My Week In Art

Hello there

For today's art post I thought I would take you through my projects of the week.

When I see all this stuff together I worry about myself. Knowing all the other things I've fit in this last seven days, and seeing all this, it makes me very much feel like I'm overdoing it.  Yet, counter to that, I really love doing my art stuff, really like doing different stuff, and I know that if I don't do it I will get grumpy and then take ages trying to get myself back up to doing it again.

To be honest it might not even look like much...

Some of it is weirdly commission stuff without the commission.  So favours basically (that wasn't a complaint, as I mentioned last week I like making art stuff as a thank you or whatever).  Art favours are also incredibly helpful, because they aren't things I'm making for me (as in, not bespoke for me), but they help hone skills or learn how to do stuff better.  That's what I keep telling myself anyhow.

Shall we?

We start with something that I did do for myself really, and it's just a finished piece.

I don't know how well you'll even be able to see that, but it's the Disney World Haunted Mansion done white on black.  I really want to do more white on black. I find it very satisfying when it comes off, and these super-detailed pieces are a nicely meditative experience to execute.  Hours fly by during the tiniest little part of it. That said, I do have them Saints portraits from last week to finish off, so your guess is as good as mine as to why I prioritised a piece that I was doing for my own interest. 

Anyways, that was the start.

I'd also - as I think I mentioned in Cabin Fever - promised to do a tombstone for Kate's goth extravaganza thing.  These take a few days, mainly to do with drying times, so I worked on that through the week.

Let's have a tombstone refresher course...

Stencil cut on the Cricut, applied to the foam and then the foam cut to size.

Stencil sprayed and removed...

Foam heat gunned for stone effect...

Dremeled out the epitaph and added some cracks.  I've never done the cracks before as I've done mostly replicas, but in self-created ones I think it's a nice addition.

Painted an undercoat of black acrylic because I found out my masonry paint must have been slightly open and is now rock hard. 

Then I drove up to Cumbria, stopping at services along the way to watch the opening match of the Rugby League World Cup...

I know that's not art but I just wanted to give you a sense of how I have to fit things in.  While I was at the second services (I drove between two at half time), somebody tried to sell me a telly.  I've a sneaking suspicion it was nicked.

On my return after the weekend the black acrylic was finally dry (it really did take ages, I think I added too much water), and I sponged on the stone colour.

I also realised I'd completely forgotten to do the base, so quickly repeated the original steps to make that.

Painted and attached and that's that project ticked off, ready for goths to be sick over at their ball.  Or do spells on it or something. I don't really know what they do.

Next up I did a couple of pieces for Kim's book again.  Obviously I can't really explain what these are, but you can still have a look at the original sketches and finished pieces...

Not quite sold on the second one, all the detailing is on there but I'm not sure it reads properly.  Might be something to do with light and shade.  Kim was happy with it like...

And then finally we come full circle back to the Haunted Mansion.  These have been an idea I've had for ages, as a potential Etsy product really, so I finally got round to having a crack at prototypes.

Had to chop a load of paper to size as they're framed things, and then I cut my original designs on the Cricut...

And I've made them into these...

A few lessons learnt in the paper sizing department (note the edges not filled), and some of the more intricate bits can probably be redrawn so the machine can manage the cut, but all in all I think they've got potential.  I had to take photos of them in the hall with a flash as I was getting daft reflections everywhere else, but you get the idea.

And that there was my week in art this week.  A bit much, but plenty for me to think about and build on.

Now I need to go to bed as it is 2.11 am this morning and I've got to go for my booster tomorrow so will be in a bad mood for a few days because my arm feels like it's been punched even though it hasn't.

Cabin Fever is all recorded and uploaded for tomorrow, so I shall leave you in the capable hands of...well, me.

Hope all is brilliant over there for you

Much love as always 

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