Final Touches

 Do you have regular Go Tos when your work is ALMOST finished but still needs that 'sumthin sumthin'?

I do.

In no particular order...and you'll probably notice more than one in each of these!

1. Letraset (or Geoset) lettering. I often burnish across an entire line rather than an individual letter or number. They give a graphic quality that handmade marks cannot.

2. Handwriting ... usually in graphite. Sometimes I actually write real words (maker of things has the t's to cross, i's to dot and upper and lower case letters), sometimes I use asemic writing (lines that appear to form words but that are without specific meaning).

3. Ink or paint spray ... often but not limited to black. This gives a linear work a taste of randomness. I have to be careful with this one as I very often go overboard. 

4. Using gloss medium or gesso as a 'bring up/knock back' effect. This has become really useful when using gel prints as backgrounds (gesso) . For a long time, I've used a coat of gloss medium where I want to add transferred text or an image as it takes the transfers so much better than a matte finish ( added bonus: if you don't like it? easily wipes off!) I noticed that the layer of gloss, when added to just part of the piece (the bird in this one for example), really makes it stand out without altering colour or intensity.

5.  Text. Usually found, in that the piece did not start with a text prompt. I like using backwards text a lot. But also upside down text or random sentences. Often as stripes.

6. Circles, swoops, dotted lines, stripes. There aren't very many of my mixed media collages that don't have some form of these. They are my visual language but also serve to unify disparate elements into a more cohesive whole. 

That's just a half dozen of some of my final touches. If you have any that are your tried'n'true, I'd love to hear about them!

Read more

The Sort of Annual Revamp

 

Greetings My Friends! Welcome to my newly revamped website. As an ex-webdesigner this used to happen bi-annually, sometimes MONTHLY, but I actually really, really liked my previous site. Until I started getting sporadic, then almost daily, notices from Google saying this thing was wrong or that thing was throwing up an error and I realized it was time to bring my site up to date. So whilst it isn't nearly as "design-y" as the other template, this one is made for today's internet which apparently is very VERY important to marketing-types and the google. So. Change.

It also happens to be the time of year when I get that itch to SELL ALL THE THINGS! (likely from all the ads blasted my way to BUY ALL THE THINGS) and though I'm currently preparing for a local show (more on that later!) I will have a few things for purchase this holiday season. No secret that I am the world's worst at marketing my own work...still waiting on that Benevolent Art Agent to swoop down into my studio and take all my work out to the world...but decided to use my long neglected newsletter, Travelogue of an Artistic Mind, as a means of  showing and purchasing these pieces.

If you've been following along on Instagram  (and if not? you really should!) you'll know that I've been obsessed with Grid Journaling (thank you Kellee Wynn & Color Crush). You can read about that in my previous post. I did some mini landscapes and had A LOT to say about them over on Insta. In the end, I've come to really like them and after finding some mini 4.5"x4.5" birch panels, at the Dollar Store of all places, thought they'd be lovely little works, quick and easy to ship. They'll be ready to frame (a floating frame would be perfect!) or prop up on a shelf. So if you haven't yet signed up for my newsletter? Now's the time! 

And a quick note: if you're reading this from my #FridayMusings  email update, I've added you to the newsletter already. (super easy to unsubscribe if you're not interested!)

Read more