In the Studio
Screen-printed Panels
Lately it seems that I can’t keep up with the demand for these smaller panels (this one is 24 x 12 in). In fact, last weekend I stocked up and pre-cut about 32 different small-to-medium-sized panels, so that I can work on them in batches. Working in batches is actually ideal, since each panel requires a certain amount of waiting time in between printing, painting, and varnishing. I’ve found that the screen-printing ink is much blacker and cleaner than using a marker, which I did for the first series of larger panels. Since I have many of the designs already burned onto screens for my shirts, I can easily reprint them onto wood to create new compositions. This year I want to take this a step farther. I’m now using sketches to create elements that can be mix-n-matched on different panels to create multiple and complex new compositions. I can’t wait to see how far I can push them.
From Painting to Screen Print
If you like my original art, please don’t forget to check out my hand-printed Eco-friendly t-shirt line called Forest and Fin. Click here to check out my latest post on how I transform my original art into affordable screen-printed apparel. 100% Made with Love. 
A Painting in Progress
I am putting this one aside for a bit to work on other paintings and to think about how I would like to finish it, but I will be posting the finished product soon.
Sketchbook Page: Swallow-tailed Kite
Here is a page out of my smaller sketchbook (I have two). This is a drawing of a Swallow-tailed Kite in flight. I mentioned in my last post that my drawings are becoming increasingly line-driven and this is an excellent example. I particularly like the line work on the back of the first bird. The way that the lines trace the curvature of the wing are particularly informative of the form of the subject. You can imagine the wind separating to curve over the top and subsequently racing underneath the wing to create lift. Particularly amazing is this birds unique ability to catch and eat dragonflies during flight.
Art in a Suitcase
Because I have been traveling for the past two years, I haven’t had the space to make large paintings. Instead, I turned my efforts towards mastering the art of watercolor and working out of a small tabletop suitcase that turns into an easel. These are a few of my recent watercolor drawings done on the “road.” My focus has become exceptionally line-driven. My thoughts on this are interesting. Each line represents a new view of my subject, creating a greater understanding of its form, an almost sculptural understanding begins to take shape. The repetition of lines mapping each form becomes a mantra, a meditation of form, shape, and movement. The lines and movement breathe life into the work. Pattern and shape break the form into manageable components. I connect to the subject again and again until a moment of understanding occurs; then I repeat the enlightenment, like the refraction of light, which is never a single occurrence, but the measure of many.
I’ll post a few of my recent sketchbook pages in another post to illustrate this point a little more.
In the Studio: Week 7
Figure drawing and portraiture are areas that I need to spend more time focusing on. Luckily, I love drawing people, so as challenging as it may be, the outcome is always quite rewarding. Although I have a number of drawings in my sketchbook, I wanted to have a few drawings created on high quality paper that would look polished and well crafted for my portfolio. With that in mind, I decided to focus this week on images of people with animals.
I referenced pictures in some magazines I had laying around the studio and a few images I printed out of myself and some of my friends. I tried to choose images of people in interesting positions that were large enough to include detail, in order to practice different angles and perspectives. After I had the model down on paper, I incorporated some of the animal images that have been showing up in my other work recently. I am pleased with the end product, which is a series of four pen drawings on toned paper that I colored with washes of acrylic paint.
I am beginning to really enjoy the illustrative qualities that go along with drawing people. I think that often they are more intriguing than some of my straight animal drawings. The qualities of the animal that I pair with each model seems to add to the character of the person. What do you think?
In the Studio: An Update
Last week I spent a great deal of time in the studio, which is why I haven’t been posting as often as I’d like. To be honest, I am starting to feel a bit pressed for time. Brian and I have a month and a half before we set out on our sailing trip (if you are unaware, in November we are sailing down to the Caribbean and, if things go well, Central America). If I am going to send out some grad school applications, then I need to get on it. I have made a couple of interesting breakthroughs in my work in the last week and am eager to share them with you, but I am not quite ready. I will do a post about my new projects soon. For now, here are a few more sketchbook pages, and I apologize in advance if I seem absent from the blog over the coming weeks. Hopefully I will have quite a bit to show from it, and of course there will be plenty of boat news soon enough and a small art show to plan before we leave.
In the Studio: Week 5 (plus a few)
As you have probably noticed, I’ve gotten a little behind on my studio updates, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been productive. I’ve been managing my schedule well and have been spending about six hours a day in there. The big news is that I finished my bee painting. It came along much faster than expected. I actually finished it last week and am already in the midst of a new one that is focusing on ants. I am pushing myself a little bit farther on this new one, spending a great deal more time on the background of the painting. My goal is to work on my perspective and draw the viewer into the painting. We will see how it turns out. I like the concept and layout, but it is proving to be challenging. I’ll take it as a good sign, but expect that it will take a little bit longer than the bees.
Also, over the past few weeks, I finally modified some curtains for the boat (just in time for the weather to turn cooler) and worked on several more pages of my sketchbook. I experimented with watercolor and also worked on some portraiture. I also included some design elements, playing with patterns and shapes within my drawings. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure how these experiments would turn out at all; it had been a very long time since I worked on the human form. Generally I am pleased with the results and had a lot of fun creating them. Expect to see more in the future.
Also, I signed up for a profile on Society6, which is an online artist community that I stumbled upon recently. If you are an artist or illustrator, you should check it out. The site offers a great number of art grants, all of which sound pretty awesome (designing cd cover art, magazine spreads, art zines, etc. for companies as big as Vans and MTV, or other smaller art magazines and publishing companies). Anyway, my webpage is: www.society6.com/laraneeceart/. Most of what you’ll find on my Society6 page has already been posted at some point on the blog.
In about two weeks, I will be starting a five week batik-painting class at Redux Studios. The class only meets once a week, but I think it will be a great way for me to facilitate some creative interactions with some other people and learn a cool new skill. I figured that compared to a college course, this was pretty cheap ($160, all materials included), and I think it will compliment my screen-printing endeavors in the future. If you don’t know what batik painting is, it is a process of dying cloth using wax to create a design. It’s kind of an advanced version of tie dye. A number of saris and beach wraps have been dyed according to the batik process.
In the Studio: Week 2
Brian and I are hopping a plane to the west coast this afternoon, so I wanted to post my studio update early this week. It’s been a short, but productive week. I spent about eight hours in the studio on Monday, five hours on Tuesday, and four hours yesterday. I worked on my sketchbook a little bit more, but more importantly, I started a new painting—and am nearly finished. This is a great sign, and I feel that all the extra time in my studio is paying off. Because I am sketching and color mixing everyday, I’m getting pretty fast at both of these tasks. I feel as though I am gaining confidence and precision. This may even prompt me to make a new studio goal: one painting a week. Judging from this week, I think it is a perfectly obtainable goal. Anyway, I’m off to the studio right now for an hour, to screen-print a tank top to wear on the trip. Hopefully I will get a post in during the trip, if not, then stay tuned for a big update when I get back. Ciao!
In the Studio: Week 1
It’s surprising how quickly Friday rolled around this week. I feel like I am busier now, than I was when I was working full time. I managed to put in time at my studio everyday this week (and will head over there after this post), although I didn’t quite stick to my schedule. All told, I spent about 20 hours there this week. I am really hoping to increase that number to 25 or 30, but this is the most time I’ve spent in there consecutively so I am not disappointed. Also, there were a couple of design projects, writing projects, and some research that I completed on the boat.
I think the most important project that I worked on this week was my artist statement. To begin, I was nervous about writing it because, to be honest, I didn’t really know where I wanted to push my artwork, and I didn’t really understand what my art was telling me. Writing the artist statement was probably the best thing I could have done for myself, to give me focus and direction and also some great motivation. I spent several days writing notes to myself about why I enjoyed making art, why I chose to use certain materials, what I wanted to explore, and how my work was a reflection of me. I also looked at several Web articles (this one was probably the most helpful) on the topic and read about the topic in The Artist’s Guide by Jackie Battenfield. Battenfield’s guide was actually quite helpful because it included some strong examples of successful artist statements. After generating about two full pages of notes, I sat down at my computer and tried to make sense of it all. I am pleased with the outcome (which you can read on one of my About pages), and I feel confident about it even though it is still a work in progress.
In addition to the artist statement, I stretched and prepared a canvas for a new painting, sketched some studies of my subject, worked on a couple pages of my sketchbook, printed a shirt for a friend, emulsified a clean screen to burn today, created a t-shirt design for my first commissioned project, printed out some photographs to use for various studies, and hung a bunch of inspirational images in my studio. Not too bad for my first week.