carolyn (cardboard series 02/10)

spruce it up with some colorr. i noticed i tend to draw a lot of circles, so to mix things up a bit... squares!

note to self: thick cardboard from leftover sketchpads is a bitch to cut. never. again.

avalee (cardboard series 01/10)

another piece started and completed within an art class period. avalee has the sweetest eyes. they dip down in the corners and her lashes don't curl up but kind of flutter ? i can't articulate it, but they're fascinating.

i almost prefer working monochromatically. color is just a lot of extra stuff to worry about when my intention is to experiment with texture and composition. but i suppose that has a lot to do with my inadequate knowledge of color theory; it's not quite brushed up enough (heehee did you catch the pun?) to intuitively pull off successful experimentations in color. but someday, someday.

i think i'll cap the cardboard series off at 10 pieces because i've already got ideas brewing for another series. the new series will be in perfect timing for spring, when a lot more fruits come into season ;)

beginnings of a cardboard/scrap series

i've been devoid of realistic depiction these days, likely to do with my general unhappiness with life. i do too much that doesn't make me fulfilled. and i see this incarnate in my works: i can't create reasonably anymore. that is, i can't think of creative ideas that take the representational and twist it to new heights of social consciousness or aesthetics.

so in lieu of my new attitude, i decided i'm on the pursuit of personal happiness. and i qualify it with the adjective personal because i'm tired of creating to please someone else's vision and i'm tired of conforming to responsibilities and assignments. i. want. to. draw. and. paint. what. inspires. me.

i've always wanted to paint on cardboard. as a little girl, i was a total packrat (i still am). i like making things from old things, from scraps, things that don't really serve any function but are still there. you know, like cardboard boxes! and rice bags. that sort of stuff makes me happy like i can't even explain. they're drifters, forgotten leftovers with little significance, in this industrial society. i can kind of see myself in that. but in any case, the art room at school has this whole drawer of cardboard squares. they look like they've been manufactured just for painting on (perfect squares, no folds or printing on either side), which kind of defeats the fun, but cardboard nonetheless.

painting on cardboard is disposable and quick. no pressure to be elaborate or professional. i like that freedom.

and so, i'm beginning a cardboard series. i want to get at least 10 of these done, of different people i know. friends, acquaintances, whoever holds an inkling of interest. i want to break out of painting from my mind and gather the courage to ask people i know to model for me. fun stuff.