Aerial View (Above a Mountain Pass) (For Creative Tuesdays)

For this edition of Creative Tuesdays, we've been asked to compose a piece as if we were passengers on a journey.  I have to admit, I had no idea what to come up with.  I tried out numerous ideas, each, I was not remotely satisfied with.  That's not to say I'm satisfied with this one either, yet, I am pushing the final buzzer for submissions, so this aerial view of a plane going overhead a canyon will have to do this time around.

I urge you all to head on over to Creative Tuesdays, where, I'm positive, you'll find some high quality art, much, much more interesting than what I've been able to produce this time around.  It's always fun to hang out at Creative Tuesdays, where the art is always impressive and the artists are equally so.

The Lighthouse (For Creative Tuesdays)

Over at Creative Tuesdays, this week's theme is Lighthouses.  When I used to work the Maine market I would sometimes drive up and down the coast from just north of Portland down to just below Old Orchard Beach.  I recall a few really nice lighthouses, in particular the one near Cape Elizabeth, which is just south of South Portland.  There's just something very intriguing and freeing about lighthouses.  Please stop by to CT and check out the various inspirations this theme has produced from the excellent artists that contribute there.

Birthday Party (For Creative Tuesdays)

Wow, the new year kicked in and I seemed to have lost my memory.  I was looking at my calendar and saw a CT written that I had missed. So I had to see if it was true, and yep, I most definitely missed one. What a great showing it was too.  Disappointed I missed out on that one.  First one I believe.

I haven't really done much artwork since 2013 kicked off either.  I have a few pieces I put together the past few days and I'll put them up in the coming days, but seeing I had that brain-cramp last time around, I thought it best to post this for CT today and link it up, just in case I wound up forgetting to do so over the weekend.

Birthdays are always fun.  And while I went with a fairly typical image, it was the first thought I associate with birthdays.  At my house we get together for everyone's birthdays.  Gifts are shared, but the big thing is coming up with new cakes.  That's fun.  My mother just had one last week and my sister brought over a cake boss cake.  Was really good too.  Still dieting, but I had to have a piece. :)

Stop on over and see all the Birthday Something themed pieces that are shared for this latest edition of Creative Tuesdays.

Mittens Got Claws (For Creative Tuesdays)

This week at Creative Tuesdays the theme is Mittens.  Honestly, I had no idea what I would do this week.  To be perfectly honest, I haven't had mittens since I was three or four.  I hated them.  I need my fingers to be free. I guess I made big stinks all the time, so my mother switched my over to gloves right away, and that's all I've ever had ever since.  I obviously know what mittens are and what they look like, so I started by trying to trace my hands, and it looked like a big blob, so I had to go and add the fingers.  Then I saw an old Andy Warhol painting, which as it's own, I didn't think much of it, but then, I also saw U2's Pop cover and it was similar in a way, so i thought, ok, I'll do something like that.

For the first few of these I just had the hands.  But I wanted to get the comic book strip feel in here, which, to me, meant to illustrate an advancement of the frame. So I added some movement, and somewhere in there I guess I was think about wolverine, because somehow claws seemed to pop out of the hands.  So, anyway, that's my backstory for this multi-faceted inspired piece.  

Definitely stop over to Creative Tuesdays and check out all the terrific art that is shared there.  You'll enjoy it.

Starry Night (For Creative Tuesdays)

Another Creative Tuesday is upon us, and for this week, MR. T proposed the theme of Starry Night.  Definitely, if anyone reading here hasn't already done so, please stop by to Creative Tuesday. You'll find some incredibly talented artists, each offering unique views and styles.

For me, CT is an opportunity to fine tune the work I do.  Normally I sit down, splatter a bunch of paint on the canvas and go crazy with the knife until something emerges.  While I love working  abstractly, what CT provides for me, is an opportunity to sit down with a theme in hand.  Here I can hone my process accordingly. Not to mention being able to see how the others approached the same theme.

Anyhow, stop by, you'll love it.


So, back to the current week.  The theme, as mentioned earlier, is Starry Night.  I have to admit, I didn't really know what I would do at first.  The famous painting came to mind, but I didn't really know where I would go with that.  Then, I saw this commercial, through the Tivo, as I don't actually watch commercials anymore, and there was this kid with a telescope. This was the impetus for this piece.

I envisioned a hill at midnight as a meteor fell to earth.  Then, I had to work in the Stars, as this theme is Starry Night not Meteor Night. So, I added the tiny stars and the telescope, which I actually forgot at first.

Then another spark formed.  I was tidying it up just as my sister came over with my nieces. Suddenly I saw these tiny stars as children out at play.  The idea of the parents came next and the brief poem followed.

Normally I wouldn't lay out the exact process of a piece. I do talk about them, as I'm sure you've gathered by now, but I don't like to ruin the interpretative process, so I cut it short somewhat. With this one being straight forward though, I thought I'd actually lay it all out there.

The Arena in the NEWS (For Creative Tuesdays)

The latest Creative Tuesday's challenge is upon us.  This time around the theme is truly NEWSworthy.  Such a theme as news, is so open to varieties of interpretation, I just can't wait to see all the responses that are brought together.

For my piece, I originally intended to draw an old style radio tower.  Before the advent of the internet and all the strands of modern media, we had television.  Yet, before television, there was radio.  One could easily go back further and further, eventually settling on scratches into cave walls.  But, as I was drawing the towers, I went blank, kind of in a zone, and the picture, and all it's lines morphed into something different.

It was here that I remembered a story.  While I can't recall the exact details, it told the tale of millions and millions of dollars were invested in the construction of a new stadium.  The taxpayers were on the hook for the vast majority of the funding.  They didn't have a professional sports team, yet felt they were in line.  In fact the inside information gave them belief, hope that they would be awarded with the bid.  So the town, in all their joy and happiness, decided to put their chances over the top, to construct this beautiful stadium, the best the world had ever seen.

Someplace midway through the process however, many negatives appeared.  First there was an overall, nationwide, depression of economy, which saw the materials needed to complete the project jump up in price dramatically.  Anytime a bid takes place, research is conducted, as to logistics, which include, to a major extent, the pricing of those things necessary for the project.  Well, with the economic blight that persisted, prices shot up dramatically, and the project ran out of money.

But the politicians were not afraid, as they had a great number of privatized backers that had indicated previously that they would help if the situation arose.  Many of these individuals, despite making the promises they had made, had to back out for the huge hits their companies and portfolios had taken.  But still, there were so many, the politicians were not afraid.  They knew that they would get the funding.

Everything changed however, when the professional sports leagues to which they were seeking bids, changed their tunes.  One decided that due to the economy, expansion was not a responsible endeavor.  Another decided to do the same.  The others decided to go with different cities.  So now, today, this city has this shell of what would've been the most impressive stadium ever.  It has since become a black eye upon the public, a reminder of how priorities can easily get diverted by the promise of fame and attention.

So, in a situation such as this, Who, who is to blame?

Elixir (For Creative Tuesdays)

In just a short couple of days from now, The latest Creative Tuesdays will be upon us.  So, if you've been thinking about taking part in the festivities, please hop on over to Mr. Toast's creative co-op and read the guidelines and share your art based on the current theme, which, for this edition of Creative Tuesdays, it's Bottle.

For my piece this week I was going to draw a a bottle with a ship inside of it, but when I tried, I remembered it was a little above my current skill level.  I think the bottle looked ok, but the brown blurb inside looked nothing like a ship.  So, I thought, hmmm…and came up with an idea for some kind of ad campaign.  I started with an empty bottle on a white screen (didn't include it here), then I painted inside the bottle, was going to go with the lightning in a bottle theme, but I liked the way the aquamarine/teal blend looked too much to stray from it.  Then, as is seen in the first painting, I added a ferocious seascape to surround the bottle.  The next couple pieces I simply changed the color of the sea, layered them up together and used the old knife and went abstract on it, adding a variety of colors and found the ad I liked best. 

Looking forward to see how many bottles are on the CT wall this week.

Clash of the Sciences (For Creative Tuesdays)

When I think of breaking new ground, a few images instantly come to mind.  First is the ceremonially aspect, where people gather around a roped off area, typically upon an open lot, and inside the roped off area, you have some sort of speech that is normally followed by a smashing of a bottle of some kind.  Well, seeing I'm not really good with people, I chose to use the second image that came to mind.

Life and Death are the ground in the very sense of the word.  It is through life we get to death and where without death, life would be diminished in valuation.  Science I believe depicts life and death extremely well.  Here I think of chaos, the utter form of pure energy running amok, clashing into whatever comes near.  In this state of uncertainty, not only does Death change the existing course-lines, but through death new life springs.

Without going much further into what could quickly veer into a scientific-philosophical-psychological discussion, I'll just  say, Breaking ground is always, the end of one state and the start of a new state.  In some way or another, this has to be the case for the metaphor to mean anything at all.

Stop on over to Creative Tuesdays, were we're back up and running on a bi-weekly schedule.  The current theme is, but of course, Breaking New Ground.  Stop on by and check out all the other wonderful contributions linked up.

Birds of a Feather (Creative Tuesdays)

Creative Tuesdays makes it's long awaited return, after a much needed artistic reprieve.  Can't wait to see what everyone's created.  Despite the Theme being Birds of A Feather, I'm 100% confident the creativity will be anything but Fowl :)

Stop on over to Creative Tuesdays and see all the wonderful artistry on display.  While you're there, perhaps you'll feel inspired to create yourself.  Check out the guidelines to get started, can't wait to see what you'll choose to share.

Infectious Curls (For Creative Tuesdays)

Over at Creative Tuesdays, the theme this week is Curl.  Another really neat and very open-ended topic, where virtually anything seemed fair game. My initial thought was to just go all chester cheetah here, having crunchy cheese curls all over the canvas, but that would just tempt me to go buy a big, and seeing I've been doing so well on my diet, didn't want to tempt fate :) 

So, I simply startled by splashing the paint about, trying to figure out how and where I would incorporate curls into the work.  The painting I came up with really had this fantasy feel to it, unfortunately the curls I made with a very thin knife, one I never used before, which created an etching effect, but unfortunately, unless I blew the painting up to full screen mode, all those intricate little curls just did not show.

I learned something here.  When not sure how something is going to look, stop and examine it before you spend another forty minutes doing the same thing, especially when what you're doing is detailing.

So, I decided at this point, to try and highlight over as many of the etched curls that I could.  A very interesting thing happened.  Where the etched curls reminded me of carvings, glyphs etc..the black highlights reminded me of disease, viruses and the like.  So, I went with it, and added a few additional curls in fluorescent colors, hinting upon either an antibody forming, or new strands of the virus being born, thus causing even more problem.

After I was done with it, I think it turned out more like a multi-layered graffiti piece, which is fine, just mentioned it, as I definitely found it interesting how an idea of how something looks while you're working on it, can actually vary greatly from how it appears when done, even more so, when you save it, then come back to it with a fresh set of eyes hours later.

Head on over to Creative Tuesdays, and see all the curls immortalized this week in the ever enjoyable and impressive artwork created by all those at CT.  And hey, it's early, so perhaps you'll feel inspired to do a curl of your own.  If you do, share it, but first read the guidelines.  Enjoy.

Polka Dot Pin Cushions (For Creative Tuesdays)

At Creative Tuesdays this week, the theme is Polka Dots.  It's really funny too, as all these weeks past by where I had to push myself to try and expand my artistic ability, which is something I never even thought i'd be daring to do when I first came to CT, but now, something I look forward to every week.

So, you see, with this one, it was perfectly placed for me to do an abstract, which, I have to say I was eager to get going.  But as the week or so, now approaching Tuesday, I had yet to think of something to use.

Then I came across some old things of my grandmothers upstairs. When I went up there to feed the cat, I thought about some dresses my sister used to wear, and seeing the house is really like a storage area as of late, I thought I'd find one. But while not a polka dot design, I forgot all about how she used to have so many pin cushions. She's been gone for 8 years about now, but I have to say, seeing these pin cushions for the first time, really jarred loose some memories that never had the opportunity to be mourned.  Therefore I had a nice purging moment, wonderful tears of remembrance came, and it felt great.  Yeah, I know that might sound weird, but for me, the mourning process never truly ends, at first, for varied lengths of time, the mourning process is very difficult, too soon, ya know, but as time moves on and a distance sets in, you still feel the loss, but the happy memories really take forefront and you get to celebrate those things.

So, anyhow, just wanted to share this with you all.  And to thank CT, for without it, who knows if I would've stumbled across these pin cushions or not, and the cry was very good, so again, Thanks.

As for the piece, I tried to incorporate the pin cushions, without the pins of course, and I adhered to the theme making them of polka dots.  The outer ones represent emotions and feelings, and the split screen, I tried to use it symbolically, as to reflect two distinct time periods, back when she was still living with us, and now, where her spirt hasn't nor can leave us.

Fun and really meaningful exercise this week.  Normally I give a bit of backstory, but rarely do I go into detail about the piece itself in such a detailed manner.  Typically I like to allow the mind of the viewer to come up with their own interpretations etc..but here, this week, seeing the meaning was so personal, there really wasn't anyway the effect would be possible for interpretation, so, I do apologize taking away that aspect of my art, but again, did want to share and give thanks.  Cheers.

Also, on a side note, I thought I'd add another page to my website here and use it for all my CT and other sites I post too here and there.  That way, if visitors come by and want to specifically look for those pieces submitted to CT and the others, it'll be much quicker than having to go through the whole site.

Sorry for the length of writing this week.  I do know it was rather long, but I do appreciate all who took the time to read it all.  Thanks again, you're all wonderful at CT :)

SPY (VS. SPY) (For Creative Tuesdays)

SPY, is the theme for this week's Creative Tuesday's Challenge. Definitely stop by and check out everyone's response to the challenge.  Another great theme, where the artistic interpretation can be found in a myriad of directions.  I was going to go with the OO7 idea, perhaps try my abstract hand out with perhaps a weaving of OO7, where bullets, girls and the like can be seen interweaving them, but I don't know where it came from, but SPY vs. SPY popped into my head and I rolled with that idea.  Can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with.

If you've never been to a Creative Tuesday, then definitely stop on over, you'll enjoy what's linked up, and, perhaps, you'll join us in future weeks as well, perhaps as a contributor even.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps (For Creative Tuesdays)

This week over at Creative Tuesdays, the theme is BEATLE SONG.  I love music, and always have thought if it in so many ways beyond what the sound alone suggests.  When I hear a nice up-beat or grinding tempo, I often think of how the video for this song would go.  Quite frankly, almost every song that is played, I try to visualize a scenario as to how this particular song, and in which situations, it would make a great addition to any films soundtrack.  I like to listen to slower and/or depressing songs when I'm sad or low, upbeat songs when I'm in a good mood.  I like to think music can act as therapy to some degree, and finally, I always try to read into the symbolism of the songwriter's words.  Sometimes this last bit is tough to do, but even in songs created from the most simple of lyrics, I think it's possible to finding that subtext.  Anyhow, there are so many neat possibilities this exercise can have.

The theme here is quite a creative one.  I've used songs in my poetry many times, either as allusions or as the basis for interpretation, yet never really considering how nicely the idea would translate to creating visual art as well.

With so many songs to choose from here, it was tough to settle on one. I thought about a white painted canvass with 9's scattered all over the painting, as an interpretation for Revolution #9.  I thought about doing something with Helter Skelter, but couldn't quite get the repetitive motion of going up and down ladder/slide.  There were other ideas that came to me here as well, so I'm looking forward to seeing what songs others have chose to use and what interpretations are on display.

Finally I went with While My Guitar Gently Weeps, which was never my favorite Beatles song, but up there in the top 10, and the visual idea just popped in my head and I feel really worked well in the style I have a pretty good command of right now.

For those of you new to Creative Tuesdays, stop on over, check out all the wonderful art that is linked up and read through the guidelines, as we do this pretty much every week, so perhaps you can share your own take on the CT prompts in future weeks.

Christmas In July (For Creative Tuesdays)

Over at Creative Tuesdays, the theme of the week is Christmas in July, stop on by and see what presents are awaiting your eyes to unwrap the bliss within.

I have to admit, I had no idea what to do this week.  Perhaps it was a case of being only one week removed from Paradise Island, but the only thoughts I could relate to July were summer, beach, sand, fireworks.  So that said, I thought I'd put a different angle on the beach scene and then I added a volleyball/racquetball net, some towels, and for those wondering, that elongated shape next to the purple towel is supposed to be a horseshoe pit.  Then to solve the Christmas part I added a Tree, that is supposed to be made out of muddied sand, but not really sure that came out in the end and a manger scene just above the tree, which still looked a little bare to me, so I added some presents.

At this point I was content I guess, but still wanted to solidify the time falls in the month of July.  Aside from simply stating the theme, I wanted to include something that would indicate July.  I thought about adding some fireworks, in fact I did put some in there, but each time it seemed like the fireworks display overtook much of the water, which I really liked the way it came out.  So, to solve the matter I put up a sign, and to ensure the viewers eyes were drawn to it, I put an additional towel on the bottom there, and then added some paw prints to drive the eyes to the sign.

Definitely fun working with sand and water, which i didn't have to of course, but honestly, just couldn't think of any other venue to illustrate the theme.  Which in turn is something I'm really looking forward to seeing how the others handled this one.

While you're checking everyone's work out, read the guidelines and keep tuning into Creative Tuesdays so you can partake in a future week.

Paradise Island Retreat (For Creative Tuesdays)

Over at Creative Tuesdays, the theme is Paradise Island.  Boy, could've gone in a number of directions there, but, because of artistic limitations and my desire to keep this site as close to a PG rating as possible, I opted away from some of those other notions and went with a perfect scene at a beach, where you could spend time watching the beauty of the ocean, the alternating colors of the sky, any various animals that pass by your line of sight, sand, a bed (counting on it being rainless of course), fishing for one's supper, over an open fire of course, and naturally a small boat, in order to get back home when you long for that, again, counting on the waves to be gentle that day :)

Stop on over to Creative Tuesdays and see what the others versions of paradise Island prompted them to create.

Pink, Fluffy, Cute-A dream (for Creative Tuesdays)

Over at Creative Tuesdays, the theme this week is Cute.  I have to admit, I had no idea how I could draw something cute.  I know what cute is, well at least what I feel cute is, but how could I represent that quality in art?  This was my major hurdle for this project.  I had to have cats in there, as they are just so, so cute.  I wanted to put puppies in there as well, but even using a stencil they came out more like fraggles then dogs, so I decided to go all pink, fuzzy and flowery, of course with some lovestruck cats, a rainbow, some faeries and a couple of birds.

I really look forward to checking out what the others create for this week, after all, who doesn't dig cute, right?  Head on over to Creative Tuesday, check out all the art linked up.  And if you're up to the challenge, read through the guidelines, and if you still have time, share your creation with the rest of us.  And if you happen to be out of time for this weeks challenge, simply come back later in the week and see what the next one will be.  But warning, once you participate, you'll get hooked, that is if you enjoy art and having fun :)

Logo Designs 6-23-12 (For Creative Tuesdays)

This week's Creative Tuesdays theme is Blog Icon/Button.  Well, I have to admit, I have no idea how to go about making a button, but, in a sense, well at least very relatable, this seems to fall into the realm of Logo Design, so that's how I chose to go.  

I've been a fan of corporate logos for sometime.  Even as a Kid I always loved seeing a really good one, and have dabbled with creating my own over the years as well.  In fact, I used to make up sports teams names and try doing their logos as well.  I have a post of some of these that I posted back a while, in case anyone wanted to check them out.  

Unfortunately, when i get outside the world of abstract, my artistic ability is rather limited.  But I'm trying here and there, and I have to say I think I'm getting better at the more traditional styles, and I have Creative Tuesdays as a main reason for the progress, as while you can pretty much incorporate abstract into anything, but many of the themes It gives you a great opportunity to at least attempt something outside your comfort zone, and like many of the times, I didn't like what I was getting so I went back to the abstract, but the old adage, practice makes perfect rings oh, so true.

For this theme, I used the inverted C with a triangle in the center.  I've used this logo numerous times, for a variety of things, over the years, and it's kind of stuck with me.  So, for this first design here, I did one by itself and then in the center I did an expanded design featuring it in various poses, so to speak, and then in the bottom I played with a logo utilizing the Sqwerm blog name.  It's a lot of fun, and a great theme this week.  Can't wait to see all those submitted.

And, just for fun, while I had the design fresh on the screen, I pulled out my faithful friend, the knife and played around with the logos, and in the process, created an abstract piece.

Head on over to Creative Tuesdays, check out all the pieces that have been linked up, and if you're up for it, read over the rules, create your own and share it with the community.

Gifts (For Creative Tuesdays)

Over at Creative Tuesdays, this weeks theme is a parlay off the celebration one.  It is, of course, Gift.  Head on over and check out all the gifts prepared for you by the ultra-talented artists that contribute to Creative Tuesdays.  And while you're there, read the guidelines and join in.

A bit of a background for this piece.  I initially was going with the gifts under the Christmas tree idea, but then, I got to thinking, literally while I was putting the bulbs on the tree, that Gifts can be so many different things, and from there I came up with God and Country, partially due to a Smashing Pumpkins song that just happened to play while doing this, in which Billy Corgan, the lead singer, repeated God and Country a few times in the song.  From there Family was easy, as was love.  I have to admit, the last area remained empty for a while, which is completely ironic, as my workspace is filled with over 300 books, yet it took me a few days to come up with Knowledge anyhow.

Fireworks Celebration (Creative Tuesdays)

This week, the theme over at Creative Tuesdays is Celebrations.  I have to admit, I couldn't think of what to do.  I had a few ideas, but none of them panned out the way I wanted them to.  Then, I was watching a show, actually channel surfing, not really sure what the show was, but in that brief flip of the channels, I noticed a fireworks display and that's when I got the inspiration for this piece.

I was reminded of when I was a child and my parents used to take me and my younger sister over to this hill about 20 minutes from our house.  It was really nice, as it was in a nice area, but also because they let people sprawl out their towels, picnic baskets and it all turned out to be a really nice place, where a lot of families would get together to watch the fireworks display, that the village was running about a mile or so away.

I remember always thinking how close the display appeared, despite the distance between launch site and our location up on that hill.  The only thing I wish I could've incorporated into the piece are all the variety of sounds associated with the fourth, but hopefully everyone's experienced one of this and will have no problem recalling those loud yet exciting sounds, that again, seemed so very close to our ears.

I haven't been to a fireworks display in a really long time though. Actually, I think my last time seeing one was when I had a business trip in Boston, MA about 5 years or so ago.  I stayed at this hotel near the water, and I was high enough up, that I had a perfect view of the display, and I have to say, it was pretty awesome, way beyond
anything we ever got on that hill.

But then again, I think the fond memories of those trips to that hill, weren't so much as the marvel of the fireworks itself, as it was the time spent together as a family, which, as we age, it gets harder to coordinate such moments of real quality time, like the kind I so fondly remember we'd share back then as kids.

Underground Colony (Creative Tuesdays)

Creative Tuesdays has prompted us to dig deep for this week's prompt.  The theme, or I should say themes, are either Underground or Under Water.  I've only taken part the past few weeks, but so far, all those participants linking up have provided some very fascinating and impressive work.  So click on over, check out everything that's on display and if you'd like to participate, take a read through the guidelines and link your piece up.

I chose the Underground theme.