I Love Typography

Here's a short little video about the alphabet. (I just happen to love typography. You may not know that about me.)


The Alphabet from n9ve on Vimeo.

AJC Week 5 - Quote

I wrote this after reading a poem by Paul Andrew Russell. You may find it here: http://www.paulandrewrussell.com/?p=1143  His work is always so beautiful that I feel like it is senseless for me to even try to write anything. Oh well.

ACJ Week 5 - Pause 2

Some elements from Tangie Baxter's Caravan kit.

AJC Week 5 Verb - Pause

Elements from Tangie's new Tribalation kit.

AJC Week Four Affirmation

Background by Tangie Baxter. Keyboard by Pixelworks.

Billizetti Discovers Frida During His Artist Caravan Journey

 

Elements from Frida kit by Christine Honsinger.

Take A Word Challenge #13 - Botanical

Art Journal Caravan Verb Week 4 - Stretch

Quote provided by Tangie Baxter, creator of the Art Journal Caravan. Craziness provided by me.

Trees

Steamtrunk Secrets

Very Depressing Week - Party Dreams

I don't know why, but I've been having a terrible time fighting depression this week. My friend M posted a picture on her Ning site, though, that has given me some happy thoughts. I had to fool around with the picture a little, obviously, since that's what I do. The original picture was of Henry Miller's typewriter.

Here's the fun dreams I've been having about it:

If only to have a party like the picture suggests! Everyone have an old typewriter, and type wonderful stories while sipping mint juleps, and acting very Henry Millerish. Or Earnest Hemingwayish. And having high tea with little fairies sitting at our sides eating forget-me-not sandwiches and plenty of lavender cookies and even raspberry cordial. I wonder why this photo makes me imagine all these things? M's fairy candle jars would be lit all over the place and everything would be so magical! It would be such a great time. Kimmie would have to be there, and Roberto so we could paint ourselves with glitter all over and we could dance a Irish Jig and just be crazy. And June would put a sail on her wheelchair and sail across the Atlantic so she could join us, too. What a glorious party it would be!

Sometimes it's just fun to dream!

In The Beginning . . .

Digital Whisper Challenge #83 - Surreal

I'm not sure if this is surreal, but it's weird!

French Butterfly

People have called me a lot of things - crazy, nuts, retarded, stupid, whatever - but this is the first time someone has turned me into a butterfly. My friend Marguerite from Hearts Desire 4 Joy has been participating in the butterfly project I mentioned earlier. She decided she is going to create a butterfly every day for a year. Whoa! That's a lot of butterflies! Evidently, she decided I needed to be a butterfly, a French one at that. (I am Canadian French, but unfortunately, cannot speak the language.) Anyhow, here is how M, as we affectionately call her, envisions me as a butterfly:

 

Finished?

I didn't let my inner critic beat me down. I finished my painting. It is the weirdest thing I've ever done, but I love it! I was thinking of adding a zetti character stamp, but I don't know if that would be over kill. Anyways, if you don't think this is wonderfully insane, don't tell me, because I can hardly beat my inner critic down as it is. I take Mystele's classes, because they help me to do that. At least with this painting I feel like a true multi-media artist. Yay!

Making Headway - Gut Streetscape

Butterfly Project

I am so happy I participated in the Butterfly Project. If you haven't read about it yet, you can get all the information here:

http://twodressesstudio.blogspot.com/2010/08/butterfly-effect-open-is-calling-you.html

I'm especially happy today, because my butterfly finally arrived in Canada, and is now included in the huge group of butterflies waiting to sail away to their final destination.

My butterfly is the lower left corner. Yay! Just click on the picture to see a larger size. There's still plenty of time if you were like to join in.

My painting continues (from Gut Art class)

My painting looks so sick right now, but I've never felt happier or had more fun creating a painting. I just added a layer of darker colors. I added the windows before that. The windows are cut up French postcards, and are French writing. Mystlele has taught us to build layers of colors, which has been a difficult concept for me to learn. But I think I am learning it. Anyway, here's my painting now. Please don't laugh. It will look interesting eventually!

Art Journal Caravan 11 Week 3 - Verb - Travel

Where is my gut taking me?

The painting I'm working on looks quite a bit different from yesterday. I have no idea how it's going to end up. But it's definitely heading somewhere.

I'm happy that I'm actually creating something physical as opposed to digital art. You can't hit the delete key with physical art. Well, we'll see what tomorrow brings.

By the way, I've been listening to CocoRosie and Antony and the Johnsons while painting. I've turned into such a weirdo! It's so much fun!

From Coffee Grounds Painting Grows

Well, you'll have to read my post below before this will make any sense. This is the progress I've made so far with my coffee ground paper towels. It's kind of like a pile of red throw-up at this point. I'm talking about me being in the picture. Then there's the painting itself. Egads! What in the world will that evolve into? I guess time will tell. That's what happens when you paint from the gut.

Coffee Grounds

I think I mentioned in a couple of posts back that I am taking Mystele's "Gut Art" class at http://littleglimpsesstudio.ning.com/

I have to tell you about an experience that took place this morning that relates to a painting I am starting for Mystele's class. I already wrote the experience down in her Ning class room, so I just copied it and put it here. Before you read it, though, I need to find a picture of coffee or something to put here, because I can't stand a pictureless blog post!

My Dearest Mystele,

Although I have found the last few months of our acquaintance to be both stimulating and enlightening, I'm afraid I have no choice but to make this a Dear John letter. Your teaching me to reach from my gut has opened a world that was perhaps better left closed. Let me explain.

I am home from work again after having another night of my crazy attacks. I didn't get up until 11:00 am. The first thing on my mind was a cup of coffee. Nothing strange there. I proceeded to make the coffee. The beans we had previously ground were gone, so I had to get out the grinder and grind some more beans. (Man. It sounds like we're coffee snubs!) I emptied the used filter from the coffee maker, and put in a new one. I then dumped in the newly ground coffee. I went to hit the "on" switch, and remembered it might help if I poured some water in first. I measured out four cups of water, and poured it in. Once again, that's a completely normal thing to do. Except, there were now 8 cups of water in the maker instead of 4. I had already poured water in when I started the whole process. Oh well. I lifted the new coffee filter with ground coffee out so I could dump out four cups of water. Mission accomplished, I put the coffee filter back in and turned the coffee maker back on. I had my laptop on the kitchen table, so I opened it up to see what the latest adventure would be in our group. I heard the coffee dripping merrily away behind me.

A few minutes later, it dawned on me that the coffee had stopped dripping. I got up to pour myself a wonderful first cup. The aroma was wafting through the entire kitchen. When I turned around, I was very happy I wasn't holding my laptop. Coffee was all over the counter top, dripping down the cupboards, and puddling on the floor. Yes, I had forgotten to put the pot back in the coffee maker. After a few sighs, I grabbed the paper towels and started wiping up.

"So what does any of this have to do with me?" you ask. The next part is where I cross over to the "art maniac zone," a place I don't believe I have ever been until I met you. My wife had purchased paper towels that would allow you to use half a normal size sheet if that was all you needed. I didn't know that, and had grabbed a full sheet. The sheet was so wet, and so full of coffee grounds, that it separated into two half sizes. The first thought to race into my mind was, "Oh my word! This looks just like a building. Think of the texture! It would be perfect for my painting!" Dropping coffee grounds along the way, I raced upstairs and placed the wet, coffee stained towel right where I wanted a building. That's when it hit me. I had become a total art, multi-media maniac! Well, I'd have to consider that more fully later. I had a lot more coffee to wipe up. I ran back downstairs and finished cleaning up the mess. I had two fully saturarated paper towels in my hand, and opened the cupboard door to through them in the garbage. It then hit me. These would make excellent texture for the road I wanted in my painting. I ran back upstairs with the towels dripping, and added them to the bottom of the painting. I stood there and looked at my creation. I smiled, but then shook my head. What had become of me? What had Mystele done to me? How would I ever explain this to my wife?

Oh my word! How am I going to explain this to my wife?! I'm going to have to finish this Dear John letter at another time. I have to figure out how to hide my mess before my wife gets home! Wait a minute. What did I do with the filter? It's round. That would make a perfect sun!

So, yes, whoever may be reading this blog post, I have totally lost it! Here's a picture of the canvas so far:

Melting Ice

I read a poem on a blog that inspired this picture and short poem.

I wanted to add the link to Martin's blog in case you would like to visit it. http://starwatcher215.blogspot.com/

AJC 11 Week 1 - Quote

 

Bird element from "Callisto" kit by Studio Rebecca.

AJC 11 Week 2 Affirmation - Thrive on Art

Thrive #2 - Parched

AJC11 Week 2 Verb - Thrive

Parents can't tell their children enough that they love them. Without that love, all of us shrivel up and die.

Background layer by Tangie Baxter.

Too Cute!

How can anyone resist little faces like this?

I grabbed this photo from msnbc.com. It isn't mine, and I do not have any rights to it. I hope the Internet cops will not put me in jail for posting it. But these little creatures are so cute, I just couldn't help myself. This is what the article said:

Luke Marsden/Newspix/Rex 

It's not only humans who are suffering due to the recent floods in Australia. Australian Bat Clinic and Wildlife Trauma Centre director Trish Wimberley and her carers have helped save 130 orphaned bats on the Gold Coast in past weeks. They saved 350 young bats during the 2008 storm season but this year think there's more going on than just wild weather. Carers have visited several bat 'camps' on the coast in recent weeks to find four-week-old babies on the ground covered in maggots and fly eggs. Trish said: "They're coming down to feed on the ground. That makes them vulnerable. It's not a natural occurrence and shows there is trouble in the environment. "Bats are a barometer to what is going on in the environment. They're our canaries down the coal mine". The surviving youngsters will be bottle fed and kept either hanging on clothes lines or in special intensive care units until they are ready to fly again in about four weeks.

Digital Whisper ATC Swap - January - 2011 Resolution

The actual ATC is the lower left corner. I added it to a page for my Art Journal Caravan journal.

Nightmares

Unrequited Love

Yay! Time for some depressing drivel!

Rob O'Shea

Rob O'Shea is a dancer from Ireland. I don't quite know how I keep meeting people like June and Rob from across the big ocean, but that's the wonder of the Internet. I'm afraid it's Rob's turn now to be steampunked and zettified! (The steampunk elements are from a kit by Marta van Eck.)

Mystele's Gut Art Class

If you ever need encouragement to draw and paint, or perhaps you don't do it because you have no idea what your style is, then you should sign up for Mystele's Gut Art class. It just started today, and I already love it. I have always had the ability to draw and paint, but I don't do it, because I get totally uptight thinking that nothing I do will be good enough. It's ridiculous, but it's torture for me to create anything other than digital art.

I took a class from Mystele before, and actually painted an entire picture that I love! Now tonight, I  drew a crazy portrait. You have to do it without worrying about whatever comes out, and just let your gut take over. It works! Here's the picture and post I put on her Ning site a little while ago. No, the art isn't great, but who cares? I did it and it's fun! Besides, I am crazy.

Here's the link to her site if you would like to check it out: http://littleglimpsesstudio.ning.com/ Nope. I don't get paid for sending you there. :O)

Traveling Clothes

Every new journey requires some new traveling clothes. Unfortunately, it looks like I'm going to be stuck with a bunch of women on this caravan, and I'm going to have to find my own special look. (Not that there is anything wrong with being stuck with a bunch of women. But it doesn't appear I will find much in the way of clothing for the well-dressed man in the digital element kits we will be purchasing throughout the trip.) Being the self-sufficient and talented zetti man that I am, I came up with some appropriate attire. Remember, this crazy year-long journey is going to require some camel riding. We must be prepared for anything!

ACJ 2011 - Page 1

Take A Word Challenge #10 - Zetti

I had the privilege of being selected by the talented women of the Take A Word blog to be the one to create a sample piece of art for this week's word "Zetti." Plus, it's the first word for a whole new year! If you followed my former blog at the Artella Cafe, you already know I love zetti art. Probably because it goes very well with my crazy personality. Alright. I know. Quit typing already and show you the art!

 

This zetti picture may be a little unusual compared to what you are use to seeing. You probably imagine zetti as something with stripes, dunce caps and buggy-eyed people. You are right! I created this digital collage, though, using digital scans of zetti rubber stamps designed by Teesha and Tracy Moore. (Wait a minute. I do have stripes and a dunce cap in the picture.) I have about 30 of their rubber stamps. I love anything zetti! Woops. I think I already said that. Thanks for stopping in to take a look.

Callisto (part two)

 

(Please click on picture to see larger size.) Part one in previous post. In case you have a difficult time reading the words, I'll put them below.

Callisto

 

Digital elements from scrapbooking kit "Callisto" by R. McMeen. Weird story by me. Please click on picture to see larger size. I love that this is my first digital collage of the new year and it's totally crazy!