Recycling Vintage Plates to make Art

Tarantula

Instead of buying expensive, yet cheaply made canvas imported from china; the recycler in me has come out to play and used these old plates I got at a thrift store to create some fun new pieces of art. I am thinking of doing a whole series of these based on animals, plants and maybe some of my favorite fairy tales/stories.

Luna Moth 

I first applied golden absorbent ground, (my new favorite medium that allows you to paint water-based paint, like gouache on almost any surface.) I then painted my luna moth and tarantula on the center of the plates and after it had dried I applied a spray gloss to seal everything and make it water proof. These plates will not be food safe but they will make a fun and unique piece of wall art, (easily hung with a $2 plate hanger form a hardware store).

"Intertwined" gouache on canvas

New illustration  I just finished. A look at the beauty of life and death. It was a work in progress for a long time and now it is finally done. I especially had fun with the colors and details on the clematis flowers. Prints are available on my new website hosted by  otherpeoplespixels. I recently switched from creating my own website to this web service for creatives and I love how easy it is to upload my artwork. It takes about 5 min or less to upload a new image and I can even sell it directly on the website through paypal with no commission taken. Its a great service for any illustrator!

A Seal's Dream - Illustration Friday: Vocal

Inspired by some old Disney nostalgia I created this painting for Illustration Friday: Vocal. Painted in gouache paint on paper it reminds us of a simpler time when we listened to cassette tapes of the song of mystical creatures from the sea.

Illustration Friday: Swamp

"Fantastical Frog" Painted in gouache on paper. A frog with a swamp growing on his back filled with other critters. (Got it done by friday but didn't get to scan it till today)

Nerd Art: A Tribute to Dice Games

Here are some paintings, "Blue Dragon" and "Beholder", that I recently completed for some friends and family. They are influenced by fantastic creatures from Dungeons and Dragons, a wonderfully nerdy pen and paper game that inspires creativity not about summoning demons (as some may think).

I am trying out a new technique of using Golden Absorbent Ground to use gouache, a water-based paint on canvas. The absorbent ground is a white paint that is painted on a surface to create a ground for water-based media. I purchased pre-gessoed canvas and painted the whole surface, covering it entirely with a coat of the chalky white absorbent ground. Once it dries the new surface absorbs water like paper and any water media, ink,watercolor or gouache can be painted on the canvas.





The gouache goes on smooth and flat and dries to a papery matte finish which works well on some artwork. In this case I put a clear acrylic gloss over my paintings to protect them from possible damage in the mail and also give them a deeper color and gloss. I did learn that since the gloss is also water-based, it causes the gouache to run if not painted on quickly. If one quick coat is applied then dried it will not run with sequential coats of gloss.

Artescape Studio Holiday Sale

The Holiday Sale at my new art studio was a success! We had 13 artists displaying their amazingly diverse work as well as our 5 studio members! We had a glass blower, seamstress, jeweller, doll maker, photographers, oil painters, printmaker and more. The show sold over $1,400 in locally made handcrafted art and craft goods. It brought a community of artists and art lovers together to experience the local side of holiday shopping. It was a very fun and rewarding event and we hope to have our next show be as successful! We will be having a spring show with another open call for art, details will be announced on our website as well as Mnartists.org. See photos below and on our website homepage.

Holiday Sale at Artescape Studio

The studio I started this fall;
Artescape Studio is having a Holiday Art & Craft Sale featuring art from both the coop members and other local artists. Over 20 artists will be selling their work! Buy a one of a kind piece of art for your loved one this holiday season and support a small local cooperative studio!

Sale Info:

Friday, December 9th ~ 4- 10 pm

Saturday, December 10th ~ 12 - 7 pm

Art for sale includes: watercolor paintings, blown glass, fiber arts, clothing, gouache paintings, pen & ink drawings, greeting cards, jewelry, fine art prints, illustration, oil & acrylic paintings and more.

Free mulled wine, spiced rum cider & seasonal snacks.

(if interested in submitting your art into the sale, email - artescapestudio@gmail.com)