. yes, that sounds good.

Be right back.

OK, mission accomplished. I went ahend and reoved as much of the painting as i could, leaving just the red laces, which still look pretty bad. I sould be able to either re-piant them or just paint over them. If i decide to do the latter, then it'll move the heaviest point of the piecefrom the fan to the top center, which change the whole perspective and tone of the peice. I'd have to re-balance eerything. It's not really as big a deal as it sounds.

I'll mull it over and get back to you all. Sorry if the anatomy of my piece doesn't really make sense, i'm just writing this for my personal benefit.

I'll return with pics! =P ciao.

Artist's Log 2

More artist rambling. If van gogh had had a livejournal, perhaps....

This is fabulous! I have done some very cool things with my cellophane peice. I really like it now. The question is, should i continue working on it or leave it as-is? I've worked on it for 12 hours now. That's a good amount of time, right? 24 hours is better, tho, ne?

The texture and sculptural quality of the piece is pleasing, but the colors still clash. I think it's a good thing they do, but that's the opinion thats' gotten me into trouble in the past. Ah, but then, great artists of the past were ridiculed for such things! However, i'm still learning. ^^If everything on the piece was just suddenly white, then it would definately look cool.

Does it need more junk?
More paint?
more flatness?
More balance?
I think the bottom needs to be heavier, to stick with the idea of fading off at the top.
I still don't like that green. Ugh. I hate it! But what color goes well with yellow?!? ::runs off to research color palettes::
I like the subtle patterns of the lace in the fan, and the soda-can metal thingies (what are those called? forgot.)Not so much the lumpyness of the middle section. It definately need something more subtle. I have to tone down the color and the make the patterns more complex. And, work out the theme. currently, it's the brushes. The million-dollar question: stick with it or work on the first theme of blackberries and nostalgia? They kind of go hand-in-hand, but which is dominant? (uke vs seme hehe). Note to self: remember what Grandusky said about dominant and submissive colors. The yellow is meant to be the dominant color in this piece. Right now that green is the submissive... i want to kill the green... i'll paint over it first thing.

ag... headache... must sleep.
have fun at the fair, all. Take pictures for me!!


( pics of my messy room and the cellophane piece )

ciaociao

p.s. cleaning always puts me in a painting mood. Maybe i should stay up all night painting. ^^