Global Talent Search 2014 - My Entry

Here is what I created with the sketches shown in my previous post. I loved putting this together in Photoshop, being able to move elements around, change my mind, add things, subtract things, add my very own patterned wall paper and scale and move that around. SO different from working on canvas, and having to make decisions as you paint and make them work.

This piece is about yellow dog love, something that for the last 15 years I have been fortunate to experience and paint. My yellow dog, Chamois, passed away in May of this year, so this is my tribute to her, her sassy and playful presence, and her and I, and the joy and companionship she brought to my life for those many years. You can more Chamois Art on amy website, and buy a print or card of It's Wonderful in my Etsy Shop.

ArtisticallyAfflicted Blogspot will be posting more GTS entries from our design group. Please visit if you would like to see more fabulous creative art.

GTS 2014 Contest - My Process

GTS stands for Global Talent Search. I'm generally not a big fan of entering contests, but every now and then one catches my attention, and this one put on by Lilla Rogers Studio and Do What You Love, caught my eye. Many of my design friends have been taking her Make Art That Sells classes to rave reviews.  But I've known about Lilla Rogers Studio for a long time because I have long admired the work of Carolyn Gavin and Helen Dardik, illustrator whom she represents.

So, I decided to go ahead and enter. It took over my life for a week and I had an absolute blast. I loved the flexibility of building the piece on the computer. I incorporated patterns that I created, and ideas that I've expressed in other mediums and other ways. The contest stretched me both creatively and technically. I loved the challenge!

I can't show you my finished piece yet, not until next week. But I can show you some photos of my process and some of the pieces I started to create as my idea came into focus.

First I looked through my sketchbooks, because I knew I had some drawings I had done a year or so ago that would fit, found them and scanned them in. I knew I wasn't going to use them as is, but I liked the simple, well drawn succulent and cacti shapes, and they were a good starting point for my composition sketches. I like to have good, clear drawings of plants if I'm going to use them...these cacti and succulents are some of my favorites from my own collection.

 Then I started thinking about vessel shapes, composition, content...and sketched about that, until I was satisfied with some ideas I thought I might use.

 

Next I started painting in color.  I painted several versions, and some things just on their own. I knew I was going to build this in photoshop, and I wanted the flexibility to move objects around and layer, so I wanted lots of space around them so they would be easy to grab...this is a luxury I do not have on a canvas.

 

One of the requirements was to incorporate some text.
I wanted something simple, in my own writing, and I had a couple of songs going through my head about what I wanted to portray. I listened to the songs a few times, and wrote down the words I liked. One song was 'S Wonderful by Ira Gershwin. 

So, what did I create! Tune back in next tuesday, and I will reveal the final piece that I submitted. Myself, and 998 other talented artists and designers submitted pieces. I know many of these artists, and have seen their entries, and it is a wonderful group of work. Good luck to everyone!

Natchez and Rowdy Commission

Here is a recent commissioned painting of Natchez and Rowdy, two sweet dog souls. Below is a paragraph from Tara, their dog mama. Along with the fun of creating this piece it was a pleasure to get to know Tara over the course of creating this painting. I found out she is a polymer clay kindred and a talented coach, with a positive outlook on life and doing what you love.

Here's what Tara says about her painting. "What a joy to own a Carrie Tasman original—and it’s a portrait of our beloved “boys,” Rowdy (left) and Natchez! We’ve admired Carrie’s work for years and our fridge is decorated with her postcards to prove it. Carrie has such a special way of expressing emotion, from her deliciously wonky perspective, to her luscious palette, to her gift for seeing into a creature's heart and putting their (and her) soul on the canvas. We are over the moon with gratitude and joy to see this unique work of art in our home every day."

About Tara: Rowdy and Natchez are the fur kids of Tara Rodden and W. Douglas Robinson. Tara is a professional coach, mosaic artist, and writer; she specializes in work productivity and helping people do more of what they love. Her husband, W. Douglas Robinson, is a professor at Oregon State University where he studies birds and teaches classes on wildlife ecology and avian conservation.

Douglas's website: http://fwl.oregonstate.edu/labs/robinson/
Tara's website: http://tararobinson.com/

April 26th - 26 Love Letters for Mama Book Release Party!!!

A Perfect Mother's Day Gift!!
Come help us celebrate the release of the book "26 Love Letters for Mama", of which, yours truly, has illustrated the letter "C"!! Susan Chung and her daughter Ema, who wrote the poem, are the instigators of this wonderful project. I was approached by Susan a couple of years ago about the possibility of creating a work of art with a letter in it. It has been a wonder to watch the project unfold, get funded on Kickstarter, and through Susan's vision and dedication become a beautiful printed book.

Come and celebrate with us and enjoy fine art, music, great food and local libations. For the first time, these books will be available for sale and 15 artists from the book will be at the show with a selection of their art to sell! A generous portion of the proceeds from the art and books sold that day will be donated to Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation, in direct support of continuing care for women with breast cancer. It’s a great way to have fun & support your community!

It's a DOT party!

Just posting dot images...

A street in Paris, there are a lot of dots everywhere

on a wall

on the Metro entrance

pattern inspired by street dots

dot partying with Anne Bray at Pattern Recognition

BlogHop - Tropical Fusion!

Hello! and welcome to our Tropical Fusion Bloghop featuring Pantone Color of the Year, Radiant Orchid. You have probably just visited the intricate and lovely designs of the very talented Lisa Rivas.


Here are my design offerings in the spirit of tropical fusion. My inspiration comes from my travels to the tropics (which has not been nearly often enough). What I remember, walking through the jungle, is the proliferation of vines and how the greens emphasized the color and richness of the flowers! And since I am really craving tropical warmth and color during this gloomy, foggy, rainy time of year that seemed like a good place to start. So I began with a simplified flower vine and bold flowers on green. I wanted very simple shapes and crisp color to showcase the radiant orchid (and my old favorite orange).

I've never heard of a tropical paisley, but I have been doodling a lot of paisley's lately, so I decided to create one! Hope my designs give you a little hit of joy and warmth, especially if you live in the cold northern hemisphere!

 and one more...

Paisley Dog Bed

Thank you for visiting my blog! I hope you have enjoyed your visit. Your next destination on the Tropical Fusion Tour is the talented designer and blogger, Anne M Bray at Pattern Recognition. Enjoy!  

Please show your love with a comment below, and don't forget to join my followers :) and follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

If you've just joined our blog hop please go to Groovity Designs where you can start from the beginning of the blog hop! A big Thank you to Mary Tanana at Groovity for organizing and getting this blog hop hopping!

Starting TwentyFourteen with a BlogHop!

Starting TwentyFourteen with a BlogHop, using the Pantone Color of the Year, Radiant Orchid. Check back on Saturday, Jan 18th, starting at 8 am EST, to hop from designer blog to designer blog, catching the Tropical Fusion vibe!

The Pantone company has been publishing books of color chips for designers for years, a standard in any design studio, I have several! Here is a little bit more about Pantone and how they choose a color for a whole year. (my favorite year is still tangerine tango!!)

The captivating, magical and enchanting Radiant Orchid. An invitation to innovation, modern and versatile Radiant Orchid encourages creativity and originality. Imbued with a harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid inspires confidence and its rosy undertones emanate great joy, love and health.

“While the 2013 color of the year, PANTONE 17-5641 Emerald, served as a symbol of growth, renewal and prosperity, Radiant Orchid reaches across the color wheel to intrigue the eye and spark the imagination,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “An invitation to innovation, Radiant Orchid encourages expanded creativity and originality, which is increasingly valued in today’s society.”

Since 2000, the Pantone Color Institute™ has been designating a Color of the Year to express in color what is taking place in the global zeitgeist. A color that will resonate around the world, the PANTONE Color of the Year is a reflection of what people are looking for, what they feel they need that color can help to answer. Not necessarily the hot fashion color of the moment, but a color crossing all areas of design which is an expression of a mood, an attitude, on the part of the consumers.

To distill the prevailing mood into a single hue, the PCI team, led by executive director Leatrice Eiseman, combs the world looking for future design and color influences, watching out for that one color seen as ascending and building in importance through all creative sectors. Influences can include the entertainment industry, upcoming films, art, emerging artists, travel destinations and socio-economic conditions. Influences may also stem from technology, lifestyles + playstyles, new textures and effects that impact color, and even upcoming sports events that capture worldwide attention.

Pantone doesn't just make color chips, they have cleverly segued into products featuring their trademark chip on everything from mugs to rubiks cubes.

All information and photos courtesy of Pantone.com