Manzanita 02

Manzanita 02

This is my 365 blog entry for 2017.  I made it!  My goal was to blog daily uploading a new piece of art each day.  Life got in the way six or seven days and I had to make up the blog entries.  However, I am pleased that 365 was achieved.

I wish everyone who visits this blog a very Happy New Year!  May 2018 find happiness and good health!

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Something magical for New Year's Eve......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ytk0aoXXICo

Manzanita 01

Manzanita 01

I created a series of postcards this past October when I was on an art retreat in Manzanita, Oregon.  There are 20 cards in this series.  Most of them are two collages, the background and another tiny collage housed in a fabric teabag.  Enjoy!
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Theodore Bradley - Street artist.....

A street artist isolated himself painting for years. What he created is rocking the fashion world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLBLL7CpYgQ

Sumo Series 18

Sumo Series 18

Here we are, the last in the Sumo Series.  The animation only has sixteen of the eighteen pieces.  Sorry about that! :-)

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Finally found the name of the artist....Melanie Norris....

An artist creates stunning portraits to show how our flaws make us beautiful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rynDteKADQg

Sumo Series 17

Sumo Series 17

I particularly like this piece.  Sometimes the composition Gods come together to create a piece that is pleasing to my eye.  This is one of the times.  My eye moves from the black of the piece of pottery that is actually a family crest to the wrestler and finally to the red cross.  Movement is so important in a piece of work.  The eye must be drawn throughout the artwork.

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Fakes in the art world - The mystery conman | DW Documentary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lNSXB4i4fE&list=PLmBFAVenkUR1QJ3SgDEskbBLKQyvNFswQ&index=3

Sumo Series 16

Sumo Series 16

When I started out the year I had promised myself to try and make a blog post everyday of the year 2017.  I almost made it.  I missed about five or six days but always caught up.  So now I am only a few posts away from 365 for the year.  Not bad!  I can not promise I will be able to keep up in 2018, but I do have over 50 posts lined up so far for the upcoming year.  Thanks for stopping by and thanks for commenting.  I always read the comments even though I usually do not post a return comment.  That just has not fit into my posting routine.  Enjoy the remaining few days of 2017. :-)

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Peter Doig’s 'Camp Forestia', 1996

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un8Y4dimz_g

Sumo Series 15

Sumo Series 15

Our snow is still around and since it is cold enough and no rain for a few days, it should remain.  I love the evergreen tree decorated in white.  Just lovely!  Just a few short days remaining in 2017.  Can't believe how quickly the days go by.

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Chinese Pop Artist Xu Zhen (徐震) - ShanghART Supermarket (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmqMTfPC-Yw

Sumo Series 14

Sumo Series 14

As promised, this is a two-fer.  Again, Merry Christmas.  Going out for a walk in the snow in a few minutes.  Not snowing much right now so I guess it is stopping just like the computer generated weather report says. :-)  Have a great day!

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Claes Oldenburg. The Art of Pop: Soup Cans & Superstars Documentary clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaZnDgCJYlM

Sumo Series 13

Sumo Series 13

Yesterday was so busy I totally neglected to post on Christmas Eve.  So today, Christmas Day is a two-fer again.  Merry Christmas to everyone who visits this blog.  It started snowing yesterday late afternoon and has continued this morning.  We have about four inches of the white stuff and it is just beautiful.  According to the paper the Seattle area only has had a white Christmas 7 out of 100.  I know we have had at least one since moving into our house nine years ago.  Anyway, it is pretty amazing out right now.

Our neighborhood to the east really decorates their houses and yards and it was magical walking in the snow last night.  The colored lights reflecting in the white snow was just amazing.

So Merry Christmas to each of you.

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James Rosenquist. The Art of Pop: Soup Cans & Superstars Documentary clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBQe5UbZNdY

Sumo Series 12

Sumo Series 12

The craziness of the shopping season was at its peak yesterday.  I ventured out and it took two hours to do two stores....one of them was Costco.  I know I must have been crazy to even attempt it but when one needs pumpkin pie and when Costco has the best, well you just do it.  The parking lot was the problem, not so much an issue once inside the store.

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Barbara Hepworth at Tate Britain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Noi2P72ATU

Sumo Series 11

Sumo Series 11

This series is going to take us right up to New Year's Eve almost.  It has a total of 18 pieces or 9 back-to-back.  I might have said there were less previously but I just looked and there are 18.

I am working on a new series which is called Alice from Alice in Wonderland.  Not sure when it will be completed but I have all the backgrounds done and many of the focal points ready.  So it is just a matter of working on each piece to get it to the composition that I want.

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more David.....

David Hockney at Tate Britain   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruFT1Ks9VX4

Sumo Series 10

Sumo Series 10

I have used Stablio Woodies to add additional color in this series.  The Woodies provide transparent shading as another layer to the work.

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Skittle Players outside an Inn | A Thirst for Art

Jan Steen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofxdub9f9SE

Sumo Series 09

Sumo Series 09

Check out the skirt on the sumo wrestler.  More war theme or perhaps it has a strength reference.

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Drunken silenus supported by Satyrs | A Thirst for Art

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=446MxFyB838

Sumo Series 08

Sumo Series 08

For me, mixed media is just about the best there is.  I love collaging and painting and texturing and everything else there is about creating a piece of art.  Even though I have done art most of my life getting into full time like I am now floats my boat. :-)

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A Restoration by Elizabeth Price | A Thirst for Art

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfhxmnzFIwg

Sumo Series 07

Sumo Series 07

I suppose there might be some criticism concerning this series, that it is repetitious.....that is is formulaic.  It is and I do not apologize for that.  Frequently a series is just that.  There are similarities in each piece.  I do not mind it.  When you look at many artists work you see that they "practice" an idea.  It was a fun series to do and a surprising one for me.  I really had no interest in sumo wrestling but I sure like the idea behind the stand up sumo wrestler vintage cards that I discovered.

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Bacchus and Ariadne | A Thirst for Art

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pqTUVgQgxM

Sumo Series 06

Sumo Series 06

The circles with the logo are all Japanese family crests.  I especially like how the fabric X and the dendretics in the upper right corner work together.  Please note the war design on the sumo's skirt. It is pre-WWII and I image a statement about war.

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Corner of a Cafe-Concert | A Thirst for Art

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZLmjL8nsH8

Sumo Series 05

Sumo Series 05

In each of the works in this series I used some form of cloth.  In this one, it is the red plus or red cross sign.  Recently, I found some miniature sumo wrestlers that I will work into a few pieces soon.  I also received some great wrapping paper on a gift that will work into a collage, too....not polka dots this time but read and white squares. :-)

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Bes, the Egyptian 'god of boozing' | A Thirst For Art

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiZhw6tJq7Y

Sumo Series 04

Sumo Series 04

I am always on the lookout for ephemera.  The large splotch of burgundy on the upper left came from the Sunday NY Times.  Evidently the printer for the newspaper over-inked and thus provided me with a huge splotch of inked paper.  It worked perfectly in this collage.

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Sobering......

Gin Lane | A Thirst for Art

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZoJo8Iby0M

Sumo Series 03

Sumo Series 03

Many of the backgrounds in this series have parts of a Toyko map and white polka dots with red surrounding.  That ephemera was on gift wraps given to me by two dear friends, Michele and Jan.  I love using something that gives it a second use not originally intended. :-)

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The Ancient Greece Symposium | A Thirst For Art

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6OWDv6B1qM

Sumo Series 02

Sumo Series 02

In each piece in this series I used dendritic papers that I made.  There are several YouTube videos on using this process to create mono prints.  Basically one puts drops of paint on glass or Plexiglas and then lays another piece of glass or Plexi over the dropped paint.  You press down on the glass pushing the paint out from the drop.  When you separate the two pieces of glass dendrites form.  Then the mono prints may be taken.  The dendrites look like coral but get their name from nerve endings and look like tree or bush branching.

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Nova (PBS) - Mystery of a Masterpiece - 3904 Leonardo da Vinci

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh350VRTWb8

Sumo Series 01

Sumo Series 01

In my new series, Sumo, there are 18 pieces, nine back-to-back.  The sumo wrestlers are Menko cards again and they stand up.  Some are full body and others are just the head and part of the torso.  They are all vintage.

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We are fortunate to have an Andrew Wyeth exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum until mid January.

BBC Michael Palin in Wyeth´s World

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNuGbKIoUds

Urgent C24 - A New Shabby Chic Series

This is another two-fer day.  I felt that since there was only one more piece in the series that I would publish both number 23 and 24.  Enjoy! :-)

Urgent C 24

This is the final piece in the Urgent C series.  You can view the series in total in the animated gif below.

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Urgent C23 - A New Shabby Chic Series

Urgent C 23

I have used this woman in a piece or two previously.   Sometimes I keep the alcoholic beverage and sometimes I use Photoshop magic to remove it.  I do like the repetition of the plus marks matching the large "embroidered" paper yarn plus in the upper right corner.

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Caravaggio: Man & Mystery

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_s6gj2KB7s

Urgent C22 - A New Shabby Chic Series

Urgent C 22

I usually do not center a focal point but this time I did.  I had to decide whether or not to keep the constable's arm in the piece or let the view finish him off knowing that the arm was there. You see what won!

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Roy Lichtenstein. The Art of Pop: Soup Cans & Superstars Documentary clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFglC4KAphc

Urgent C21 - A New Shabby Chic Series

Today is a two-fer again since I missed posting yesterday.

Urgent C 21

Creating backgrounds is my all time favorite part of creating a collage or mixed media piece.  For each of the works in this series the backgrounds unify the total series of 24.  Several people have commented to me on the richness of the color.  Holding the series in a hand feels good and perhaps that richness helps that feeling be created.

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The Power of Art - Mark Rothko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aqZXjoUNNs

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Urgent C20 - A New Shabby Chic Series

Urgent C20

Urgent C 20 has a happy feel and yet the cat seems to be fussing about something.  So there must be a little danger lurking.  Perhaps there is a secret reason for the cat’s disturbance??

Sorry I missed publishing yesterday, Friday.  I was enroute home from Oregon and totally got caught up in last minute walks on beaches and traffic.

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Constable: A Country Rebel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecVOwzG_Huk

Urgent C19 - A New Shabby Chic Series

Urgent C 19

In Urgent C 19 the colors in the background and of the man in the coat seem to perfectly match.  Thus complimenting each other.  There is considerable depth in this piece.  It moves into one of my favorites category.
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BBC Alastair Sooke: Treasures Of Ancient Greece - Aigai (Vergina) Macedonia 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3xFaaDDP0o&list=PLdO4f1_wrcd64ZKtSRqHsSqkuh6wBtWPU