31 Days to Spain - Week One Wrap Up

October 08, 2014 in Sketchbook, In the Studio

This post is jam-packed with goods! Daily art from the last week AND a link to the big studio clean up to prepare for my sale next week. If you haven't heard about the studio sale, you may want to sign up for my newsletter so you can hear this kind of news directly in your inbox AND get the extra special discount on my studio sale. You can sign up at the bottom of this page.

Let's get to it!

October 1st

The first day of my daily art project was featured in my previous post on what art supplies I will be bringing to Spain. They may change, but it was good to get started thinking about it.

October 2nd

For Day 2, I completed a montage painting of Iceland. This is something new that I am offering. You send me photos of your most memorable trip and I create a group of images for you to remember it by. The art measures 11x14. You can find the listing in my shop.

October 3rd

I wanted to come up with a personal way to thank my customers when they order from me online. I decided to carve this block print "From the Studio of Frances Marin" so I can include it with every order and handwrite a thank you on the back. Usually, I write a note, but I like having this stamp on the other side now. I love personally thanking all of my super customers! I just sent off my first order with one in it!

October 4th - Studio cleanup and Dream Studio Sketch

My last post covered the start of my studio cleanup AKA Studio Redo. After spending all day working on it, I went home and sketched up how I dream for this studio to look when I'm done for Day 4. Of course, my real dream studio would probably be up in the mountains or by the sea or a lake, but I am quite grateful for this awesome little space for now.

The gold brick wall will remain for now.

October 5th

I am struggling working on a painting of my old bedroom/studio from age 23, so instead I painted the first bedroom I moved into after moving out of my parents' house at the age of 19 for Day 5. It was a single mattress on the floor with purple sheets, stacks of books everywhere and a Bob Dylan poster above my bed. The room was really tiny, so that's about all it could fit.

October 6th

I am working on a painting for a show about your favorite place. The concept can be from childhood or now. My first thought was the sweet white fringed hammock in my backyard. I may not stick with this theme, but for Day 6, I thought it was just fine.

October 7th

You may have heard the news: David Lynch is bringing back Twin Peaks 25 years later. Us rabid fans are thrilled with this news. I sketched out his wonderful face and some snippets of the show for Day 7. So looking forward to the return of Twin Peaks in 2016!

That's all for this week!

Studio Redo!

October 06, 2014 in In the Studio

I knew I was going to head into my studio to clean it up Saturday. It has been cluttered and overwhelming lately.

A before shot of the studio. Dirty and disorganized.

What I didn't realize is that I was going to repaint it. I certainly didn't dress for it (ruined my fave vintage shorts) and it was in the 90's so I broke a really good sweat. I moved into the space with it already painted this fairly obnoxious shade of yellow. I decided to repaint it awhile back, I just wasn't sure when I would get around to it. I wanted my studio very simple (and not bright popcorn butter yellow!) so I could focus on the artwork. After working in this studio for about 3 years, I thought it was time.

Up on a wobbly ladder, precariously painting in sandals.

There are other aesthetic issues with the space, including the way the wood paneling was painted over with a couple of inches of wood showing. That black cord is for my ceiling light and isn't particularly lovely either. I'm going to find a solution for that sometime soon. As you can see, the yellow paint was applied in some sort of faux textured style too. Yuck! It's gotta go.

Because brick is more time consuming to paint, I decided to try leaving the brick wall gold for now and see how I feel about it. By day two, I realized that I had just enough white paint to cover only three walls, so it worked out that way anyway.

I thought I was done with manual labor for the day... However, I went home and after relaxing for a few hours, decided to clean up the back area of the yard. I have been dreaming that this area would become another art studio or a usable workspace and storage for art and carpentry projects. It's such a nice space, minus all the thorny vines, endless spiders and filth. There's even a built-in table and electricity back there!

I worked on this area until the moon came up. I even got up on a ladder to clean off the roof. That white corrugated roof? Covered in leaves and caked in dirt before I worked on it.

All in all, a good hardworking weekend!

In cleaning out and dressing up the studio, I had some pretty amazing insights. For one, I was reminded of how much I love manual work: painting, being on a ladder, removing nails, moving furniture around, sweeping out rooftops and gutters. Two, I realized that as I work through projects and challenges, I absolutely love the process of figuring things out and using my intuition to see what is or isn't working. Three, the feeling of renewal from moving things around is so rewarding. When I was a kid, I shared a room with my sister. When it got messy, I would kick her out, close the door and go buck wild moving furniture and organizing it my way. I'm sure she loved it since I did most of the cleaning. I then surprised her at the end of the day with a brand new room. I think I did it because I always have to be making or designing things AND because I love surprising people.

A sneak peek on how it's looking so far. I am sooo happy about it.

Stay tuned for more progress next Monday!

Also, if you haven't heard, I'll be having an art sale next week, so I'll be needing to go through old art, newer art and supplies to get it ready. If you want a reminder about the sale, sign up for my newsletter and you will be emailed about the details. Otherwise, follow along on Instagram for updates.

31 Days to Spain - Week One

October 01, 2014 in Sketchbook, Resources

Agh! I can't believe it. Today is October 1st and that means 5 weeks or, a one month countdown to my departure date for Spain. I decided that I would post more frequently during this time as I get ready for it for two reasons. One, I decided that I would make a new piece of art and post it everyday until I leave (31 pieces of art!). Two, I will post a weekly checklist to prepare for the residency, since if I publish this list publicly, maybe I will be more organized and actually follow it!

The daily art will be posted on Instagram, Facebook and then I will post the week's images collectively in weekly blog posts. The art might be related to what I am working on at the residency, a sketch, a completed painting, etc. The hashtag I'll be using is #31daystoSpain on Instagram and Facebook. The blog posts will happen every Wednesday until I leave.

And heeere it goes!

First off, I am starting to think about supplies. Originally, I applied to the residency with my project being a 3D Sumi ink paper project. Initially, I thought that I would just bring white paper and Sumi ink. I soon realized that I would likely be wishing I had color, so I decided to bring watercolor and gouache paints. I am not going to be using oils or acrylic since I don't want to even think about dealing with the wood I would be painting on. Too heavy! The residency where I will be also includes the following:

Projector, screen, printer-scanner, two monitors (small and large), DVD player, stationery equipment (craft knives, self-healing cutting mat, staplers, rulers, felt tip pens etc.), jigsaw, drill, Dremmel multi-tool, tool set (hammers, screwdrivers, hacksaws etc.), extension cables, electric stapler, two portable halogen lamps (500 watts), airbrush compressor, potter’s wheel, option of firing small ceramic pieces (the kiln is located off site), plastic buckets and utensils, glue gun, two easels, whiteboard.

After reviewing this list again, I realized how exciting it would be for me to work on ceramics while I am out there! OK, onto the list.

This week's checklist:

Supplies to buy
- Sumi ink - purchase new large bottle of Sumi ink
- paper - research what kind of paper (Bristol, watercolor, etc.) will be needed
- gouache paint - price and order Holbein Acryla Gouache
- watercolor - assess what I am running out of and order
- brushes - order a few extras
- Bamboo pens - order a variety of sizes
- pencils - order a variety of styles
- palettes

I'm happy to have found a great art supply shop called Piccolita in Cádiz. I'm sure I will forget something or I will be inspired to try something new while I'm there, so it's great to know there's an awesome shop there!

Cabin Weekend in Tahoe

September 30, 2014 in Adventure & Hiking, Sketchbook

Ah, Lake Tahoe. Bright blue, shimmery and clear... well no, not when the forecast was cloudy and rainy. Last Friday, I left for Tahoe with my boyfriend and his family for his dad's 60th birthday. We all knew it was going to be cooler and and raining, so we packed up our coats and headed to this cabin in Tahoe City. It was a great weekend with a great family (only bits and pieces of them shown here).

Feeling pretty lucky knowing I would be here all weekend.

I had felt a little worried about going away for 4 days when I have a lot of work to do, but I surrendered myself and just enjoyed the weekend. It was pretty easy to relax here!

Despite the weather, I knew my bag of paints and book would be of use for the weekend. We were able to go for a run the first day since it was cloudy, but not yet pouring rain. Just as we left, a mama bear and her cub walked up behind the cabin! It was my first time seeing bears in the wild. In all my years of camping, I had heard them at night at campsites, but never seen them. It was super cool! I knew I had to paint it.

We ate well all weekend, being sure to include salads with all our decadence! Everyone made such good food. The younger girls put together the beautiful pine cone floral centerpiece gathered from outside. Happy birthday to Victor!

There was a covered porch swing!

And a pool table upstairs!

After a couple days at the cabin, we headed to South Lake Tahoe to have brunch and check out the area. I had never been to this part of the lake before. It's a lot more crowded than north Tahoe, but still nice. It was a rainy day, but still so beautiful.

And the clouds came back in! Personally, I was ready to get back to the cabin. I was so inspired to work!

I am ready to go this week! Surrounded by trees, wonderful people, rain and being in an A-Frame all weekend gave me a little boost for my work week:)

Sky, Earth and Sea, original sold, print available here

Sky, Earth and Sea and Some Tuesday Ramblings

September 23, 2014 in Ramblings, In the Studio

I am shipping this original drawing/painting to Melbourne, Australia today and it got me thinking about how grateful I am to be an artist today. Yeah, I had to get used to spending time on social media and yeah, it also means spending a lot of time in front of a screen. The good far outweighs the bad in that I have been able to ship my art internationally and across the US because of the internet. If you asked me if I would be doing this when I finished art school, I would not have believed it. Of course, none of it would be possible if these lovely people out there weren't interested enough to buy my work. I am very grateful for those who have supported me.

A little about this piece: Sky, Earth and Sea is an ink drawing on paper with watercolor accents. It was drawn intuitively, without pencils or a plan and all in one sitting. It is dear to me in that sense. One day in the studio, I created three drawings in a row after closing my eyes for some time. I opened my eyes and this was one of the drawings that came out. It was a pretty magical feeling and one I always aspire to when making art. Often I overthink things or try to plan too much.

Now as far as my art goes, I am in a state of flux, as I am planning for my art residency in Cadiz, Spain while also cleaning up and filling up my online stores for the time before I leave. I have to ship supplies to Spain soon, which kind of stresses me out because I'm not quite sure what to bring. Or, more like I don't want to forget anything. Still, nothing to fret over since Spain is a civilized country with art stores.

In all this planning and work, I decided I will be having an art sale prior to leaving for Spain. It will be happening around the middle of October. I will be trying to clear my studio so when I return before the new year, I will have a fresh studio! There will be art prints, some textiles, sketches and a few larger pieces available. Details to come!

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