11.16.25

Studio Vibes

Watching: Gossip Girl (annual rewatch), Midnight Mass, and Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities

Reading: The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Listening: The Provocateur by ADÉLA

I took things slow this past week to prep for my colonoscopy, but while rotting on my couch, I watched a YouTube short of an artist talking about playing in their creative practice. It made me realize I’m not really playing when working on these pieces. Art is and should be fun. After finishing my thesis exhibition in undergrad, I made a bunch of small paintings for my graduate application portfolio. I would challenge myself to finish a painting in a day or by the end of class. The color palettes were neon and completely unrealistic. I didn’t focus on photorealistic accuracy, but instead had fun with the brushwork. Several of those small paintings are still some of my favorites. I have been missing that sense of play in my creative practice, and I’m going to work on bringing it back.

In Progress

I really need to buy Mario Andres Robinson’s Lessons in Realistic Watercolor. I decided to play around with underpaintings with some photos I took in Ireland. Each painting had a different color for its underpainting:

  • Yellow

  • Orange

  • Gray

  • Chartreuse

Top (Left to right): Yellow underpainting; orange underpainting
Bottom (Left to right): Gray underpainting; chartreuse underpainting

What I really loved was how each painting had a different feeling because of its underpainting. The yellow and orange underpaintings created a sense of warmth, whereas the gray underpainting really matched the cold, windy morning in Galway. The most surprising was the painting of the old castle. I knew chartreuse would create a vibration in the work, but the energy in this study is phenomenal. I’m a bit obsessed with value underpaintings now, so I decided to really go in on this piece.

Switched from line work to an underpainting. I still need to increase the value shifts more, but I think this is the direction I want to go.

Seeing how the underpainting is coming along is making me excited about how to layer. I want to hide the underpainting ever-so-slightly and begin building up the background.

While working on the underpainting, I realized the self-portraits need to be on a more transparent material. While I do have Yupo and have worked with photo transfers on Yupo, I wanted a less stiff material. I’ve tested photo transfers on tracing paper, which works, but it buckles under moisture. Mulberry paper is a popular screenprinting material, so I picked up a sample pack along with a pack of vellum (which I think might be the material) from Blick. By combining the papers through collaging, I think I have the key to what I need to do. Now, I just need to sit down and play; basically, have fun experimenting (when is the last time I just played creatively?)

Creative Endeavors

I’ve been in a slight creative slump, but I have been itching to take a new class. While I do want to take a screenprinting class to refresh my skills (and I think it would be great for my practice), I have been absolutely dying to take a risograph class. However, it is incredibly hard to find a risograph workshop/class. I think the closest workshop is in Baltimore, which isn’t far, but I don’t have a car, so that makes it harder. I think I may stick with screenprinting for now (much easier to find a class in NOVA/DC), and start up figure drawing sessions again.

I’ve taken a break from sewing, but now ideas are percolating in my head. I really want a printed mesh mockneck, and I have finally found the perfect fabric. It’s a Renaissance-inspired print, and I cannot wait to get my hands on it and make my piece. I also found a Renaissance printed, 100% silk fabric at Mood Fabrics, and I want to make a cowl-neck slip dress with it — a beautiful Christmas gift to myself, especially given the cost per yard (spoilers, it’s like $80 per yard).

Other Shenanigans

Thanksgiving is almost here, which means Christmas is getting close, which means — cookie season. I think I’ll stick with my usual rotation; I don’t know if I’ll have the energy to add a new cookie type. If I do, it will probably be a brown-butter chocolate-chip cookie with flaky sea salt. They’re not hard to make; the dough just needs time to rest. However, snickerdoodles and gingersnaps will always be in the cookie rotation.

I helped Netah paint her condo this weekend, and it reminded me of all the times I helped with exhibition installations. I still have the magic touch for doing the trim and creating even paint layers.

Finally, my doomscrolling habit is increasing (curse you, Reddit), so I’m trying to be better about holding myself accountable. During my haircut, I went full study mode for Japanese instead of just scrolling. It was a good refresher, and I feel more confident in the grammar points. If I want any chance of being conversational in Japanese (and Spanish), I have to get better at replacing rotting time with studying.

Here’s a reminder to play, and I’ll be back in two weeks with updates!