Journalhttp://isabeauxstudio.squarespace.com/journal/en-US2009-11-13T08:30:08ZSquarespace Site Server v5.8.1 (http://www.squarespace.com/)Paper View.http://isabeauxstudio.squarespace.com/journal/2009/3/31/paper-view.htmlIsabeauxStudio2009-03-31T05:28:39ZI took my newly found media discovery, the experimentation & playing with paper, and decided to use it as an art form. I wanted to do the thing that I like the most, and "make something from nothing." I appreciate the challenge of taking something non descript, and making it beautiful. I took an older existing sketch, an abstracted view from my studio window which I had tried to paint. Painting it was a disaster, and the piece was quickly set aside, as I didn't like the way the clayboard base took the paint. The composition was still good, so I decided to recreate it in paper.

This is the unfinished painting.

This is how I translated it into paper. It became cleaner, and working with the paper gave me the crisp lines and angles that I couldn't achieve with the watercolor image above.

]]>Experimentationhttp://isabeauxstudio.squarespace.com/journal/2009/2/17/experimentation.htmlIsabeauxStudio2009-02-17T06:26:38ZRecently for a work presentation, I decided to make swatches of techniques in paper. Currently I work for a company that makes photo albums, and I wanted to test a theory of incorporating "recycled bits" into the product. This was namely craft paper and fabric scraps used to create pattern and design for the photo album cover art. The goal was to not only re-use materials, in an eco-friendly way, but to also provide a "shabby chic" look to our product.

I used my sewing machine for the first time in many years, and played with stitching on paper. I found that the stitching on the craft paper "elevated" the look of the paper and gave it a more tailored feel. I discovered in the process, that modifying the craft paper in this way, made it look richer, and gave it the look of suede.

Doing these "quick & dirty" swatches for the purpose of my meeting was quite exciting in a number of ways. Mostly, because making the above, had been the first thing that I had done creatively with my hands in quite a long time. I was excited in the end result, as using the paper material, gave me a window into a potentially new media. It was for me an epiphany, as it set my mind to percolating on the possibilities of how to incorporate the this new technique into my art.

]]>Refraction.http://isabeauxstudio.squarespace.com/journal/2008/10/3/refraction.htmlIsabeauxStudio2008-10-03T04:55:52ZThis piece, watercolor on Yupo, was loosely inspired in shape only after a not so great workout at the gym late one evening. I was sitting on the mat stretching and was looking up and out the window. The basic shapes in the piece below, come from a framed window. The light was shining through it from several angles, casting shadows in several directions. To finish the piece I will go back in with heavier and cleaner layers of color, again putting a unifying color wash over it to tie it together.

]]>Red Flower & Mountain.http://isabeauxstudio.squarespace.com/journal/2008/10/3/red-flower-mountain.htmlIsabeauxStudio2008-10-03T04:26:11Z

]]>Technicolor Metropolishttp://isabeauxstudio.squarespace.com/journal/2008/9/7/technicolor-metropolis.htmlIsabeauxStudio2008-09-07T05:58:28ZTrue to some ongoing themes in my work, here is another cityscape. The first iteration of this piece was something that didn't quite work the first time. It was too bright & cartoony. I had put it away, frustrated, and had been staring at it for months trying to figure out how to proceed. I decided that I needed to tone down a lot of the brighter colors. I went back in and added streaks of color, and texture, giving the piece a bit of the gritty cityscape feel that I was looking for.

]]>Blues.http://isabeauxstudio.squarespace.com/journal/2008/7/13/blues.htmlIsabeauxStudio2008-07-13T02:09:05Z Blues%202008.jpg

]]>City, 2008.http://isabeauxstudio.squarespace.com/journal/2008/7/13/city-2008.htmlIsabeauxStudio2008-07-13T01:50:32ZOftentimes, I ask friends for ideas-assignments-ideas to paint. It gives me a break from staring at a blank white page and trying to figure out what to paint. This assignment, of "City... in the rain" came from my friend down in L.A. It took me several attempts, and several different types of media trying to capture it. The below is the final result after 3 tries. I am very pleased with the results, as it gives the viewer a feeling of cityscape, with only just a slight bit of detail.

city2%207-11-2008.jpg

]]>Mental Graffitti.http://isabeauxstudio.squarespace.com/journal/2008/7/7/mental-graffitti.htmlIsabeauxStudio2008-07-07T06:51:32ZFourth of July weekend, three glorious days to do whatever I pleased. I took advantage of the beautiful weather, and was painting outside. Painting abstract, trying to loosen up, and work from my mind as opposed from a particular view or image. The goal for me, was to work within a color scheme, I wanted to create something that would fill the blank space on my bedroom wall, given that I like things to match, I needed the colors to be red, black, and gold so it would coordinate with the rest of my environment.

I was working fairly large, and started to struggle from the beginning. My mind was elsewhere, and not focused, and it completely shows. This image above is the underpainting.

I then segued into adding color on top. In comes the red, to layer on top of the yellow, along with the addition of the vines. This is where I started to flounder. I like the combination of the red, yellow, and brown, but I did full coverage of the red, and really needed only to place the color thoughtfully.

I tend to be a bit heavy handed with my color use. I need to be more conscious of leaving the background color to show through, and to leave more white space. Otherwise, the values are flat, and the piece looks all the same in color and in feeling, with no focal point. My composition doesn't help either.

So I spent a lot of time looking at this in this current state, trying to figure out how to save it. Didn't like it at all. Two things were bothering me, the size- too big, the composition as is, was boring in that scale, I needed to cut it down. Secondly, it was all the same color. I needed to brighten it up. With this in mind, I took the piece in a completely different direction. I decided to play up the "unfocused noise" in my head, and let it ride. This is where it went.

I cut the piece almost in half, and then I started to doodle, to scribble, to add texture. There are lacey patterns all through the piece now, giving it dimension, and texture. Very detailed and tedious. I am liking the piece better now, but there is still much work to be done.

]]>This Night's Work.http://isabeauxstudio.squarespace.com/journal/2008/6/13/this-nights-work.htmlIsabeauxStudio2008-06-13T07:50:58ZLate night painting again, picking up where I left off on "Into the Woods." Regarding Yupo, it can be quite challenging sometimes, as I am discovering that if there is any kind of oil on the surface, the paint won't adhere. The way to fix this issue is to wipe the paper down with rubbing alcohol (of which I currently have none.) Though left alone the effect can be quite nice, as seen in some of white areas below where the paint "skipped." It became a little more challenging in the tree at left- where it skipped too much.

Overall, I think it is coming along nicely. Not the best composition, but I will see if I can turn that around. Now the challenge is, how do I handle the middle area?

]]>Into the Woodshttp://isabeauxstudio.squarespace.com/journal/2008/6/12/into-the-woods.htmlIsabeauxStudio2008-06-12T06:54:55ZMonths ago before I moved, I made the investment into 25 pristine white sheets of Yupo, 20 x 24"- expensive, huge, heavy and unwieldy all bundled together. I have been saving them, working small until I better got the hang of working with the substrate, getting used to its idiosyncrasies.

Yesterday I broke it open, eager to work big, and to work looser.

The above is not finished...it is just started.

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