Summer Sketches from the Tattooed Sailor

View from the Crow's Nest

Off to the Beach

I love it that our teenagers still build sandcastles.

The (Funny) Seasons of an Artist: More Cartoons Than Sketches

In pencil below my shell sketch: 

"I've put seashells all over the house - inside or out - to remind us all:

Almost time to go to the beach!"

I couldn't resist keeping all of these cartoons from Andre Francois's The Tattooed Sailor in my sketchbook nor can I resist posting them here for my artist/pals.  Funny, right?  The spot color on each "season" is mine. Can anyone explain "Spring" to me?  I just don't get it. What is that on the stool? 

Thanks to those emailing me - faithfully following along with this sketchbook and even making their own!  It keeps me scanning and Photoshopping - truly the bug of this project. If posting sketchbook spreads was truly something I was going to do long-term, I'd be putting a bigger scanner on my Christmas list!

Now For Something a Little Different

Grace

16x20, paper on wrapped canvas

email me for info

Back to the Paper Dolls - this was soooo fun!  Like last year's Santa...click here to remember.   I keep asking myself, why don't I do more of this? Such a great value study exercise too.

  

double click on any photo for larger view

Color Theory and Flocks of Pigeons

Another few pages from my sketchbook which began its life as a copy of famed French cartoonist Andre Francois's book The Tattooed Sailor.  Now dubbed The Tattooed Sailor & His Devoted Artist.  Click here to see how one became the other.  Click here to scroll through the pages.

Noodler's Habenero

I struggle with the whole color temperature concept... in every media.  I get it intellectually - I've read lots of books/articles on color theory, I've done these exercises a zillion times, I've stuck post-it notes on my easel and palette -- but it just doesn't click in practice.  Or at least I don't think it does... But, don't get me wrong. It's a fun struggle.

This summer I was reading Susie Short's posts about color... 

The Tattooed Sailor: Flipflops and College

A tasty summer drink, my favorite shoes, an epaulette for a tail, and Shark Boy's gone to college. The pasted-in paper fragment came from an old recipe book that got paint on it... somehow. :)

A 2-Page Spread in the Tattooed Sailor

The Sailor and The Artist in the Garden

The background of this hibiscus page was splashed with Golden Fluid Acrylics several weeks before I got to the sketch.  The watercolors layered on top of the acrylics so beautifully... gotta love water-based media for how well they play with others.

Drawn with Noodler's Habenero... I love how it's not quite waterproof.  Yes, that's a big gully running down the middle - where two signatures meet.  Some people glue a piece of paper down to hide it... I might try that sometime.

More from The Tattooed Sailor & His Devoted Artist

The mask sketches were done with a Lamy Joy with EF nib and Platinum Carbon black.
I wonder what Andre used....

Kitchy-kitchy - Homage to an Artistic Hero

In case the pencil is too faint: One of my artistic heroes is Carol Marine. This is a copy of her recent oil painting "Vintage Milk"~

Plein Aire Still Lifes in Kitchen & Garage

The Tattooed Sailor and His Devoted Artist

What did you do for your summer vacation?

Andre Francois

I’ve always been a watercolor sketcher – partial to Moleskins, Lamy Safaris, Noodler’s Bulletproof black, Winsor Newton watercolors, and the odd bit of ephemera collaged in.  But I’ve never really shared my sketches on this blog… well, except for here and an oil sketch here and there.  For no particular reason – just not taking the time for all the blasted scanning and stitching.

But last spring I stumbled on this inspiration, took an old book that had belonged to my parents, dissected it, and rebound it with watercolor paper – thus making a new book that is part sketchbook and part bawdy, mid-century, French cartoons.  It’s been so much fun to work in and I must share.  If anyone reading this has ever been tempted to make a book or sketch or both, this is a grand adventure.

The original book was The Tattooed Sailor by French cartoonist Andre Francois (1918-2005), published in 1952.  I know Francois drew for some major newspapers and magazines back in the day but his subjects in this book were often artists and so, over the years, I’ve thumbed through The Tattooed Sailor many times and gotten good laughs. My hand-me-down copy was crumbling apart so, without reluctance, I committed it to the project.  I kept some of my favorite cartoons, which now live alongside sketches from our garden, our garage, and our travels.

No need for me to tell you how I re-made the book – I did exactly as I was told.  Shirley Levine of the Paper and Threads blog documented her process perfectly and even referred us to Martha at Trumpetvine Travels for the signature sewing. Both sets of directions are easy to follow. I haven't invested in bookmaking tools - just used what I had on hand and it worked fine.  Many thanks to these ladies for sharing so generously and making my summer!

Et merci aussi a M. Francois.

 My tattered copy of The Tattoed Sailor

Doubleclick any photo to enlarge.

Before glueing the signatures back in, I patched up the spine as best I could and glued a strip of muslin to the inside.  I used Fabriano Artistico 140lb. hot press watercolor paper in the off-white color which is still quite a bit whiter than the pages of the book. But I like it.  Some of the watercolor page edges are torn and some I trimmed with deckle-edged scissors.

I used some funny French-y advertising paper I had on hand for the end papers on both the front and back of the book.

I kept the first page with the original inscription. No clue who Dick was.

Francois's title and mine. :)

Cone Flowers drawn with Noodler's Serano.

Francois's ship is flying under the Texas flag!  And don't you love the Tattooed Sailor?

More sketches and cartoons to come.

Did You Get The Picture?

Oh, Snap
16x20, oil and acrylic on paper

If you think these girls look familiar, you'd be right.  I've painted them in straight oil too - click here to remember. If you double-click to see a bigger image, you'll see the graph paper showing through her foot - my favorite part!  I continue to love working on paper though not as often as I'd like.  But this one makes me think of summer and lazy days and beach time... looking forward to all of that soon!

Oil Painting on Collage

Violet

11x14, oil on mixed media
email with questions

Greetings all. I would say 'happy winter' but we're not having much of that in Central Texas.  A balmy 90 degrees here yesterday.  Violet is basically the same process as before -- paper and acrylics, paper and acrylics, layer upon layer upon layer. But she's oil rather than watercolor as the Paper Dolls before her have been.  I LOVED switching the process around. Be sure to double-click on the photo to see an enlargement and to find the flowers peeking out of her cheeks!  She's on a cradled board that's about 1 1/2 inch deep and her sides are painted turquoise - like the streak on her chin.  No framing necessary. 

Happy New Year - Welcome 2012!

Virginia, inspired by Jane

11x14, mixed media on cradled board

(double click to see larger view.... soooo fun!)

Still working in the Paper Dolls series, I took an online workshop just before the holidays from Jane DesRosier - a brilliant mixed media artist.  This piece incorporates a mostly-watercolor face with paint and ink techniques I used on some commissioned work recently.  But it was DesRosier-inspired, to be sure.  I adore the energy. I'm going to try it again, but bigger. Happy New Year to all!

Merry Christmas to All

Mr. Claus after Mr. Foster, in Paper

16x20, mixed media on cradled board
(double click on photos for larger views)

This year's Santa!  So, so much fun.  Impossible to see all his little quirks and details in small photos but, be assured, he is full of surprises.   Inspired, in part, by one of last year's Santas - click here to see him - which was in turn inspired by the brilliant Alan Stephens Foster who painted Saturday Evening Post covers back in the day.  Click here to read my take on that.  

Also inspired by the work of "paper painting" artists such as Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson and Derek Gores and Nancy Standlee - do click on each name to visit their work.  Very wonderful!


Our stockings are hung and the lights are twinkling, my (shhhhhhh) collectors-only art project is wrapping up, and the little "part-time/temporary" job I started at the kids' school last month is underway. At least I know where they keep the coffeemaker - whew!  I'll probably get things figured out about the time the job wraps up. Truth be told, I really couldn't say no to the opportunity to be with our kids this year.  I look forward to more 'studio time' when it's over.  


In the meantime, many thanks to my friends in the blog-o-sphere for their patience with me and dedication to their work. All best for a lovely holiday season and start to the new year. 

Paper Dolls Continue

KL

11x14, mixed media on cradled panel

My first attempt with acrylics and I was having fun and got carried away.  Her clothing was to be made of paper, as has been the trend with the Paper Dolls.  But, it turns out, her lacy shrug is painted and her top is paper. Oops.
  
I love it when Lavagirl, my darling daughter, brings me inspiration. Or something that leads me to a muse. I painted this from the website of clothing designer Keiko Lynn...a darling, young girl with a look I just love.  I've tried emailing her but - sheesh - she has 11Kplus followers on her blog (that's 11,000+). Talk about busy.  Go check her out - doesn't she have an amazing flare?


The background is wrapping paper I bought recently on a Twisted Sister field trip to the Container Store... funny, right?  Take care - thanks for looking!

Cooler Temps, Studio Windows Open, Music Turned Up, Artist Dancing

Vivian

12x12, mixed media on cradled panel

email me for details

The hot weather is finally breaking here in Central Texas and the crisp morning air is invigorating.  For some reason, for me that translates to a yearning to spend more time in the studio. Yeah, like that's gonna happen....  it is definitely not the year for art. There is just too much other fun to have! This is the time for endless football and volleyball games/events and school volunteer jobs. This is the time to enjoy being with Shark Boy as he works towards college and with Lava Girl as she settles into high school.  It's a great time of life and I keep reminding myself that a daily art practice will come back around. Later, when our chicks have flown the nest.

In the meantime, these Paper Dolls are the perfect thing: easy to work a little at a time between commitments. And they feed my love for the energy that pattern and the printed word bring. I continue to be so impressed by the strong-yet-transparent qualities of the Fluid Acrylics and I love Vivian's map dress with the doily collar. 

Barbara Jean Goes to School

Barbara Jean

16x20, mixed media

 email for info

I recently purchased a 1934 copy of a book, English for Business Use by Charles

G. Reigner, to use as background for the Paper Dolls series. Turns out it's a textbook well-used by a girl named Barbara Jean Crook. In addition to taking copious notes and recording assignments and test dates, Barbara Jean did a fair amount of

doodling in the margins and she signed almost all 400+ pages. Sometimes she inscribed just her first name, other times her initials, practicing almost as if she was perfecting her signature or autograph. Usually in pencil, occasionally red, and sometimes using a fountain pen. Twice she "auditioned" a different last name... Thornburg. (Wonder who he was?)

As I worked, I mused about Barbara Jean Crook and her life -- what was she studying? did she have a friend in the class?? did she live with her parents??? what was she daydreaming about as she signed her name over and over??? -- and the piece took on a vintage feel. Her signature is here probably 50 different times. Watercolor, fluid acrylics, transfers, inks, and the Chinese characters for friend and good. The cradled board has deep sides and they are finished so framing is optional. Double-click on the images to see larger versions.

You Gotta Have 'Faith'

Faith

16x20, mixed media on canvas

sold

Sold my first Paper Doll this week - Faith has gone to live with a darling collector. Woohoo! Truth be told, stepping out onto this 'mixed media' limb is quite intimidating so the validation of a sale is doubly meaningful. Faith was inspired by a long neck, a strong shadow, and a really great hair-do. She's a mix of pages and ephemera collected from vintage novels and phone books, a Bingo card, a French stamp, some Indian paper, and a handsome Italian man.

Mixing Oil and Water

Josephine

16x20, mixed media collage on cradled panel

 email for details

To the list of reasons why I love watercolor, please add Plays Well With Others. How friendly the water-based mediums are - watercolors, acrylics, inks, gouache, gels - matte and otherwise. I've fallen in love with Golden's Fluid Acrylics and Liquitex Inks. All products that were designed to be layered and mixed. That said, I used oil for some of the white flowers in the background of this piece and it acted as a 'resist' when I painted Josephine in watercolor. I love the white flowers peeking through on her skin. Lower right are the Chinese characters for 'friend' and 'good'. She looks great in a gold, plein-aire type frame!

Alice

12x16, mixed media

(double click for larger view)

A whole new group of twisted sisters has moved into my studio! Collectively, I think of them as Paper Dolls. What fun I've had this summer making truly messy art - splashing in watercolors and liquid acrylics and ink and matte medium, with bits and scraps of maps and vintage books and telephone directories under my feet. I can't wait to introduce you to these girls!

What Did You Do (for 5 minutes) Over Summer Vacation?

5 minute oil studies on canvas paper

from Jennifer Balkan class

Some things I did? Hmmmm... spent good time with Sharkboy and Lavagirl (Mr. Right has been working waaaay too much!), did a lot of volunteer work and got ready to do a whole bunch more, visited some colleges and the farmer's market. I stayed up late at night and slept late in the morning which isn't at all like me. I played in the studio making art a lot. Different kinds of art. Wildly inspiring, messy and for me, exciting art. More about that later.

A thing to love about this summer was a series of classes I took from one of my all-time favorite artists - and now a favorite person as well - Jennifer Balkan. She welcomed our little group into her studio where she had lovely models and soft samba music and we painted quick, nude studies with only 3 values -- surrounded by her beautiful work. Lovely. Click on her name above to check out her paintings. Even more lovely.

Some things I didn't do: I didn't blog. Please forgive my absence, Gentle Followers. I'll be here when I can and miss you terribly when I can't.

Can You Name this House in Twelve Books or Less?

Shelf Life: Chase Residence, Dining Room

9x12, oil on panel

Could you recognize another person's house by seeing just one small portion of one bookcase in one room? From the books in this painting, I not only know who's house I'm in (Grandpa's) - I can feel how it feels to be there (wonderful!) and remember what the shelves around it hold and conjure what delicious smells are coming from the kitchen right around the corner. I just love that.

Hope everyone is having a great May!

Happy Mother's Day - Festa Della Mamma Felice

Anna's Kitchen

12x24, oil on panel

sold

Happy Mother's Day to all, especially Anna and her bella daughter who commissioned this piece. I loved listening to Dean Martin sing Mambo Italiano in the studio while painting and dreaming about Anna preparing her famous homemade sauce: tomatoes, garlic, basil, Italian parsley, parmesano, olive oil from her rustic jug - delizioso!

Recipes and Friends

These still lives are in a series called Painting Recipes that I've played with for some time. I'm going to post a new one this weekend -- a Mother's Day gift -- so I've been thinking a lot about them. Here we have recipes for homemade lemonade, hot cocoa with marshmallows, Sharkboy's pumpkin pie, and -- well, the title says it all: Is There a Title That Doesn't Include a Tequila Reference?

Truthfully, I've been in a pickle lately. What time I've set aside for painting has been spent on commissions this spring (Yippee!!!) and that doesn't leave me much to "blog" about. Then a dear friend dropped by the studio and gave me some great ideas. She is the Sarah of Hyacinths for the Soul - click here to visit her beautiful blog - and so, of course, she knows a thing or two or twenty about blogging. So inspirational.

Sister to Sister - A Birthday Commission

Sister to Sister

12x12, oil on panel

sold

A birthday commission for my niece from her sweet husband, these are their beautiful girls watching ducks on a pond. It was a difficult composition for me and I ditched two attempts early on and even changed the size/orientation. What a relief when the figures finally "settled" into the painting... I heard from them over the weekend and she was very pleased - plus he was an absolute joy to work with. Today is her actual birthday - much love, dear girl.

Art for your Easter basket

In case anyone is lucky enough to be Easter-ing on the west coast! Have a great holiday weekend!

Sketchbooks and Milestones

Lavagirl

6x6

Forgive my absence, gentle followers. I've got about a go-zillion reasons why the art I've been working on lately isn't blog-able. Still painting on surprise commissions... tee hee hee. And I find myself compelled to draw - buried in my sketchbooks. Sometimes working out compositions and value patterns and such - sounds really noble, right? - and other times just sketching the sunflowers sitting in front of me. Our kids are growing up fast right now so I'm doing and thinking a lot about them. This week our youngest, Lavagirl, has Freshman Orientation at the high school and our oldest receives his senior ring.