Tag: my art

ICAD 2023

An acrylic portrait — atop a collaged background — of a smiling Asian child in a green shirt and pigtails.
An acrylic portrait — atop a collaged background — of a smiling man with a white goatee, in a blue shirt and black hat.
An acrylic portrait — atop a collaged background — of a dark-skinned androgynous-looking person with short black hair.
An acrylic portrait — atop a collaged background — of light-skinned woman with red hair and blue eyes.
An acrylic portrait — atop a collaged background — of a woman with dark hair wearing a blue hijab.
An acrylic portrait — atop a collaged background — of a smiling man with medium skin tone and dark hair.
An acrylic portrait — atop a collaged background — of a serious-looking young woman with medium skin tone and dark hair pulled back tightly.
An acrylic portrait — atop a collaged background — of a woman with light skin tone and dark hair looking over her bare shoulder.

This year for the Index Card a Day (ICAD) challenge, hosted by Tammy Garcia of Daisy Yellow, I decided to step way outside my comfort zone and tackle something I’ve always been interested in exploring: portraits.

The only index cards I had on hand were just 2×3″ (5×7.6 cm). I added collage, chose an reference image from Google, and tried my best to capture the light and shadow in a loose way while generally capturing the spirit of the model.

After nine portraits, I’m moving on to creative processes I enjoy more — but to be clear, I’m not leaving this project with shame or guilt for having not finished or wishing that I’d pursued something different. In fact, I feel proud that I not only tried something new, but I gave myself permission to walk away when it became something I had to do, not something I wanted to do. Year of ease, remember?

Here’s what I learned during this experience:

  • When starting out, make it simple. These cards were way too small, and I didn’t have the right brushes to paint something with such tiny detailed elements. If I make more portraits in the future, I’ll give myself more room to work with and make sure that I have brushes that will allow me to capture the level of precision that I need.
  • Even a short repeated attempt at something new will build new skills. I learned a lot during this process: open-mouthed smiles are hard to capture, layering diluted paint adds depth and detail, and I really love painting kids and dynamic shadows.
  • Prepare to make mistakes! I have a pile of portraits I started then abandoned, either because they were overworked or I wanted to start on them afresh.
  • Stepping outside your comfort zone to try One New Thing in one way gives you permission to not only make what you’ve committed to, but to expand in other ways as well. I’m curious about making tiny abstract works on the rest of these index cards and look forward to experimenting with new compositions and processes.

Read more about ICAD here. See previous years’ work here: 2022, 2021, 2019. (I skipped 2020.)

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Hey, Artist

Open mixed media art journal. A layer of neutral-colored collage is covered with energetic marks in teal, green, white, and green. Much of the background shows through.

I have heard from a number of people over the course of my own creative journey who’ve said something along the lines of “I’m not an artist, but I’m interested in starting an art journal [or painting, or exploring collage]. Where do I begin?”

First up: yeah, actually, you are an artist.

Creating is innate; as a species, we’ve been expressing ourselves through dance, sculpture, music and painting for tens of thousands of years. You don’t need a degree to make art, and you don’t need to make “good” art to be an artist. All you need to do is start.

I wrote on My Peacetree — way back in 2011 — about the creative process:

The journey to creativity is not a static one: we must always be searching, pushing, moving, and striving forward. There is no end to be reached — there is only new discovery, exploration, growth, stretching, and learning […]

Art is something which must be practiced over and over again. It is only through this we can really make it our own.

As to where to start: What art makes you pause and stare? Go buy some of those materials — cheap ones are fine. Try them out. Make mistakes. Experiment.

Seek out other artists, look closely at their work, and pull elements of it that you love into your own. (Don’t steal others’ work, though! Incorporating colors and processes and materials is ok; duplicating work is not. And always, always credit artists where it’s due.)

What do you like about your art? Do more of that. What don’t you like about your work? Do less of that.

And above all else, don’t apologize for your work or for yourself. Take yourself seriously and others will, too.

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Top Nine (2022)

Here are my top nine most loved posts on Instagram this year:

A three-by-three grid of nine square Instagram posts. Two images are index cards with mixed media; six are open mixed media art journal pages; and one is the spine of a handmade art journal with a map cover.

And here are my own top favorite posts:

A three-by-three grid of nine square Instagram posts. Two images are index cards with mixed media; the rest are open mixed media art journal pages.
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Art Journal FAQs

What type of journal do you use?

I make my own art journals. They measure about 4.5×6 inches (11×15 cm) and are filled with watercolor paper. They’re simpler to make than it looks; the only special materials you need are chipboard, an awl, and waxed linen thread. Check out the tutorial I use here.

In the past, I’ve also used thrifted books or handmade books by other artists.

What supplies do you use?

I use many different kinds of paper for collage, from graph paper to security envelopes to vintage book pages to other things I’ve collected over the years. For adhesive, I use a regular glue stick.

When adding color, I use a variety of mark-making tools, acrylic paint, tempera paint sticks, and acrylic ink.

What is your process?

  1. Lay down some collage
  2. Scribble
  3. Add some paint
  4. Add some drips

I always let the wet media fully dry before adding new layers.

How do you take and edit photos of your work?

I take photos with my phone in natural light, placing my art on a white foam core board. I used to edit the shots with A Color Story, but it stopped being usable. Now I use Snapseed. Both apps are free.

More questions? I’d love to hear from you. Reach out through my contact page or on Instagram!

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