Saturday, October 25, 2014

UArt 2014 Open winners

University Art, who sponsored the UArt Open 2014, sent me an email with the list of winners. I think they'll be putting these up on the website at some point, but for now, this is all we have to look at. The images are small, which is what they sent, so this is the best I can do, sorry. The show is up at their Redwood City store now through November 8th if you'd like to see these in person. I've put links to some websites, for the people I could find easily online.


BEST OF SHOW



1st Place: Vincent Lu, "Kung Pao Chicken" oil



2nd Place: Lynette Cook, "Connecting the Dots in My Life" acrylic



3rd Place : !!! ME ME ME ME !!! "Molasses Cookie" colored pencil


CATEGORIES

OIL & ACRYLIC


1st Place: Hallie McKnight, "Fedoras" oil



2nd Place: Laura Snable, "Dirty Dog Blues" oil & oil pastels



3rd Place: Andrew Morrison, "Timeless Tenderloin" acrylic



WATERCOLOR


1st Place: Nancy Near, "James M: Soul Man" watercolor



2nd Place: Debbie Bakker, "Lenox Lilacs" watercolor



3rd Place: Peter Carey, "Underwater" watercolor




DRAWING / PASTEL



1st Place: Arena Shaun, "Elegance-Life Drawing of Annie" charcoal



2nd Place: Samantha Holland, "Pele" drawing



3rd Place: Craig Sanborn, "Layers and Segments" graphite


MIXED MEDIA


1st Place: Jenifer T. Renzel, "Optical" mixed media



2nd Place: Davida Feder, "Woman Behind" mixed media


3rd Place: Noreen Rubay, "Trust" mixed media



EMERGING ARTIST


1st Place: Elaine Lu, "The E-generation" oil


2nd Place: Annie Zhang, "Keturah" acrylic


3rd Place: Katrina Hernes, "Paint Chip Portrait" mixed media




Sunday, October 19, 2014

Bleeding for my art

This is one little humble pimento olive - the kind you put in your cocktails. I haven't eaten many of these, not being much of a martini drinker, and was surprised to find I actually like them!



But that's not the whole story here. Look closely at the bottom edge of this drawing. See all those little red marks? They're BLOOD. I had a small cut on my hand that I didn't even know about, and accidentally rubbed the edge of the drawing. Eww. And then, hours later, I did it again, with a different scrape on the other hand. I know! I couldn't believe it either. 

Luckily, they were all along the bottom edge, so I was able to just trim them off. People on Facebook seemed to think it added value to the art, but I'm not so sure. I think its just icky.

So here's how it looks all cleaned up (blood, and also the background) for prints. 



I can't seem to look at any food now without seeing it in this 'top, side, and section view' way. I find myself analyzing things in the grocery store for their drawing potential, trying to visualize them cut open, and lined up like this. I've bought a few things that didn't turn out to be very good subjects, but luckily since its all food it just gets worked into dinner or a snack.

Oh, this was done with Prismacolors on Bristol, and is 4" x 9".

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

A bicycling cat



This is Seth. He is a cycling enthusiast. He especially loves taking long rides in the Fall, when the air is crisp, and he can wear his tweed trousers and favorite sweater. After a good ride he always stops in the pub for a pint of milk and a good chat with his mates.


Wednesday, October 08, 2014

Plaid, chocolate, and an award


I love plaid! It must be my Celtic roots. I don't think I've ever met a plaid I didn't like (unless it was shiny, cheap fabric). I'm a big fan of the show Outlander on Starz - men in kilts, lots of plaid and also some nice knitted things. 

This little drawing is an artistic interpretation of the Chisholm clan tartan. Doing a pattern like this is kind of like meditation. Once I get the color pattern worked out, I can kind of zone out and think about other things while I do the coloring. Its a good way to keep my mind what I call "passively active" - I think its sort of like when you're in the shower, and some idea comes to you, or when you're driving, or knitting . . . your brain is working on the task at hand, but also open to receive thoughts or creative ideas or whatever. I'm not explaining it well, but you know what I'm talking about.





I also love chocolate! This is a Milky Way Dark Mini candy. Its wee tiny - a little more than an inch square. But its packed with lots of chocolate and caramel goodness! These are pretty addictive, because they're so small.

This is 5" x 7", and a little larger than life. I used all Prismacolors, on Fabriano Artistico paper.
I have prints in the shop. I may list the original too at some point.





And then . . . drumroll . . . my little Molasses Cookie drawing has won an award! It won 3rd Place - Best of Show in the UArt Open 2014 competition! This is a regional show, sponsored by University Art. They have art stores in Sacramento, San Jose and Redwood City, CA. All the accepted entries will be on display in their Redwood City store - 2550 El Camino Real - from October 25th through November 8th. If you're in the area, please go have a look!

I was especially proud of this little drawing because its so small and kind of quiet. Its only 8" x 10", and not showy or colorful. My Berry Tart drawing was also accepted into the show, and to be honest, I figured if either drawing had a chance at winning something, it would be that one - its bigger, and 'prettier'. Just goes to show, you never know with these things.




It doesn't feel very much like Fall here yet, with 90 degree temperatures still keeping things too warm for my taste. But its getting dark earlier, and I love quiet evenings, working on my art or knitting, while the kitties come and go, stopping in for a snack, then going back outside to lounge on the porch or explore. Soon it will be time to buy the Halloween candy - more chocolate to draw!