Re-Creation

Okay, I know I have been all over the place with my blogs but, summer has a way of throwing your usual schedule off.  Tomorrow, I will be a little busy, so I thought I'll write my blog and post it today.  It finally stopped raining here long enough to mow the yard and have some friends over which was wonderful.  I sure hope you get to enjoy the summer this week too!

In college I took this awesome class that combined my two majors....painting and photography.  It was a 5 1/2 hour class twice a week.  Which seems crazy but it was a lot of fun and we had breaks to get lunch and supplies, as long as we were working hard on our projects and getting them done.  One assignment in our class was to take a painting we enjoyed and re-create it in a photograph.  This was a way for us to figure out lighting and editing while studying a painting.  I loved using my friends as models for my artwork so I knew I wanted to ask my friend and roommate to model for me.  But the question was, what painting?  Then, I remembered my friend's favorite painting that hung in the Houston Art Museum, Kees Van Dongen's The Corn Poppy:

As you can see....this one would be hard to re-create because it isn't realistic.  But I knew it would be fun to make my friend into her favorite painting.  So we gathered up a brown sheet, a red shirt, and a white bathrobe and went to the studio to see what we could do.  This is what we came up with:

Fun right?  Now their are obvious differences but still close similarities.  This project was fun. Another student in the class asked me to be her model for the painting The Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David.  Since I was pale and skinny like Marat in the painting...I was perfect for the job. 

So my fellow classmate gathered up some stuff and I kept a shirt on for obvious reasons and tied a white shirt around my head and posed.  I want to apologize for the photo I have of the finished work...I didn't get one with it that was better quality at the time.

I had a lot of fun modeling for this picture.  So let me give you an assignment (the teacher in me said that...) this summer re-create one of your favorite paintings as a photograph.  I guarantee it will be fun and you can learn so much about your favorite painting by searching for those little details to re-create.  I'll do one too.  I'll share mine sometime this summer and maybe you can share your's in the comments below or to me personally and I can share them in my blog.  Have fun re-creating friends and remember to be the best artist you can be!

P.S. Happy Birthday to my model/friend/roommate! 

A New Kind of Canvas

Have you been getting rain?  Most of the country seems to be and boy is it good!  Well....until it starts to flood and most people don't own a boat so, flooding can be a bad thing.  We have had tons of rain and luckily the last few days the sun came out for a visit.  We will have more rain coming so I have been getting what I can done around the yard.  Plant some plants, prune some shrubs, and check on my garden.   All is well here and I sure hope you are doing well and keeping safe there.

I always like introducing you to new artists I stumble upon here and there and this week I thought this artist was doing some really neat things.  Now...she doesn't use a canvas or paper but...PEOPLE!  Yes, people.  Her name is Alexa Meade and she has found a neat way to combine performance art and well art together to make some mind blowing work.  She takes a person and paints them into a scene she painted already to make a living person into artwork.  Basically, making a three dimensional person two dimensional that looks three dimensional.  Do you follow?  I know confusing but see the image below where Meade is working on one of her models.

Looks neat right?  It almost makes you question what you are really seeing.  Could it be expressionism mixed with realism?  But then look at the eyes of the model...you can see it is a real person sitting there being painted into the scene by Meade.  

Artists like Alexa Meade must have fun doing the art they do but we also have to remember that it takes a special eye to create such work.  There are tons of artists out there doing some great work.  So take some time and do a search on these artists to see what clever things they are thinking up.  Maybe, try something unique yourself.  It could be a lot of fun.  

Check out more art by Alexa Meade HERE!

Go out and be the best artist you can be!

Do not forget I have some artwork for sale at my Etsy Shop

Tools

Sorry again to miss Tuesday.  I was out shopping for clothes for my little one.  I just couldn't help myself....I just had to buy him some Hawaiian shirts for the summer.  My husband loves Hawaiian shirts so my son just had to have some to wear with him.

As you work on your artwork, you know that more often then not, you are using tools to create the work.  Some artist use recycled material to avoid high cost of tools but in the end...you always need something to create...well something.  If you paint for example you could choose to buy your canvases and frames or you can choose to make your own.  In college I had a whole wood shop at my disposal which I miss because there were tools available to me that I am still trying to acquire.  The quality of your own work when you build your stuff yourself....is so much better.  But sometimes when you are in a pinch and you still have yet to own all the tools you need...like me....sometimes buying pre-made stuff just has to happen.

But, this is not just limited to power tools, this can talk about the quality of your paint brushes.  I have a variety of brushes that range from the cheap craft brushes to the higher quality more expensive brushes.  I have found the difference is....the bristle. With a cheaper brush you will find some of your bristles falling off into your paintings which is just a pain in the bottom.  So sometimes owning a nicer brush makes all the difference.  But do not get me wrong....you can create art with just about any tool as long as you know how to use it.  One of my favorite brushes was this little tiny one that I used to add my detail and one day I was cleaning it in the sink.  Well, my hands were soapy and it slipped between my fingers and fell down the sink.  That brush is greatly missed but I recently replaced it with a simple craft brush.  I love it and it goes to prove that you can use a tool of any kind to create work.  Luckily, I have not had to pick out bristles in my paintings...so far.

So remember your tools and to take care of them.  With paint brushes clean them well....not with just water but a little dish soap really keeps those bristles soft and clean of any excess paint. If you are using oil paint, the best soap is Murphy's, it cuts the oils to get that brush clean.  Take care of all your tools to make them last as long as possible.  Tools can cost a lot of money so keep them clean, taken care of so they can last as long as you do.  Maybe my Hawaiian shirt wearing toddler can inherit all my tools one day hopefully to create artwork.  Take care and keep being the best artist you can be!!

Humbling (for sale)

Tertiary

Hello again friends! Sorry for not posting a blog last week.  I had this one already written ahead of time and was ready to post it last Tuesday but forgot and then next thing I know it was Friday and it was too late.  Sooooo I just skipped last week.  Now that things are getting back to normal in my house I plan on keeping my usual schedule for my blogs.  So keep reading and checking back to see what new things you can learn each week.  I do plan on getting the videos going again so stay tuned this summer we can get back on track.

Now, hold on to your hats this next color term can be confusing in writing but I will help give some visual examples to help you understand.

Tertiary colors are when one primary color (red, blue, and yellow) are mixed with a secondary color (green, orange, and violet).  Hopefully, that seems fairly simple but I will help by giving examples using a color wheel:

Notice the primary colors and secondary colors have a color between them.  That is your tertiary color.  So when you mix red + violet = you get red-violet.  When you mix blue + green = you get blue-green.  Understand?  Now you know the correct term for those colors.  Have fun mixing paint and you can see how many colors that are out there from just primary and secondary color combinations.  

Please do not forget to visit my twitter @BrennaDaileyArt and my Etsy shop atwww.etsy.com/shop/BrennaDaileyArt

Monochromatic

I know that I am a day late in posting my weekly blog and I am sorry.  I have family visiting tomorrow and needed to get some much needed cleaning done first.  My son is turning one this Friday and I am excited and sad at the same time.  I am sad because the year went so fast and he has grown from being my little baby to my little boy who loves to understand the world around him.  Everyone always says "the first year goes so fast" and I know I am going to say the "cliche" comment to that statement....they were right.  But, I am so excited to see my son grow and see his little personality bursting at the seams.  I love him dearly and can not wait to teach him about art, like I am teaching you.

Today, I am going to give a short lesson on "Monochromatic".  According to Merriam-Webster Online dictionary the term Monochromatic is defined as: having or made up of one color or shades of one color.  I would like to add to that definition by first saying the word color can be called "hue".  So Monochromatic artwork is made up of tints and shades of one hue.  So if you have a painting that is monochromatic....you would only use say for example, red.  ONLY red.  That is it!  So, that is what makes it monochromatic.

I can not talk about monochromatic work without talking about Pablo Picasso and his famous "blue period".  While Picasso was creating work between the years 1901-1904 he only created blue monochromatic paintings while he lived in Barcelona.  During this time, like most artists, he had trouble selling these famous works but of course has sold them now after he has passed and it has become one of his most famous periods of creating work.  Why he did this...not many people can explain.  I like to think he was sad....that's why he chose to use the color blue.  Either way, this is a great example of monochromatic painting.

So, go out and try and create a monochromatic piece of artwork.  You might just find that it can be more difficult then you think.

"The Old Guitarist" by Pablo Picasso

Color in Film and TV

After my son goes to bed at night my husband and I try and watch a show together if its not too late. Lately we have been watching "Dexter". It is a show about a serial killer who kills only people who are bad. Their is more to it but that is a brief summary. It is a dark show to watch but I'm curious to how it will end.  Well, I noticed the colors in the show seem to be red and green. The set design, lighting, and costumes all seem to keep that theme. So, it got me to thinking lets talk about color in film and shows.

"Dexter" and the use of greens and reds

I know I am no movie expert or very active movie watcher (anymore, after a kid who has the time?) but I, like most movie fans, notice different things in movies. I guess I notice things differently then others because I think about how it can become art but we all can agree movies use color to set a certain theme. Green lighting is one of the most unsettling colors you can use so why not use it in a horror film when the audience needs to be on edge to fully experience a scary scene. Now of course we need to mention the use of red in horror films for well, obvious reasons. It is one of the most common used colors because it creates alertness and caution for the viewer. Horror likes to make you feel as uncomfortable as possible so the director can achieve the desired effect.

I have always loved musicals. One of my favorite things musicals do is have the women wear a bright color under their dress. If the woman is wearing white and starts dancing and kicks up her dress it is red underneath. "The Music Man" does this and it is so playful which is exactly what they were going for....a playful scene to make you feel happy. I loved this so much I had my wedding dress lining be blue. So when I picked up my dress you saw a flash of blue which was also my something blue. Another great playful show with color is "Pushing Daisies". That show had great set design full of vibrant colors to make it a show that showed life which if you know anything about the show you would find that funny and true.

Here is the "Shipoopi" music scene from the 1962 "Music Man" that has the different color under the dress.

"Shipoopi"-"The Music Man"

A still of "Pushing Daisies" use of color

So next movie you watch or show you enjoy, pay attention to the colors and let that help you see what it is really about. Enjoy!

Planning

I have been prepping my yard and garden to plant the last few weeks. Could have a lot to do with the fact my parents will be visiting soon and I am surely my father's child because he does the same before they have visitors. I pulled out an old sketchbook to draw out my plans and saw all my old sketches. Preparing is so important when it comes to many things but with art, it is extremely important.

My order in telling you these things is clearly off but, I need to tell you the importance of sketching out an idea. Starting just on the canvas you will get frustrated trying to work out problems on your final product. Then, it will not look the way you want in too. You saw that happen when I was trying to paint the orange slice in my video. I didn't prepare and tried to work out the problem and it was a huge mess. So, always start with a sketch even if you feel silly doing so, the problem will not seem as big later when you work it out there.

I have many sketchbooks all over the place. My sister just told me she found some of my old ones when cleaning out her old bedroom closet. How they got there I have no clue but, that just goes to show you they are everywhere. Its funny the memories they hold from different projects I have done. Currently, I am using one that has my plans from my senior show I did in college. Even then I planned out my layout of where to put things. That same sketchbook has sketches I did in a class with one of my favorite professors who died not too long after I graduated. It is sad to be reminded of his passing but, nice to remember how much I learned in his class.

Anyways....I wanted to remind you to pull out your sketchbooks and sketch out those ideas you have swimming in your head so, you can see if they are worth pursuing. Even work out the problems they may have in accomplishing on a larger scale and how to do so. Have fun and maybe even go out and sketch outside. Maybe just maybe those sketches might be worth something one day when you are famous!

I will leave you with one of my old sketches

Also please visit my Etsy Shop and Twitter @BrennaDaileyArt