Links Fixed

It came to my attention that a few of my links to the left were not entered properly. For that I apologize, they are now in working order.

Ink Work

This was drawn about a month and a half ago. I don't have much to say about it really. It was drawn in ink. I considered adding another layer into the background, but I thought that would just make it too busy.

Point the finger

I just finished editing this in Photoshop and I'm very satisfied with how it turned out. You might think that based on this drawing perhaps I've just had a disagreement with someone or something in the realm of an argument happened, but actually that's not true at all...I drew the hand several months ago, and only today came back to it and decided to push it in this direction.
The original drawing is available on etsy- http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=37558496

Christmas was Just Lovely!

Christmas was really great this year; three days of dinners and presents. My brother his wife, and my nephew came out to visit for a few days, which was very nice to be able to see them all for more than one day at a time. I have had a very satisfying holiday thus far, filled with all the things holidays should be filled with. The initial business of preparing for Christmas(6 grocery store visits within a 24 hour period...), I believe only adds to a more enjoyable holiday, because when you stop preparing and just visit and eat it just feels so much better.
I hope everyone also had a delightful holiday!

The Birdman is available in my etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=37475172

I did a series of Brain Tree drawings last year, that I was reminded of recently. There is a small town in South Western Manitoba called East BrainTree (as far as I know, there isn't a west BrainTree). On the way out to my friend's Cabin, we passed a sign for this town, and my friends and I imagined different versions of what a brain tree would look like. .

Brotherly Influence

This Was Made in Summer. My brother helped me with the title. I really like this one, but I understand that only a particular type of person will enjoy it- my brother and me included in that mix.

Odd Sense of Humour?

Thankyou to everyone who came out to the Vineyard craft sale! I would call it a success, as there seemed to me to be a steady steam of people flowing through the doors from the time it opened until the closing hours. This sale was a slight experiment to me as I didn't really know what to expect and if I could even sell enough art to make it worth it to have a table. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of sales I made. Between selling both art, art prints and photo prints I was happy with what sold. I think I only sold two original works, and oddly enough both of them were pieces that were not my favourites, and acutally not even my second favourites.

It was to be honest slightly nerve wracking for me to stand at this table and have people view my art and then comment on it. At times it was a relief to have people laugh at the humourous side of my drawings, but by the end of the day I was tired, and honestly found it slightly draining to talk to strangers all day about what I make and why I make it (To any Vineyard strangers who found their way to this blog, it's not that I didn't want to talk about it with you, it's just that it's new for me to have my art out there on display open to discussion). I had many people who made comments along the lines of, "You have a unique sense of humour," or "You have a very different perspective." These are things that I've known all along but it's still odd to have people tell you that.

I did truly appreciate the compliments that were given to me about what I make, as it's good to know that I'm not just some weirdo making bizarre images in my free time, but that at least there are poeple out there (though perhaps few of them) who actually like my images enough to pay money for them. I am talking of more so of my paintings and drawings because I consider my photography interest second to art and it makes sense to me that I could sell a photograph, because that's more accessible to people than a drawing of a Girl with a hammerhead.

Whether or not anyone likes what I make I'll continue to make it. :)

Ace Art's Winter Warmer

AceArt's annual winter warmer started today, and runs for the next two weeks until the 12th of December. Members were invited to submit works, so I entered two drawings in the show. I'm quite happy with both of them. I framed them in some decent frames that I found and I'm fairly pleased with how they turned out matted and framed. The winter warmer is usually a good show because it always has an assortment of items and for me I find it interesting seeing how other people price their work and which items sell. The opening was today, but I have been slowing down at posting because I recently moved and don't have my internet installed yet(But soon! Dec 1st the installation guy is coming).

The aceart Winter Warmer 2009

show and sale continues December 1-December 12

during gallery hours 12-5pm, Tuesday-Saturday

AceArt is in Winnipeg located on the 2nd floor of 290 McDermot.

Vineyard Craft Sale - Buy Handmade!

I am in an art and craft sale coming up on Saturday the 28th at the Vineyard Church in Winnipeg. It should be a really good sale with a lot of different artisans and craftspeople selling an assortment of handmade items. Be sure to check it out if you are in Winnipeg as it will be a great place to buy Christmas gifts.

HANDMADE = BETTER THAN WALMART

Also it is a fundraiser for a Women's Co-op in Nepal, which my brother had seen in it's baby stages when he was in Nepal last year. He can vouche that it's a worthwhile cause.

Sam's Organs

My good friend Sam was sick a few weeks ago with a burst appendix. She was quite ill and had to have surgery to remove what was left of her appendix. Fortunately she is now doing fine and recovering well. For a while there she was quite sickly and in a lot of pain. This picture describes the doctors washing off her organs to keep infection away. Read about Sam's account on her blog.

New Background colours

I'm trying out the new white background format. I think it looks cleaner and makes it easier to read, but I'm not entirely convinced, so I may change it back.

"As it tended to do, it was ready to annouce its idea."

Brain Picking

I've been doing small drawings lately, and then have been colouring them in with ink. I like this one, it is silly. The background colour has been coloured digitatlly, but the rest with ink and watercolours. There is something satisfying about making these silly things.

Floating down

Just a little drawing I did. only the blue part is digitally coloured.

Silent Reading includes both Reading and Silence

I sub at a junior high school regularly. Last week it was silent reading for the whole period for two grade 8 classes. Grade 8s as it turns out are not altogether excited about reading, and reading silently. They inspired this drawing.

So long Ink Tree, but maybe I'll make some more of you...

Someone bought my tree of light drawing today! It's exciting when someone buys something, but that means it's the last time I'll see it (if it's an original work anyways...). I find it very satisfying when someone buys something, especially an original piece. Since my sales are really quite low, I love it when I sell something that I was really proud of. This time my work is heading over to Ontario. My first Canadian buyer!

Concerning Matters of the Heart

I made this today. I drew the heart with an ink pen, and then added the background and the text in photoshop. Sometimes I need to make things that don't have animals or creatures in them. Sometimes it feels good to make something that isn't as silly as a shark teacher. I don't feel like elaborating on any reasoning behind this.

Summer hasn't left yet!

Today I wasn't working, so I decided to take avantage of the fact that it is the third week of September and the weather is actually nicer than it was in August. I did some painting outside today, which is an altogether lovely thing to do. My backyard is large and green, and it makes it extra satisfying to be out there in shorts when it is nearly the end of September.

Deviant Art- Why Not?

I started up a Deviant art account. I mainly wanted to just check it out and see how I like it. I decided to post photos, instead of artwork. I have a lot of photographs, many of them I love, but have too many really to do anything with other than post on facebook. So I'm going to try out Deviant art, and am considering an etsy photography shop, though I am not that great at promoting my original shop, and I imagine I'd be even worse at promoting more than one.
Here it is, I still have to upload more photos.
www.juliamark.deviantart.com

Mrs. Shark

I went back to school today. For the time being I am a substitute teacher. This means at times that there's nothing for me to do other than make sure I'm in the room (this will ONLY happen with certain high school classes). It is a great contrast to last year where I had a term position, and there was always something that I needed to be doing. So while my students were working away at their assignments, I drew. I felt quite productive actually, this is just one drawing that I did today. I think I may colour it, as it needs something extra. I felt slightly self conscious about drawing, and sort of half hoped that the students wouldn't notice, even though I think if I ever had a substitute teacher that I saw drawing shark people, it would probably pique my interest. She looks perhaps a little more whale like than shark like...

The Elephant Gentleman Continued...

Here is the hand coloured version of the Elephant Gentleman. I think I prefer this version actually, anyone want to comment to offer an opinion? It was coloured using red inks and a brush.

Trying out ARtfire.

I have heard of Artfire, and decided to see what it's all about. I started an account, and so far only have one piece posted. It is similar to Etsy, but I don't like the layout as much, and there are aspects of it that are appealing, but I don't think I'll venture very far from my etsy shop. I wanted to see if there was a major difference in the kind of traffic get through Artfire versus Etsy, and so far it appears to be similar. I think the main difference is that Artfire deals more do with Art whereas Etsy has a whole variety. I find etsy more intiutive, though naturally there are benefits to Artfire as well.
I finally finished my Tree Drawing. I don't feel completely satisfied with it, I'm not sure what it is. Something about it is too calm. This is the one I posted on Artfire. You can go to it here.

The Elephant Gentleman

I coloured another drawing using photoshop. I think I like the results, but I'm going to also hand-colour the original as I'm not sure entirely if the photoshopped version is what I want out of the drawing.
This print is now available on etsy.

What is Gocco?

I have been purusing Etsy, as is normal for me at any time of the day, and I have been coming accross these artpieces called Gocco prints. I didn't know what a Gocco was, so I looked it up, and now really want to buy one! Gocco is a simple, easy and compact printing system that originated in Japan. It allows users to create multiple card-size prints without re-inking.

The prints shown above are by artist Olivia Jeffries who regularly re-uses paper in her art-making process. Visit her etsy shop called Restless Things, and I'm sure you'll appreciate her somewhat delicate and subtle hues that her drawings and prints have.
I found a site called save gocco, as the company who was manufacturing it had decided to stop making it and there was a surge of Gocco users who petitioned to keep up the gocco production. Unfortunately, my research has told me that they have closed the doors to production in 2009 which means that Gocco supplies will be hard to come by. I may try to find one on Ebay...

Here is a link to a Gocco tutorial video, which explains how the system works.http://www.savegocco.com/what-is-gocco/

Colouring Drawings with Photoshop

I digitially added colour to a drawing yesterday, and I am quite pleased with the results! I've never altered any of my work digitally before, besides photographs, but I decided to see what I could do with photoshop. Even though I was only using photoshop at a very basic level, it served its purpose well, and will certainly go back with other drawings to alter them, as I found it very satisfying to work this way. The two pictures I have posted show the image before and after.

Please check out my new creation, I've decided to sell him as a greeting card, but certainly would also sell it as a larger print in my etsy shop if there is an interest in it.

Here is the link to the new card:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30295866

Work Space

I set up my drafting desk a few weeks ago, and I can't beleive that I lived without it for a few months, as only a few weeks later and it is covered in supplies, half finished projects, fabric, and other usable items. This photo was from a few weeks prior when I set it up. Open work space is like a breath of fresh air. I decided to post it because I always like seeing what other people's work spaces look like.

"A Journey Round My Skull"-Recommended Blog

I found the blog "A Journey Round my Skull" which is absolutely full of images from lost, forgotten, vintage, and retro books published throughout the 20th century. There are so many great illustrations, book covers and purely interesting images that are posted by Will who in the subtitle of his blog claims an "unhealthy book fetishism from a reader, collector, and amateur historian of forgotten literature."
There are almost too many images on this blog that are endearing, charming, and interesting that I'm not even sure what to look at first. There is a fantastic post about Salvador Bartolozzi's Pinnochio from a Spanish book published in the 1920s, complete with some fabulous scanned images from the book with is where the above image is from. If you have any appreciation for illustration and graphic design you won't be disapointed in this blog.
http://ajourneyroundmyskull.blogspot.com

Nog a Dod: Prehistoric Canadian Psyckedooolia Book

I recently purchased the book Nog a Dod: Prehistoric Canadian Psyckedooolia. It is a contemporary art book made up of reproductions of extra mini art books put out by a variety of Canadian artists mainly based out of Vancouver. The book includes drawings, paintings, text-drawing-combos and parts of it that border on comic or graphic novel. All in all, I enjoy this book. Because it is made up of previously published works, there isn't a true kind of flow to it other than that it follows a somewhat doodle-based drawing order. The original works were put out over a span of 10 years up to 2005, with the peices included in the book becoming a great collaborative work full of strange characters, funny artistic interventions, and bizarre combinations of text, image and ideas. It was edited by Marc Bell, a Canadian self-publishing cartioonist who has tried to represent works that were not published previously other than in the original 5" by 4 1/4" format. This book is definatly worth the $25.oo retail price. It is entertaining to look at, to read, and just to take in the sheer oddities that more than 15 artists have contributed to.

Ink Work

This is what I'm working on right now. I'm re-inking the parts of this drawing that I decided to add colour to. This piece is different for me because it feels a little more serious than my other recent drawings, and there is no creature, or character included in this one(though I am trying to decide if I should add in a person at the base of the tree. -Finished work will be posted soon!

Persepolis-Graphic Novel by Marjane Satrapi

I picked up the book Persepolis last week at McNally. Wrapped in plastic, what I didn't realize at the time of purchase was that it is a graphic novel. I got it home, and thinking it was a regular kind of memoir I took the plastic off, opened it up and in dismay realized it is a graphic novel (I normally don't have the patience for graphic novels, the pictures slow me down, and I can get annoyed at all the speech bubbles) BUT this book is really good, and has changed my mind about the whole genre of graphic novels. Persepolis is the story of an Iranian girl growing up during the 1979 Iranian revolution, whose family history and personal experiences are intertwined with major events in the country. Satrapi explains what it was like to grow up with Marxist parents during a time when Islamic fundamentalists were taking over the country, and when Iraq was bombing her neighbourhood. She tells her story with humour, honesty, and drawings which only serve to enhance the story. Her book is interesting because it took me into the reality of another time, and another country that was undergoing major political and social events, but still manages to give the sense of childhood and the acceptance that people must have for the circumstances they are in. I am told that Persepolis has been made into a movie, which I now must see. As well there is now Persepolis 2 which was just released recently.
Here is a link to more about the book, as well as further pictures from inside the pages:
http://www.randomhouse.com/pantheon/graphicnovels/persepolis.html
Here is a link to the trailer for the Movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PXHeKuBzPY

What am I making?

I put this together yesterday. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I like it, but at the same time I hate it. I had this moment when glueing the pieces on that went like this in my head, "I went through art school at university, and this is what I'm making?" I've been wondering that about what I've been making lately, like do I really value what I'm making, or am I just making? It's not that I think there's something wrong with making things, and putting images together, it's just that I think I'm ready to make something better, or more focussed than what's coming out of me lately.

Daytrotter Website

I thought I'd share with everyone a site that I love for music. www.Daytrotter.com.
Daytrotter gets great musical artists, gets them to record some of their songs, and then shares it with viewers via free downloads and radio. As Daytrotter states:
"We are going to contribute to the musical landscape, not just toss it around like a used book or a stolen pick-up line. We’re going to give you something that you truly have never heard. We are not giving you songs from someone you love’s record album, thereby stealing from someone you love. We’re giving you exclusive, re-worked, alternate versions of old songs and unreleased tracks by some of your favorite bands and by a lot of your next favorite bands."
Their site is easily navigated, provides great write-ups on bands and musicians, as well everything is illustrated portrait-style in a loose ink and marker/paint form by artist Ryan Flynn (examples are shown above).

Julie Murphy-Artist, illustrator

I came accross the website of an artist named Julie Murphy.
She has a lot of illustrations that look like a peak into her sketchbook. I enjoy some of the qualities in her her work-the strange animal drawings, human/animal morphs, and the colour and ink layers. I appreciate when things aren't precise, but they still work that way. I especially like the one title "Lello." The images are so strange, there is a lot hidden inside of this piece, and if you look closely, you realize that it was drawn on a subject divider.
http://www.juliemurphy.info/ Screen shots were taken from her site.

Henrique Oliveira-Artist

I came accross these photos of an artist named Henrique Oliveira. His work is stunning. He is a Brazilian artist who takes discarded, decaying fences that are commonplace in Sao Paulo, and puts them together in the form of abstract, three dimentional works. Apparently the colours found in his peices are original colours with how he found the wood. They remind me slightly of some kind of combination of Richard Serra and John Chamberlain in the sense that his work is monumental in size, colourful, abstract and made of materials that were once something else. A much more natural form than either of those two artists, and clearly very different and distinct from them, but somehow they come to mind when looking at pictures of his work.
This site link to Totonko: filtro de diseno is in Spanish(but there is an English "swtich") and the pictures are arranged well, which is where I stole the above images from.
http://totonko.com/2009/03/tapumes-henrique-oliveira/comment-page-1/#comment-6302
Also here is Oliveira's webpage:
http://www.henriqueoliveira.com/tridimensionais.html
He also paints, but in my opinion, his three dimentional work is far greater than his paintings.
I wish I could see it in person!

Jodi Hoover- Artist/Ilustrator

I found this site for an artist/illustrator named Jodi Hoover. She doesn't have an enormous amount of pictures of her work posted, but what is posted has really lovely qualities, characters and colours. Here are a couple of screen shots from her site which I also quite like the look of. The layout itself is very straight forward. It is very accessible with no need at all to scroll down (which is especially nice, given my small macbook screen size.)
http://www.jodihoover.com/
and she is also on etsy(but when I went to her shop, she was all sold out...)
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5376389