Was a Work In Progress

Now I may just leave it.

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Have I posted these yet?

I can't remember if I've posted these or not yet so... here they are. Possibly again lol.

This one's for sale (the original drawing) at my Etsy store: Here.

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Le Macaron

One of my favourite things. :D

<3

Matisse, Kusama and Not Getting the Photo

A short while ago I made a trip down to the QLD Art Gallery, followed by the Gallery Of Modern Art in South Brisbane.
I had a whole bunch of ideas about this post, photos, information about the artists I saw etc etc.
Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and when I went to use my camera phone instead, I was told off by the overworked looking gallery staff :/
So here's all I got.

Taken covertly at the QAG when gallery staff weren't looking.

Only photo taken of the Yayoi Kusama exhibit (because I wasn't allowed to take photos of the Matisse exhibit, which was wonderful, by the way).

 Yayoi's exhibit was an amazing explosion of colour and installation that you really should see. I walked through her vibrant exhibition with a smile on my face and my mind ticking over with thoughts on consumerism, interactive art and what art is today. Great stuff.
She's 80+ years old and still making beautiful art.
For those interested: http://www.yayoi-kusama.jp/e/information/index.html


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Society 6

I've posted a few digital images for sale as prints at Society 6.
There should also now be a little widget on the side bar with my S6 shop that includes prints, laptop skins, phone skins and tees.
That is all. ^_^


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Girl with Berries v2 WIP

A while back I painted this quick digital painting for my (now defunct) 365Days blog.
I came across the original file while cleaning out my harddrives and without thinking started working on it again.
Here's a peek at how it's going.

The original:

Ugh, look at that neck, actually... don't o_o

 The work-in-progress edited version:

Obviously, a few changes here an there, (don't know what's happening to that branch yet) including the beginnings of a brand new hand... Godknows the poor girl needed one... -____-


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Back To Uni

Not sure if I mentioned this in an earlier post (losing track of A LOT lately XD ) but I'll be going back to uni next year; Bachelor of Fine Arts at the QLD College of Arts.
It's funny that it's taken me practically my whole adult life to finally do the one degree I've always wanted to do, ever since I left high school. Heh.

Oh yes, and since this is an 'art blog', per se, here are the latest things I've been working on:

A few mixed media pieces that are no also up at my Etsy store for sale. :D

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Artfire Store

I'm finally starting to get my act together with my Artfire store.

BumbleVee on Artfire

I've owned a store there for some time now but haven't had the guts to actually list anything! (had an Etsy store once, sold a few things then... it died o_o)
There's only a few items up at the moment but I'm slowly working on that but with money so tight right now, I figured it's time to get my butt into gear and try just about anything lol.

Wish me luck!


<3

Long Days

Decided to extend my stay here at my parents house for the weekend, I've been feeling a little isolated lately, so I'm glad for the company and easy conversation.
I've been trying to get my butt out of the drawing rut it's been in, it's sort of happening, sort of not... It's odd because I've been on such an artistic high lately, I guess it was only a matter of time before the crash, lol.

Anyways, I pushed myself to get at least something creative done yesterday and this is what I came up with. It's something, right?




These are tile-able images I've created for Spoonflower (this link will take you to my Spoonflower store/gallery), I'm going to get them printed on fabric then use said fabric to cover some books (click on the "all" tab to see the rest of my fabric designs that aren't for sale yet).
The flower image is currently set to private so this is the only place to see it. :3


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Finished Prints!

These are the four finished prints I've been working on.
They're all about 10cm x 10cm in size and cut from soft-cut lino. Printed with Derivan Phthalo Blue block ink on hand marbled watercolour paper. :)
I like how they turned out!

Also, this is the coloured print that appeared in a photo from the previous post, as a dear friend asked me to post a better pic of it.
The print is from an unused lino cut that I had initially made for the above series but found it didnt' match and was a little too big.
Printed with Derivan Green Deep block ink on cream mixed media paper then coloured with watercolour pencils. <3

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Lino Cutting My Way

I've been working on some prints for a mini prints competition.
I don't really expect anything to come of it but I've used the competition excuse to boot myself into making a series of related lino prints.
Here's an example of how I've been working - mind you, this isn't strictly the 'right way' to do this, I'm self taught here so this is just my way of doing things.

There are two ways I usually start:
Create a drawing on paper or draw the image directly onto the lino.

If I've gone with the pen and ink drawing then I usually trace the image onto tracing paper and transfer it to the lino block.

I begin by cutting out all around the outside of the linework with a small v-gauge.

Then I cut around the inside of the linework and start cutting away the filled white within the linework using the small v and u shaped cutters.

I cut away the excess lino with a blade.

Then begin cutting away the area outside the image.

 Once finished cutting I gather my materials and choose my papers - this also includes some cartridge paper for test prints.

Test my print while making small adjustments to the lino cut between prints until I'm happy with it.

Create my artist proofs before printing the final prints.

And that's it! :D

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A Long September

September hasn't been a very good month for me, it's thrown all sorts of nasties my way; family leaving, work problems, money problems, creativity problems.
Actually, this year has been more trouble than it's worth and though there have been some bright spots, they're very hard to focus on over the rest of the shit.
But September is finally over and one can only hope for the best from here.
I'll begin October with a few things I've been working on (or trying to!).

Arts.
I've actually got quite a few things to show since my last update, unfortunately, I'm currently at my parents house and the only images I have to show are some digital sketches and scans from the Art House Co-ops sketchbook project, which just happened to be the only things on my laptop XD

This is Zien. Heheh, haven't drawn one of my characters in a while...

Bookbinding.

These are the most recent bindings I've managed. It's been a little slower than i'd like but I like to hope I've improved, at least. 

(sorry about the photos for these, they were taken with my phone camera at my parents house -__-)

Case Bindings:

Exposed Spine Binding:
Binding with exposed spine on kimono fabric tapes, waxed linen thread, Japanese papers and bead embellishment.
I rarely make exposed spine books any more, I find the construction, though pretty and flat-opening, a little less resilient, flimsier, if you will, than casebound. It's probably not as bad as I make it sound, but I like the sturdy feel and structure of a completely cased in book. Still, these kinds of bindings have their place, and though it takes me a lot longer to make than a casebound, it's still a satisfactory feeling when it's done and always a striking result.

The paper I used for the bookblock for this particular book is called Como; a gorgeous, creamy, heavyweight, wet-media paper. It takes watercolour washes, inks, markers and all sorts of dry media. It has a light grain and is thick enough that each signature is a single leaf. Love.

Ledger Binding:

I'm going to be teaching a bookbinding class tomorrow starting with simple pamphlet bindings and ledger bindings like the one below. Hopefully, if there's enough interest, the classes will grow and I'll start teaching a few of the more advanced bindings that I know.

I'm actually pretty nervous, I've never taught adult classes before and being a self taught binder, I just hope people don't blast me for my methods which may not all be 'official'! XD

I'll really try to keep this updated more often, I've been doing a fair bit of experimentation with natural media lately; printmaking in particular, which I'm eager to show.
Thanks for sticking with me!

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Danger Daze Drawings

Just a small art update.

These are some drawings I made for a local zine published by an ex co-worker.

Pen and ink, digital and pencil, respectively.

Only two of these made it to printing though; the pencil drawing of the girl with the crown did not, I'm thinking it was perhaps because it was too cute for the "sci-fi, horror and bizarro" subject matter of the zine. XD

By the way, the Zine is pretty awesome, there is some amazing talent out there in Brisvegas!

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Lino Print Girl

Quick post before work.

I've been messing around with lino printing lately, this is my second attempt. First on this particular type of lino.

And this is after printing and worked over with pantone tria markers and white paint.

Apart from gouging out my finger tip with one of the blades, I think it turned out ok for a first try at this style of work. ^^

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Snapshots of Current Works in Progress

Here are a few updated 'snapshots' of what I'm currently working on. :)

Some of these you might have already seen early versions of, here or on my other (now defunct) blog.

All vectors, of course. I'm completely and utterly hooked.

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Moved... for now.

Have successfully moved into a new place off Tamborine Mountain (thankGOD for that!). This is, however, only a temporary move as I shall be moving into the city in early January-ish with the fantabulous Dr Nayu. I'm highly looking forward to moving to the big smoke! :D

Here's an arts in the meantime. :3

Cyber Blue - Vectors.

Available as a print on RedBubble and DeviantArt.

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Moving House + Arts

We're moving in about 3 days time so things are hectic and crazy and nerve-wracking, especially since we only found out TODAY that our application was accepted.

This, of course, leaves me with little time to work on my art or bookbinding projects (as most of my binding supplies are packed away anyway) and I'm sleep deprived and low on art motivation.

However, I have been working on a new vector illustration lately which will probably be finished after the move.

Hoorey! no more crazy long drives up and down the mountain!! :D

Here's a peek at what I'm working on:

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