Guest Artist of the Month - February 2010

It has been such a privilege, for me, to offer this Guest Artist feature on my Blog; not to mention fun :).

Some of you may already be familiar with my Guest Artist of the Month for February. But; for those, of you, who are not, please let me introduce you to Caterina Giglio.

Photos, here, are two samples of Caterina's art and the other is a personal photo! I knew she was as lovely as I had imagined.

I love Blogging and this is how I became aware of Caterina and her beautiful artwork. Please treat yourself to some time visiting Caterina's Blog.

She also has a second Blog which is called Dolce Shop where Caterina offers some of her beautiful artwork for sale.

I feel privileged and honored to have Caterina as this month's Guest Artist and here is my interview with her.....enjoy!:

M-Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you began your artistic journey.
C-My last name, Giglio, is Italian and it is pronounced Gee-lee-o, and translated to, lily. Consequently, the lily is my personal symbol and I collect Fleur De Lys. My grandparents were born in Italy and I think my personal style reflects my heritage and my love of beauty. I am primarily a self-taught, mixed medium artist, and I live in a lovely little community in Colorado. I was an Art Education major in school and dropped out, just short of 2 years, to make a living and tend to a family member. The day I turned 50, I made a decision to change careers and get back to my original intended life. I have appreciated each artful day and give thanks for this wonderful life; the creative life.

M-A lot of your art is nature inspired, which is what attracted me to your Blog (linked above). Does nature provide you with most of your inspiration?
C-Nature provides a great deal of inspiration for me. I am an avid gardener and I adore being in the garden, soaking up the beauty around me. I always think it is interesting to see how other artists respond to their enviroment. Nature is just so drop-dead gorgeous, that I cannot help but be inspired. I put the bird songs and the sound of the garden on my Blog to remind me of that beauty. One of my favorite quotes is from Frank Lloyd Wright, "Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you". I keep it on my inspiration board to remind me to look to the organic way of life. Nature sustains me, and literally feeds my body and soul.

M-Your art seems very personal and your words that accompany your pieces, as well as your photography, really makes for a beautiful marriage. What seems to come first when you create? Your words or the actual art creation?
C-That is such a great question! I generally have an idea for a new body of work or a sense of where I want to go in creating some new project. Often the photograph or drawing or antique ephemera will tell me more about where we are going and I just follow along. These bits of the past tell me stories. I think of it as deep listening. So the words and the creation dovetail.

M-Your Blogs are lovely. You recently opened up a separate Blog (linked above) for selling your art. I was very pleased to view the grand opening of it and wish you much success. Are you finding this more comfortable than selling on Etsy?
C-I have an Etsy account but, I got to thinking that I wanted to create my own shop, not a small space in a huge venue. In my former life, I was a retail manager and training coordinator, so it seemed a natural thing to open a shop of my own. The other reason for opening my second Blog/Shop, is the ability to go into detail about each piece and why I created them, which seems to be of interest to others. I just recently added PayPal so that takes care of credit purchases and the only problem I have is keeping it stocked. That is the kind of problem I always want to have!

M-Please use three words to describe your artistic style.
C-Okay....how about two words? Romantic and historian.

M-Are there a couple of art goals you have for this new year you could share with us?
C-I have several! But I won't give you the whole list. I have been teaching locally for a number of years and now feel that I want to try online classes. I am going to make that a definite accomplishment this year. Another goal I have for this year is to continue to seek publication and to spread my wings a bit by entering different calls. The last goal is to return to painting. I have been slowly moving toward mixing mediums and acrylics and I am ready to jump in with both feet! Thanks so much for this opportunity Marilyn!

M-You are so very welcome Caterina! It was my pleasure......thank YOU!

End of interview.

I'm lovin' Shiva Oil Sticks :)

This is my second painted portrait using Shiva Oil Sticks! I love them! I am finding I have much more control with these vs the acrylic paint. You can actually combine both.

The portrait began as a brand-new drawing I did on Bristol Vellum (smooth side) and my "model" was from one of my favorite images from Paper Whimsy collage sheet.

I'm having a blast!

I visited Blogs, yesterday, to catch up on what you are all creating and I'm really enjoying seeing what you are doing. You all inspire me to reach higher and higher with my own art.

There are a lot of Blog giveaways going on with the One World , One Heart project. It's fantastic and I signed up for a bunch. It's a great project and I'm thinking of joining in, myself, for the next one.

Love to all of you and hope your day is being good to you....................Marilyn xxoo

My First Painted Portrait - woohoo!

The first picture, here, is my very first painted portrait! I used one of my earlier drawings which I've also shown here and turned her into the painted portrait!

Misty suggested we use our earlier sketches for experimenting with the flesh-tone painting and thought this was a brilliant tip. It made me feel a bit freer and I guess I really altered the original drawing didn't I?

I am really happy with this first attempt at painting a portrait. I decided to add a little background to the figure. This was fun!

I see Misty put up another lesson using Shiva oil sticks. I've got to go check it out!

Hope you're not getting tired of these but I really want to share with you what I am doing. This was such a huge step, for me, to take this course and I'm very happy I did. It's really challenging and takes a lot of time. It's teaching me patience :) My housework is suffering as a result but - oh well! That's the way it goes! :)

All be safe, well and get some art time in!

Much love to all! Marilyn xxoo

More practice................

This is another practice drawing using the Stabilo black pencil and titanium white paint. I used a very difficult image as a "model". It is one of my favorite postcards in my collection of a French woman. She's kind of sassy I think :)

But; one of the challenges, I had, is I tried this on canvas paper and it wasn't taking the paint very well so I had to improvise and use some oil pastels and lots of water when adding the paint. I decided to "color" this up a little around the background.

I am pleased, so far, with what I'm doing; I still hope to be able to loosen up more but know that will come with the "3 p's".

Later on, in the day, I'm going to try working on one using Misty's formula for skin tones with more paint. Wish me luck!

I hope you all had a good weekend; it surely went fast. Thinking of all!

Much love - Marilyn xxoo

Lesson #2-Drawing and Painting Portraits

I've been a little quiet the past couple of days and I will definitely get back to everyone's blogs to see what you are all up to.

I've had to take some time to begin Misty Mawn's next lesson that began on Friday. We are now getting into painting portraits. Yikes! It is extremely challenging, for me, and these are my first two attempts. I can see where I need to go out and get the correct paper as the paint was not taking very well to what I have on hand here. The first picture is on a thinner-weight watercolor paper and the second picture is on Illustration board. But; maybe this isn't so bad as this was an exercise and just as well I didn't use really good paper yet. :)

But; I'm not unhappy with the result. I'm giving myself time and it's going to take a lot of practice. This is a very intense course, for me, but I'm so happy I'm challenging myself to do this.

The exercise, we were assigned, is to draw a portrait using a Stabilo pencil then going in with titanium white acrylic paint. The Stabilo pencil reacts like a watercolor pencil.

My "models" for my portraits are from my collection of postcards I have here.

I hope you are all having a good weekend and getting some art time in for yourself.

Well; back to the drawing board :)

Much love always..............................Marilyn xxoo

Last one - I promise :)

This is my last 3/4 portrait drawing and the last graphite drawing I will share. The next post will be over the weekend or early next week, once I've completed an actual painted portrait.

I have to admit, this one is my favorites that I've done so far. I've always been drawn to "vintage" or "antique" postcards, images, photos - love their expressions even though a lot of the older photos of people, do not offer happy expressions. But; I am drawn, to them, more so than the "glams". To me, these older photos offer realism to me; they are more pensive and take me in to try to interpret what they could possibly be thinking; hard lives, perhaps a loss or just reflection on their daily living. I'm also wondering, if years and years ago, women weren't supposed to smile and laugh; they would appear too frivolous??? Perhaps I'm reaching.

Anyway; it's a pleasure to share my Drawing and Portrait journey with all of you. This course has certainly put a whole new spin on creating my art. The possibilities are endless and I know the more I practice, it will lead to a wonderful surprise along the way! Isn't that what life holds for us all? The element of surprise; the ups, downs and not knowing. I don't want to know what's ahead, for me, I really am trying to live in the now; not only with my art but personally.

Gee; see what these vintage/antique images do to me? :)

Have a joyous day and I'm now going to go visit your Blogs to see what you are up to.

Much love always - Marilyn xxoo

Practice, practice, practice :)

Here are some more practice portraits. The first two are 3/4 portraits. One is the original I through in Photoshop which I liked the effect and the other is the original drawing. I took the model from a "glam" magazine I have here and her side hair was braided which was a bit challenging.

The other photo is a 3/4 portrait (a la Misty Mawn); she offers us some of her own images for practice. The other is a side portrait that I drew just on my own and didn't use a model.

I feel pretty good about what I'm doing, so far; although I can start to see I need to loosen up and feel that will come with the "3 P's". :) I think the rest of week I'm going to practice just with single elements like noses, mouths, ears, and eyes. That will help loosen me up :) Or a glass of wine! :)

Friday is the second lesson offering of Misty Mawn's class and it will introduce us to painting portraits! I'm very anxious with this one and have feeling it's going to be very challenging for me. I have a free weekend coming up so the timing is great!

Thank you all for your supporting comments, here, you have no idea how much you all inspire me and give me the wings I need to challenge myself. Even a year ago, I'm not sure I could share these exercises publicly.

Have a safe and happy day! Love always - Marilyn xxoo

I hope Tom Cruise isn't watching :)

This is today's portrait drawing. I used Katie Holmes' picture from a magazine as I liked her smile and thought it was good practice. Yikes! This might be her when she's in her late 40's or early 50's :)

I can't say enough about Misty's online drawing class. It's really gentle persuasion and confidence in all of us that we can achieve our goals.

I probably won't be posting for a couple more days as our next assignment is to work on 3/4 portraits which I just know is going to be a major challenge for me.

Friday we begin painting portraits - WOW!

My personal goal with all of this is to, at least, feel that I can draw a face so I can use in my mixed media art; my own images to include in a painting or collage.

Thinking of you all and hope you are enjoying the long weekend!

I'll be back :) Love to all - Marilyn xxoo

2nd Drawing and exercises............

These are pictures from some more drawing practicing I did this morning.

I am so enjoying Misty Mawn's Drawing and Painting online course! I'm so happy I gifted myself with this. It's really giving me confidence. Again; I still have a ways, to go, but the more I practice, the more I feel I can make a face! :)

I find it more comfortable to begin with a "warm up" exercise and I've shared pictures, here, of examples. I drew an egg with the lighting coming from the left and trying to get in the highlights, mid tones and casting shadows.

The eye is something I am proud of! I seem comfortable with drawing eyes; maybe because I feel they are so expressive and say a lot about what we are feeling. The eye "model" is from a photo from Misty's class. She provides us with lots of models :)

And; here is my second portrait drawing. The model is from an antique postcard that I have here and always loved her. It didn't come out exactly like her but; I thought she had wonderful shading and offered great highlights. Again; noses are extremely hard; practice, practice, practice.

Thank you all for your encouraging comments, you've left here; I so appreciate as without you I wouldn't have even signed up for this class!

Hope you're enjoying your day and I'll be back, during the week, with some more samples of my drawings.

My next challenge is going to find a model who is smiling and happy! :)

Love to all! Marilyn xxoo

My first portrait drawing....................

I am spending, a good part of today, working on Misty Mawn's online Drawing and Painting class.

This is a world I've always wanted to jump into but my lack of , or inner critic as we artists like to call it, got in my way of seriously attempting a drawing class. I've always admired Misty Mawn's art and her approach to drawing and painting.

This class is awesome and I feel, for me, it's so much better taking an online class versus sitting in a classroom with others for this drawing journey. I think I would be too nervous for that. Misty's videos are so clear and her instructions make total sense to me. We've had some "warm up" exercises to work on to get a feel for lighting and shading.

Here are two pictures. The first one is my actual portrait drawing; my very first attempt. The second picture is some fun I had, with it, in Photoshop which I got even more excited about doing this as I know, now, I can flip my sketches into PS for an even different effect and sometimes, might even like them more - lol!

I know I have so much more to learn and far to go and I realize that noses are tough! But; as Misty says........."Practice, practice, practice" and that is just what I'm going to keep doing. I will take a chunk out of each of my days and practice! I turn on some classical music, relax and just give it a go!

During Misty's class, we will eventually be turning to painting portraits. Very exciting! I'm so happy I joined in!

Well; I just wanted to share with all of you my first portrait drawing. It's funny - knowing, all of you, through Blogging and also my local "peeps" who follow my Blog, I don't have any reservations sharing this with you as it is a huge step for me!

See? You are my wings my friends!

Hope you're enjoying your weekend and getting some art time in for yourself.

Much love to all of you! Your words and art inspire me each and every day!

...........Marilyn xxoo

A little altered art :)

You might recognize this "pouch" as I shared it on my Utube video when demonstrating my techniques with deli paper (earlier post). I thought I'd give you a closer look, at it, (front and back) as it is going to be used to hold this altered mitten (that you see here as well).

I'm looking forward to an art gathering with some artful friends soon and this chipboard mitten was given to all of us to alter and exchange at the gathering. The mitten front is the one with the thumb on the left side.

The background base for this project is fabric paper that I made not too long ago. I added more collage elements, acrylic paints, oil pastels, and more. The round metal tag on the mitten front has the word artful on it but you cannot see that in the picture.

We are approaching another weekend ahead! I wish you all a safe, happy, and art-filled one!

I begin my Misty Mawn online Drawing and Painting class tomorrow and I'm all ready to roll! I will be sharing my "attempts" with you in future. :)

Warm thoughts and love to you all! Marilyn xxoo

"ILLUSTREE"

8 x 8
Encaustic/Mixed Media

I played around with some more encaustic wax today. Again; it's the clear medium and I'm starting to enjoy it. It has a lighter feel, to it than the natural beeswax, but I still prefer the vintage color of the natural.

This piece began with priming the canvas with the wax and then adding a base of handmade paper which I had made quite awhile ago using tissue paper and mediums. There's some cheesecloth inclusions in this piece, too, but not sure if you can see it.

I love polka dots; always have and the black border on the bottom is some really cool decorative packing tape I found on Ebay. It's very cool and will make a great journaling embellishment :)

I signed up for Misty Mawn's online Portrait Drawing class and it begins on Friday. There are a couple of "warm up" exercises so I'd better get going on those tomorrow. I hope to share my progress with all of you. I'm a little nervous as I so need to learn how to draw faces that resemble faces :). I'll keep you posted :)

In meantime, stay well, safe and thanks for all of your support! I just love sharing and interacting with you all!

Much love - Marilyn xxoo

Encaustic play.........................

Untitled
8 x 8
Gallery Wrap Canvas
Encaustic Mixed Media

I rewarded myself with some art time today. I took care of some household chores, got the crock pot going and cooked some turkey chili. I don't like cooking but decided to meet it head on and cook some things that can last awhile. Now; I don't have to think about that question that is put in front of me about this time every day.............."what's for dinner"? :)

So; once the chores were done, I felt more relaxed and decided to play with some encaustic wax. I don't have a lot of it;a friend of mine gave me a block of the clear encaustic and today seemed like a good day to try it. I used a small melting pot for the wax.

Nature is often an inspiration, for me, and that's where my muse seemed to be taking me. I was soon visualizing a landscape with the handmade papers I had laid out on the floor. I even incorporated a piece of my deli paper! Can you see it in there? :) I find the deli paper is really wonderful to adhere to canvas. It took the wax beautifully both underneath and on top. It also reacts nicely with all the gel mediums.

After my papers were all torn and arranged the way I liked, I used the wax to adhere and then applied a smooth layer of the encaustic wax over the whole canvas.

I guess I don't really know too much about encaustic wax vs beeswax but, frankly, I didn't notice much of a difference other than the color. I still am partial to the natural beeswax with the wonderful aroma and beautiful vintage color. I bought a new book, recently, on encaustic wax so I will learn a lot more about it in the future.

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend, so far, and taking some creative time for yourself.

Thinking of all of you! Love always - Marilyn xxoo

Mixed Media and more deli paper :)

To begin, this post, I'd like to thank everyone for their positive and overwhelming feedback on my first art video technique with the deli paper (previous post). I so appreciate your comments, here, and the emails I've received. Again; couldn't do it without you! Do you think I said enough "ums" in the video??? hahahaha! A common comment or question, from all, was where to purchase the deli paper. I got mine at a store called Target, here in my area, but big box stores such as Walmart or BJ's would have it and kitchen/restaurant supply stores. A friend of mine got hers off of Ebay. Again; I would recommend unwaxed and there is plain deli paper, out there, without the logo on it :)

I'd like to share two pictures here with you today. One is an 11 x 14 mixed media piece that I'm working on for an art exhibit I have coming up in February. I've given a "re-birth" of sorts to this piece as it wasn't working in its original state so I am reworking it. There are two "found element" inclusions that I found at a local salvage store.

I'm also in an art exchange that calls for a challenge with mail art. We have to create an envelope or use ready-made envelopes with a travel theme. I decided to make mine from deli paper. Yet; another use for the papers I have created here :)

You will also see, here, a picture of my first envie creation using the deli paper. I used a regular mailing envie, took it apart and used it as a template. I call this piece "Trip to Paris". We had to include at least 3 rubber stamps on the front leaving room for the mailing address as well as the return.

Again; thank you all for your continued support, friendships and constant inspiration. I love interacting with all of you; you are my wings!

Enjoy the upcoming weekend; be safe and reward your hard work with some art time!

Love to all! Marilyn xxoo

Marilyn J. Rock ...Deli Paper Technique I

This is Part I of my Deli Paper technique Utube video. I have lots to learn but hope you can enjoy. These are a little lengthy, so you'll need some time to relax in front of them. Next time, I'll make them shorter! :)

Marilyn J. Rock ...Deli Paper Technique II

This is Part II of my Deli Paper technique. I had to split up the original video as I didn't realize that Utube requires only 10 minutes of video time. This is all a learning experience. :) I'll get there yet! Hope you enjoy!

Guest Artist of the Month - Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone! I'm starting off the New Year, here, with my Guest Artist spot of the month. I'm very happy and privileged to introduce you all to Carole Fults.

I first met Carole at a local art league gathering and we hit it off instantly; we admired each other's art and the conversation just took off from there. We've been friends ever since.

Carole and I have been exhibiting our art together and continue to do so. In fact, Carole came up with the idea of forming a group of local artists to exhibit in our area at local venues. We put our heads together and before we knew it we gave birth to our group called Art 'Round Town. Check out the link here

Carole has a marvelous website; click here

As you will be able to see, visiting her website, Carole is a multi-talented artist.

The Interview:
M: Please describe how your art journey began with a brief description of yourself.
C: My journey into the art world began when I was a junior in college. I had many friends in the art department and I saw how their forays into art led them down many paths. I gradually realized that I did not want to fit my mind into any one discipline and that art could, and often did, encompass any and all subjects of study, including some not taught academically, so I dropped out of school and spent a couple of years exploring the world of art. I started as a painter, probably because I already knew what I was doing from observing my friends. When I returned to finish my degree, I delved into some other aspects of art, such as sculpture, although it would be many years before I explored this in any serious way. My thesis was built around developing my own philosophy of art as a basic human need for beauty and shared self expression.


M: Did your interest in photography, poetry, or painting come first?
C: Poetry was my first love and remains the primary way in which I relate to the world, althought I have times when I don't write at all. Painting came next, then sculpture when I was in my late 30's. Photography has been with me for only the last couple of years.


M: What 3 words best describes your artistic style?
C: Loose, vague, and colorful.

M: You have a wonderful website (linked above). What benefits do you derive from having it? Do you sell of your site?
C: The website allows me to give potential venues a way to view my art without sending them a bunch of photos. It lets interested people view the range of art and projects. It has also helped me get a more objective view of my own art as I arrange and re-arrange the format. Right now I am taking things out of the categories of painting, sculpture, etc., and organizing the work according to projects that include all work done around a specific subject such as the Moon Project where soneone could view everything I have done around the Moon theme. I have visions of making a book organized in this way, but that is a ways off. I have only sold a couple of small things off the site, but as I say, the site is more a way of organizing things for myself. It it ever works as a marketing tool, that would be an added bonus.

M: Do you enjoy exhibiting your art? Do you recall your first exhibit? If so, can you briefly describe the event and your emotions?
C: I do enjoy exhibiting my art and, again, besides the obvious financial benefit of actually selling some pieces I learn a lot about if from seeing it formally displayed. My first exhibit, other than the required Senior Exhibit in college, was at a show in Flushing, Michigan where I actually took a 2nd place award for an abstract painting I displayed. I had the pleasure of also selling the piece so I was flying pretty high that day. As I look back, I see what an ego trip this was. Winning prizes is such a way to make some folks feel wonderful and others feel like crud; and in relaity it all comes down to the preference and personal taste of the judges. At the same time, it was a great incentive and encouragement to keep creating my art.

M: You are the Co-Founder of Art 'Round Town (linked above). What led you to form this group? What are a couple of your visions for the group?
C: I really enjoy exhibiting with others around themes or a common vision. Our planet is in dire need of some loving attention and as an artist I try to convey my love for our Home, and the others in our group share this thought. I think it reflects in their art and on their lives. I would like our shows to bring a fresh sense of wonder to the viewers and maybe cause them to view the Earth and nature in ways not thought of before. It also links us with those people who already appreciate and care for our world and I like being part of the family of Lovers of the Earth.

End of interview. Thank you Carole!
Note: above are three photos; one of Carole and two of her recent works!

Let me take this moment to wish you all a very healthy, happy, peaceful New Year. I am so looking forward to sharing more art, life and words with all of you in the coming year!

Stay safe and enjoy your holiday weekend!

Love to all! Peace in your hearts - Marilyn xxoo