March 31, 2008

The caption under this drawing reads, [I envy other peoples lives that have such a clear trajectory.] Yes, my seed takes a more unpredictable "interesting" path. And my seed makes it just as far. But I can't help but be jealous of those straighter paths I see people on when I feel I'm flying by the seat of my pants.


This one is called, "Welcome back to New York!" For I am officially wearing too many hats---which is such an unoriginal metaphor but I don't care. New York just puts hats on you if you allow it, and suddenly POOF all your time is gone!

This watercolor was too big for my scanner, so that's a photo above. Here below is a scanned portion so you can see the colors better. You know how I love the yellow/ violet combo!

March 26, 2008

Oh, what a nice day here at home! Went to a movie with mom, took a long walk with dad, had snuggle time with my cat, made some art on the porch...grin. I didn't pack any real art supplies, so this afternoon I looked through my mom's art supply cupboard and scavenged up some chalk pastels. I have not used pastels since high school perhaps, so these two images are definitely out of the ordinary for me!


This drawing is about driving through the Blue Ridge Mountains yesterday for my presentation at JMU. Oh, how I have missed mountains! This image captures how my head would follow something as I passed by, and then I'd look ahead again only to find myself following another new segment of scenery.


I drew this one sitting on my parents' front porch. (The leaves are actually made of the words "Shhh" in case you can't see it in the scanned image here.) Unlike in Chelsea, it was so quiet that I could hear the trees. Something I didn't even realize I missed! That rustling whispering sound is like the sound of waves...offering that same primal sense of reaffirmation that it's all okay. Hmm, I used to draw trees so much now that I think about it...

March 25, 2008

Weeks ago, it was the wallet. This week, my trademark purple coat was the latest victim of theft. And in the pocket were my keys and nifty dragon phone...so the era of the purple coat is sadly over! (And now I need to ask everyone for their phone numbers. Please send them to me!!)

Combine this hiccup with working two weeks straight between two jobs, falling ill, preparing for a presentation I gave today to a class at JMU which went really well (Oh yeah, I came down to Virginia yesterday for my Mom's birthday!), trying to get ready for my Turkey trip in a few weeks, and then NORMAL life stuff...and I wonder why I have not made art all week! Grumble, grumble.


This was how I felt at 2:30am on Saturday when I couldn't find my coat at Royal Oak. I was so spent already both emotionally and physically, and I just couldn't deal with this new obstacle thrown at me. It was like the City was messing with me, threatening to pull out the stopper that was preventing me from simply draining out all over the place.

Here next is the first version of the drawing. I was clumsy with my brush pen and messed up the face, but I didn't like the ultra-passive posture either. Go figure, it's hard to concentrate on art when you're exhausted...


I picked up some freelance work on my days off over the past two weeks, which was wonderfully fun but was why I didn't have any days off at all. I was painting a carousel, here's what the bottom portion looked like in steps...






Here's part of the top section of the carousel, which was on a separate piece of wood. It wasn't quite done when I took this picture, but you get the idea...

March 17, 2008

This is a collage about being in bed for two days with a fever/ chills/ general plague. (My fever broke yesterday luckily, but I still feel all icky.) I felt like this useless lump of yellow blanket and red quiltiness. Since I felt like a pile of fabric, I figured I would emphasize the textiles by making the image out of patterned scrapbooking paper.

And now for the next new artwork, Version #1...

I didn't like how this turned out at all, so I ended up making a second version. It's about my mood a week ago (before I got hit by the plague) when I was SO happy and sunny I was approaching effervescent. I swear, if someone kissed me on the cheek I would have tasted like a pixie stick. Those lines radiating from me in the painting are literally coated in sugar, and it's based on a picture I took in Ghana a year ago. But it just didn't capture what I was trying to express.

Now here's version #2...

I like this version much better. It's made of washes of brown ink rather than the heavy gouache, so it breathes more. And instead of radiating this energy in rays, it's blowing off of me in grains.

March 14, 2008

This week has had me wondering...can you burn the candle at more than two ends? Because I’m totally doing it. My candle has more like five ends.



Here I was trying to draw these water droplets I saw when it was pouring rain last weekend. They way the headlights lit up the surface of the road, they looked like these these little clumps of grass coming up from out of the street. But how do you draw water that looks like grass but you can still see it’s water?? Hmmm. Well, I tried.

March 10, 2008

Today was Laura Lee's Day Off! Here's what I made!

Number one priority on a day off? Laundry. So why not make art while you're at it? I simply loved all the shapes in the laundromat...all the repeating circles and squares. Quickly into this drawing, the cart and bag were hauled off, which I found very sad. We had developed a rapport.


This is not where you want to be at 2:30am, alone and cold with a long trip home ahead of you. And this is especially not where you want to be when you realize it's daylight savings...so it's actually 3:30am.

..but the night's adventures were totally worth it, so I suppose I can't complain! Note: I made this in the style of a painting I did in the summer of the view from my window since I got such good feedback about it. But I utilized a deep purple/ yellow color scheme instead of blue/orange. In case anyone was curious...

March 10, 2008

Here's a hasty blog before I collapse for the night! My four and a half hours of sleep have officially caught up with me...


This was how I felt on my way home from work today. Not getting any art out of my system for a multiple day stretch leads to this build-up, this urgency to get all these ideas off my chest. (The way I drew the pad of paper, it's smiling at me...)

This next drawing isn't one of my usual fare. I made it for Juliet and the Charlottesville Derby Dames back home. It's based on the Virginia flag (pictured below). I hope they like it!

March 4, 2008

Sometimes I swear there must be a hole in the back of my head. Because things simply just fall out. And for some reason, I visualize these instantly forgotten facts as...gummi bears. Contrasting the whimsical candies, the figure has a more serious stance. As if she's trying to hide the fact that she just forgot your name. Your name is that green one, right there. (The figure is a black paper cut-out, and the bears colored pencil)


This painting is deceiving. Because it looks like it's simply a Celtic knot...but it's actually made of bars of music. It's about how my rhythm has been off lately with my different schedule, and I've had trouble straightening it back out. You just can't follow music that's all tangled up. (It's too big for my scanner, so the sides got cut off...) Here's a close up:

March 3, 2008

I got the idea for this drawing when I visited the Frick Collection last week. Standing there looking at the collective effort of so many artists who have proceeded me made me feel so connected, so rooted. Like the walls of the museum disappeared, revealing that there is some sort of underlying purpose. Not like I'm a Rembrandt of course, but we do share that same dedication to creation. Oh, that rhymes!


Oh no, it's cartoon me in peril! I like how I'm clinging on so hard that I'm creasing the paper I'm drawn on. This drawing is really about how I all-too-often I think I can't DO anything. When other people have faith in me, I wonder what they actually see. It's as if they see me as the real deal but I feel like I'm just playing dress up. Hence the superhero cape. (And I totally ripped off the composition from my blue starry Big Dipper drawing from last summer. But that's stealing from myself, so I think it's okay.)