[ sunday 2005.10.30 ]
site specific heart art

while walking through the woods, i spied this tiny little heart-shaped leaf amongst all the other leaves. it was nestled in the crushed limestone, twigs & acorns. its simple cuteness sparked an idea, so using red stems i created a large heart shape in the middle of the path. it was filled in using all yellow leaves- the same kind of leaf that this little heart one was. i left it in the middle of the trail, hopefully to bring a little joy to the next person that passed by.

[ posted by beth at 10:02PM ] [ ]

the leaves were wonderful here this weekend. had a great morning playing with them in the park. as you can see, chad takes better photos than me. my camera is always in automatic because all those settings make my head spin. maybe one day i'll get the hang of it. if you want to see more, i'll be posting some photos from today on my parks page soon.

so i've been tagged by leeza. this means that i need to post 20 random facts about myself and then tag some others to do the same. here it goes:

01) i test out paint colors on the back of my hand like some women do with lipstick.
02) i once had a pet duck named pelo pelo. when he grew up, i set him free in the river to join his ducky friends.
03) my toes are always freezing cold, even in the middle of summer.
04) i lack patience, but chad is helping me work on that.
05) i read backpacker magazine, and spend hours dreaming of all the places that i hope to visit someday.
06) i love the book "the bell jar" by slyvia plath.
07) clowns have always scared me. and i always look down into the sewer grates expecting to see one handing me a red balloon like in the stephen king novel.
08) i once was a clown for halloween when i was about 3.
09) i was addicted to books as a child, and would go to the library weekly and participate in our school book-it program which would give you a free pizza hut pizza for reading a certain amount.
10) i've never liked pizza hut pizza. or most chicago pizza for that matter. i like a really, really thin crust with a zesty sauce.
11) i don't think sunglasses look good on me.
12) i want to go white water rafting.
13) i always touch moss when i see patches of it.
14) i love people who like to hug.
15) i'm addicted to sudoku. i dream of numbers in my sleep.
16) i like a little friendly competition from time to time.
17) i love home makeover shows and i always want to make over other people's houses.
18) i've been a cubs fan since before i knew how to tie my shoes.
19) i love eating with chopsticks.
20) i love bonfires in chilly weather.
if you want to read more, i posted a 50 things list awhile back.

following leeza's lead, i'll tag 3 people: papunella, robin & sheila. your turn.

[ posted by beth at 10:17PM ] [ ]

it is not too late to get out there and explore the activites that are going on for chicago artists' month. last weekend we went to the fulton market arts walk - in the west end of the loop off of randolph in the meat-packing warehouse area. it was a very small art walk, but was interesting to see galleries and studios tucked away in this neighborhood that we do not normally see.

my two favorite artists of the day were josh height & kurt riemersma, who just happened to be housed in the same studio (with creepy floor boards & elevators!)

there are lots of activities left this month- like SOFA at navy pier, so get out there and find something to do! if you don't live in chicago, then go see some art locally in your neighborhood!

[ posted by beth at 10:17PM ] [ ]

i have a travel watercolor sketchbook that i like to carry around with me to do quick sketches of everyday little things. this is from one of our sunday dim sum trips. i love sticky rice and jasmine tea. mmmm.

sometime i want to do a full-fledged sketch crawl day. i encourage everyone to participate, either on the organized international dates, or just do it on your own. you'd be surprised at what you discover when you stop to draw all the visuals in your surroundings. i've done "mini" sketch crawls and they were lots of fun!

i use a niji waterbrush. i was first introduced to the waterbrush several years ago when i took a botanical illustration course at the field museum. it is easy to tuck away into your pocket or bag, and if you need for water, just find a public water fountain or carry a drinking water bottle with you. you should carry water with you anyways if you plan on doing a marathon drawing session! stay hydrated!

[ posted by beth at 10:00AM ] [ ]

as soon as i finished painting this, i realized that i went in a wrong direction with it. not the concept or the overall drawing. but the colors. the colors in this are too happy. too bright. too primary. my intent was to create a moody, sad piece. to convey that she is heart broken because her dog is lost. somewhere in the painting process, this thought process was abandoned carelessly. i'm not really mad about it... it is not 2 hours lost, but 2 hours of knowledge gained. i learned something from this. so tonight i plan on reworking the painting with a different color scheme. i'll post the results when done!

acrylic, ink & paper on canvas

the first image is of the original sketch in my sketchbook. i drew this in about 3 minutes. then, i enlarged it on a photocopier 175%. from the enlarged drawing, i then traced over it with tissue paper- cropping the image, defining my lines, layout & adjusting the small details. this step took about 10 minutes. the last image is of the final painting. i decided to rotate the horizon line on an angle to show that she is unsteady and to make the tree slightly smaller. the actual painting took around 1 1/2 hours.

[ posted by beth at 10:00AM ] [ ]

check out pantone's colorstrology website to find out what your pantone color is. all you need is a birthday! my color is shamrock, which is fine with me, i love all things green- grass, leaves, moss, broccoli, spinach, kermit the frog... it also says that i'm prolific, which means that i better get my behind in gear and start producing an abundance of artwork!

[ posted by beth at 12:39PM ] [ ]

octopus comes back for another illustration this week. he gave up the pirate gig, and is relaxing in the deep blue sea dreaming of his next pursuit. octopus is safe. he always wears his sunscreen & shades.

acrylic on paper

[ posted by beth at 7:16PM ] [ ]