updates, finally

about two weeks with no updates, not typical... but, aside from working on a commission, I've not been doing much lately, painting-wise. after several weeks pondering the cons and pros, i finally decided to set up a design business with a friend of mine. I worked as a web and graphic designer for a while before coming to US, and at first I was not very enthusiastic to come back to (one of my) former careers, but finally I thought that yes, it could be fun - and profitable. so, in the last days I've been playing around with codes and Photoshop to set up the agency, which i hope to launch within a couple weeks. but don't worry, it does not mean I will be putting my life as a traditional artist aside. in fact, things will get even more exciting, since i will be able to leave my art free and not getting submitted to certain demands in order to make an income. or so I hope.  ;)

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about Josie Ratley's help, I thought I should let you know about a change of plans. I've found this website, which belongs to the institution that is helping collect funds for her recovery, and learned that Josie's family has no health care coverage. They are relying on donations to help her daughter to get better. so, I thought that maybe the money raised could be more useful if applied in her treatment instead of a gift. let me know what you think.

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one week without internet, folks. take good care of yourselves. and if you are in Memphis TN this weekend, check out the Energizing Radiance show at the Gallery Fifty Six. my Materia Series will be there in flesh. I had planned to go, but I broke a tooth last week and will have to leave a little fortune at the dentist's office -- i.e., the trip money. yes, i am poor. buy my pieces, please. :P

... 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.

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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?