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Eric Carle Interview
Hello Friends!
I think if you are a reader, a writer, or an artist, you will enjoy this! I have always loved Eric Carle’s work. And here you get to see how he does his art and find out a little about him. I also recommend the book called “The Art of Eric Carle.” It is really great!
Have a wonderful 4th of July! 🙂
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Van Gogh Journal – FINISHED!
Hello Friends!
Well, my Van Gogh Journal project is finished! When I completed it, I played the song “Vincent” by Don McLean and cried a little. Vincent van Gogh was such a beautiful soul. I wrote the most moving part of the song, to me, on the last page. Along with that on the bottom is a copy of a paragraph from one of my books, Van Gogh, by Rene Huyghe, page 91. He is pondering how Vincent may have felt.
“Isn’t it the picture of a completely wasted life? He must have felt it such to go to the end of what was his destiny: that is a total gift of himself, the redemption of his ego, exalted by the total sacrifice of everything which he had a right to expect. Van Gogh will have lived this admirable and perhaps unique passion; he will have greedily educated and developed his ego and will not have gotten anything out of it for himself but disappointment and finally the excruciating feeling of having achieved nothing in his life – a useless life.
But it is because of this that he is so great, because of this that his genius appears to us with the purity of a saint of painting. For, when he assumed his own nothingness, he started becoming for others, for ever increasing multitudes, a warming and illuminating fire. This lost fire, hardly noticeable by a barren smoke, has now changed into a sun, a sun whirling in our eyes and in our hearts and projecting its splendor – splendor made of flame, of love, of life.”
On the other page I included a copy of his paintings called “Portrait of a Young Peasant Girl” and “Portrait of Dr. Gachet” which were from Vincent’s Auvers Period. Then I copied a photo of his drawing called “Corridor of Saint-Paul Asylum in Saint-Remy.” I made three sizes of it and glued them together for a 3D effect. Next to it I cut a self-portrait of his in three pieces and glued it in separate pieces to show how broken his spirit must have felt before he died. Then I wrote what I would say to him if I could: The world reaped the beauty you sowed and included his painting of “The Sower” on the next page.
Lastly, I included some stickers I found that I think are appropriate of wine, bread, and the words “LeCafe” and “Bonjour.” And the very last thing in the bottom right hand corner is a copy of how he signed all of his letters to his beloved brother, Theo.
Ever yours,
Vincent.
Have a wonderful day! 🙂
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Van Gogh Journal Pages 27 & 28
Hello Friends!
Yesterday, I decided to do two more pages in my Van Gogh journal. I made the portrait of Vincent into him looking like a priest. Why? He grew up in the Protestant Dutch Reformed Church in Groot-Zundert, in the North Brabant region of the Netherlands where his father was a pastor. He went to the University of Amsterdam to study theology and planned on becoming a priest. He studied hard but failed his seminary entrance exam. This was hard for him, because he wanted to help people. He loved God, and he loved people. He believed God had called him to be a pastor like his father. But thank God it didn’t work out; otherwise we wouldn’t have his incredible work today!
He did love people, though. When he went out to draw and paint, he often drew laborers, field workers, weavers, and many other people. He cared deeply about how they struggled to make a living especially after he decided to pursue art for his own life’s work. He knew he couldn’t buy art supplies without the financial support of his brother, Theo. This was difficult for him, but he and Theo loved each other very much. Vincent appreciated everything his big brother did for him. I think this is why he tried so hard to become a success and hoped to sell his work.
Obviously, I have depicted him as a Catholic priest, but that was because I just watched a movie called “Puzzle” the other night. The woman in the story is a struggling Catholic and is shown with ashes on her forehead for Ash Wednesday in a scene. That’s where that idea came from. The black and white photo in the corner is of a painting Vincent painted of his father.
And the girl on the left-hand page is a copy of a girl I drew in charcoal on cardboard last year. The quote below her says:
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else, is the greatest accomplishment.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson–
Some of the other random pieces of collage are from copies of some of Vincent’s art as well as my own. I prepared the pages with some black and white gessos and also put some gold and green acrylic inks in places. The “spiral” in the middle is from a copy of some of my art with the sketchbook wire. I liked adding that in! This was fun as usual.
Have a wonderful day! 😀
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Van Gogh Journal Pages 23 & 24
Hello Friends!
Yesterday morning I was reading “The Te of Piglet” by Benjamin Hoff. Just reading and writing in a different journal inspired me to do these pages in my Van Gogh journal.
I enjoy collaging intuitively. Not having a plan in mind helps me relax and take my time and think about design and color.
On the right page is one of Vincent’s “Self-Portrait with Straw Hat” paintings. The left page at the bottom says this painting was done in Paris in the summer of 1887. It was oil on canvas, mounted on wood. But it was only 34.9CM x 26.7 CM. which is small.
I love this painting of his, so I decided not to alter it. After I collaged the pages, I mixed some Golden’s Hansa Yellow Light fluid acrylic paint with some matte medium to make it more transparent and painted the white spaces. I also am enjoying using pallet paper with dried acrylics on it. I never know how they are going to come in handy for a project which is fun!
Lastly, after thinking about it for awhile, I printed the words REFLECTION and MUSE on the left page and PONDER and SEE on the right page since these are things I have been doing more of these days.
Have a wonderful day! 😀
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Vincent Van Gogh Journal Pages 21 & 22
CLOSE-UPS
Hello Friends!
I created these pages last night and thought about what I wanted to write on them this morning. So when I posted these on instagram, this is the message I shared:
These pages are dedicated to Vincent and all of us who have been called “crazy” or have been looked down on because we are “different.” Personally, I am not in the very large group of people who are LGBTQ, but I have relatives and friends who are. I love them for being courageous enough to be who they were born to be in spite of narrow-minded people who abuse and even shun them. Yet I am different in other ways and was made to feel “crazy” most of my life. But CREATIVE and ARTISTIC PEOPLE are not “crazy” or so “different” that those who think of themselves as “normal” should shun us for who we are and what we believe. I think everyone just desires to be loved and accepted for who we are. Love one another. 😀❤
Many think that Vincent van Gogh may have been bipolar. This is a possibility, but we will never know for sure. So why guess? I think he was born with an amazing creative mind and developed a very compassionate heart throughout his life. But so much of society and the more “elite” artists of his day shunned him and didn’t want his art to be shown alongside theirs in galleries, that he was left feeling isolated, depressed, and in despair. How differently his life may have turned out if he had been and felt accepted by those who knew him and saw him sketching and painting every day. But at least he had the support of his brother, Theo.
And how different our world would be if humankind could just accept and love one another for who we are meant to be. So my encouragement to you today is: You don’t have to change your personal beliefs. But be open-minded to those who live and believe differently than you do. Help make our world a better and safer place for us all. Thanks for reading.
Have a wonderful day! 🙂
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Van Gogh Journal Pages 19-20
Hello Friends!
I had SO MUCH FUN creating these pages! You may notice that I transformed Vincent into a Lynx! You may also recognize the Lynx drawing as the one I drew in pencil a while back. Yes, he’s the same one. But I decided to give his fur the orangey color of Vincent’s facial hair and his bright blue eyes. I didn’t do too much to the background except add some teal and Payne’s Grey acrylics that resemble the type of lines he painted, and I used a small makeup sponge to paint some teal and yellow-green shapes around the bottom.
On the left page I used acrylics, stencils, and a copied portion of my husband’s kindergarten report card that he found the other day! His teacher wrote in the Comments section, “Has to be corrected a little too often for running in the room and other things which he knows he shouldn’t be doing. He enjoys seeing what he can get away with.” Ha ha! But to be fair, she also wrote at the bottom “A very special boy!” (I just didn’t include that part.) But he’s still special and still has that boyish charm!
Have a wonderful day! 😀
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Van Gogh Journal Pages 17-18
Hello Friends!
I am so glad this book I made into an art journal is only 7″ x 8.5″! Of course, once I got started, it only took me about an hour to do these two pages. Tomorrow I will post the next two pages. I created a total of four yesterday.
I found some off-white paper that I can copy things from my other Van Gogh books onto, so the paper looks somewhat aged. I really like it!
On the left page I painted the background with fluid acrylics of orange and green, each mixed with matte medium to make them more transparent. Then I used the matte medium to glue down small pieces of floral, blue, and peach tissue papers, and a little music.
Then I copied a picture of a painting Vincent did out of one of my books about him and glued it down.
Next I used some fluid acrylics to create drips, respectfully Gold and Paynes Grey. And that was a fun page!
On the other page I painted the background light and medium shades of green and a little red-orange. I glued down more ephemera, painted over Vincent’s portrait a little, and applied more drips.
I really am enjoying making this journal! I listened to some Moody Blues and Native Ameican flute music while I worked. It was quite nourishing for my soul.
Have a wonderful day! 😀
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Mixed Media in Van Gogh Journal
Hello Friends!
The other day I did this before I painted the Valentine’s card of “My Grinning Dwarf” watercolor painting for my husband.
I was mostly experimenting with some new stencils and colors of acrylic inks. It was completely intuitive. After I stenciled and inked the left page, though, I decided to paint the basic outline of a sea turtle. The colors just felt like the ocean!
On the right page I used some of the same colors and added some white acrylic ink with a different stencil and a small makeup sponge. Lastly, I used some ink to make the drips.
Working in my journal without a plan really put me in a creative zone and loosened me up to paint the dwarf card.
Whether you do art or write or even are an actor, do you have any exercises that you do to warm up? If so, please share! I would love to know! And I am sure others who read your comments could benefit from your experience as well! Thank you!
Have a wonderful day! 😀
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Van Gogh Journal Collaged Pages
Hello Friends!
I really enjoyed playing with colors and design on these two pages! First, I glued a tiny sheet of music down. Then I painted over that page and around his portrait on the right with some lemon yellow acrylic mixed with matte medium to make it transparent.
I had copied a couple of his paintings out of another book I have. Then I tore off pieces that I wanted to use. I also copied a photo of his pen and ink drawing called Weaver at the Loom. I used pieces of a copy of his painting Cafe Terrace at Night, some of the cobblestone walkway and the people at the tables, too.
In some places I pasted a few small pieces of my own scrap palette paper with dried acrylic paints on it.
Then on the right page I glued down a portion of a letter he wrote to Theo letting him know what supplies he needed. I tore some orange and blue pieces of tissue paper to glue down. And I painted over his portrait making his eyes look more intense!
Next I found my word “connection” for this year which happened to be printed on a blue card from a poetry magazine. After I tore it out and glued it, I wrote three synonyms: unite, relation and join.
Lastly, I finished with the very tips of a brush making whispy marks around the page and painting a few lavender lilies.
Have a wonderful day! 😀
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Collage on Canvas
Hello Friends!
Yesterday I decided to paint black Gesso over an old canvas that I did a goofy abstract on back in 2015. Gesso is great for being able to cover a canvas for new use!
I started out using matte medium to glue on a whole bunch of tags from the Lipton teabags we use to make iced tea. But I found it was too tedious for this 8×10 canvas and I wouldn’t have had enough anyway. Then when I tried to glue down the shiny wrapping from the cardboard trays in the box, they wouldn’t stick. So what to do? Collage over them of course!
So I decided to use some of the papers I got at Michael’s with the mermaids, etc. and found a few select words in an art magazine. It was pretty relaxing, and I like it. I was thinking about painting something on it, but decided not to. So I hung it up instead.
Have a wonderful day and give someone you love a big hug! 😀
Patsy's Creative Corner 