creative evolutions

Recently finished portrait: Weezie the Mini-Pin

2008-07-22T20:42:00.002-06:00

Acrylic on canvas board
6x8

I've had the pleasure of meeting this little guy in real life, and he is delightful--sweetest face, fur like a seal, and has the hilarious habit of licking toes (I'm hoping it's a sign he likes you). Painting him was fun, and marks the first black animal I've rendered in any portrait. At first I wasn't sure how the highlights would work out, but I think it came together nicely in the end.

Past work: Bean Tiger

2008-07-21T22:30:00.006-06:00

This was a piece I did several years ago. It was completed in one afternoon, sitting at the kitchen table with piles of beans scattered around me. It was a lot of fun to make, although I originally mounted it on cheap cardboard (I hadn't planned on liking it so much!), which led to a lot of warping and cracking. After repeatedly wetting both the cardboard and glue, then gently pressing it flat, I finally got the piece back in shape and ready to be framed. Good thing, too--I really think the framing (kudos to Frameworks in Colorado Springs) enhances the piece, more than a regular frame job could have. (Yes, that is wood--this thing is heavy!)

Beans, glue and cardboard
17.5 x 23.5

Recently finished portrait: Sara the Golden Lab

2008-07-19T22:20:00.013-06:00

Acrylic on canvas board
6x8

This piece is for sale at the creative evolutions etsy store, so feel free to stop by if you're interested. I'm psyched to finally give etsy a shot, and will be adding additional work and prints soon!

Greetings from Joe Cocker.

2008-07-11T15:13:00.005-06:00

Little known fact: This is about how I hear all lyrics, all the time. For some reason, my brain doesn't process singing easily--I hear every instrument, every melody, every beat, but the lyrics just blend together and become another wordless sound.

Perhaps my training as a musician has something to do with it...? Or perhaps I'm just weird. ; )

Recently finished portrait: Jackie

2008-07-06T14:32:00.006-06:00

Click to Enlarge
Graphite on paper
8x10

Blog News: Portrait Commissions

2008-07-01T21:02:00.015-06:00

Just a general announcement to let everyone know I am now accepting requests for commissioned portraits. The process is very straightforward--just send a few photos my way, and receive a personalized painting or drawing in return.

Check out the new mini-site under the "Portraits" tab for more details, and please feel free to drop me an email at contactalexremy@gmail.com if you have any questions. It's been a few years since I last offered commissioned portraits, and I can't tell you how excited I am to be doing them again.

Tea Eggs

2008-06-15T20:01:00.003-06:00

It's been a little while since my last update--I've been busy with lessons and some independent projects, both of which are going well. In the meantime, I couldn't resist trying this recipe when I found it. As described in Chinese Cookery (Rose Cheng and Michele Morris):

"Picturesque street vendors carry large buckets suspended from bamboo poles balanced on their shoulders. These buckets contain Tea Eggs being kept warm until a hungry customer approaches the vendor. Eggs are hard-cooked, left in the shell and soaked in black tea. The shells absorb the color of the tea and when an egg is peeled, it resembles brown marble."

Modified recipe:

Hard boil 2 eggs in roughly 2 quarts of water, for 5-7 minutes. Remove from water. Once cool, gently tap shell on hard surface until covered with fine cracks. Carefully return eggs to water; place 2-4 bags of tea in water (I used Earl Grey since I didn't have any loose black tea on hand. Also, I've since learned the type of tea can change the color, which could be fun to experiment with.). Add one cinnamon stick, one tbsp anise seed, and one tbsp salt. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for one hour. Remove eggs and let cool. Peel while still warm and serve whole.

Recently finished: 'Saturday'

2008-05-10T21:40:00.009-06:00

I was asked to create another cover for the latest sine cera, a local literary magazine. Here's a sneak peek of the front. The background image was used with permission, copyright Ard Hesselink of the Netherlands. You can see his original photo here.

Acrylic on paper + digital collage

And here's the original:

Trapped in Elevator for Forty-One Hours

2008-04-30T17:02:00.006-06:00

(Eight McGraw-Hill security guards came and went while he was stranded there; nobody seems to have noticed him on the monitor.)

From The New Yorker article by Nick Paumgarten :

The longest smoke break of Nicholas White’s life began at around eleven o’clock on a Friday night in October, 1999. White, a thirty-four-year-old production manager at Business Week, working late on a special supplement, had just watched the Braves beat the Mets on a television in the office pantry. Now he wanted a cigarette. He told a colleague he’d be right back and, leaving behind his jacket, headed downstairs.

The magazine’s offices were on the forty-third floor of the McGraw-Hill Building, an unadorned tower added to Rockefeller Center in 1972. When White finished his cigarette, he returned to the lobby and, waved along by a janitor buffing the terrazzo floors, got into Car No. 30 and pressed the button marked 43. The car accelerated. It was an express elevator, with no stops below the thirty-ninth floor, and the building was deserted. But after a moment White felt a jolt. The lights went out and immediately flashed on again. And then the elevator stopped.

Continue reading on www.newyorker.com.

Recent Photos: 'Animals at Rest'

2008-04-21T20:36:00.004-06:00

(Canon Powershot A510 + Adobe Photoshop Elements.)

The Photography of Henri Cartier-Bresson

2008-04-15T18:09:00.003-06:00

Elephant Painting

2008-04-03T15:09:00.001-06:00

Recently Finished: Miranda ("I will not be shamed.")

2008-03-24T05:48:00.006-06:00

For the latest jam at The Drawing Board. Sketched and inked by hand, then cleaned up in Elements with my trusty mouse.

Black and white:

Color:

Recently Finished: Character Test

2008-03-22T02:20:00.004-06:00

Working on some character sketches this weekend. This is a rendering of an early attempt--not quite right, but I'm still pleased with how it turned out. And as always, I'm curious what I'll be able to create once I have access to Photoshop/Illustrator--and maybe a nice little Wacom tablet. This piece was sketched by hand, scanned, then completed in Photoshop Elements.

Reconnected

2008-03-13T14:38:00.002-06:00

Called our internet service provider two weeks ago for help with a connection issue, and wound up with a broken modem. All is well, though--a new one just arrived, so we're back online.

Papercut and Ink
6"x7"

Hubert de Lartigue: Airbrush Painting

2008-02-27T17:31:00.004-07:00

Here's a fascinating 'tutorial' by artist Hubert de Lartigue. You can see the complete walk through here, and more original work on his site.

Six Word Memoir

2008-02-20T16:56:00.004-07:00

I recently heard this being discussed on Talk of the Nation, and was just tagged to try it myself by janie over at ragamuffins. I normally don't talk about myself on this blog, but this exercise is appealing:

1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere
4. Tag five more blogs with links
5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

Here's mine:

"Triumphant journey, from chaos to contentment."

How's that grab ya? I feel like it needs to be read by a guy with a booming, gravelly voice who does movie trailer voice-overs for a living. "Coming soon to a theater near you: A triumphant journey, from chaos--" (cue chaos) "...to contentment" (music swells).

I don't read many personal blogs, so I'll have to cut my tags short:

Diewachen
Cynthia

See Saw - Butterfly paint illustrations

2008-02-11T00:48:00.000-07:00

From L Filipe dos Santos:

Recently finished: Paper Snail

2008-02-01T19:14:00.000-07:00

By "recently", I mean a few months ago. There was once a paper log to complete the sculpture, but it has since been lost in a transitory shuffle. Additionally, at the time of creation, the environmental irony of creating a tree and forest-dwelling creature out of paper was not lost on me, or those who saw the finished project. However, it was still fun to make--the snail is small, extremely delicate, and has a hollow shell.

New site: Irish Arts Blog

2008-01-29T15:29:00.000-07:00

I recently learned that Paul O'Mahony of Siopaeile.com has launched a new blog, focused on bringing together Irish artists and their work. Thus far, there are 11 artists in all, and they plan to add additional artists in the coming months. The artists come from all over Ireland and offer a variety of styles and perspectives. From what I've seen thus far, the work is rich in diversity, covering a range of mediums including paint, photography, mosaic, sculpture and crafts.

Here is a selection of the work featured on Irish Arts Blog (click each image to be taken to an entry with information about the artist). This is an exciting addition to the art blogging world, so be sure to stop by their site for more!

Dolphins playing with bubble rings:

2008-01-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

2007 Pulitzer Prize winner Renee C. Byer

2008-01-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

Though not one prone to emotional reactions, I found this slideshow extremely powerful. Be sure to turn on the captions.

A Mother's Journey

Performance Art with Sand

2008-01-10T01:58:00.000-07:00

Book Fore-edge Paintings:

2008-01-04T21:53:00.000-07:00

All images courtesy Martin Frost of foreedgefrost.co.uk:

The Bookologist Examines Fore-Edge Paintings

By Edith Reynolds

About 12 years ago a bookseller advised me to check 19th century books with gilt edges very carefully. He once discovered a treasure sitting on the shelf of a well-established shop. The book itself wasn't very noticeable but when he fanned the pages, the real gem emerged. A fore-edge painting was hidden within.

I've never been so lucky, but that doesn't mean treasures aren't out there waiting for one of our readers to discover. Fore-edge paintings are sometimes called "invisible paintings" because they are done on the very edge of paper when the text block is beveled. Typically the illustration is one of a scene-a castle, a university, a cathedral, etc. When the text block is returned to its natural shape and the edges are gilt, the painting is secreted from sight.

The peak of the fore-edge movement began in the mid-17th century, but I found one source that claims this technique was used as far back as the 10th century. Those early samples began with symbolical designs such as one created by Thomas Berthelet for King Henry VIII. They were predominately done by the British.

The zenith of the art of illustrating landscapes, according to some experts, began with William Edwards of Halifax (1723-1808) and his son James (1756-1816). The earliest works were monochromes, later evolving into a full palette of color. There are some examples of portraits being added to the sides of landscapes, but these are not the norm.

Though the process is one of antiquity, the art has not died out but remains a popular collectible. Early books were usually Bibles, prayer books, the classics, travel books, and poetry, but today, almost any book can contain a fore-edge painting pertaining to the subject matter. Golf books many show a man in knickers sinking a putt; chess books with a chessboard and men, polo books may show a game in progress.

Though these newer examples are works of art in their own right, collectors should not be paying the same price as they would for more vintage examples, according to collector and bookseller Arthur Boutiette of Little Rock, Arkansas.

Arthur currently has about 60 in his collection but has handled at least a thousand in his 30-year career. How a novice can tell whether a fore-edge is older or more recent isn't that hard if you abide by the Boutiette rule: everything is suspect.

He recommends watching for the following:

One: Check to see if the amount of gilt is thick or thin. Thicker gilding was used to cover fore-edge paintings.

Two: Older works will have more vibrant colors because the watercolors used back then were thicker and more opaque. If you see brush strokes and a translucent quality, then it may be a newer application.

Three: If the scene is bordered, if it has a "frame," then it is probably a newer painting.

Four: If the scene is topical, pertains to the subject matter of the book or is an English book depicting quaint scenes of early America, then it is probably not antique.

Five: If the paint bleeds into the page, then it is a more watery paint and therefore newer.

"You have to remember that England wasn't big on depicting America, so if you have an English book about America with a cabin and Davy Crockett rifle leaning against it, it's probably not original." Boutiette adds that scenes of Columbus sailing to the new world were unheard of for the early English printings. "The majority of scenes you'll find on early books are bridges, castles, and churches."

Price ranges depend on the age of the book and illustration. Whether the book is antique or not, a collector of fore-edge works is buying the age of the illustration and should not pay a premium for newer works. $200 to $400 is a fair market value for newer fore-edges, and antique examples can range from $500 to $1100, with the Edwards of Halifax being about the most desirable.

Of course, special fore-edge works can exceed these expectations. There are some paintings added to both sides of the beveled text block and these are referred to as "double fore-edge" paintings. Panoramic views that span all three free sides of the text block were not done in ages past but can be quite striking in a collection.

Special frames that hold the book in a way that displays the illustration are available, but Boutiette advises that these contraptions should only be employed if you want to show the book without having people handling it, since oils from fingers can damage the design.

"If you're having a party, you can put a fore-edge in a press out for display, to show your guests but take it out afterward and let the book rest in its natural position," he advises.

The Art of Isabelle Arsenault:

2007-12-30T01:52:00.000-07:00

Isabelle Arsenault is a Montreal based illustrator who got her start in graphic design. You can see some of her work below, and more on her website.