“Three Guys Smoking Cigarettes on the Sidewalk”
20″ x 16″ 12/2023
Here’s another painting I did during my studio painting class at Woodmere Art Museum in December 2023. You may remember it from an earlier post. I worked on it at the same time as this one, below. You can see the two influenced each other. That is just how it works for me!
A while back I bought some 4″ x 4″ project panels in a class pack from Dick Blick. I’ve used this surface in many sizes and applications over the years so I knew I’d figure out what to do with them sooner or later.
Over a period of months I added a little this and a little that to my group of twelve. Paint, India ink, collage, and finally text. In particular the text was cut from poems in a proof copy of one of my poetry books (so it’s me talking in every one of these pictures???)
Here’s where I ended up.
I photographed them in pairs selected at random.
They do lend themselves to being arranged into pairs. Well, honestly, pretty much all of them work with each other, it’s just a change in what they say. Amusing and occasionally illuminating. They shuffle among themselves all the solutions to the problems of the world?
Think about it.
I did this painting during my studio painting class at Woodmere Art Museum, December 2023. The title tells you what I was thinking as I worked on it.
“I Can Do Anything I Want”
12/2023 20″ x 16″
We are on a journey through another one of my small artist sketchbooks. As with all my books of this type, I take a sketchbook and fill it with whatever I feel like doing at the time. No planning, just enjoyment.
This book was done between August 2020 and February 2022, more or less (I date each page as I do it).
I don’t go through the book page by page in order, though in general the earlier images are at the front and the later ones following – but sometimes I skip pages and come back later, or do some other thing. No reason, that is just how I do it.
Let’s take a look.
Here’s today’s page spread.
Here are individual views of the pages.
If you follow my poetry blog you know I am on a quest to visit each public library in my county, Montgomery County, PA, USA. As part of that activity I take photos of the libraries.
In late December 2022 I visited the Pottstown (PA) Regional Public Library in Pottstown, PA. (Look here to see the post I wrote about this visit.)
I decided to draw the library building. It’s a former post office which has been the library’s home since the 1960’s. Here is a photo.
In my drawing I decided to leave out the sidewalk system and replace it with a small yard, as I think it would have been originally.
January, 2023, pen and ink in my 8″ x 8″ sketchbook.
Here is another paint brochure embellishment experience (as I am calling it today). It’s a simple process: I look at the paint name and I draw something that fits it, as best I can. I did this set in December, 2022. This time I was using grays into blacks for my color scheme.
You know something, I first made one of these brochure drawing sets in 2015. Look here if you want to see it, and search this blog under the term “brochure” to see others.
Since that time, I’ve returned to the form again and again. It is relaxing to do this activity. Try it yourself.
And, I need to say, this idea was not original with me. I credit my blog friend A Certain Line with it, and here is the post that started me off on this path. I’m grateful every time I do another one of these sets.
I haven’t made a lot of ATC’s in the past couple of years. Don’t know why, just haven’t. I do have a lot of cardboard cut and ready, though. I use discarded cereal, cracker, etc. boxes for this purpose. In January, 2023, the time was right. I came up with these little cards.
(ATC = Artist Trading Card = 3.5″ x 2.5″)
When I do other projects, such as collage or Tiny Houses, I always have extra scraps of paper left over. And when I paint, I have excess paint on the brush that I wipe off on to stray surfaces; sometimes it’s paper (I then keep it for collage) and sometimes it’s ATC or postcard cardboard.
These little guys arose from these processes. They are all made of scraps and leftovers. What I did this time was decorate the ATC surface with leftover paint and printing, and then I cut up some strips of heavier paper that came from collage projects (using paper decorated with excess paint. See how it all goes in a circle?)
I like the look of these. They make me feel as if I am peering into a microscope, or out of a window of a spaceship, or into a deep forest. Or maybe lying on the ground looking at plants at ground level, pretending I am only 2 inches tall…
We are on a journey through another one of my small artist sketchbooks. As with all my books of this type, I take a sketchbook and fill it with whatever I feel like doing at the time. No planning, just enjoyment.
This book was done between August 2020 and February 2022, more or less (I date each page as I do it).
I don’t go through the book page by page in order, though in general the earlier images are at the front and the later ones following – but sometimes I skip pages and come back later, or do some other thing. No reason, that is just how I do it.
Let’s take a look.
Here’s today’s page spread. On the left, three versions I drew of myself from a photo, using blind contouring (cheating a little by cleaning up the images later); and the other one, well, the TV and table are like the ones we have here at home, the rest just filled itself in.
Here are individual views of the pages.
You may remember I made a small punch needle rug for my granddaughter:
Then I decided her parents needed them, too. So I got busy.
Here is the whole family!
My friend Diane! I made her a punch needle name rug. You’ve seen an example of a name rug before, when I made one for my granddaughter.
Diane and I have been friends forever. We met at a show many years ago when our booths were across from each other.
Here’s the little rug, it’s about 8″ x 8″.
Diane is still doing art. Take a look here if you want to know more!
Claudia McGill and Her Art World 