This is one of my latest Alaska paintings.  I have about ten more I need to put up here, so be patient.  It's gouache on craft paper.  My painting professor wants me to find a better, more permanent surface to work on, because by the time I need ultra quadruple bi-focals the original will have deteriorated.  Supposedly.  That's one of the interesting differences between painters and illustrators, painters are always very concerned about the life of the piece.  I can understand where they are coming from, there's nothing like standing in front of an original and seeing all of the details of the brushstrokes.  But when most of the world's population will only see a reproduction, it seems like the reproduction should be just as important.

Do What You Love, Love What You Do.

Here's a link to a little documentary of Shaun Tan's new animated movie based on his book, The Lost Thing coming out in 2009.  I love Shaun Tan's work, he's so imaginative and expressive; everything I've seen him do is just phenomenal.

http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=9404

Haha!  This was a picture from a poster that was up in the art building this week (kind of a poster within a poster).  It's just . . . awesome.

So, this week has been pretty crazy.  I've started and finished five paintings, personal record.  It might have been cheating, though, because I took the reference this summer while I was in Alaska and all that was left to do was paint them.  But, man, does it feel good!  You'll be seeing some of the pieces either this weekend or next week, my life's still pretty hectic.  I've got projects galore to finish, a thesis to catch up on, freshman to manage, etc.  So bear with me, those of you who are listening.  Have a great weekend!

Grrrrrrr......

Hmm, They seem to have been published in the wrong order . . .  And don't believe the times that it says that it's posted, it's a lie.  I wish I understood the internet a little better . . . Or maybe it's because this thing's supposed to be dummy-proof.

Not Today, Buddy Boy

Yeah, no luck on the sound bite texts, facebook doesn't do that either.  Dang it!  I was all excited, too!

Open it up . . .

Okay, so it's a little persnickety, but that's okay.  I can only publish one picture at a time so you'll have to read from bottom to top to see them in the proper order.  Or you don't have to.  I can see there being some interesting things happen if you read it top to bottom, kind of mentally psychedelic (new favorite word, I will use it as often as possible and almost always in the wrong context, haha!)

This is the inside cover.  There's a little pocket there, it kind of blends in.  I can put business cards in there or leave-behinds, or possibly very slim snacks, etc.  Whatever floats my boat.  I got the idea from one of my professors, Roger Demuth.  There's a link to his site up there in the links bar.  If you go there, you'll see that he has lots of . . . interesting . . . ideas and hobbies that he loves to implement and experiment with.  He's great.  He's like his site, he likes bunnies, especially rabbit trails, like other people you might know . . . oh, look, shinny . . . Ahh!  Snow!  No, no, no, no, no . . . Make up your mind either be warm or rain or freeze, not all three in one day . . . 

Anyway where was I?  Oh, I wonder if I can send sound clips . . . 

Viola!

And here's the inside, again, I suppose, cause I showed you the other side . . . Anyway, I've put prints of the art on presentation matte boards and they're stacked neatly on top of one another.   The viewer can take them out and look at them and move them around and reorganize, etc.  Some people don't like that, but personally, I kind of like the hands-on-interactive kind of feeling it gives to the work.  You're not separated from it.  Have you ever been in a gallery and wanted to just take a painting off the wall so that you could sit down and hold it up to your face and really look at it?  I feel that way with books, too, sometimes.

Haha, wow, that made a lot of sense.

My Portfolio

HaHa!! I did it!  I have no idea if this costs me anything, but I guess we'll see when I get the bill.  I think I'll have to do these in separate posts though . . .

This is the cover of my portfolio, it's all made by hand by me, not the actual materials, but the portfolio itself, you know what I mean.  I'm going to put my name in the little nameplate thing you see in the middle there.  

Bach

Go listen to Bach today, anything.  I'm liking Suite No. 1 in G Major, myself.  It's especially awesome if you pair it with AFI's Prelude 12/21.  Heehee!

I am going to studio, hopefully to produce some fantastic art that you will see here in the next few days.  Actually, I'm going to try and text some pictures of my portfolio that I sent to my little sister the other night, we'll see if it works . . . Hmmm, I think I need to do something with the blog settings . . . Have a great week!

Public Transport

I hate public transportation.  Actually that's not true; I hate busses.  Subways are fine.  Trains are fine.  Busses however, hmm yeah, not so much.  First the bus I was on didn't go on the route it said it was going to go on, so I walked about two miles getting to my destination.  And I did not get on the wrong bus, I checked later, they just didn't go where they said it would.  THEN, I waited for two hours yesterday, TWO, for a bus to stop at a designated bus stop over in East Syracuse.  Did one ever come?  No.  And when I finally found a place where they did stop, there was not little sign that told people that the bus stopped there, mind you, they wouldn't let me on because the bus wasn't going to where they thought I wanted to go.  So then I got to wait for another hour.  Anyway, I wasn't a happy camper yesterday.  Didn't do any work, except make my portfolio, which is beautiful, I'd like to tell you. Oh, and I finished my sister's Christmas present (Haha, and I'm not going to tell you what is is either, cause she's going to come here looking). Anyway, that's my rant, it's out of my system, every-thing's good with the world.

The Camel Market

This was for a line of teas from all over the world.  This one was, obviously, from India.  I'll try and put some pictures up of the final box design when I get it all photographed.  This was (another) gouache and watercolor on board.  

I've showed this to several people here, and it's interesting what people notice first.  I think it says something about their intelligence level (or mental perversion).  I'll have to show it to a few more people and record the results to see.  Comment and tell me what you notice first.  It's not a trick, there are no hidden images, just the guy and the camels, but it is a matter of perspective, I guess you could say...

More from the Erie Canal

So I had a little fun in photoshop with this one.  Both are the same painting, but I tweaked the levels in photoshop, just to see what would happen, and viola!  Early and late fall.  

This is another small gouache on brown paper.  This one was really fun to do, I just sat down and it came out.  Sometimes I really feel bad for taking credit for these, I look at them and think, "I did that?"  I'm not used to painting well.  I've liked so many of the pieces that I've done this semester.  It's both freeing and a little frightening letting the creativity flow out of  me.  In a lot of ways I have to let go of my control and just paint and allow things to happen.  Its kinda mind blowing and mind opening at the same time (blows your mind open).  Haha.  Yeah, the funny-ness still isn't working.  

Erie Canal

I'm in a landscape painting class this semester.  Our focus has been the Erie Canal, not the most inspiring of subjects, but we do get off campus for a couple of hours every week so you wont hear me complaining.

This is gouache on brown paper.  It's about, meh, 5x5 inches?  I've only started working this way this semester, and I like it. It's quick and if I mess up it doesn't take me long to do another.  I've learned a lot working this way, I'm really pleased with my progress and results.  

Here we go again...

I am once again attempting to keep up with a blog. I know, it's probably hopeless, but I guess I get points for trying.  I'm hoping to do some other projects/experiments (insert evil laugh here) with the web in the months to come, and this is my test/preparation for that, I suppose.  

So, it's Thanksgiving, and I'm here in Syracuse, alone.  But it's all good.  The only problem is that there is no one here.  At all.  And it's kinda creepy.  Like, "I Am Legend" creepy.  Yeah, great Sara, start thinking about that now, when it's almost midnight and you're alone in the house...

I am so freaking brilliant.

Right.  "Spirited Away".  Happy monsters.  Oh, "Meet the Robinsons", okay we're good!

One of the main reasons that I decided to try and do this again is that facebook is no longer allowing me to put my artwork up on my illustration page.  I don't know why, but I have tried everything that I can think of , and my ever present dislike of facebook has reached it's limit.  So, here I am, once again.  Actually, I don't think my old blog even exists anymore, how long has it been since I was on there...2, 3 years?  Yeah, something like that...  

I'm tiered, and obviously not very coherent right now, so I'm just going to stop and post my pictures now, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!