Friday, November 13, 2009

Humble Beginnings + new tie dye and screen prints for sale!

I'm starting to believe that December is just around the corner. This morning the bus ride to work was frigid and its been raining almost every day since Halloween. I do finally feel like I live in Oregon, unlike last year where we got hardly any rain but then thrashed with a crazed snowstorm that Portland was seriously not prepared for. I'm interested to see what this winter will be like.
So, in homage to the chillyness of these days and the days to come Danny and I listed a new tie-dye that is perfect for keepin you or a loved one cozy with some psychedelic flair:
psychedelic thermal
Psychedelic Thermal
Hand tie-dyed with lots of love in my favorite color harmony: Purple and Green!
extra large(XL)
100% cotton thermal dyed w/ procion mx dye
51" chest
To see more of this tie-dye or to buy go HERE

Also, we listed a new screen print that is a collaboration of screen print work of both mine and Dannys. check it out:
behold opticle (eye)llusions
behold opticle (eye)llusions
8.5" x 11"
a mash-up of Chelsea Rose's Behold design, and Danny's optical (eye)llusion, and splatter design screen printed on watercolor paper.
very rare, one of a kind
to see more of it or to buy click HERE

And I wanted to show you what i started working on Wednesday night:
humble beginnings
This is a snapshot of my work table in my lil home studio space.
You can see the humble beginnings of two new paintings.
I'm going to be trying to begin incorporating more detail into my pieces, namely adding some backgrounds to my subject. I felt the Harpy would be a perfect way to start since my original drawing featured her perched on a tree limb.
Here was the original pen and ink drawing:
Harpy
I projected this pen and ink image onto a prepped 14x14 stretched canvas.
Once I had the harpy transferred where I wanted her I began to sketch with pencil to figure out where and how I wanted the branch to be rendered which she would perch upon. I then drew a few different background ideas involving a looming city scape in the background. Once I finally settled on a background sketch I took my India ink pen and went over the lines to produce what you see in the above photo. That was all done Wednesday night.
Last night I began to go into the Harpy's background with color. I will take a picture of my color additions tonight once I get home from work. I will then begin to lay the first layers of color into the Harpy herself.

....Now, the other painting you can hardly make out in the background of the picture above is another story. I started the background months ago with the idea that I would place this certain drawing I did of a warrior mermaid into it.
here is what the background painting turned out like:
sunken city
My inspiration/idea for this piece was a sunken glowing city under the ocean being guarded/protected by her:
the guardian at the gate
I hesitated for so long to try and put her into the piece because I liked the background as is. But Recently I decided that id give it a try.
I was a little befuddled as to how to transfer my mermaid onto into the sunken city piece. At first i tried it the way I normally do it- which is to project the pen and ink drawing on top the background and then trace it with my India ink pens...but that did not work because the background was too dark for my pen to make much of a guide. So I then decided to use the projector to guide me in blocking out the basic shape of my mermaid in white. That's pretty much as far as I have gotten so far. I did draw the beginnings of her face but that's it.
This is really more of an experiment, if anything. so wish me luck with this and if you have any advice or ideas I would love to hear them.

What i didn't realize till yesterday was that both of these have city scapes in the background. Ugh. Oh well...I do love city scapes...I see them as portraits of Babylon. I wonder at the chances of being born in the midst of such an intense time in the epicenter/mecca/vortex of so much. Its foreboding, frightening, strange, bizarre, horribly ugly and so oddly beautiful and i see all of that in these city scapes i draw- they are stark symbols of man's bloody triumphs, our unquenchable thirst for power, knowledge, our need to shape the world we inhabit. So yes....i do love my city scapes but perhaps for my next painting i will use something else as a background.

...So now you all know what I'm up to currently.
I'm going to try and be diligent and recording the creative process with both of these pieces so stay tuned if you are interested in seeing these paintings unfold with all the progress, struggle and learning of the creative journey.

I am truly looking forward to this weekend. I mean to work a bunch on the above paintings and get a bunch of laundry done too.

Danny's birthday is this coming Monday so I hope we can find some time/funds to do something special together.

Peace be with you all!

Enjoy your weekend journeying,
-Chelsea Rose
Lucid Optic Lab
www.chelsearoseart.com

4 comments:

  1. Hey, it's Anonymous again. Might as well just call me Kevin. That painted cityscape looks AMAZING. Did any particular artist inspire/ influence you for that sort of cartoony/awesome coloring? I find that Ren and Stimpy was an early inspiration for me, especially those highly detailed close-up gross out things.

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  2. Hey Kevin!
    Really glad you enjoyed the underwater cityscape.
    Its funny, last night Danny and I were just talking about this very same question you asked.
    Growing up as a kid with TVs and the Internet at the ready cartoons have very certainly engrained their imprint onto my artistic expression whether i do it consciously or not. But i am a true fan of vibrancy and luminescence so i think thats just how it translates when i pick up the paint brush: lots of intense contrasting cartoony color. Color is candy for me.
    But yea…my biggest cartoon inspirations would probably be Sailor Moon and a lot of other anime( when i was going through my young awkward super nerd stage at age 10-13) But recently I have really come to appreciate Samurai Jack cartoon and its amazing illustration and rendering. I love how you can make out brush strokes and other signs of art within the scenes. I remember watching Ren and Stimpy every year when i went to go see a friend in Ohio as a kid. Her husband had DVDS of EVERY episode and I agree- the art and coloring with that was amazing.
    Also- I have always loved the way Gotham has been illustrated and colored in various batman cartoons. another huge inspiration there as far as grimy/electric gothic city scapes go.

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  3. I'm really looking forward to seeing how both come out. The background for the warrior mermaid painting is beautiful- but you already know that! It will be interesting to see more detailed backgrounds in your pieces. I already told you about the nice depth you had in your Posy Nymph and it would be awesome if the same kind of depth was present in your newer pieces, especially with the more detailed bg. I'm so excited to see how they turn out!

    On a slightly related note, someday I'd really love to do an art trade with you. I know you've seen precious little of my stuff, but I've been working on some new stuff lately that has (hopefully) more of an impact than the old. I've gotta upload some to facebook...

    Anyway, I hope Danny's birthday is great! (even though he doesn't know me, haha).

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  4. Sara,
    I am very interested in taking my artwork to the next level. Its going to take a lot of experimentation on my part to figure out what the next level may entail. I am an untrained artist- i took a semester of acrylic painting when i got out of HS but what i know i know through my own experimentation/creative path.
    and while i don’t feel i need to go get a degree in art i feel that sometimes my limited knowledge can get me stuck doing the same stuff over and over again. I love that i have a distinct look to my artwork but i yearn to make more of it. Perhaps a class or two at the local community college will help spark some new ideas, make me try some new techniques.

    ....I did the first layers of color on the harpy over the weekend. i will be posted pictures of it later today when i get home from work.

    Thanks so much for the support, always! Its wonderful to read your words, comments and reactions to my work.

    lets certainly do an art trade some day! I would love to. And i hope to see some of your new art soon!

    Danny says thanks for the B-day nod. And of course he knows who you are...your only Lucid Optic Lab's best customer!

    Much Love,
    -Chelsea Rose
    www.chelsearoseart.com

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