VINTAGE BABIES COLLAGE
I put this collage together on a piece of cardboard that measures roughly 10 X 17. The background is made from tissue paper, torn/wadded paper, and scrapbook paper that I burned to get a rough edge. The black and white pieces come from a Web site that shares vintage photos for use by artists. I used some of the three cent stamps Jason Moulder so kindly sent me at the new year to give a nice purple accent. Some items from my international postal stash are added to finish off the piece.

SKULL STILL LIFE WITH APPLE, WATER PITCHER & RED BOTTLE
Yes, I've once again painted that old protector of the brains that I appreciate so very much. This time in a still life with a water pitcher I picked up at a local second-hand store, a Macintosh apple, and a red bottle which may start to look familiar in days to come as I've painted it in one of my earlier paintings and I like it very much.



This piece is done in oil on a 16 X 20 stretched canvas and it's one I've been working on in my spare time at home on my own. It's the first one that I tried a final glaze on, which is something that some old dude at the art supply store told me about that he likes to do on his paintings. I knew nothing of this technique other than I'd heard the term thrown around here and there. I thought what the heck, I'm mostly experimenting anyway. So I tried it out using the method as explained to me by the old dude at Art Supply Headquarters, who, I don't know his name, but he's always super nice to me and nice to chat with. I liked the effect I got with it as it seemed to unify the piece. I used a little yellow ochre with a lot of linseed oil, and after speaking with my art teacher about it, she says you should always use a transparent color, which yellow ochre is not. Lucky for me I used a very thin wash and I don't think it was enough to mess anything up.

ANALOGOUS PAINTING
This is my analogous project from design class. It's on a 9X12 canvas board. The project was to paint a still life using an analogous color scheme. The bowl and the piece of fruit, which we don't know what is, were actually green. The pitcher, however, was red. In this painting, the pitcher reminds me of a giant pickle. The entire thing screams green and yellow. It's very analogous; I definitely accomplished the goal of the project. I'm not sure I like the painting though. It's is too loud to suit me.

Oh well, I guess it turned out OK for what it was meant to be. I can't say I like it much though. Someday, I'll be a real artist, and I'll be able to paint things I want to paint, not what is set before me by a teacher. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the learning process, it's just that the same items time after time get boring. That pitcher has been set before me umpteen times and it's getting o-l-d.

SOMETHING FROM DRAWING CLASS
This is an ink and brush drawing done on watercolor paper with India ink. It's the only one I've done so far that has turned out decent enough that I'd actually want to share it. We've been doing these in my drawing class for the last four sessions, and I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of it a bit. I might even like it a little, the medium I mean.

I like it more when I can set up my own items at home. The same old stuff at school gets a tad old. I'm beginning to really hate a certain gourd and roper boot, and there's a flower pot that I am actually plotting to knock over and break if I have the opportunity and can make it look like an accident. I'm waiting for my chance...