... and the winner is...

Happy Litha, everyone! I must say that I am very happy with the Solstice Giveaway results, and I am very grateful for your generosity. We raised $90.67 bucks in e-tickets (minus Paypal taxes), which will for sure buy a nice present for our young Josie (just need to find how to make it get to her!)

And the winner is...

Susanne Murray, from United Kingdom!! wepeeeeee!! *popping champagne*

Congratulations, Suzanne!! Please contact me at solstitium@gmail.com and let me know which one of the pieces you prefer and how we can arrange shipping.

Drawing was made using The Hat software. People who bought more than one e-ticket were added to the list more than once, with numbers after their names. To the ones who didn't win, my respect and good luck next time -- and a big THANK YOU!

DIY: cradled masonite boards

No job is perfect, not even the art ones. For me, one of the worse parts of being an artist is having to frame your artwork each time you put them on display. For a very simple reason: I am cheap. And if you are in the art business, you know that a good presentation for your artwork can be very pricey. And if you are an emerging/newbie artist, you may find it a real pain in the pocket. But if you paint small and you are in a show with other dozens of artists, there's no escape, since a good framing will help your work to have the attention it deserves. 

I started painting small pieces on paper, now I am evolving to larger sizes on more sturdy surfaces, and loving it. Painting large kind of lessens the need for framing, I guess. For me, this is amazingly liberating. Last week I went to the hardware store and bought some wooden strips for my experiences on cradling my masonite boards, smiling, thinking at all the money I was saving in framing. While working on the boards, I discovered another advantage, even more gratifying: preparing the very surfaces you are going to work on, with your own hands, can be immensely pleasurable and even have a spiritual dimension. Thinking that not only the painting, but the very structure where it is placed, were built by yourself, makes it even more human and infused in energy.

Before starting, I looked for tutorials on the web and found this one, made by artist Amanda Hawkins, which was very helpful. Our process end up being very similar with just a few differences. Here's my own tutorial on how to cradle masonite boards, based on what worked for me. Hope it is useful!

1. For this project, I used a size 24' x 30' masonite panel ($3.58) and one 10 feet long wooden strip measuring 3/4 wide and 1/2 deep (about $6.50 each, the most expensive material you'll get.) You'll also need a hammer, a ruler or measuring tape (I prefer the tape), pencil, a hand saw or electric jigsaw (I highly recommend this second one), wood glue (not used by me in this first attempt, but proved useful later), sandpaper, and tiny little nails. And, of course, acrylic gesso and a brush for priming.

The wooden strip. 3/4 deep is good enough to hang on a wall, but will also fit a regular frame if you client thinks your artwork deserves better.

The masonite board and its 1/8 thickness.

2. Cut the wooden strip in four pieces according to the measurement of your panel sides. Top and bottom + two sides. I chose to cut two 24' strips (top and bottom), and two 29' strips for the sides. Since I'm using a 1/2 inch thick strip, I had to take one inch off each side (which measure 30 inches) in order to make the longer strips to fit in the rectangular structure. 

3. Apply the wood glue to stick the strips into place, and reinforce it nailing the corners and  borders of the masonite. Three nails in each side will do the trick. Make sure the heads of the nails are not sticking out and the surface is even, and sand off the masonite powder that will accumulate around the nail holes.

4. Ta-dahhhhh! You are good to go. (But with no blonde little head, sorry. This privilege is mine.)

5. Now you can sand your board...

 6. ... and start having fun with the acrylic gesso. I use about three coats, and since I like a smooth surface, I sand between each coat. It will depend on how textured you want it.

7. You may still see nail holes showing on your board. In such case, more sanding and more gesso until you make it smooth enough.

8. Also, gesso the sides to make your board uniform and nice-looking. It will also cover imperfections. Here is the board hanging on the wall, ready for the brushes!

A cradled masonite board this side, unprimed, is around $35. A simple frame, no matboard, is around $30. What do you think I'd prefer?

falling in love.

this has been odd phase, in which i've been alternating days of lethargy with others of normal activity. a block of sorts. i don't know if the transition to the new materials have been causing this. yesterday i started working in some small works on paper and since then i've been slowly coming back to my normal self.

but anyway... i'm glad to finally share my new experiments on this new surface that brought me much excitenment and a happy sense of artistic enlightenment: the masonite board.

masonite is a type of hardboard much used in construction and furniture. it's light, thin, smooth, and very inexpensive. if you apply coats of gesso on it you'll have a nice surface to play using almost all types of traditional media - including oils, acrylics, pastel, colored pencil, charcoal, and graphite.

it takes a little time to prepare it, since you have to sand and prime  (acrylic gesso) and sand a little more between coats, but it's well worth the effort. for my particular technique, i think it was the perfect find, since it allowed me to do my pencil work just the way i like it without cursing the texture. by the way, the texture is something else you can create according to your needs. pencil won't erase well, but a moist rag or paper towel will do the trick. 

acrylic paints keep their vibrancy and look way more alive and luminous on a primed masonite than on canvas. the picture doesn't do the justice: these greens and blues are to die for. unfortunately i am not going to finish this painting; it was supposed to be a depiction of the goddess Isis, but i'm not really feeling it, so the figure will be covered soon. but the background will certainly be reused.

now i have a set of wooden strips resting on the back porch, destined to become cradles for other boards. i'll spend some time measuring, cutting and sanding them, but when i think about the money i'll save, the extra job  just makes me smile: no need to frame the pieces, not mentioning that buying the boards already cradled are amazingly expensive. i'll report all the process of preparing the boards as soon as i get started.

+

I'd like to thank all the people who's been buying e-tickets for the Solstice Giveway. i feel really joyous. God bless you all.

can't fall in love.

I had bought a couple canvas panels with the intention of painting 2 large mandalas to decorate my booth at the Louisville Psychic and Paranormal Gathering, on July (have I told you I'll be there?) My experience with canvas is limited to a little experiment I've done several years ago, using oils. I didn't really get excited with the little painting, and never touched oils or canvas again. I'm not going to revisit oils so soon -- I am the type of person who wants all-at-the-same-time-now and not very patient to wait ages until a piece gets dry --, but moving my hands over canvas again has been, if not a fully satisfactory, at least a fun experience.

My first mandala is inspired on peacocks and I wanted a big one right on the center. Didn't take long to perceive how the graphite pencils I use feel awful on canvas. But I liked the first lines done with acrylics (Payne's grey, one of my favorite colors and always very handy for shading and outlining). It also felt good to work big! These panels are 24 x 36 inches, which is the largest area I ever worked on.

I just wanted to get adventurous. It feels good to think that you can make mistakes and fix them as much as you can. This is a good thing about working on canvas. When you are dealing with paper, you don't have a lot of room for mistakes due to the fragility of the support, everything has to be carefully planned beforehand. Even illustration board, sturdy as it is, has its limits. And feeling pressured to do "right" definitely is not a good thing. Score to the canvas.

Of course I couldn't wait until the peacock was done to start experimenting with my traditional stuff. I found out that colored pencils work way better on the toothed surface than regular pencils and started to sketch a self-portrait, on ocre + alizarin crimson washes.

First glazes with acrylics. White layers on the skin. I love this ghostly looks.

Ebony graphite pencil to reinforce the outlines and try some kind of shading. White pastel for the highlights. At this point I am a little frustrated because I will never achieve the type of precision I do when working on a smoother surface. But on the other hand, the loose lines are a pleasure to do, along with the more gestural, expressive strokes.

I am running away from the feel of traditional painting like the devil from the cross. I kind of like the direction the work is taking now, looks more like my type of stuff. However, I am not really in love with the canvas. It's still hard to tell where I am going; some parts of the painting really please me, some not. I am now seriously thinking about trying gessoed masonite, but don't know how my pencil will come out. Anybody here did have tried it yet?

Solstice Giveaway is back!

Last December, due to the volume of work I was facing and other little complications, I was unable to do my Solstice Giveaway the way I had planned. For the ones who are new to this blog, the Solstice Giveaways are a way I created to show my appreciation to my followers and friends. Twice a year, on Summer and Winter, I will be giving away an original piece, print, or other item. Last year I had the idea of asking for a little donation to each participant, so together we could help an institution or person in need of help. So the giveaway would become more like a raffle.

This time I will be giving away an original piece of artwork, at your choice:

"I am half-sick of shadows"

Watercolor and graphite on paperboard,

9 x 12

OR

Waterlily

Watercolor and graphite on paperboard,

9 x 15

To participate, you just have to purchase one or more e-tickets. Each e-ticket has the symbolic cost of $3.00 USD. The more tickets you purchase, the better are your chances to win. Names will be drawn on June 22nd. Out of the tickets money (after Paypal fees), I'll take the cost of shipping and the rest will go for a "love destination", which is very likely to be already defined.

When I was preparing this post, I received an email from Florida artist Helene Ruiz:

Not sure if you guys are familiar with this story...but i cut and pasted below for u..

if you would like to donate any art supplies for this cause, tomorrow will be a perfect time when u come for the event as Gallery 101 will be;

Gallery 101 will be one of many dropoff locations.We as an art community have the opportunity to give an aspiring young artist the chance to express herself again,while you are at the art store pick up an extra brush,canvas,pad of paper,tube of paint....you get the picture,lets show this wonderful girl that we care and want to see her and help her bloom into a great artist.thanks in advance for your donations..

Gallery 101 felt compelled to help a local girl who was nearly killed by a school bully. Josie cannot speak cannot walk and has limited function in her right arm, right hand and right fingers and will require extensive and long-term rehabilitative care, including physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. The Gallery is helping the family by volunteering as a drop off point for donations.

Beating victim Josie Lou Ratley to leave rehabilitation center

Josie Lou Ratley with her mother in April.

By DIANA MOSKOVITZ

dmoskovitz@MiamiHerald.com

Josie Lou Ratley -- the Deerfield Beach teenager viciously attacked by another teen -- soon will be released from a rehabilitation center, her family's lawyer announced on Tuesday.

The announcement did not give anymore details about when the 15-year-old will be released. Ratley's mother, Hilda Gotay Ratley, is expected to speak at a news conference Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale.

The teenager was attacked March 17 by Wayne Treacy, who knocked her down and kicked her head repeatedly with steel-toe boots in the bus area of Deerfield Beach Middle School.

Ratley was in intensive care at the Chris Evert Children's Hospital at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, at one point in a medically induced coma.

Ratley left the hospital on April 27 and moved to an undisclosed rehabilitation facility.

Since then, Ratley has been relearning such basic skills as how to talk and how to use her arms.

Treacy, 15, remains in Broward County's main jail, charged as an adult with first-degree attempted murder. Another teen, Kayla Manson, 13, is charged as a principal for allegedly helping Treacy find Ratley that day.

The Miami Herald

I am going to contact Gallery 101 to know what the family needs. At least I intend to send her a big pack of art supplies in our name, knowing how useful art making can be in the healing and rehabilitation of people in Josie's condition. If you'd like to participate, you can buy an e-ticket by clicking on the Paypal button on the right column. Thank you!

Gallery 101:  http://www.thegallery101.net/