Fishkets on a Wall

Here are my "Fishkets" matted, framed and hanging where I can enjoy them everyday.
Each monoprint is 5.5" x 14" and the framed piece is 27" x 42"

Two More Fishkets

I said I would and I did…pushed that plate a couple more times to get these two prints.

This plate was done after the red one on the previous post.  I added a metallic gold over the remaining red and then played with the linocuts of fish and the gaskets to add more information to the plate.

After printing the gold print, I added a lovely blue over the remaining information and played some more even adding a new gasket.  

I have decided to call this series "Fishkets"….sounded better than Gaskish to me.  Now I am waiting for that big special coupon for the framing so they can be displayed together.

5.5" x 14"  Speedball Inks

Gaskets and Fish

I have a smaller class this semester for Monoprinting and this affords me a little press time of my own.  Yesterday, I brought a group of gaskets I picked up somewhere and some linocuts of some fish I had done awhile back. Now generally gaskets and fish wouldn't be in the same thought but when one of those gaskets looks like a shell the mind seems to think, "well…maybe".

On the first plate I mixed a teal blue for the background and then used the linocuts to stamp images on the plate. I also pressed some small gaskets into the wet background to lift some ink and leave a vague image. Then I inked the gaskets and placed them on the plate for printing.

When you remove the gaskets after printing there is lots of information left on the plate so without washing the plate I added yellow ink to the background and then stamped more fish and gaskets and printed a second paper. After that print there was still great information left on the plate so on to more manipulation and the red print.

I thought that would be it but darn if there wasn't even more interested stuff left behind.  Put the plate in my drawer to wait for next class and a few more pulls on the press.

5.5" x 14" Plates  Waterbased Speedball Inks

A line here and a line there….

Haven't posted for a bit but I am not resting on my laurels….well maybe resting on one of them. How many do we have anyway?

The background of this piece is a monoprint I did as a quick demo on hand printing.  There were some faint images of a half daisy type flower so when it dried I added some ink and played with them.   5" x 7"

This is a page in my 5" square handbook which was done at one of my ZenFriends meetings.  Just playing around with newer tangles.

Another page in my 5" square handbook.  Started at another group get together and finished today with a cup of tea by my side.
Mookah, Flex, N'Zeppel and I guess sort of a variation on Hollibaugh.

Nap Time

The whole family went to Boulder for a wedding and one day while my grandson was napping in my room I sat with him and this little scene developed in my 5" x 5" Handbook

A sleepy, dreamy place in another world.
Are you getting drowsy????

Featured Artist….

…who me?  Yes me, thanks to my friend, Liberty at Liberty Fine Arts Gallery, I will be her featured artist for this month's Santiago Art Walk.

I will have 17 pieces and my sketchbooks on display.  If you are in the area stop by and say hi!

Free parking at the Santa Ana Train Depot
The Santiago Lofts and the Art Walk are across the street.

Whew! The end of summer….

The end of summer is always a flurry of events and activities.  Even though I haven't posted for a bit I'm still here and managing to get in some art!

These are some bits and pieces from playing around in my two different Zentangle groups.  I try and get one of the pages in my 5" x 5" handbook completed in each meeting.

This one was just playing with a couple of tangles, "Narwhal" and "Bundies".  I just dropped them anywhere on the page and at the end I added the grid behind them which seemed to anchor everything together.  Successful trick!

This page was just completed on Tuesday with my ZenFriends group.  Playing with "Narwahl" again only this time I turned them into little pods in a garden scene.

Summer Art Journal Days

More fun playing, laughing, munching and tea.  What great days these are, spent with friends who are artsy, funny and wise.  Yes, there are words of wisdom in between the laughter!

Sharon gave me the little birds that were stamped on thin paper and then I just drew the funny flowers and bugs and added color.

The next page is "trying to be Jane Davies" playing with marks, lines, and colors.  I am signed up for a real Jane Davies workshop next year!  Excited!!
You can find her blog on my Blog Friends List on the right.

Colorful Zentangles

My sister ask if I had a piece of art she could have to give to someone who is going through a battle with cancer.  I did a few Zentangles for her to choose from.  This is the one that she chose after much decision making.  It is a mandala style Zentangle done on top of a monoprint.

This one was also in the "choose" pile.  I think it has a softer, flowy feel to it which makes my eye move and wander around the square.

I think these are both about 6" square.

Pen on Monoprints

Art Journaling Pages

These two pages started by Sharon and I talking about different paints and high flow acrylics came up.  I had bought some but had not worked with them yet so I grabbed the two colors on the right page and made some swishes.  Then going over to my stack of pages of color and texture from magazines I found two pages with the same colors!  I tore some strips and tried mirror imaging the painted page.…….ah the serendipity of art and serendipity of life.

For the next spread I used two different seascapes at sunset to build my background.  The butterfly just seemed to flutter into the picture.  I found a compass rose for the next page and it reminded me I need to look into another adventure cruise with Lindblad National Geographic.  Where to go?  Where to go?

Sending Out Some Zen

Some more Zentangle time to share.

This one was started at LAX while waiting for our flight to France and finished there.  It actually was drawn in this configuration and when I tried to flip it on it's side to put the "fescu" at the bottom it was not happy… so here it stays.

This Zentangle was drawn in this direction as well but could also be turned to give a different feeling.  Hummm…….what do you think?


5" Handbook and Pen

Art Journaling

Summer Fun!  A group of friends and I are taking an Art Journal Adventure this summer.  We are getting together every other Tuesday to play in our Art Journals.

Ripping, glueing, painting, smearing,  mark making and words…..all of this and lots of friendship and laughter as well!

This is a two page spread I worked on last week.  Using some small monoprints, home made stamps, a little scribbling and words these two pages came together.

Borrowed words from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Aristotle and Walt Disney with a few of my own make these pages work for me.

This is a 7" x 10" spiral bound sketchbook I started in 2006…YIKES!  Only a few pages left here and then I can start another one.

Goult and Gordes

Goult is just the loveliest little town.  If you wanted to live in a quintessential French town in Provence this would be the one.  It is small, friendly and oh so cute…it even has it's own windmill.

While in Goult I visited a little antique shop and bought two ceramic flowers of the "capodimonte" variety for my garden.  The shop girl said, "How nice you are buying something for your garden while on vacation." The two pieces of old grape vine came from the vineyards close to Les Bassacs.

Gordes is a great village to visit. The day we were there a giant crane was being disassembled so it took us a while to get into town. They are working on a "6" star hotel…wow! I just loved the sign from the honey shop and the corner stone from a home build in 1826.

Ahh…the flowers of France in the spring!  It is always fun to sketch and paint flowers and the gridded paged worked well for this one.

Robert Bateman 6" x 9" Sketchbook
Pen and Watercolor

Views of Roussillon and Goult

Roussillon is the largest producer of ochre in the world. A lovely village.

Back to Sur le Sorgue for market day.  This page will be added to as it seems a little sparse.

Gould is just the loveliest little village.  A great place to stroll, sketch and let it all soak in.

Lourmarin, Murs and Apt

Finally a few more pages from my sketchbook in France.  Bits and pieces and a little collage over a very out of prospective car in Murs.  6" x 9" Robert Bateman sketchbook with pen and watercolor.

Saint Santurin and Bonnieux

A couple of sketchbook pages from the last couple of days. Having fun exploring new villages and making new friends.  And a Collage page which I think needs more work.

Joucas Vaucluse

Sketchbook page from a little town, Joucas Vaucluce.

 Robert Bateman 6" x 9" sketchbook

 Watercolor and Pen

First day at Les Bassacs

We had a relaxing first day in France.  After breakfast we went to market day and then after lunch I wandered, sketched and settled in.  Managed to get one page done in my 6" x 9" sketchbook.

Market day in L'Isle sur la Sorgue

Horizon Lines

My art critique group does monthly challenges to keep our creative juices flowing.  This month's challenge is to compose a landscape with either a very high or a very low horizon line.

I did a series of small 5" x 5" monoprints.
My first print is with a very high horizon line.  I only used my palette knife for this one, laying in the layers of colors and the using the side of the knife to break up the foreground.

My second print, also with the palette knife, was supposed to be my very low horizon line but wasn't as low as I think it should be…..and it looks more like a seascape with the waves crashing over some rocks with absolutely no horizon line. Hmmm…maybe I'll get extra credit!

So I tried another very low horizon. This time I rolled the ink on for the background sky and used the palette knife again for the ground and palm tree.

It was fun to work in a series of horizon lines but also fun to work with the palette knife to create my images.

…and Jane came up with a new class quote:
"Anything worth doing is worth doing in a series"