Don't play with it

If you've been wondering what new artistic stuff I have been up to - wait no longer!

First batch of experiments of painting on glass/porcelain

As per usual, in my moments of boredom I look for a new medium to experiment with. For you non-artsy people, "a medium" is simply the things I use to create art be it paint, pastels, pencils, etc. Something I've always been curious about and wanted to try has been working on glass. Year before last, I was approached with the potential idea of designing glass wine bottles for wholesale production. The idea never came into fruition. I'm uncertain as to whether the guy found someone else or decided to go another route, who knows?

With these novel situations, whether it manifests or not, I'm more intrigued than daunted. Why you may ask? Because it's the introduction of an artistic idea I have yet to try and perhaps didn't even consider before the commission was brought to me. So from late 2014 to the end of 2015, I researched, I read, I experimented. By the end of the last year, I had my first set of paints that can work on glass and not wash off.

First batch of experimenting with painting on glass/porcelain

Needless to say, close friends got some of these gifted with ideas I felt they'd appreciate. (Last year was also the first time my friends ever indicated that there's stuff I do that they like and wish listed!) A friend/coworker of mine has a quote up on Skype that I didn't quite understand until that project manifested itself.

Her Skype status is a quote by Abraham Lincoln that says 'If I had 8 hours to cut down a tree, I would spend 6 hours sharpening my ax.'

What does it mean? What does it mean? I lamented wondering the sanity and logic of the status. But with time and my own reality, I was able to place it into context. I'm one of those people that hates to "practice." I want to either do it or not do it. This is the philosophy I've applied in every area of my life that I can think of. How do you prepare yourself to "Just do it?" Just doing it is the easy part, once you've done the preparation.

Experimenting with the gold paint

My perfect example would be in my college days when my Literature professor declared I could not get an A without reading my texts. I did get an A, and I was even more convinced that my method enabled me to understand a broader scope of the text faster. BUT... my method required more work. I did hours upon hours of research, reading differing opinions, arguments, theories, synopsis, anything that could've granted me some insight behind the character development and psychology, author intention and rationale and so forth. When I entered that classroom and we were on half way the book - I was done from beginning to end with quotations with page reference.

A commission birthed from the previews of the first batch.

To me that quote simply meant, prepare, prepare, prepare in advance. So I prepare and research the mistakes folks made before me. Find out the best tools to get the job done efficiently. Therefore, when I'm finally blessed with the paints in my hands, I already know what not to do and have a fair idea of how to go about it. This has been tried and true for most things so far. I actually found a medium that I actually need to practice with - the articles and videos made it look easier than reality... but that's another blog post.

Working with glass is still very different, new and challenging to me - but I like it. The surface is significantly smoother than canvas (obviously). There really is no traction though! You really have to work much slower than you'd like and be patient with your hands. Mistakes can be removed but it can get messy, so I try hard to get it right the first time or to work slow enough to have minor fixable mistakes.

Some like these were available at an event I took part in last December called 'Earth Youth Produce Market.' Since then, I've received lots of love and a few orders. If you'd like to order or speak to me directly - the fastest way currently is through my art page - Shellon (facebook.com/ShellonArt) If you're not on Facebook you can directly email me at shellonart@gmail.com or leave a comment here. (But emails and messages on my art page are much easier)

Ciao!

The piece is mixed media. It was sketched lightly in pencil. I used markers to superimpose the lines. I used pencil crayons to do the shading.

Cheers!
Shelli

Firstly, an ink sketch.

Starting to lay down the colour with pencil crayon.

More colour added.

And then some more...

I started adding in the marker colours.

Adding more marker colour

And then some more

Added a few bubbles and my signature just in case the piece went so horribly wrong from here.

Started adding a light background

And then I was all done.

There's two different edits as you can see. If you prefer one look over the other and don't see it as an option, let me know and I'll make it available.

The link is here Caribbean Reef Squid so you can bring squiddy home!

A dear friend and fellow blogger, Lizelle, introduced me to Sharpie's extensive collection of markers. Prior to that moment, I had not personally used markers since I was in high school. My interaction between then and the moment she brought her pack over to my house was with my primary school aged kids that I work with from time to time at SGU GAP.

With that said, even though I felt a bit silly using it as a serious medium, it piqued my curiosity to dabble in it some more. Since then, I found some artists on the Instagram artist communities that used markers as a professional medium that got me a bit more open minded about taking it more seriously.

To be honest, I like mediums that have immediate permanency. On one hand, while it leaves room for little to no error, it means that when you complete your last stroke, you're done. This is one of my primary reasons for working with ink. I dislike having to do test sketches. I prefer to study what I'm supposed to draw and then... just do it, like Nike.

The SGU students tend to sell stuff at the end of the semester, so when I saw these Sharpie markers up for sale, I grabbed them. After sitting and collecting dust on my shelf for months, I decided to start experimenting with them before they got all dried up. The bottom is my first "serious" marker piece in over a decade.

As expected, I didn't have the patience to do a pencil outline which I would have to erase... so I did a pen sketch,

Started laying down the lightest colours first. I have no idea if Sharpie markers obey the laws of other mediums, but from past experience, lighter colours are easiest to become dirty. I'd hate for my yellow to become "kinda yellow" and "kinda brown."

Started laying down my green colour.

Then identifying shadow outlines and colour blocked areas.

Started filling in the colour blocked areas...

This is what it looks like now.

Hello folks!

I have officially launched my Society6 page. What is this you ask? Society6 is a new online website where printers and artists get to collaborate and present new products for sale. Before, I only had canvas and card stock prints along with original paintings available. Now I have a wide selection of products available and eliminating the issue of effective and quick shipping.

The products are manufactured and shipped from the US, making it easier for those of you outside of Grenada to be able to acquire my work. The range of products does include canvas and giclee prints of all sizes. However, it now extends to pillow cases, phone cases, duvet, shower curtains, clocks, tshirts, etc. Below is a collage of a few samples from my store.

I very recently have come across the most amazing opportunity to get to be an assistant artist on a new underwater sculpture project that's going to be placed in our underwater sculpture park in Molinere. I'm assisting an amazing Norwegian artist, Lene Kilde. She has done lots of sculpture and wire work, in addition to book illustrations/drawings. I hyperlinked her name to a Google search so you could glimpse her work.

It's only been one evening thus far, but I've learnt and learning so much in an area I have had little experience in but have always found intriguing.

The most current piece she's working on are two folktales, one is the La Diablesse and The Nutmeg Princess. La Diablesse is supposed to be a woman that lures men... She's very beautiful and wears a broad hat that hides the demonic part of her face and has one cow foot and one human foot.

The following are snippets from what has been done thus far.

She sculpted a clay model by hand. Then we painted on vaseline and release cream.

The work area...

Mixing the silicone to do the mask.

The goopy stuff got all over my fingers. However, when it dried it was easy to peel off, fingerprints perfectly copied and all.

Fully coated, waiting to put the plaster on over it.

That's all so far folks.
I'll try to keep you posted.