Kayak Painting and Exploration

I have my legs tangled up in kelp here to keep from drifting away as I paint some sea lion bulls.  My painting kit is a small box I put together with some hardware that keeps either an 8x10 or 10x10 canvas panel in place.  There's a tiny mixing palette.  This setup is for oils.  They're bulkier than my watercolors but respond  better when splashed with salt water! The paintings are a sweet reminder of a wonderful experience!

The sea lions who posed for us.  Thanks for all of the photos Marian!  See her blog by going to Musings of a Painter listed under Blogs I Follow.  She has many detailed posts about painting on the trip.

Putting on makeup or painting?
I think this is where I was doing the waterfall piece.

I adore this shot!  My friends Tanya Radik and Diane Nelson Gold look like early American explorers in 21st century attire.  I'm just hanging out in my own little world happy as the proverbial clam.  Thanks again to Marian Fortunati for the photos.

David Gallup showing me the sea cliffs up close and personal.  I was afraid of being crashed into the walls by uncontrollable forces (lol) before this trip.  This kind of kayaking is sooo tame but still took a little courage when I first tried it last year.  It was worth conquering my fears for the adventure.  I hope I can do this kind of thing for YEARS!  I plan on taking good care of myself just for that:)  White water rafting would be fantastic...

I'm back!

Mary-Gail King and David Gallup at Santa Cruz

Here's a snapshot from the Channel Islands trip I just took.  I'm still getting my land-legs back and my tripod has sand in it but what fun!  This photo is from our second day on Santa Cruz Island where I painted from the deck of the boat Conception.  The Painted Cave is the largest sea cave in the world and has become an old friend.

You'll notice that I'm painting in oils in the photo.  David teaches oil exclusively and I took up oils to study with him in his Masters Class.  I've learned lots of color theory and refined my philosophy and sense of design with him.  That with solid business coaching has made him an invaluable mentor.

Now to my first love...Here are some small watercolor sketches I did from my kayak.

I find that taking just five minutes to sketch an immediate response to wherever I find myself is like taking a deep breath of fresh air.  Here are a couple of gulps I took from my kayak...It was tricky keeping the salt water off of them as they dried but worth the extra juggling in the kayak.

For those of you unfamiliar with watercolor salt causes granulation of the paint when applied to watercolors.  In the waterfall painting the sides of the cliff show this effect.

Small Waterfall on Santa Cruz

Caves Painted from my Kayak

 I took a photo of my travel kit as well.  It's small enough to fit in a pocket or small fanny pack.  That and the cap from a water bottle are all that's needed for a portable studio.  I've painted all over the world with these tools and the little postcard sketches are both charming and engaging

Dreaming...

:) I just went through my "old" posts and found this one. It's worth publishing just to remind myself that the little things become the big things. I've been a little anxious about making progress on my latest BIG DREAM. This entry is from a time of great happiness and contentment when I knew I was doing all of the right things. Reminder to self,"Trust yourself, be kind."

No posts for a while... It's funny that I say that.  I used to beat myself up about not doing something "perfectly" every single day.  Then I started noticing some things.  I've kept journals of some kind since I was about 15.  I'd write the first ones at night in a spiral bound notebook and talk about things like my latest crush and what I was doing for homework.  I'd write for a few days or weeks, then take an unplanned break because of school, a social life or a general lack of motivation and come back to SLAM myself about not writing in my journal.

When I consolidated years of writing a couple of years ago I had two bank box files filled with them!  I destroyed some of the old high school books.  It wasn't because they were incriminating.  They were just boring and redundant. When re-reading them I did notice I was much happier in high school than I remembered. That was good.  It was nice to have the old me talk to the current me and share that.

I enjoyed peeks into my everyday life as a young business professional and then mother.  I saw my journey into a progressively more creative life.  It's the little things I chose to do every day (or most days) that have helped me to grow and develop into a healthy, well rested, active, happy, etc, person.  Those little things are what have made my life so special.  The big things come.  Recognition, a giant painting or exhibit, fitting into a gorgeous new dress, finishing a marathon.  All of those things are built from the little choices I make every day.  When I get up and do something different it's good to just enjoy that and keep looking at my goals.  I'll get there.  I always do!

Master Class

The other thing I learned from my past selves was that I need to be gentler with myself.  Over time I'm VERY consistent.  Thirty-five years of journaling can testify to that.  I'm glad I didn't do it every day!  I'd never be able to go through them all.
So, in spite of missed posts I know what I put in here is sufficient.  In the meantime I stay busy.  I've started filling my classes for fall!  My commissions are plugging along; I continue my Master's Classes with David Gallup; spend time with my friends; take road trips...

I'm feeling awfully clever now creating an itsy, bitsy art journal.

A good education teaches one how to think. I believe being creative is one of the benchmarks of good thinking.  I believe creativity is innate to everyone and can be developed and fostered.  

See this link for more: Lateral/ Creative Thinking, Edward de Bono  In the meantime...

 I had a wonderful day yesterday with some of the administrators and staff from the Pleasant Valley School District here in Camarillo.  (That is the name and yes, it is a pleasant valley...) Several of the artists here at the Studios held workshops for the school district in the morning.  Some made clay boxes, others drew, still others painted a la Jackson Pollock on the grassy field outside.  I had my group make art journals out of baby sandals and pages they decorated themselves.

Several people yesterday weren't sure what the workshop was about.  There is a huge movement that embraces this concept.

 Art Journalling Images

Stampington, An Art Journalling Magazine

I think of a journal as a place where my thoughts are gathered into book form.  An art journal is one that includes images of any kind.

Itsy, bitsy journal

I wanted to give people some ideas to take back to the schools. So, I went to the local craft store where I saw a sandal display at the front door.  Since I had a tiny budget I was taken in by the .80 per pair price.  (Each pair made two books so they fit my itsy bitsy budget.) I got stickers, markers, etc. to have the inspiration of new materials. I also sprung for some bristol board which can accept water media.  I like to be able to do a lot to the paper and the sturdy base is good.

Here are some photos which show the basic process I used to assemble the books.

Remove the back part of the thong

Cut the thong leaving a little tab
in the foremost hole

Once you've done this decorate the papers you want to cut up and use the bottom of the sandal as a template for the pages. Mark the spot where you need to punch a hole in the pages and punch the hole.  Then, wiggle the paper over the tab you've left. Finish embellishing and enjoy.  These are a great place to record little things about a vacation, to use as party favors, etc.  

Think on your feet (ARG!) and come up with other ideas for tiny books:)

An alternate way to attach the pages to the "cover."

Another technique I used during Art Camp with the kids.
One of them was inspired to make her own "envelope book"
with staples to bind it.  I made these by folding the tabs over
 on a catalog envelope and punching holes.  Then I used
ribbons to bind it.

When one thing ends...

Sunset from Home

Well, today is the last day of  SCIART Art Camp.  It's been a fantastic month and we have our final reception and exhibit tonight from 4-6.  It will be fun to see the parents and children enjoy the fruits of their labors!  I'm certainly very proud of everyone.  We've all done an amazing job.

I have a LOT of other work to catch up on. The biggest thing I have to do is to get some commissions finished and prep for my fall classes.  Of course I have ongoing shows and SCIART events I'll keep posting here as well.

The biggest thing I have coming up is a workshop on Yupo next Saturday!  I've purchased some transparent paper which will be fun to play with.  I love the look of layered images so this will be very interesting.  Painting on the paper and hanging it with lights behind it is one of the first ideas that comes to mind...  The transparency of watercolor will be gorgeous with yet another layer for the light to go through.

I am keeping the workshop small but have room for a few more artists.  Children over 10 are welcome with an adult.  Child's rates are 1/2 of the adult prices.  Here's the registration form.

Working with Yupo  Mary-Gail King

August 20 from 9-2 at Studio Channel Islands Art Center

2222 Ventura Boulevard, Camarillo, CA 93010

Join me in exploring an alternative to traditional watercolor using Yupo. Yupo is an innovative paper that is made of plastic. My focus is on design as I explore surface texture and color.  I will share some of the techniques I use to make this very spontaneous a material both easy and fun. I'll start with a demo and then we'll all dive in.  Best of all it's a great tool to loosen up the most structured of artists!  It's just plain fun.

Materials list available at registration.  Fee is $95.

_______________________________________

Contact me at:  805.217.9539 or mgking@mac.com.

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Register today to reserve your spot. $95 includes lunch and some materials

Name:________________________

Email:________________________

Phone:_______________________

Payment method:_______________Cash, check, MC/Visa (extra 5% for credit)

Much Ado About Something

Working consistent, long hours with attention focused on the important things to build a business is getting me somewhere.  I have a long way to go and a lot to learn but I'm seeing a payoff.  I moved into Studio Channel Islands Art Center on August 1st of last year.  It's been a year of study, learning and growth.  I've enjoyed teaching, painting and sharing my art.  I've also managed to keep it afloat...That's not bad for a first year!

I've especially enjoyed working with my colleagues from The Ojai Group and Debbie Fox on the show, Pink Moments, that is currently on exhibit at Fox Fine Jewelry.  The Ojai Group at Fox Fine Jewelry

Beatrice Wood

There's been a new event that has come up related to the show.  On September 11 and 12 Ventura will have an art event called Paint Ventura.  Even better, Debbie has made arrangements with the Santa Monica Museum of Art to loan some two dimensional work by artist Beatrice Wood.  That is a Big Deal.  It will go on my resume and be marked in my memory as a milestone in my career.

By being in the right place at the right time and working in collaboration with an amazing group of women, I will hang across an exhibit space from this 20th Century legend.  (She won't be there, of course, except in spirit...)

http://www.beatricewood.com/biography.html

I'm also featured in the latest Society 805 Magazine representing The Thousand Oaks Art Association.  I need to come back to this posting the next time I get discouraged and realize that, over time, hard work pays off.  Now that is something!

Scroll down to see the small profile Society 805 did on me:)

Mary-Gail King

Next up-Mondrian Collages

Mondrian

I'm taking on a couple of extra classes for SCIART's Summer Art Camp and tomorrow's project will be collage based on work by Piet Mondrian.  I looked into a couple of articles on his work and found this SFMOMA video to be very helpful.  I really didn't understand his work until seeing the video.  I've always known that he's all about design but this made it clear what he was looking for.  SFMOMA video on Mondrian

He, of course, was all about simplifying what he saw.  He systematically reduced the visible world into a series of vertical and horizontal lines with primary colors, black and white as his only design elements.  

Tomorrow I'll talk about design with the kids by showing one of his works and talking about his choice of line and color along with the logic of how the paintings achieve a sense of balance.  I hope that makes sense...it's late and my right brain may have left the room a few hours ago.  

The fun will start when I give them an assortment of cut out cardboard pieces, watercolor paints and glue.  I've cut 4x6 inch pieces of white cardboard out and painted it with absorbent ground.  The ground accepts watercolor paint well so I'll have them use primary colors to paint them.  This is a great way to reinforce the color wheel concept as well.  Once those dry I'll have them place them in a grid and add black lines to finish.  I haven't done such a "canned" project yet but these classes are bigger than the ones in our last two week session...

In my last painting class I introduced them to Jackson Pollock and they ended up painting the grass instead of the paper we laid out.  They were adorable crawling around with their little paint brushes!  We ended up using rice paper for monotypes.  Last of all we attached yarn to make kites.  Whew!  One thing certainly led to another in that lesson!

Maybe we'll walk the campus and talk about grids.  This is a mid-century modern school campus and a perfect candidate to teach students about reducing structure to simple linear elements.  Hmmm

Rough sample of project