Saturday, August 21, 2010

Illustration Friday: atmosphere


My submission for Illustration Friday's "Atmosphere" is a dimensional painting I made for Dee Dee, my sister in 1995. It is wood, formable foam board, acrylic paint and resin. This was a bit of an experiment in several ways, I wanted to go beyond the traditional shapes of paintings and create leaves that give the piece dimension sort of jutting out curving around and also by painting part of the leaf on the surface to add a faux visual continuity for the eye. I made a few of these round layered pieces and really enjoyed this look. This flower girl is saying "I like the air up here". What does it mean? I don't know it was just fun to make, love the colours and I like it :) sorry about the glaring white spot, I took this picture at my Mom's house. She has an entire room dedicated to my art and it is a Valerie Gallerie of sorts and this was sitting up on a shelf so I did the best I could because I frankly had completely forgotten about this image.

I am not sure if they make this foam board anymore I bought a ton of it and you could wet it and it would form easier into shapes that I wanted to make. I never see it anymore so I imagine it was not so popular, but it worked for me. I have found through the years that when I like a product I buy a lot of it because many art supplies tend to get discontinued...

17 comments:

claudine hellmuth said...

love the dimensional quality!

michele said...

Hi Valerie, yes, this is a fun piece! And the little lady appears to be enjoying her float in the coastal breeze along the shore! Perfectly atmospheric! :o)

Vicki Smith said...

She's simply adorable, Valerie. Love the stockings and her little pointed toes!

String said...

She IS adorable, I agree, love her look and feel!

asperezas said...

Lovely picture and magnificent work :)

Ginger*:) said...

I love this and the fact that you made it for someone you love. I was curious about formable foam board, that sounds interesting. If they still do make it I will find some. You always amaze!

Lisa M Griffin said...

Very cool... would love to see this from different angles, to really get a feel for its dimension. ANd you know, we may not always understand the creative process but as long as the end result is fulfilling.. then it was worth the ride!

emilayusof said...

hello valerie! wow! that is one unique and beautiful gift for your sister!

Andi said...

Hi Val!!

I've missed your blog, I'm just getting back into the swing of things! Thanks so much for visiting, and as always, I love your ethereal, imaginative takes on the IFs! So beautiful!

a : )

A Penny for Your Thoughts said...

Thank you for taking the time to let me know about my comments not working. I think I fixed it...
I love your work it is so colorful and fun!

Heather said...

love it! so fun.

MrBibleHead said...

So you're the one who bought up all the foam board.... :o) Great work Val! I was trying to get my eyes to tell my brain what I was looking at. Is it 2D? Is it 3D? is it an optical illusion? Well thanks for explaining it. (My brain was shuting down) I love it! You have agreat creative Knack! I love that Valerie Gallerie! So clever!!Thanks for making my day!

Brine Blank said...

Seeing this makes me wonder if you have ever done a table piece meant to be viewed from overhead directly??? I bet you would kill with sculpey lol...

Doodlestreet said...

This is such a sweet piece you made for your sis...and I so completely love it that your ma has a Valerie Gallery (ie) in her home..that's pretty darn cool~
That formable foam core...is that the flat board you are talking about or is it something different? I'm familiar with the flat board with the slick paper covering...
Very very cool stuff, and I really dig how you take the raw materials (foam board) and push them beyond their regular creative use--a very unique pioneer spirit in your work.

Eric Barclay said...

Love the character and colors. The ocean just seems to go on forever. Wonderful.

Tracy said...

Very cool, Val! I think it's neat that your mom has a special room for just your artwork!

studio lolo said...

How come this isn't living at your sister's house?
I love that your mom has a valerie gallerie!!

I've never heard of this material Val. I love what you've done with it though. You're a creative genius!