Taking Care of Things Neglected

Tags

Art, blog, Cereal Box Art, Journal

I finally have a little breathing room in my work schedule to take care of some things that have gone neglected.

A while back, I held a 150 Subscriber giveaway on the blog. The winner was Laurie, Blackbeary Forest. My intention was to work on the project a little every day and post my progress until completion. However, I lost my grip on that project until today.

I used the time that I normally spend creating my daily doodle to make some progress on the giveaway project. I frequently experiment with unusual techniques for my Youtube channel. This one involved attaching a cake decorating tip to a tube of acrylic paint as a way of creating dimension on the canvas. I don’t plan to make a video out of this one, because I ran into some problems. The main problem was that the tip I used was the smallest one available, and it required a lot of strength to force the paint through the tip. I wouldn’t use this tip again myself. I also found the tape wasn’t quite adequate in securing the tip, and the paint starting leaking. It worked well as far as advancing the giveaway canvas project, though. You lose some, you win some!

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2 Months Blogging

Tags

Art, Cereal Box Art, Daily doodle, Journal, Writing

This is my 62nd daily post, so it has officially been two months blogging. Reaching that milestone led to today’s doodle.

I’ve gained some confidence since I started this blog. In the beginning, I didn’t know if I would be able to keep it up. I still have a lot to figure out, but I planted the seed and committed to nurturing it, and I’m glad I did!

Today, I have just a little progress on the 150 subscriber giveaway project. Last night I troweled on some molding paste along the edges of the canvas. The purpose of this is to hide the seams created from the glued on Cheerios box panel.

Mouse-Zilla

Tags

Art, Cereal Box Art, Daily doodle, Journal

I was working on the 150 subscriber giveaway project, and I ran into a little setback. This incident inspired me to create this Mouse-Zilla character.

I planned an experiment with the Cheerios box panel I had painted yesterday. I tried to run that panel through my inkjet printer, but it turned out to be too thick, and my printer wouldn’t accept it. I thought I would have to abandon the concept, but then I thought of an idea. I decided to peel off a layer from the back of the cardboard to make it thinner. This actually worked, but it still almost jammed in the printer, and for a moment I thought it make break my inkjet printer! But it didn’t. It worked itself out. So it looks like I’m going to have to scrap the video I had planned for this weekend, because I don’t want to suggest a technique that could break people’s inkjet printers.

Anyway, after I printed the image, I trimmed the print to the size of the box canvas and used Elmer’s glue to glue it on.

I pressed it firmly and taped the edges to hold the panel in place. Then, I weighted it down with some paint bottles to be certain it will glue together nicely.

Tomorrow I will continue, once the glue has had the chance to dry.

Creative Paradise

Tags

Art, Cereal Box Art, Daily doodle, Giveaway, Up-cycling

I find the pursuit of dreams more interesting and entertaining than the actual attainment of them.

For example, over three years ago I started writing a novel for kids ages 9 to 12. It took me about three years to complete a finished draft. After showing it to a few editors, they all agreed the idea is original, but I need to keep working on it to make it marketable for retail booksellers. After three years of work, I decided to put that project aside for a while. Gradually, I’m thinking about returning to it. I might take it in a new direction. I’m getting ideas again. That project is more about the pursuit of a dream than it is about attaining a goal. I’ve enjoyed the process of writing that book, and part of me wants to keep it to myself, because finding a publisher would mean allowing someone else to have a great deal of creative power. That’s a difficult thing for me to do with a project that I’ve poured so much of myself into over such a long period of time.

Now, for the progress on the 150 subscribers giveaway project. I mixed chocolate brown with white acrylic to make a light tan and covered the whole Cheerios box panel. Then I mixed  colors with white and brown to soften them –  blue, brown, raw sienna, green and iridescent gold. I applied the colors with a trowel. I had to be careful not to scrape the surface, because I found the paint will easily scrape off the Cheerios box cover. Then, I troweled on some pure irridescent gold as an accent on top. I also brushed the iridescent gold onto the side of the Wheat Thins box. I stopped here today, because I need all of this paint to dry before I continue.

A Laugh A Day

Tags

Cereal Box Art, Daily doodle, Giveaway

Rachel’s comment on yesterday’s post inspired today’s drawing. She said the doodle of the Sharpie rocket made her giggle, which reminded me how important it is to laugh often.

Now, here’s the progress I’ve made on the 150 subscriber giveaway project. For the technique I will be using, I needed a piece of cardboard at least a half inch larger than the front cover of the canvas on all sides. I cut out the cardboard from a Cheerios box, but you could also use poster board as a substitute.

I painted it black.

I painted the sides and back of the canvas black.

I didn’t paint the cover of the canvas black, because the cereal box will be pasted over it anyway, so there’s no need to waste paint.

Tomorrow, I will continue to show my progress. When the piece is complete, I will show photographs, and I will post an instructional video.

 

 

Box Art—Day 4 Finished

Tags

Art, Cereal Box Art, Journal, Up-cycling, Writing

This is the final day of this box art series. I struggled today trying to decide whether the piece is finished, or if I should continue. How do you decide whether you’re being impatient or if the art is done and it’s time to move on? Maybe it has to do with whatever territory is being explored, and if it has been explored enough. This piece has served its purpose of opening up a new avenue – the idea of working on a project a little every day as a kind of meditation. I believe it’s time for me to move on to a new project for this blog. Here’s what I’ve done to put a period on this piece.

I smeared a little more color on the front.

I filled the blank areas with writing, starting with the side. “Search within for the answers.”

I just started writing on the back with whatever was in in mind at the moment – almost like an exercise in stream of consciousness writing. I realized my handwriting seemed very mundane, so I started experimenting with the way I was writing the letters.

and finally, on the top, I wrote “be true BE TRUE.”

Now it’s time to move on. I have no idea what I’ll start tomorrow. It could be a longer term project. Maybe something more involved with more detail, more planning. It’s up in the air. Tomorrow will provide an answer.

Box Art—Day 3

Tags

Art, Cereal Box Art, Up-cycling

Today I added hot glue to my box art, traced the hand, and added some dimensional swirl and stripe designs in hot glue.

I painted the hand black and dry brushed with bright copper iridescent acrylic paint.

I used a trowel like a palette knife to add more layers of color around the box.

That’s all I had time for today, but I will continue work on this tomorrow.

Box Art – Day 2

Tags

Art, Cereal Box Art, Up-cycling

This is day two of my Box Art series. Today I decided to paint each side of the box a different color.

I’m painting in acrylic, and I like to layer colors, so this is just a ground coat.

I intend to keep working on this until it transforms into something more than what it appears now, but for now, the bright colors are inspiring me.

What this piece will become by the time it’s finished, I have no idea yet.

Box Art

Tags

Art, Cereal Box Art, Up-cycling

Yesterday, I made a blank canvas from a box of Wheat Thins.  Just hot glue the lids closed. Cover it in brown acrylic paint (so the graphics won’t bleed through). Once the brown paint is dry, cover it with white acrylic gesso (or any acrylic paint color of your choice). You can see a tutorial on my Youtube channel called Cereal Box Canvas Part 1. But with this Wheat Thins box, I didn’t go through all the steps of taping it with masking tape. I kept this one simple, and I think the simple approach is my favorite. I’m starting a series on this blog where I will paint for a few minutes every day and show the daily progress.

Just as I was about to get started, I saw my Youtube channel had a new subscriber, Melanie (moonweavings is her Youtube channel). She had a message in one of her videos “Don’t think. Just. Paint.” – and it was just what I needed today before I got started. Here is her blog link. http://www.weavingthemoon.com/

 

 

I started out by tracing my right hand with a paintbrush and black paint held by my left hand. Then I wrote a message to myself. I will only have a few minutes each day to do this, because my schedule is so busy with deadlines, but this is my chance to play and meditate through painting.