Mini Challenge

The La Habra Art Gallery is displaying their Small and Miniature Show this month.  Art work has to be 8x10 or smaller.  It seemed like a fun challenge.  I began with my blank wooden nesting dolls.  I had bought them over a year ago.  I never drew on them because I was afraid to mess up.  But I ended up having a lot of fun drawing on them. I used pencil and a rapidograph pen.  The ink began to bleed in some areas, so I coated the wood with a light layer of gel medium.  That seemed to help.

I always seems to have odd sized canvases in my home and decided to draw on a small 4"x 4" square.  This is the 2nd piece I did for the show.  I wanted to include a drawing of all of the main Mizzles that I love to draw.  After finishing the drawing on the top, I began to draw on the sides.  The entire canvas is drawn with a rapidograph pen and ink.  

The last piece I created is my favorite and from the amount of "likes" on Facebook, it seems others feel the same.   The canvas is 12"x4".  I drew this illustration onto watercolor paper and used Derwent Inktense pencils and Prismacolor Watercolor pencils to color it.  Then I used Gel medium to adhere it to the canvas.  I was a bit surprised to hear that it won 3rd place.  The work in the gallery tends to be more traditional.  I like showing my work, so I never expect to win any awards when entering the group shows.  But I'm delighted about the award!  It makes me feel like I'm definitely headed down the right path.

Miniature March

The La Habra Art Gallery is going to have a Small and Miniature Art Show during the month of March.  I've been excited about the prospects of this show.  This was a just an idea in case one of our scheduled shows fell through.  It's been that kind of experience working with the La Habra Art Association.  I think things are starting to come together though.  Each time we meet, there is a bit of energy and excitement with small new ideas.  I have had this set of blank nesting dolls for a few years.  I have always wanted to paint on them, but I never have. I think part of it was fear of messing them up and having to coat the entire surface.  I really love seeing the grain of the wood.

Outer most nesting doll

So I took the leap of faith and began drawing on them with pencil.  I ran into the problem of smudging the pencil as I drew around the form.  I decided to ink the lines with my rapidograph, which some areas bled a little.  I should have prepped each surface with a thinned layer of gel medium.  That would have solved all of my problems.  Regardless of the small obstacles, I am happy with how they are turning out.  At some point, I have to decide whether to color or not to color. 

2nd nesting doll, next level down

A Bunch of Malarky

Next month, the OC illustrators will have a group exhibit at the La Habra Art Gallery.  We have chosen the theme "A bunch of malarky."  It should be a fun and exciting show.  There is so much talent in the group. I have been working on a few pieces.  I'm still creating more pieces, but I've been playing with my Mermizzle theme.  Elsie has created a lot of inspiration and motivation in me. 


 This was the first piece I began working on immediately after creating Elsie the Mermizzle.  I thought it would be fun for my Mizzles to discover an entirely different world from theirs up in the tree. I used Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils, Inktense pencils, and a 3x0 rapidograph pen.



Whoa!

This second piece was inspired by my need to play with paper collage.  I like the paper collage pieces I create because I go in with no plan and never know what it will look like when I'm done.  The characters and sandcastle are cut out of watercolor paper and collaged on, but I used watercolor pencils to color them in.

Day at the Beach

Lastly, I wanted to create a simple image with very little background.  Here I used mostly Prismacolor watercolor pencils and a 3x0 rapidograph pen on watercolor paper.

Hello Friend

Which one is your favorite?

When it rains...

I've been MIA from the networking, digital world for a little over a month.  It has been a crazy time with family stuff, work, and Art.  In August, I participated in the Raw Artists show RADIATE.  Here is my video interview from the show: RADIATE video  It was a lot of fun and not what I had expected.  Then the school year began and for some odd reason the beginning was overwhelming and intense.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it is because I'm in a new room?  Or perhaps it is because as a department we decided to make sketchbooks?  I don't know. Regardless, I was asked to do another show with Raw Artists!  It was very different from the August show.  I sold prints, dolls, and one original painting at this event.  It felt amazing to have people crowd around my work and to see their eyes light up when they realized I was giving out stickers.  Here is the video interview from the show: ENSEMBLE video  Now, Raw Artists has opened their nomination voting for the RAWards.  If you love Mizzle Adventures, please vote for me.  You need to register your email address and create a log-in in order to vote.  Go to www.rawartists.org.  Then you can either search for Mizzle Adventures, or go to my profile at www.rawartists.org/roldan and click on VOTE! You can vote once a day for each category until October 15th!  I hope you find the time to vote.  Through all of this I became the webmaster for the La Habra Art Association.  I'm still figuring it all out, but I'm excited to try to help prevent the gallery from going under.  I'm still working on my manuscript, but I'm feeling more confident about it.  Being busy is usually a very good thing, but I'm looking forward to a little down time to catch my breath.

Save the Date! August 18, 2012

On Saturday, August 18, 2012, I will be participating in a group show.  I haven't been in a group show since college.  I used to be an active member of the La Habra Art Association and participate in their juried group shows.  But I eventually moved away and stopped.  Lately, I have been showing my illustration portfolio at children's book conferences.  That alone has been a bit nerve wrecking, but it is the closest thing to exhibiting my work.

Sometimes when you begin thinking about your future, what you want, and all of the possibilities, the thought alone is enough to make it all happen.  I had decided to rejoin the Art Association.  I thought it would be nice to begin showing my work again, even if it is in an itty bitty little place.  But what started it all was starting an ETSY account.  I have been playing various materials, making paintings, drawings, and collages and all of the art work had been piling up in my apartment.  Space was becoming scarce.  My idea was to just sell my work to get it out of my apartment.  It wasn't about money.  It was about the love of making my art.  To my surprise, I was contacted by RAWartists about the possibility of showing my work in a group show.  I find this whole scenario odd in an exciting way.  Usually artists have to go out in search of finding someone to show their work.

So, now is the dilemma of choosing what to put in the show.  I think I have it figured out. But changes could still occur.  I have no idea what to expect, or what could come of this.  But I feel that there is something serendipitous about this art show.  I've been painting and drawing these characters for so long now.  There is just something very special about how things seem to be coming more together as I continue on my journey and the artwork that drew attention to me were the very paintings and Mizzles that began it.

 If you get a chance, you should come out and join us!  It sounds like a fun event.  There will be art work displayed, a fashion show, and bands playing.  Tickets are $10 online and you can get them at http://www.rawartists.org/roldan.  (Please make sure that the artist listed says "Mizzle Adventures") Otherwise tickets are $15 at the door. 

I went to the walk through today to see the set up.  I think the fact that there is a huge tree in the middle of the bar is a really good sign. (I love trees!)  It sounds like it is an entertaining event.  There will be booths for the visual artists, but there is a fashion show and 2 bands playing.  If you get the opportunity to go, make sure you get there at 6pm when the doors open.  If not, you could miss out!