Category: Journals

Art, Collage, Drawings, Journals

d’Anjou Pear

Shelly

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I occasionally forget how much work Prismacolor takes, which is about the only time it sounds like a reasonable medium to use. I also forget that it does not scan well, at least, not with my scanner, as some pigments are more opaque to light than others. Unfortunately, the ones that are more opaque are not necessarily the darkest in value, which leads to weird blotches that are not otherwise visible to the eye. In fact some of them are under-layers that are completely covered with other, less opaque colors.

D'Anjou Pear

There’s also a noticeable color shift, due in part to the opacity problem. The color in the snapshot is correct, but in compensating for the opacity discrepancies in the detail, I had to skew the color a bit. So, the detail is warmer than it should be, while the two-page scan is a bit washed out. (detail)

Art, Drawings, Journals

Red Pear

Shelly

Red Pear (detail)
Red Pear
watercolor pencil on 90lb Stonehenge paper
5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches

I used Koh-i-noor aquarell pencils with a Niji water brush. You’d have to be a masochist to use water-based media on paper that is not well suited to it, when you don’t even like–or have any skill with–watercolor in the first place. Just sayin’…

I do really like these brushes, though. They’re affordable, portable, and they actually work pretty well (considering I have no clue what I’m doing). I need to get a flat one, for washes, because the little pointy one I have is absolutely the wrong tool for the job.

Oh, and I had way too many light sources while trying to work on this, which is something else I don’t really recommend. Another thing I don’t recommend is setting your big box of pencils on the couch next to you, when you know that the dog is guaranteed to want to lie down there. Anyone for a game of 72 Pick-up?

Art, Drawings, Journals

Pear Again

Shelly

Red Pear (detail)
Pear (detail)
graphite stick on 90lb Stonehenge paper
5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches

I sometimes find that with certain media does not scan well, especially on Stonehenge paper. My scanner seems to penetrate the graphite (or oil pastel or crayon or colored pencil), washing out areas and leaving others dark and clumsy. I’ll have to see how photographing this one works, because the scan is pretty bad.

Also, I found that Miss Brown is smitten with pears. I had a difficult time convincing her to leave it alone long enough for me to draw it. And then, I was a meanypants and put it up out of her reach.

Art, Drawings, Journals

Pear

Shelly

Red Pear (detail)
Red Pear (detail)
pencil and graphite stick on 90lb Stonehenge paper
5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches

I started out cross-hatching, then I couldn’t keep my fingers out of it, so I blended the pencil a bit. Then, I thought I’d try using a baby wipe as a blender, and it worked surprisingly well. Apparently, whatever is in the liquid works as a solvent for graphite. Who knew?!

It won’t win any prizes, but I’ve been really sucky about drawing lately, so I figure that anything I do is better than doing nothing.

Journals, Photography

Journals and Altered Books

Shelly

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Mead Composition Book

This particular notebook is filled with collage work. The spine became stressed, and is now square, because too much material was added without removing sufficient pages to compensate.

Learn from my mistakes, people!

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These are a few of my journals and altered books. I finally figured out how I want to finish a painting I’ve had stashed away for years, so I dug out a sketchbook, to make notes. Otherwise, I’ll forget. While I was at it, I thought I’d take a few photos of the most recent strata of journals, sketchbooks, etc.

Art, Artist Books, Bookarts, Journals

Endings and Beginnings

Shelly

Hemp Bound Journal, finished (finally!). I started it in July of 2005 and quickly got sidetracked. I picked it up a couple of times, but didn’t get serious about finishing it until a couple of weeks ago. I still have to do a table of contents, and will post that when I’ve completed it, but for all intents and purposes, it’s done, done, done.

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This, of course, means I am in need of a new journal. I’ve been trying to decide what paper I want to use. I’ve got some really nice 140lb Cartiera Magnani hot press left (God, I love that stuff!), but I decided to go with the black 90lb Stonehenge for now. I may regret that decision, though. It doesn’t take kindly to water. Not at all. But it’ll be fun to play with gel pens again. (Oooh! Shiny!)

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Stonehenge Journal
7 1/2 x 5 5/8 inches, 11 signatures of 4 pages each (44 pages total)
Coptic stitch with linen thread, 90lb black Stonehenge paper

If you aren’t familiar with exposed spine bindings, and would like to try making your own books for writing or art, there’s an illustrated tutorial for how to do this binding on my website. It’s really not complicated. Tearing down and folding the paper to the size I wanted took about 30 minutes. The binding itself, including setting grommets into the holes on the front and back covers, took about an hour. I did the entire thing while watching television.

Speaking of television, I’m in the middle of watching the first season of Rome. Oh my. If you enjoyed I, Claudius (or I, CLAVDIVS, as I like to call it), then you’ll like Rome. It’s set during Julius Caesar’s reign, so it directly precedes I, Claudius. In fact, I’m going to rewatch I, Claudius as soon as I’m finished with Rome. I could use a good dose of Derek Jacobi.

Side note: While Googling for links for the above shows, I came across the Wikipedia entry for the Robert Graves book that I, Claudius was based on. And it contained a spoiler warning. Honestly, does a book about Roman history–even if it’s heavily novelized–really need a spoiler warning? The mind wobbles!

Art, Artist Books, Collage, Journals

New Journal Pages

Shelly

Hemp Bound Journal: Not
Not
collage (raffle tickets, sand paper, and dictionary page) with brass brads
9 3/4 x 14 1/2 inches

Hemp Bound Journal: Articulation and Attachment
Articulation and Attachment
collage (altered Polaroid, poplar tree leaf, and fragment from anatomy text) with photo corners
9 3/4 x 14 1/2 inches

Open Here
Open Here
Composition Book Journal
collage (raffle tickets, paper cut-out, glassine, and veil) with acrylic paint
9 3/4 x 14 1/2 inches, 26 December 2006

Art, Collage, Journals, Pets

Rory (Composition Book Journal)

Shelly

Farewell to Rory (Composition Book Journal)
Rory, 9 3/4 x 14 1/2 inches, 8 June 2006
acrylic paint and metallic gel marker, photo, receipt, and Gepe mount containing fur

I hid the journal entry behind the receipt. The fur in the Gepe mount was shed at the vet, while I was petting Rory. I made a little pile of it and brought it home with me. The rest of the page is just doodles I did that evening while watching television.