Where I've Been...

Please excuse my absence since the new year...I've done some traveling, spent some time in New York City and now have grand plans developing to move from the sunny Central Coast of California a little north to San Francisco.


In the mean time I've been packing in obsessive fashion to store my studio and finished artwork until I'm more settled and can continue to create.

I have started adding my original images to a store on zazzle to offer some products featuring my artwork allowing you to keep my paintings with you everywhere you go. Check out the fun iPhone & iPad cases, mouse pads and other adornments. I'll be adding more images regularly but if you have a favorite painting of mine you would like to see on an iPhone case or any other product offered please let me know.

In addition, look forward to the re-opening of both my Etsy shops, SarahJohnAfana and schemata with limited inventory in the interim.

Today’s Lesson…

As summer is winding to an end and the kids are heading back to school I think it's important to keep the creativity and exploration alive, especially with many school budgets having to cut arts programs in schools. A couple of summers ago I had an amazing experience teaching art to kids through the Summer Art Camp at SLOMA. This is a project I develop for the classes and hope it inspires you to take the time to encourage and educate with your children.

 
First, do a little research. Learn what you can about Cubism and some of the artists that developed it such as George Braque, Pablo Picasso or Juan Gris; share some of their paintings with your kids.

What you will need:
Colored Paper
Pencil
Straight Edge
Color Pastels, Chalks or crayons
Still Life Subject...I used a Guitar Hero Guitar
I chose a Guitar Hero Guitar for a couple of reasons; the kids recognized it and were excited to use it, it has a simple shape with little to no details so the drawing would be simple as well and they wouldn't get bogged down it the specifics and it was a nod to the many cubist artists that included stringed instruments in their images.


Part of the project also included an exercise with the color wheel and recognizing analogous colors-whatever color of paper the students were working on determined the entire palette for the drawing. For example; if drawing on blue paper the drawing included greens, blues, purples with the addition of white, black and gray. (A few of the students added a pop of an opposite color.)

Start by drawing the basic outline of the object with a few details-keep it simple.
Next, using the straight edge, draw lines across the paper at random angles and intervals.
Now using the pre-determined colors start filling in the shapes created by the drawn lines. Try not to use the same color next to itself and feel free to only shade the shapes starting in a corner rather than coloring in completely.

If necessary, as the page gets filled with color think about shading around the subject to help it pop out.

 
Here are some of the finished drawings from the 7-9 year old class...

Revolution

I have been morphing some techniques I learned from drafting kaleidoscope quilt blocks into new collage paintings. Revolution is my first completed collage incorporating the pattern.

Spinning stars whirling and whooshing creating confusion in the air.

Revolution is an original acrylic collage painting on heavyweight rag board. Many layers of paint have been included in this creation along with altered paper (recycled, marbleized magazine pages) as well as metallic silver ink details. It is 11 x 14 inches (27.94 x 35.56 cm) and has been finished with two coats of protective varnish. It is signed on the front; signed, dated and titled on the back.

Painting Day

Every now and then I host a painting day with some friends, inviting them to explore and experiment. Recently we got together and went back through some basics in creating light and shadow as well as some color and composition studies.

We started with some "warm-up" paintings which in theory are supposed to be quick and expressive exercises to get you loose and feeling free with the paint. For us though, we were focused on having something we would want to keep when we were done and our "warm-up" exercise lasted a little over an hour.

 

After a while we moved on to slightly larger paintings with more abstract expression and intense color palettes.

Here are some of my results…

Jaunt-acrylic on paper, 10x11 inches or 25.4x27.94 cm 

 
Culture-acrylic paint and silver metallic ink on paper, 10x11 inches or 25.4x27.94 cm

Patina-acrylic paint and silver metallic ink on paper, 10x11 inches or 25.4x27.94 cm

Artists’ Tools Aren't Just Brushes

Artist Extraordinaire Ali Herrmann recently had some questions about how I came to be an artist and the ways I market my art. As I reflected on how I got I started I realized many of my opportunities to succeed have come from connections with friends and family. While I don't consider myself a "joiner", networking and maintaining a supportive entourage has created a basis for success I could not have accomplished alone. A BIG thank you going out to all who have helped...you know who you are.

Click over to Ali's blog to read the interview.

Alter Your World

Many of my abstract works incorporate collage techniques including layering altered papers. “Altered papers”? You may ask-what are those? For me, most often I am referring to repurposing pages from magazines that have been marbleized to create new designs from their printed inks that I then glaze onto the surface of my art-specifically, pages from National Geographic. The specific ink used for the amazing periodical are clay based which when mixed with a generous amount of the all-natural, all-purpose cleaner Citra Solv dissolve and swirl creating remarkable abstract patterns.

From Below-
original acrylic collage painting
on heavyweight rag board,
11 x 11 inches (27.94 x 27.94 cm).

Caught in the Net-
original acrylic collage painting
on heavyweight rag board,
11 x 11 inches (27.94 x 27.94 cm).

Watchful-Step by Step

A glance at the making of Watchful…

Watchful-acrylic on paper, 20 x 20 inches (50.8 x 50.8 cm)

iStudio

I was recently invited to be in an open studio project by Mod3rnArt.
You can see my work space along with many other hard working artists and crafts people. The gallery of photos shows some of the creative set ups and tools we use to make the masterpieces of our collections. Go take a look and discover some of the talent that has been gathered together.

A Peek Into My Studio

I am currently working on a commission for four landscape paintings, one 24 x 36" gallery-wrapped canvas and a group of three 12 x 12" gallery-wrapped canvases. The buyers were interested in some of my work but needed paintings in different sizes for their home-of course I am happy to oblige. Below is a look at the work in progress. I prefer to work on multiple projects at once, I find it keeps a series cohesive and allows more experimentation. This is just a glimpse at the trio still in progress while the larger canvas is pretty near complete.

Something Has Caught Her Eye

I was recently commissioned to paint one of my pretty girls in a new dress. Everyone close to me will happily tell you what a clothes horse I am, so who was I to say no. For a consummate shopper, finding just the right dress in that perfect shade of robin's egg blue can be a welcome challenge. Below are all the steps taken to give one of my favorite friends a new outfit. Something Has Caught Her Eye is acrylic paint on heavyweight rag board, 16x20".