Topic #26--Accent

Sorry this week's topic was posted so late--we had a big storm in Maine over the weekend that took our internet/email down. Back up and working today--can't wait to see what you come up with!

This piece is by Vasil Vasilev, oil on canvas

Topic #25--"Imperfect" Entry

From Lara!:

"The perfect imperfect post... For Rae because I love her... my post is about my sometimes imperfect relationship with my daughter. This entry in my art journal was a response to one of our rows about a week before she turned 17. Rae and I are so alike it's scary, she's an only child, so argues with me as an intellectual equal, as she is an inch or two taller, she looks down on me.

She hasn't yet learned that it's not always important to be right, it always important to forgive.

On reflection, its no real wonder parent- child relationships are imperfect- as parents we've forgotten all we ever knew about being 17, at 17 our children have yet to learn about being 44."

Topic #25--"Imperfect" Entry

From Windyangel! Be sure to read her full post (click on her link in her comment under the original post).

"As I have grown to have more an appreciation for art, for beauty, I have come to learn to seek more orange. I love colour and have learnt that orange frequently represents joy. And so I seek more joy, more orange, more imperfection."

Topic #25--"Imperfect" Entry

From Karen O! Be sure to check out her full entry (click the link in her comment under the original topic post).

"It's an altered cabinet card I created to illustrate the point that sometimes we imperfect humans can overlook what is plainly obvious."

Topic #25--"Imperfect" Entry

From asscenderrisesabove!:

Title: Frayed
Medium: Original Oil Pastels, Acrylics on Paper
Size: 18"x24"
06.15.03

Contact Ascender for print purchase
More Ascender's Oil Pastels

"There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in."
Leonard Cohen

Topic #25--"Imperfect" Entry

From bluejude!:

"Yes, another journal page. This one reads: "Crazy Mixed-Up Wonderful Me" (And yes I know that my wonderful has two L's-it was intentional.) Why I don't know. Perhaps I was feeling FULL of wonderfullness! And I must say, that today I am still feeling crazy and mixed up but not too wonderful at the moment.
But this too shall pass....."

Topic #25--Imperfect

"Imperfect Circle", 2000
Lead .016", 23 kt gold lead, gold size on baltic birch
24 x 24 x 2 inches
by: Maryellen Latas

Topic #24--"Gothic" Entry

From Sue Berry!:

Topic #24--"Gothic" Entry

From Suzie-Q!:

"I used two of my own photographs, taken in our local churchyard, where my grandparents are buried. The beautiful Arched doorway is what's left of the old church which was seriously damaged in a storm, I think, when I was a little girl. A new church was built at the same site, but the ruins were left as they stood, and these doors are in the one wall that's left standing.

The second photograph was of the beautiful Celtic Cross that stands as a memorial to the Baldwin family. Way before my time one of them, Stanley Baldwin, was Prime Minister and some of his relations are buried here at St Michael's & All Saints, Stourport.


I enjoyed this challenge - it was the only Art I managed to get done this week! (Top picture is a scan, bottom is a photo to let you see the 3D effect I created with the doors.)"

Topic #24--"Gothic" Entry

From Johnnynorms!:

"I've gone for the generally sinister and gloomy interpretation.
This is a biro drawing given a digital twist or two."

Topic #24--"Gothic" Entry

A collage from Windyangel!:

"The magazine I used was Martha Stewart Living, October, 2001."

Topic #24--"Gothic" Entry

From Palasandra!

"Here on my terrace my thoughts are in the past,
I remember the gothic era although it never truly went away. I loved the drama of the black and purple gowns, it was an era that was a little romantic. I had many friends who were "goths"in London, the clubs were something to behold.
This is a digital print based on an acrylic painting I once did.

The easal still stands empty."

Topic #24--"Gothic" Entry

From Patrick!:

"i saw this topic this afternoon and i had it right away. as you may have figured out, i have not always been the happiest of people, and after highschool my depression hit all time lows (with a few exceptions.) i fell into the "goth" crowd for a few years, yes i was one of those kids you see at dennys at 2 in the morning after hitting some club, hanging out in front of 24 hour cyber cafes, drinking coffee and smoking at all hours. there was more to it than that, i just really dont want to go into it. in the end it was a phase i eventually evolved away from as i got older i guess."

Topic #24--"Gothic" Entry

From Lara!:

"Gloat, a modern example of Medieval Gothic

Medieval gothic art used symbolism to convey information to a largely illiterate population. For me one of the most visually appealing forms of this art form was the use of animals to represent qualities and more importantly people who had these qualities.

Most great houses in medieval England sported a few statuesque heraldic beasts. If displayed outside the house these would have been carved from stone. Those displayed inside were quite often carved in oak and painted. These beasts were seen as a symbol of high if not exalted status, which conveyed clear meanings to all who saw them.

I used Photoshop to manipulate a photograph taken earlier this summer to prove that the tradition of heraldic beasts lives on."

Topic #24--"Gothic" Entry

From me:

"This is an atc I just created in celebration of one of my most favorite holidays! It is currently for sale on my Ebay if you are interested--you can visit the link beneath my personal profile."

Topic #24--"Gothic" Entry

From Kindredspirit! Spooky....spooky!

"I finished these Sunday night for my Dark Halloween ATCs swap at Swap-bot. The gravestones are just cut-out black cardstock on an acrylic background with some pulled apart used dryer sheets for the wispy clouds and mist tendrils. Well, that's what they're supposed to be! The cards are both glued and sealed with Liquitex Matte Medium. The center card looks a bit shinier than it really is because it reflected the flash somewhat. "

Topic #24--Gothic

By Pat Jones:

Topic #23--"Brown" Entry

Welcome to Suzie-Q!! Her entry!:

"My first actual submission for Artwords, I think (I've been lurking there for so long that I'm not sure!) - how could I fail to love the colour Brown, when my faithful companion is such a beautiful example of the delicious colour! I think of him as 'chocolate velvet', as he is the colour of chocolate and is as soft & smooth as velvet - when he's dry! :) I took this photo of him in July this year, on his first ever trip to the seaside at the grand old age of 14 months! It's one of my favourites."

Topic #23--"Brown" Entry

From Kindredspirit!

"OK, so I started this scarf a couple(?) of years ago... for my daughter... for Christmas... when she was in high school... Well... I finally finished it for her 20th birthday... and she's now a sophomore in college. Talk about procrastination! An added incentive was to submit it to Artwords for this week's topic: Brown. ;) The yarn was a pleasure to work with. It's a tweedy soft multicolor acrylic that spiraled around a thin thread...."

Topic #23--"Brown" Entry

From Amanda:

"My entry is a photo I took when I was living in an old terrace house in Melbourne. In mid-2003 I moved from my home of 40 years (Brisbane) for the adventure I had dreamed of since I left school - living in another city. The city of my aspirations has changed over the years, but I've always wanted to embed myself in a place with a different culture in a way that can't happen by simply taking a holiday. It may not sound like too big a change but believe me there is a big difference: Brisbane is a tropic city of roughly 1 million, and the culture is built around the sunshine - which is a nice way of saying there's lots of sport and not much art or music! Melbourne on the other hand is three times the size, famous for experiencing "four seasons in one day", home of the MCG but ALSO home to a thriving artistic community."

Topic #23--"Brown" Entry

From Joan!:

"This painting was done specifically for this weeks 'artwords' challenge.
It is titled "When you look at me..."
When you look at me, do you see what I see?...
Do you look beyond my chestnut skin... go much deeper, look within
To see a woman who's thoughts run deep, and who's heart runs deeper still
A woman of strength and kindness and love...
A woman with an iron will
A woman so proud of who she is and all that she has done
Or do you look at me and see much more, and then feel the need to run...
When you look at me, just look at me
and see all that I am ... woman, sister, a kindred soul
Someone you may call 'friend'.
This piece is 8"x8" on Arches watercolor paper.
It was done in watercolor, pastel and archival ink.
And here's a thumbnail if you'd like a closer look."

Topic #23--"Brown" Entry

From WindyAngel!:

"Brown is a colour for which I have very mixed feelings. At first when I looked at this week's theme for Artwords I had a feeling of aversion. Then I started to think of earth tones, which led to earth, which led to excitement and much fun preparing this piece."

Topic #23--"Brown" Entry

From Sue Berry!

"Autumn is my favourite season - I love the vibrant colours of the leaves as they're turning from green to golden brown. Here's a leaf I picked up a couple of days ago:"

Topic #23--"Brown" Entry

From Patrick!

"i was thinking about how most of my exes share many similiar physical traits, emotional too for that matter. one of those physical traits most of them shared was that they were brunettes.... "

Topic #23--"Brown" Entry

An eye-opening entry from Kate:

"Chocolate (in my humble opinion) is a beautiful brown..mmm...creamy, melt-in-your-mouth, rich, decadent, indulgent chocolate.

a few weeks ago i listened to a radio interview that changed how I look at this wonderful brown indulgence. " Please be sure to check out Kate's full post for some very important, eye-opening information. The link can be found in the comment section under the original topic post.

Topic #23--"Brown" Entry

From Ascenderrisesabove!

Title: Sepia Draft
Medium: Photo, Photoshop
Date: 10.09.06

In the parlour with drawn curtains
lay the man with the gold watch-chain,
pennied eyes and Sunday suit,
smiling with considerable care;
the man who fathered eight children
and lived in a two-bedroomed terrace;
who walked in darkness to the steel-works
and walked in darkness back;

the man who silenced generations of
children with scrutiny over steel spectacles;
who taught himself Latin while Grannie
listened to others ranting about war;

the man who walked on Sundays
past the black mountain to look
at Welsh green valleys; the man
who never remembered my name.

Grandfather by Linda James"

Topic #23--"Brown" Entry

From Lara!

"This week's theme was a gift.

This basket of beautiful pine cones resides on the desk in my study. The range of shades of brown is amazing from a grey- green through lovely rich russets to deep chocolate shadows. I've only ever been to one formal art class, and I picked half a pine cone to draw, only to be told at the end of the session by the tutor I'd picked the toughest item she' d brought for us to draw.

I'm constantly amazed at the different shapes and textures of pine cones, and the way they respond to humidity. My study is rather small and quite dry so most of my cones are open all the time, and as a consequence when I move the basket the seeds in the cones rattle."

Topic #23--"Brown" Entry

Christine will get you in the spirit!

"Ahhh -- I have created something dark..... spooky. Must be in the Halloween mode!! It's BROWN -- the theme of this week's ARTWORDS blog -- It came out WAY scarier than I intended -- but it IS almost Halloween, right?!!"

Topic #23--Brown

"Whistler" by James Abbott McNeill (1834-1903). American-born painter and graphic artist, active mainly in England.

Topic #22--"Food" Entry

From Megan!

Topic #22--"Food" Entry

From Lara Lorelei!

"We all know we should eat a balanced diet, here's my idea of what a balanced diet should contain, equal measures of fruit, chocolate and cup cakes!!"

Topic #22--"Food" Entry

From Patrick--many thanks!

"last weekend i went home, i visited my grandparents and we had dinner.


this might sound innocent enough but my grandfather was a prisioner of war in the philippines during world war 2 and as such has had issues with not finishing food on your plate.

this was a problem growing up as my siblings and i were pick eaters and were served by others.

and was almost an issue a few nights ago

i wasnt too into what was being served, and i dont eat that much these days so i ate light.

and he was all about getting me to eat more.

dellima

now my grandparents think i have an eating disorder when all i wanted was to avoid not having a clean plate.

cant win."

Topic #22--"Food" Entry

From Windyangel--beautiful!

"I have started a series for Thanksgiving as Monday Oct. 9 is Thanksgiving in Canada."

Topic #22--"Food" Entry

A delectable entry from Kate--my mouth is watering!

"i knew that i had to do something with this photograph. I used a few filters on it and then used some brushes to "paint" the photograph. I've never done anything like this before so it was pushing the envelope for me and lots of fun.

this meal of pecorino cheese, prosciutto and bread was one that i had in Pienza, Tuscany, last year. there was also olive oil, balsamic vinegar and fresh tomatoes, picked right out of the kitchen garden (with a bottle of homemade wine, of course!). what made it so memorable was that everything except the bread, was made on the farm where we stayed, an agriturisimo, in the middle of an olive grove. fresh, intense flavours...fabulous taste!"

Topic #22--"Food" Entry

From Darcy:

"Okay, I sooo love Halloween but have just been unable to get into the spirit. So a friend suggested I do some fun funky Halloween cards to help me along. And so Funky Pumkin came about. He's not a card but is a 5 x 7 size and as you can see, a total departure from my usual. And of couse, being me...I couldn't stop at just one. But if you visit my etsy shop, I will have the others up there this week! "

See the full post for purchasing information.

Topic #22--"Food" Entry

From Ascenderrisesabove

Title: "Granny Smith’s Short and Tragic Life"
Medium: Dry Pastels on Paper
Size: 12.5" x 9.5"
Date: 05.09.06

"... the apple in your hand glows in that golden light that happens in the afternoon, suffusing you with something
you’re sure is close to peace...
Excerpt of Quantum by Kim Addonizio - full text"

Visit the full post for purchasing information.

Topic #22--Food