White Rooster Studio

The past couple of weeks have been incredibly productive and I am officially calling the following pictures completed:

I am on the fence about calling Pismo 5 E completed, so I am looking for comments and/or suggestions regarding how it looks – I am concerned that the picture has been overworked, I have been assured that it hasn’t been… but there is a part of me that is leaning towards a re-do:

I am wondering if my indecision regarding this picture has something to do with how I am now approaching the pictures in the series: less is more. At first, I was overdoing it with the biomorphic forms, almost trying to force new shapes to “appear”… over the past couple of months, and especially with Pismo 23 V and Pismo 12 L, the process has evolved and less of the forms are used to make new shapes and designs.

I am also finding that I am able to design and complete a picture much quicker now that I have worked out more of the quirks regarding this project. I am “relaxing” my “rule” about not filling in the letter… I will admit that this was prompted by small “mistakes” on my part, but the overall effect of these small errors have added some charm to the pictures and going forward, I will be deliberately adding “mistakes” to the design to enhance certain shapes.

I started Pismo 12 L last weekend and have completed more than 60% of the picture since then. I think that the corners need to be built up just a little bit and there is, of course, a small design issue with a small part of the design that I would like to think about for a couple of days – so up on the Wall it goes!

I have made the hard decision to re-do – once again – Pismo 2 B and Pismo 23 W. I feel that these two letters have taken the brunt of my discovery process for this series and, as a result, they have been re-done multiple times. But, there is good news for my two guinea pigs: I feel that the series is on the right track and I feel that I can confidently design new versions of these two letters now:

When I came up with the idea for the Pismo Series, I envisioned designing my own set of ornamental letters which would then be combined into personalized monograms for prints to sell in my Etsy shop. Once the series has been completed and scanned, I would then be able to combine the letters in Photoshop and then have the new monogram printed professionally.

Quite honestly, the possibilities are seemingly endless. These individual prints can be combined and printed as professional prints, on notecards, coffee mugs, utilized in my VIDA collection (as individual letters only for scarves and handbags)…

You can almost SEE where this can go – for example, check out how the pictures are hung on the studio wall:

I have done a bit of reading about monogram etiquette and feel that I now have a good idea of how this could be done in Photoshop, now, all there is left to do is continue to plug away at the series.

The goal is to have half of the project completed by the beginning of November so new items can be added to the Etsy shop in time for the holiday season and, if all goes well, the entire project could be completed this time next year!

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If you enjoy the projects, pictures and posts, please see free to comment – feedback is encouraged and is always welcome.

Please check out White Rooster Studio:

• If you enjoy this blog, please enter your email address by going to the Menu, then the Home Page to have White Rooster Studio’s blog sent directly to you once it is published.
• You can also follow White Rooster Studio by using the direct links from the blog’s headers. For FB, please click on the FB button, and if you click on VIDA COLLECTION or ETSY SHOP you will be directed to those sites immediately.
• Any questions, comments? Please email whiteroosterstudio@gmail.com

White Rooster Studio

Copyright @2019 White Rooster Studios. All Rights Reserved.

 

Yesterday, we took Basil to visit Pack Monadnock at Miller State Park in New Hampshire. Basil had never visited the park before and after driving up the auto road a securing a spot at the summit, we decided to wander around a  bit before settling in for some serious art time.

Basil LOVED the view from the summit! Check him out at the Raptor Observatory hoping to see a hawk or two… maybe even an eagle, but, unfortunately, we had no luck – no raptors at the Raptor Observatory yesterday afternoon:

We circled around the summit, exploring a couple of viewing spots…

… and couldn’t pass up a phot op at the Pack Monadnock sign:

But eventually we did settle down in a nice, shady spot to start work on a new letter in the Pismo Series: L

After a couple of hours, it became too buggy to hang out, even with the amazing breezes at the summit, so we had to pack everything up and head back down. As much as we enjoy working outside and spending time observing nature… there is a limit to the number of insects that can be tolerated. Rest assured, our next visit will include additional bug repellent 🙂

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If you enjoy the projects, pictures and posts, please see free to comment – feedback is encouraged and is always welcome.

Please check out White Rooster Studio:

• If you enjoy this blog, please enter your email address by going to the Menu, then the Home Page to have White Rooster Studio’s blog sent directly to you once it is published.
• You can also follow White Rooster Studio by using the direct links from the blog’s headers. For FB, please click on the FB button, and if you click on VIDA COLLECTION or ETSY SHOP you will be directed to those sites immediately.
• Any questions, comments? Please email whiteroosterstudio@gmail.com

White Rooster Studio

Copyright @2019 White Rooster Studios. All Rights Reserved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am very happy to announce that I am adding a new item to the WRS Etsy Shop: VIDA Wandering Glass Tray:

 

The 6″ diameter tray has been added to the Etsy Shop and will be selling for $30.00 and will ship FREE.

https://www.etsy.com/your/shops/WhiteRoosterStudio/tools/listings/view:table/699002868

Please see additional details below:

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If you enjoy the projects, pictures and posts, please see free to comment – feedback is encouraged and is always welcome.

Please check out White Rooster Studio:

• If you enjoy this blog, please enter your email address by going to the Menu, then the Home Page to have White Rooster Studio’s blog sent directly to you once it is published.
• You can also follow White Rooster Studio by using the direct links from the blog’s headers. For FB, please click on the FB button, and if you click on VIDA COLLECTION or ETSY SHOP you will be directed to those sites immediately.
• Any questions, comments? Please email whiteroosterstudio@gmail.com

White Rooster Studio

Copyright @2019 White Rooster Studios. All Rights Reserved.

There is absolutely nothing like being able to step out of the studio and take your work outside. I have always loved working on my art outdoors and had an opportunity to visit Fort Stark in New Castle, NH yesterday afternoon. It was also the prefect afternoon to test out Basil’s new backpack, so once my travel bag with the art supplies that would be needed as well as my “The Ninth Street Women” book (yes, still obessessed with this book) was prepared, Basil jumped in and off we went.

Basil was especially excited as it had been several years since he had visted Fort Stark – and as soon as we picked out a spot to work for the afternoon, Basil seated himself on a nearby tree and just enjoyed the harbor:

I was able to make a lot of progress with the 2nd Pismo 22 V and am really enjoying the direction that the picture is going in. Right now, it’s almost completed and I feel that I am finally making significant progress with the Pismo Series:

I am sure that you have noticed that there is a section of the V that is not 100% following the “rules” of the project, there are some grey shapes that are blocked in inside the V. This was done by accident – I really have to stop having the Bruins playing in the background while I am working. Go B’s!

I have really been trying to be especially careful not to work with the letters, but there have been small “mistakes” that have been made in the Series, but for the most part, these “mistakes” have actually added to to the overall design positively and I have been slowly relaxing the “rules”. In this case, I love the “mistake” and have been thinking that intentionally making these “mistakes” could be the solution to the design problems I have been struggling with in regards to Pismo 5 E and Pismo 23 W.

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If you enjoy the projects, pictures and posts, please see free to comment – feedback is encouraged and is always welcome.

Please check out White Rooster Studio:

• If you enjoy this blog, please enter your email address by going to the Menu, then the Home Page to have White Rooster Studio’s blog sent directly to you once it is published.
• You can also follow White Rooster Studio by using the direct links from the blog’s headers. For FB, please click on the FB button, and if you click on VIDA COLLECTION or ETSY SHOP you will be directed to those sites immediately.
• Any questions, comments? Please email whiteroosterstudio@gmail.com

White Rooster Studio

Copyright @2019 White Rooster Studios. All Rights Reserved.

 

 

 

I found myself with a rare weekend on my own to focus on my art projects this weekend. At first, the thought of having THAT much time alone seemed a bit overwhelming, but then I remembered that I would have Basil to keep me company 🙂

I prepared a mini-art festival to help break up the projects and ordered three art-related films from the library to watch over the weekend:

• “My Left Foot” – which I was pretty sure that I had only seen once, when it was released, so I was due for a re-watch.
• “A Soul Haunted by Painting” – a film about artist Pan Yuliang, which I had thought that I had seen, but wasn’t 100% sure  (this was the film Basil was most excited to see – he is a HUGE Gong Li fan)
• And the final film was the 2018 PBS mini-series “The Woman in White” the latest dramatization of Wilkie Collins’ suspense novel. Originally, I had just wanted to see it as I loved the novel, but had forgotten that one of the main characters was an artist and painting master – so it was a happy coincidence 🙂

Friday night we had a mini photo shoot highlighting my VIDA candles and White Rooster Studios coffee mug:

After that, we got comfortable and watched “My Left Foot” (1989). If you have NOT have an opportunity to see this film, please put in on your viewing list. Daniel Day-Lewis’ portrayal of artist Christy Brown is nothing short of amazing. I will admit that I was a little disturbed when I read up on Brown’s life and realized that the on-screen portrayal of his relationship with Mary Carr was NOT as romantic as it appeared.

To learn more about Christy Brown, please check out his Wikiedia page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christy_Brown, his autobiography “My Left Foot” and biography “Christy Brown: The Life That Inspired My Left Foot” by Georgina Louise Hambleton. 

You can view Brown’s work at: http://www.artnet.com/artists/christy-brown

Saturday, after a quick trip to the grocery store to stock up, Basil and I spent a lot of time in the studio trying to get as many of the six pictures that are in progress as close to completion as possible. I focused on Pismo 3, 5 and 18:

Check out Basil trying to help me figure out how to finish Pismo 5:

We managed to figure out most of how to completed Pismo 5, but encountered a design problem with the four corners that we chose to leave alone for the time being – no sense ruining the picture so late in the process when we can put it on the studio wall for a couple of days and see if the answer comes naturally.

We took occasional breaks on Saturday to watch episodes of “The Woman in White” and found ourselves completed caught up in the story. To say we loved it would be an understatement – please check it out if you have a chance.

We took a break and tested out Basil’s new backpack that was recently delivered so we can enjoy more adventures now that the warmer weather has finally arrived. I am pretty sure that Basil loves it – the backpack is just big enough to fit a book, my notebook, a bottle of water and Basil without being overstuffed.

We also checked in to see how the Bruins were doing Saturday evening in their quest for the Stanley Cup and were thrilled that they won!! Now they are up 2-1 in the series with St Louis – go B’s!!

We saved “A Soul Haunted By Painting” until Sunday morning, mostly because all the extra studio time and the need to wear my glasses at all times now had strained my eyes and I honestly didn’t think I could read a subtitled film Saturday evening. Basil was a tad disappointed, but he was overjoyed to finally see his favorite actress, Gong Li, on Sunday morning.

Because of the age of the DVD (over 20 years old) and the fact that it came from the local library, the disc was NOT in the best condition. Basil and I became a bit frustrated trying to watch the last 15 minutes of the film and had to eject the DVD several times to try to clean it so at least we would be able to finish the movie.

Personally, I got completely caught up in the life of Pan Yuliang and will be seeking out the following:

• “Hua Hun” – novel by Shih Nan from which the film was adapted.
• “The Painter from Shanghai” by Jennifer Cody Epstein – which I know that I have… somewhere… so the great search begins.
• The 2004 TV series “Painting Soul” – this may be hard to located, but I am up to the challenge.

To check out some of Pan Yulian’s work: http://www.artnet.com/artists/pan-yuliang

A big part of Sunday was spent trying to solve the design problem with Pismo 23:

I will admit, that we admitted defeat – for now.

I think part of the design issue with the W and why I have spent so much time trying to figure it out is the shear size of space that the W takes up. Unlike the other letters in which I feel that I have had more success with: A, C, E and R, the W takes up a LOT of the real estate of the paper. My displeasure with the design comes in when I attempt to block in the shapes and colors and, in the case of this W, I tried to do something different with the center and now I am not sure how to correct the problem I created.

I also want to figure out a solution for this as I will encounter the same issue when I start the M and I am hoping that by spending some extra time with the design now, will allow a smoother design process later on in the Pismo Series.

I told myself that I wasn’t going to start another letter, but I didn’t want to waste my afternoon, so I have begun a second V.

I had already prepped the border and the letter itself, so I was able to quickly able to design the knot.

I also updated the studio wall… which made me realize that I am quickly running out of wall space:

We also spent some time writing this blog post – check out Basil helping me pick out which pictures of him to use in the post:

Originally, I thought that I would be incredibly lonely this weekend but I found that although there were times that I was… I was also able to focus more on my art without feeling guilty about ignoring my partner. There were occasions in which I wished that I had someone to talk out design issues or share something great that I came across, but that will all happen later on this evening.

All of this is kind of a test run for a shared vacation that we have planned for August. We have rented out a secluded cabin and plan of dividing up the week. We will each have an opportunity to have several days alone focusing on our projects and share time in the middle of the week together. After this weekend, I am looking forward to this time to immerse myself again in my work.

That is not to say that I am not focused on my work now,  but having several days of guilt-free uninterrupted studio time allowed me to re-set my goals, organize my project, take stock of what has been accomplished and see where all this can go. Quite frankly, this is difficult to do while working a full-time job, trying to maintain a good work/life balance, spending time with loved ones and trying to run a studio and art business… sometimes, life can interfere too much and times like this weekend are needed to recharge and rededicate myself to my art work.

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If you enjoy the projects, pictures and posts, please see free to comment – feedback is encouraged and is always welcome.

Please check out White Rooster Studio:

• If you enjoy this blog, please enter your email address by going to the Menu, then the Home Page to have White Rooster Studio’s blog sent directly to you once it is published.
• You can also follow White Rooster Studio by using the direct links from the blog’s headers. For FB, please click on the FB button, and if you click on VIDA COLLECTION or ETSY SHOP you will be directed to those sites immediately.
• Any questions, comments? Please email whiteroosterstudio@gmail.com

White Rooster Studio

Copyright @2019 White Rooster Studios. All Rights Reserved.