Presto Change-o!

After reposting "Yikes" for Halloween, I thought I might as well show what happened to the Spook later. What you saw last time was Cassie's marks on the window, properly oriented. That creepy little monster was just for fun - not anything I wanted to print. Out came the crop tool, and "rotate", and lots of color adjustment, and then presto change-o: Cassie's Nose Garden! It's such a cheery, whimsical scene, like something from Alice in Wonderland. No Cheshire Cat, but it has a quirky little bird; maybe the Cat is hiding behind the "mushroom" (or is that another bird?). Enough reminiscing - next time back to new work!

Yikes!

(The following is a repeat of Halloween 2007)

Here it is - Cassie's Halloween "spook"! This is the second version; the first one looked like a purple elephant with a trunk deformity. I was about to delete it, but then decided to play with it some more, and this little monster appeared. I definitely don't want to bump into it in the yard!

RE: the glowing eyes in the yard, mentioned last time - it finally rained the next day, when I was all set to go critter hunting, and I haven't seen anything looking back at me since. The speculation around here is that they were (a) aliens; (b) dust fairies; or (c) an indication that someone's medication needs adjusting.

Happy Halloween from Beth and Cassie! :)

Summer Porch

Found a little time to play (work) and Summer Porch was the result. I think the original photo represented a couple of months work at the storm door by Cassie. The colors in this one are incredible! Even though I use a lot of black (traditionally associated with gloom and doom), this is a joyful, energetic work. The black makes the colored areas even more vibrant. It's very hard to judge how anyone sees these on the web - the only way to get the full impact is to actually see the print (done my way!). That means "do not attempt this at home", if you get my drift. Summer Porch will be listed on Etsy by tonight - have a look at PiCassieO . I will offer it as a full-size print and a slightly different version as an ACEO (Artist Card, Edition, or Original) - art to fit all budgets (even mine)! Come visit!

Walking In the Air

The title Walking In The Air came from a song on a Christmas CD. I liked the way Cassie's marks sort of march across the window in this one, although the colors and feel of it speak more of fall than winter. Right now in NC, it feels more like winter than fall! Wet and nasty for several days now - but Cassie is happy because there was finally a deer in the yard this morning. Now I have some new material to work with at last - we've been having a dry spell artistically (but not weather-wise), due to lack of wildlife. Our quince tree is presently dropping its sour fruit on the ground, so there should be a little more traffic out there soon. How anything can eat that stuff, I don't know. They smell good, but have the effect of green persimmons! Ugh.

Big Announcement: Our Etsy store is up and running! We have a dozen prints for sale, and I'm adding pendants and ACEOs ASAP. In case ACEO doesn't ring a bell, it stands for "Artist Cards, Editions, & Originals". You collect them like trading cards and can house your collection in an album. Really affordable art! Visit PiCassieO often and see what we're offering!

"Storm Door September", & Other Dogs Making Art

Summer has been a slack time for us, artistically. The weather has been so strange that I think it's affecting the wildlife, and they're evidently hanging out somewhere else. Either that or the predator population (coyotes and hawks) is increasing and scaring the bunnies and deer off! Whatever it is, Cassie's main thrill these days is barking at my brother-in-law's old hound "Miss Red" when she moseys into the yard, so we don't have a lot of fresh "nose art" to work with. It has given me time to look back at former efforts (we've come a long way from Creature From the Green Lagoon, for sure!) and play with some of them. This one is a new color version of the first Storm Door. Never being one to write down steps, I'm not sure what filters were used in the first one, so I haven't figured out yet why the image is so obviously "pixelated" - got to work on that. The temptation to translate some of these images into paintings is growing, especially when the colors are so appealing. Then pixels will be no problem at all!

Now, about other dogs making art: I just read an article about a dog in Texas "making art" to sell for the humane society. It really disturbed me, because the dog wasn't a willing participant. His paws were dipped in paint and more or less used as "brushes" while he tried to get away, and his tail was also painted so he'd wag it against the canvas. That's certainly not the way we do things around here! There is no forcing or coaching or anything else, other than Cassie's uninhibited reaction to life, that starts every "PiCassieO". We wouldn't have it any other way!

Too many people think of "abstract" art as just a bunch of paint thrown randomly at a canvas and labeled "art". It can be done that way (by animals or humans) but it's not necessarily good art! Composition and color sense are prerequisites for any kind of art in order for it to work. There - enough pontificating for one day!

West Window September

Cassie made a really wild swoosh on the left window facing west - not her usual spot for viewing, since she prefers sitting on the other end of the couch top. I haven't been able to do much with it until now - just decided to go with dense black strokes and experiment with a new gradient background. Maybe still needs work, but I LIKE the black. It goes back to my student days, when using black paint straight from the tube was frowned upon (my instructors were still hung in NeoImpressionism). Well, I love its absoluteness and strength, and have used it in everything I've done since then - my rebellious streak showing through. I can see some interesting pendant material in this one, too! Be watching at Close Encounters - I'm working on new ones now.

Back to Serious Art Here! Scat, Cat!

OK - I was a little late, but the famous pickle recipe is now history. For a refresher course in how the art in this blog starts, check out "PiCassieO at Work" - see Cassie the Crackerdog in action! One of the works in the video is Scat, Cat! This is the updated version, with a new color palette. Funny- I really liked my "Herb" colors (check archives for the Herb series) when I first started using them, but fell out of love with them at some point and am redoing all of the art in that series - artistic evolution at work!