Cleaning Hard Paintbrushes

I'm going to have to try this.

http://www.totalartsoul.com/blog/64-cleaning-hard-paintbrushes.html

Masks: A Love Affair.

I have a weird aesthetic obsession.
I love me some masks.

Here are some of my current favorites!

Odumado Mask

Mayan mask

Sande Society mask

Aztec mask

Japanese mask

Olmec Mask

Noh mask

Olmec mask

The MIA has an epic collection.

Excellent Artists - Terri Huro

Check out another excellent artist.  Terri Huro is a Mora local, and crazy-involved in the arts scene around these parts.  But more importantly,- great art!

Monticello in January, Terri Huro

I started to say a bit here about my feelings on photography in general, but it kind of turned into a raving diatribe about photographic elements and how so many people who call themselves professional photographers aren't even dimly aware of these, and it makes me sad.  But that's not the point.  The point is that Terri is a Good Photographer™, and her pictures make me happy.

Look a birdie!

Slow shutter speed red-winged black bird, Terri Huro

There's an incredible amount of experimentation happening in her work, and not necessarily in the digital sector.  We're talking old-school photographic investigation.  With dark rooms and chemicals and eighty-year old cameras.  Way commendable.

In the Garden, Terri Huro

Her experimentation is not remotely restricted to photography, however.  Lately Terri has been creating some beautifully colored watercolors with very engaging linework.  It's the colors that get me; vibrant and blended without getting muddy.

Terri Huro

Watercolor #10, Terri Huro

View Terri Huro's FB page, MNartists page, and Prizm Tattoo's page.

Chubby Birds - In progress

For the past week the entirety of the dining room has been stacked around my scanning area.  The art is piling up...

So many birds...

My conte has been calling to me.  And I've obliged.  What do you think?  Is color a good look for the birds?

He loves you.

Printmaking Day!

I had, through secondhand means, amassed all the bare essentials for linoleum printing save one, I needed a brayer.  It's like a little rubber paint roller, and they can be kind of hard to come by if you go the discount route like me.  Guess what I discovered at a garage sale this weekend.

Ooo!  Speedball, even!

Clearly it is a sign from the gods.  I shall make prints.

I didn't even cut myself once!

My sampler platter of linoleum was purchased with the intent of discovering which was my favorite; and let me tell you, you get what you pay for.  The cheapest was first to go under the knife,- Dick Blick Golden-Cut, and it sucks ass.  Hard, yet flaky and crumbly; how do they do it?  Granted, I have cheap-as-free linoleum cutters from when I studied in Italy, but they're also sharp as hell because I got a whetstone for Christmas.

Artools, the Wal-mart brand of Italian art supplies.

Next up was Dick Blick Wonder-Cut, which, after that Golden-Crap, was like cutting butter.  It's got a texture almost like cork, and it prints like it too.  I can see where, in an effort to prevent the grainy quality, you might end up over-inking.  Kind of like the texture myself, though.

Haven't prepared myself sufficiently to cut into the others; Dick Blick E-Z Cut, Soft Kut, and Speedy Cut.  They all feel dreamy.  Must resist the urge to keep them in their pristine, uncut state.

Excellent Artists - Martha LeDuc

Browsing mnartists in search of fabulous art I came across Martha LeDuc's work.

Lincoln Park, Martha LeDuc

This style of painting gets me all weak in the knees.  Interesting, solid shapes of color applied with a painterly brush.  It is, in my humble opinion, the only way to make a landscape engaging.

Train Tracks, Martha LeDuc

N.E. Minneapolis Viaduct, Martha LeDuc

And there's a few abstract pieces thrown in there for good measure.  Good abstract art is, in my opinion, one of the hardest things to do.  It's not like you know when you're done; you just have to work until it's as good as it can possibly get, and identifying that point is challenging.  People who do abstract well have my undying admiration.

Abstract Monoprint, Martha LeDuc

View her full gallery here.