Sunday, November 8, 2009

in art these things

oil pastels, colored pencils, and acrylic paint in moleskin journal

last week i started working in a new moleskin sketchbook. i was anxious to start working in a journal again... i wanted something that i could put muslin pieces in, or doodle in, or draw... something easy and portable. no, i still haven't finished the last homemade journal i made, but i couldn't bring myself to cover any more pages in it. i can't cover up a whole journal's worth of st. armand paper with gel medium and muslin. just can't do it... and as much as i love Barely There Books, i like working on individual pieces of muslin more.


the muslin face on the left is glued to the backside of the page above... i may cut rectangles out of most of the pages in this moleskin, but that i can do!



watercolors, oil pastels, , colored pencils, and acrylic paint on muslin

caran d'ache crayons, colored pencils, gesso, sharpie poster paint markers

I have managed to open some windows onto this world. How I have managed it is difficult to explain. It certainly wasn't by force, not by selection, not by intelligence, not even exactly by intuition, but almost by a kind of sleep walking. The work of an artist is very difficult, precisely because it cannot be done by force, with diligence, or with intelligence. I mean, you can do everything else in life using strength and application and intellect, but in art these things produce absolutely no result.

Friedensreich Hundertwasser

i've been reading my new hundertwasser book and am smitten with the man and his art... and i'm reading carl jung's memories, dreams, reflections... and the outsider art sourcebook. it's like having a bunch of kindred spirits move into your home. it's exciting...

some observations from the 'outsider art sourcebook':

a. most of the people started doing art after they retired or an event forced them to stop working at their 'regular' job.

b. most of the artists are reclusive, even anti-social.

c. they all create vast, HUGE quantities of work. they're obsessed with creating.

watercolors, oil pastels, colored pencils, china marker, and acylic paint on muslin

i'm playing on another piece of 8" x 10" muslin... i sprayed it with fixative today so i can start another layer without messing up the watercolors...




in case it's helpful i thought i'd pass on a little of what i've learned about using blending stumps on oil pastels and colored pencils... because the muslin is so 'toothy' i have to use them, otherwise my fingers would be worn out. it seems good to keep two stumps for black - a smaller one for around eyes, noses, etc., and a bigger one for general, big smudging. i keep the others clean by rubbing them on muslin - that way i can use a stump over and over on any color... the muslin cleans them right up. i also put a piece of muslin over the stump to wipe off oil pastels if i don't like what i've got going. the muslin is coarse enough to take the surface back down to where you can start adding color again.


and i took a pic of three of my favorite colors of oil pastels - golden brown by portfolio/smith binney - great for skin when used with white; bordeaux by sennelier - a saturated, delicious color that puts zing into everything instantly; and white, any brand - for skin.


finally, from the lovely karin...


for the lovely karin...

. . .

Notice sur la Compagnie de l'Art Brut

~ Messers. Andre Breton, Jean Dubuffet, Jean Paulhan, Charles Ratton, Henri-Pierre Roche, and Michel Tapie (1949)


We are looking for works of art such as paintings, drawings, statues and statuettes, objects of all kinds that owe nothing (or as little as possible) to the imitation of works of art on display in museums, exhibitions, and galleries. On the contrary, they should draw upon the basic human experience and the most spontaneous personal invention.... Works of this kind interest us even if they are crude and clumsily executed. We do not set great store by manual dexterity; most of the time it is used to imitate works created by others and disguises the creator instead of expressing himself through it... We seek works in which the faculties of invention and creation that we believe to exist in every human being (at least at times) are manifested in a very immediate manner without masks and without constraints.

from, Outsider Art Sourcebook, Raw Vision Magazine


XO

29 comments:

  1. Oh I love your wonderful posts!
    The muslin pages are fantastic...expressing so much. Good idea to pop them in your molesking journal and save the precious St. Armand.
    I love "the Resplendence of Mary's Halo" and that wonderful Hundertwasser page (he is one of my all time favourites). I have two of his books and I'm always taking them out and browsing/devouring. Must say...he is mrs. mizzles favourite too!!!
    Scrummy colours in the oil pastels. That Sennelier bordeaux is so rich and luxurious and thanks for sharing about the "stumps". Must get some and spare the fingers.
    Beautiful piece by Karin (and for Karin).
    Enjoy your week.

    Jacky xox

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  2. What a lovely post. its good to see your process and how you work. Karin's work is eautiful too.

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  3. Another *juicy* post Lynne! So much to look at read and love!!
    I'll check into those books for sure. I would love to have all those kindred spirits move in with me!! I am obsessed with creating...lol!

    Your pieces are amazing. I adore what Karin made for you and what you made for her!!

    manon
    xo

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  4. Well, for the past ten months, I have certainly fitted the definition of Outsider Artist! Loved Hunterwasser's work since I was a student and this post has prompted me to take the books off the shelf and re-enjoy. Spent the weekend working in my little Moleskine. I love it because I can even sit in bed and make art in it and as the weather gets colder, more and more, in bed is where I want to be. I was probably a Squirell in a former life...

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  5. Lynne! I love your posts, it is just like hanging out in the studio with you.. or at least what I imagine it would be like! so many things to comment upon.... the halo is divine, the piece from Karin is wonderful and the tree paintings for her are fab, I love the quote, it is so right on and I am going to look up Hunterwasser! thank you so very much!
    and congrats on the sales in your shop!! xo

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  6. LH, I know how you feel about the moleskine! I bought a couple...one to have and one to use. For awhile I was just collecting empty journals. So I have a few. Strange, but I just love having them. I have glued some muslin pieces into them and I enjoy that. As always I love your new work, all of it, old and new! I love your words and your tips on using stumps! Thank you!

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  7. I'm in love with your tree paintings, Lynne. Wish we could set up a hidden camera and watch people as they discover them. I also enjoyed the sourcebook observations and my Hundetwasser books are out on my desk ready for re-discovery.

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  8. You know what amazes me is how like minded artists are drawn to each other through this magical thing called blogging. AND, how many Outsider artists come together. It's exactly as the quote said, many "discovered" their need to create ater retirement, illness, change in their life pattern. This NEED is overwhelming and it seems driven all by itself. It helps us seek out other's that support, understand, read the same books and lovingly stroke our journals whether empty or full.
    I love this post. What a wonderful way to start my week. Thank you so much, Lynne, for being true and posting from your heart. :)Bea

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  9. Hi Lynne,

    Your work is simply divine.
    I love your paintings on muslin.

    Alma

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  10. The lovely Karin, who really is lovelier?

    I love the Madonna you did Lynne. Wonderful.

    Love Renee xoxo

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  11. A wonderful post. I love your work and all your photographs. You inspire me to get my art stuff out :o)

    Carolyn

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  12. Hey Lynne, what fun, I'm reading along absorbing all your images and words, and wonderful tips, and surprise! thank you my friend, for the sharing and caring. I love visualizing my stick angel looking down, sending out her heart song. gratefully, xoxo K

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  13. Love the sticks for Karin ! So beautiful and love-filled.

    Such a joy to know how you work, lovely Lynne. Thanks as always for sharing glimpses into your process.

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  14. Now you have inspired me to try my oil pastels on muslin - a fabric I love and which appears more and more often in my art. Thanks for all the tips - I love it when bloggers share their techniques so generously.

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  15. I think you're awesome...great book selections that look appetizing to me..a non reader...funny I fit all A B and C...and your book with added muslin is brilliant! What a collection it will be.
    xo

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  16. hiya jacky! yes, i figured that hundertwasser would be a favorite of mrs. mizzle's... just goes to figure. ; ) you're the one that really put the bug about hundertwasser in my ear. and once it was there it wouldn't leave! beautiful week to you, my friend...

    thank you, jasmine... yes, karin's work is beautiful for sure...

    manon, trust me! you NEED to have these kindred spirits come live with you! you'll be happy you did!! xo

    lol, lumi, i may have been a squirrel in a former life, but in this one i make sure the wood stove keeps it nice and toasty in here so i don't have to stay under the covers. oh, i don't like to be cold! anyway, inside of bed or out, these moleskins are handy...

    hey cat - thank you all the way around! yes, do check out hundertwasser - i feel you will be enchanted by him...

    hi janine, i think that having empty journals around is very comforting, don't you? i mean, who knows, we may have a journal emergency and need one (or two).
    we must be prepared... xo

    robyn, i wonder if the stick people *do* get discovered. i can hardly find them myself when i go back to an area. i wonder if the squirrels carry them off, or... but yes, we could set up a camera to see exactly what happens to them. i was talking to my sister and she said that hunters use such cameras! wow! imagine the possibilities!

    bea, first i want to say thank you for being true and posting from your heart... as for how we find one another, i have thought about this a lot. of course i know that it's a resonance thing, but still it impresses me to no end. and as for this NEED that we have, yes it's so true. we're pulled along... very grateful for you... xo

    ah, alma... thank you so much...

    renee, i know someone just as lovely, and of course her name is renee... xo

    hi carolyn, thank you - you've put a big smile on my face : ) (you know, i love drawing and stitching red. it's just so dang satisfying.)

    hey k., ahhh, you are welcome... thank you for the sharing and caring... it really is a trip to come across your own artwork unexpectedly, isn't it? : ) xo

    my dear fellow big heart walking, it always makes me happy to see you here... and thank you...

    ann, yes you must try them on muslin! they're most lovely!

    julie, thank you... i feel you *must* check out the outsider art book. as for meeting a, b, and c, this is what struck me. that we share these things no matter where we live or who we are. our creative voices are so strong that we simply have to leave off with the life that society has conditioned/prepared us for. xo

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  17. I love this post! Your pages are stunning, lots of great ideas and inspiration .

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  18. Horay! for Hundertwasser. folks don't mention him enough! He was one of the bio inspirations of the paper do;; series.... Horay! Lynne what a great stroll with you this morning! Thanks for taking me in. -Jayne

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  19. Lynne,
    I cannot think of enough superlatives this morning.. You constantly amaze and delight. Love how you express yourself! Love YOU!

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  20. ohhh what quotes!
    love that eye with the triangle (mimicks the dollar) and the animal with balloon... and Mary... and the sticks, and and and...

    you make me want to go unpack my books, because i want to go to the shelf and get some Jung and get some Breton and some Jeam Dubuffet ... i know where they are, but in a different house on a different shelf... odd.

    .
    love that lost and found with your address up there, too;

    i am heading for PNI or is it PMS or just that no stars are visible this night or the city i was in earlier...? LOL.

    exoblessings. Rest.


    exoblessings

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  21. Such a wonderful post Lynne

    I have enjoyed it. I'm now off to the Colchester library to get some books, I'm ment to be working on my fish today but hey, take me where the wind blows you never know where your going to land

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  22. Creative and interesting presentation.

    Cheers!

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  23. love the pic of your workspace and book and the closeup of the creature with the heart in its mouth - as always, much here to inspire :)

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  24. I have always loved your faces. They are like no other. They just scream Hoppe!!

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  25. lynne.. so precious so precious.. i am grateful for yet another wonderful journey! thank you!

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  26. What wonderful post! I love reading about your process. I really like too how you put the pieces of muslin inside the moleskine. I t really brings out the faces.

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  27. hi b & w! thank you! i always smile to see you here. : )

    hey jayne - thank you... so happy to have you strolling here... as for hundertwasser, i'm not surprised (and i know you aren't either) that he isn't mentioned more - he's too much against the flow of the status quo...

    caroline, my thoughts exactly about you... BIG love to you sweet woman...

    hey m.... i seem to be in the middle of an extended spell of PNI this week... (for other readers, PNI = Please No Internet)... so here i am just saying exo xoblessings to you my friend...

    hee, are you curious! you make me smile... i love your art - was over looking at your place but didn't leave a comment. as soon as i post this i'm gonna ask the wind to toss me your way so's i can tell you in person. ; )

    thank you jeane.... although i can't figure out which creature has its heart in its mouth... xo

    hey seth! do you ever wish you could step outside yourself and see how your work looks to others? that's how i feel when i read your words, 'cause i can't see it... : )

    hello vivian... thank you... i always feel grateful when i see your words here. and like a little fairy dust has just been dropped on me...

    hi jennifer, thank you! i agree, the moleskin border really brings out the faces. i was surprise at how much so... thank you for leaving your thoughts. : )

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  28. what a delicious feed of art and dreams..

    thanks for the blending tips..

    I am off to check out the books..

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  29. I'm really liking that dreamy muslin piece with the giant eye! It looks like there are many stories hidden in it.

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