Still blogging, sort of...

Hi,

Just checking in. I post most frequently to Instagram these days. Mainly because it's so easy and I don't like to take the time to say anything.  Mostly because I don't have anything to say or don't want to say anything.  But I'm not quite ready to let this blog die. So I'll just do a quick recap of some of the stuff I'm doing.

I've been doing art, art, and more art. Well, I'm not sure it's "art" so much as just me practicing with paint on paper or canvas. Playing with color combinations. Playing with paint mediums. Playing with techniques. Testing different papers and canvas. Just basically playing and experimenting with whatever I feel like each day.

In between watercolor and acrylic painting projects I've also done some small quilting projects:

And a couple major bookbinding projects:

 An I'm also learning how to do some basic chainmail weaves:

Thanks for reading.

Aileen

 

Painting and Reading

What have I been doing since May?
Let's see...

First, I got sucked into the Instagram Vortex.  That's one of my excuse for not updating my blog. I've been posting photos of much of the artwork I've been doing over the past several months to my Instagram account and neglecting this blog. Also, because I really haven't been doing much besides painting or reading books all summer. 

Second, I went on a reading binge (yes, that is a thing, at least I do it from time to time). I have spent July through November reading all 17 books (15 novels and 2 books of short stories) in the Jim Butcher Dresden Files series. And some other books, fiction and non-fiction, 25 in all since May.

Third, I've been tired, a lot.  I can read, and do some art, and a few other necessary things every day, but not much else. I thought it was just my migraine problem and the horrible heat of this past summer, ( I hate summer), but I found out at the end of August I had a thyroid problem. I'm on medicine now so that problem should improve over time.

But I do manage to do some little bit of art every day, even if it is just one more layer on an acrylic painting or some watercolor practice.


Shown below is a collection of some of my art of Summer 2018:

 

Thanks for reading.
Aileen Biser

And a Painted Rock

Why? Because.  

I saw some cool ideas for rocks painted like houses and other things and thought I'd try it. 

This rock had the perfect shape for a little house. 

But it didn't have a very smooth surface so painting detail was not easy. 

What do I do with it now?  

Currently it's just a doorstop. 

Thanks for reading. 

Aileen 

This and That

So I've been working on a little of this and a little of that.  That's another way of saying I'm just doing what I feel like at the moment.  One day it might be sewing, another day it might be artwork, or it could just be doodling. 

Artwork. 

I finally finished the collage I started working on some time ago. This started as a canvas covered in narrow strips of fabric, painted in shades of purple and used and the backdrop for the smaller squares the small squares are made from thin strips of various purple fabric prints collaged onto painted card stock paper that was then cut into 1 1/2" square and the edges dipped in dark purple paint. The squares were then glued to the background canvas and coated with clear acrylic gloss medium. 

Doodling. 

I decided to try to turn this doodle idea into a font using the iFontMaker app on my iPad so I could use that font in another idea I have to create a print in Photoshop. 

My cell font idea. 

Sewing. 

I love all the new fabrics with unexpected prints especially all the text and graphic elements. And I love the Grunge Basics line of Moda fabrics especially the turquoise blue, so I decided I needed a new pen/pencil case made from this fabric because it will be something I use every day. 

I didn't like how the first one came out (that little misalignment is driving me crazy) and it wasn't quite the right size for my collection of gel pens, so I made another one.  

This is perfect and big enough for my growing gel pen collection. 

I started using gel pens when I found out they don't bleed through any paper especially Moleskine paper and I have several Moleskine notebooks and planners I write in daily.

How many gel pens in your collection?

And I had this little crazy piece of over stitched patches that I made just as an experiment and decided to make it into a little bag. 

It's full of sharpies. 

Thanks for reading. 

Aileen

Sewing and Doodling

When I'm not very focused on any specific project I resort to finishing up something from my collection of already sewn quilt blocks. Two benefits to this, I get to check something off my list of things to do as completed and I don't have to think too hard. I just sew.

Small and mini quilts I finished in May:

When I'm not sewing I'm just doodling or painting something abstract. I think the doodling and abstractedness is all a reflection of my unfocus. 

Well, this turned out strange, a collage of nothing and everything. This collage never looked finished to me and I didn't have a clear direction I was going with so I just kept writing various symbolic information on it until I got tired of doing that.

Thanks for reading. 

Aileen

New Year Projects

It takes a couple weeks to be back to normal after Christmas.  Things to put away, shuffling around of projects, deciding what to start on in the new year.  January usually ends up being about finishing up loose ends and doing small projects.

I haven't done much so far but I've made a couple new tarot card bags and worked on some artwork. 

These are the two sides of a lined and quilted 6" x 8" bag.

And these are the two sides of a lined and quilted 51/2" x 81/2" bag.

My main goal was to make a bag for new tarot cards I received for Christmas. 

The cards came with an instruction book but not a correctly sized box for the cards so naturally I had to make a bag for the cards. I tried to pick fabric from my collection with colors similar to the artwork on the cards. 

The cards have beautiful artwork with subdued colors from nature. All the fabric I picked out just happened to be batik. The colors and prints seemed to match the natural theme of the cards.

These two bags are the only projects I've completed this month but I've been playing with some art ideas and collage artwork.

I did some experimenting to find a pen or pencil I can use in an acrylic mixed media artwork that would not smear if painted over with clear acrylic medium.  This is the practice canvas and the two artworks I'm experimenting with. 

And I found some fabric in a color I adore (Moda Basic Grey Grunge Turquoise) and tried to recreate that magical color in artwork. Wouldn't it be fun to paint an entire wall this way? It could be a color therapy wall. Looking at this color just makes me feel good. 

It took a mix of several hues to come close to the same color turquoise.

Thanks for reading. 

Aileen