Monochromatic 07

Two-fer Sunday.  Yesterday was a busy day and so I am catching up on my posts...

Monochromatic 07

 This is the seventh and final ATC in the series.  Stayed tuned for what is next.

Monochromatic 06

Monochromatic 06

 This piece is so calming.  When I lived in Japan I went to see this torii near Osaka.  It is just beautiful there.

Monochromatic 05

Monochromatic 05

 I particularly like the red monochromatic look with the black accent. 

Monochromatic 04

 

Monochromatic 04

I guess one could say that there are two monochromatic emphases in this piece, grey/black and red.

I really like how they accent each other.

Monochromatic 03

Monochromatic 03

 I just love a pop of red.  I am sure I have told you the story of Poppa Red but here it is again for those who do not remember or who never heard the story.  In my art workshops I always talk about how just a bit of red or pop of red makes the composition.  It intensifies the other parts of the composition and it draws your eye to it as it stands out.  One of my students who had heard me say pop of red for several years finally asked me who the hell was Poppa Red!   I just love that.

Monochromatic 02

Monochromatic 02

 When I lived in Japan I had to have a bank account in order to do normal business.  Signatures are done using chop marks.  One goes to a store that sells chops and you are given a chop that is as close to the sound of your last name as they can find.  That is difficult for most westerners.  You are told not to lose your chop.  Well, I did.  So I could not do banking until I got another one.  The thing is chops are not made in duplicates easily.  It is kind of like fingerprints.  So I had mountains of paperwork to fill out because of the loss.  The banking clerk went with me to secure the second chop which you can see above.

Monochromatic 01

 

Monochromatic 01

My international group sends ATCs four times each year and we have a specific theme each time.  I made seven different ATCs and this is the first.  The stamp came from an artist I found on Etsy who lives in Malaysia.  

Rice Dance

Rice Dance

 Rice Dance is the last of this series.  This one is so happy that it is appropriate for the last one.  New adventures begin tomorrow. :-)

Sisters

Sisters

 This series is coming to a close in the next day or so.  It has been fun sharing it here.  I have several new series coming up.  Most of the postcards in this series were sent out to other artists.  So I have to get busy and start creating another postcard series soon as my supply is getting pretty small. :-)

Mutter Paneer

Mutter Paneer

 I just love Indian food and mutter paneer is one of my favorites, hence I had to call this one Mutter Paneer.

The shades of red are a success in this piece.  I had to do some PhotoShop work as there was some writing  across the lower portion of her dress.  The images comes from a vintage match box.

Worried

Worried

 Maybe the girl is like Alice who is worried about where she ended up in Wonderland.

Munchausen

Munchausen

 Even though the black circle is different than the other two circles it works at being the third.  The off setting of the black circle from the other two....a bit to the left...helps with movement in this piece.  Munchausen is holding cigar.  You might have to enlarge to see that.

Siren

Siren

 In this series I have placed focal points more in the center of the substrate than I ever have before.  In this case the reason was the background.  I liked the background so much I did not want to hide the circular shapes.

Dance, Girl, Dance

Dance, Girl, Dance

 I can incision the dancer moving through the background papers  suspended in midair.   There seems to be a freedom in this piece produced not only by the dancer but the background shapes.  

Sayonara

Sayonara

I love mixing abstract with realism.  Somehow I feel that this piece is soft, soft even though there are some bold colors and strong lines.  Perhaps it is the suit that the man is wearing, the color grey being soft. Perhaps it is the blue that softens the background.  I don’t know but I like how it all goes together.  It might just be my favorite of the series.

Learned Her Lesson

Learned Her Lesson

 She is troubled by something that she wishes she had not done.  Hopefully she has learned her lesson!

It is snowing like crazy here.  It is deep and also a very fine snow, like a powder.  The wind is blowing, too.  I guess we are having a blizzard.  It is suppose to snow all day today and tomorrow as well.  A white Valentine’s Day for the 14th.

The only thing I have noticed from does 1 of the Covid vaccine is a sore upper arm.

Anxious

 I like to look for geometric shapes in a piece of art.  In this case the two circular shapes and possibly the third one behind the gentleman or the head of the gentleman make a triangle.  One could even say that there are two triangles with the gentleman’s head being either the right corner of the first or the left corner of the second triangle.  It is almost like a right angled triangle and an isosceles triangle.

Another thing I like about this piece is that there is a narrative.  What is the gentleman afraid or anxious about?   What does he see or what is he thinking about? Maybe he is anxious about getting the COVID vaccine?  Speaking of which I got my first dose yesterday.  What an efficient system they had set up.!  My hat is off to the Snohomish County Health Department.  It was an organized easy system for the patient.

Smell the Flowers

Smell the Flowers

Yesterday afternoon I finally got an appointment for the vaccine.  I have to drive quite a distance this morning to the northern part of Snohomish County where I live  to receive the vaccine but it will be worth it.  A friend got her shot there yesterday and called to tell me all the details.  I have been trying for almost one month ever since people over 65 were allowed to receive the vaccine.  The system is a bit difficult to navigate and the number of doses available has been limited.  That is changing now that President Biden has taken charge.

Super Power

Super Power

 

Do you ever wish you had a super power?  I use to watch the show Bewitched and thought it would be so much fun to have the powers that Samantha had.  Disappearing and appearing; producing things with the twitching of the nose; and pretty much having everything you need or want with a snap of the fingers.  I would not want super powers to do good like Superman or Wonder Woman....nothing violent or crime fighting, but super powers to do good for those in need.  I love that Superman is wearing an apron.  It makes him more “normal”.

Stop in the Name of Love

Stop in the Name of Love

 The layering worked out in this piece, Stop in the Name of Love.  I just love the face ephemera and the fact that you can focus your eye two different way to see two different faces.

Straight Jacket

Straight Jacket

 I think this is such a bizarre image.  I just do not know how realistic it is for a straight jacket suit.  I have seen straight jackets but not for someone wearing a tie.  Maybe that is why I liked the image.

Worried Mexican Woman

Worried Mexican Woman

 I began this piece years ago when I was in Mexico.  While cleaning through papers and boxes of ephemera I found it again.  All it needed was the right ephemeral focal point.  I titled it thinking about two things, the immigrant issue on the US/Mexico border,  the plight of families dislocated from each other because of the previous administration’s lack of sympathy for the immigrant issue and the problems in Central America that cause the immigration issue in the first place.  People migrate because they have no other choice.  Survival dictates the move.  The United States has been built on immigration.  I hope that positive solutions can be found under the Biden Administration.  

I Am Falling

I Am Falling

I like that you have to look closely as if the focal point is somewhat camouflaged.  The woman gives movement to the piece just from the body angle and the placement of her arms.  Maybe the yellow and lavender “circle” draws me in first.  I think one has to spend a bit of time with this piece to figure it out. 

The Presenter

The Presenter

This series is all about the backgrounds and middle ground and how they interact with the focal point image in the foreground.  I rarely place a focal point dead center but because of the colorful circles being off center I think it works having her there.

Contemplation

Contemplation

 I have only been in a tuxedo a few times in my life.  I don’t think I even have photos of those times anywhere.  Black or white tie looks so nice but one has to have the occasion to wear such clothing.  It seems like we as a society have gotten very causal.  I do like to watch period pieces where the characters move in circles where dressing like this man occurs frequently.  Can you imagine dressing for dinner or the opera is common place?  Give me blue jeans any day.

Juggles

Juggles

The clown is another vintage paper doll with moving parts.  In this case the arms and the head were separate.  This piece makes me smile.  We need all the happiness we can get right now. :-)

 

The Answer is No!

The Answer Is No!

What a defiant look!  Or is it rejection or snobbery?  No matter, it is defining.  I might have to color the right arm a bit as it appears quite white in the scanned image.  I quite like the pattern of the dress along with the other patterns in the background.
 

Everyone's Looking

Everyone's Looking

 When I look at the composition of this piece holding the postcard in front of me I am fine with it. Looking at it online version I think perhaps it needs some more toward the top.  Perhaps it needs something going off the edges of the postcard.  I will thing about it some more.