THE "MAKER'S FAIRE"

Today we went to the county fair grounds to an event called "The Maker's Faire"  Creativity, ingenuity, technology and individuality were everywhere!  This is becoming an annual event with a huge turnout.  My husband and I were like rubes in the big city with all the high tech displays.  The images above were created by a computerized robotic arm that held a micron pen and drew from a photo image in the computer.  It was fun to watch and I was struck how interesting the image was with just selective lines and areas of more detail along with lots of white space.  Of course, it would all be filled in with time, but I really liked the minimal image.  This is the ultimate "contour drawing".  

In another booth, there was a fine pen like stylus that you could draw with directly on the computer monitor (not a separate pad that displayed your marks on the monitor).  I asked if it would work on an iPad.  Sadly, the answer was no.  This pen worked with magnet technology and the iPad uses a different technology.  Right now, I have the best stylus available for the iPad.  

IT'S ALL IN THE DETAILS!

I didn't realize how washed out this image is!  Here is a detail of my latest painting which starts with an acrylic ink line drawing done with a fine nib dip pen on a very smooth gesso surface.  This is just 3 of the 5 figures in the piece.  I was able to get excellent detail with the dip pen but not much variation of line width.  Fortunately, I did get some variation in the depth of color.  Burnt Sienna is a nice choice for the line work as it isn't harsh like black but holds its own in a painting.  Check out my other blog to see the painting progress.

INSPIRED BY CHILDREN!

I was at the Sunnyvale Art Gallery where there is a fabulous exhibit of high school children's art work.  This is a very large gallery with tons of space, so there was a lot of work displayed, including ceramic pieces and other 3 dimensional things.  The work is so original and creative.  I think part of the reason is these kids are given challenging projects and concepts.  They aren't just copying photographs.  There should be a website that lists interesting challenges.  Maybe there is.  If someone knows of such a site, please pass it on.

There were a number of figurative images done with oil pastel on newspaper.  I loved the look, so I decided to try it myself.  I have these very creamy water soluble oil pastels called "Portfolio" which are available at Staples and very inexpensive but fun to work with.   This was a lot of fun.  I think I will do more in the future.