::wip.phillips family tree & halloween::

so i decidedly passed on posting saturday and am getting back this evening to catch up. i got the ::phillips family tree:: tree completely cut out, the canvas covered in a tissue paper "under painting" and the tree and photos attached. i decided to soften the piece by adding a layer of gold acrylic, so that the plaid like lines beneath aren't as obvious. this morning i began the process of filling it all in with a parchment white acrylic. i also finally decided to go ahead and title the piece at the bottom; the phillips family tree, and dated 2009. i have never ever free handed or painting a cursive font before so i am pleasantly surprised with how well it is works and plan on using font or "script" in upcoming works.

i ended up hanging the cut paper tree all over my apartment and found i really loved it hanging on my lamps. i am thinking, at least, the cut paper could help me in future redecoration projects. i suppose i'll try my hand at it the next time there's a lull in the to make//to do list.

for our annual family fall party at my aunt's i decided to make and take popcorn cake. i hesitate to preface recipe by saying it's easy. four ingredients is easy, yes. but imagine fluffy popcorn and sticky marshmallow, it's difficult mixing but probably fairly kid friendly, i've never tried making it with little ones around and about, and super delicious. and without a doubt you could substitute the not so healthy with raisins, craisins, cheerios, sunflower seeds, or carob chips. i forwent the halloween costuming and partying and drinking and hangovering and went for my new book; 'mornings on horseback' by david mccullough.

i didn't even feel like changing my clocks until this afternoon; i've heard about people doing this while on vacation. i woke up at my normal time and got straight to painting. it's been a great first day of november. wouldn't you say?

::television sucks::

not a whole lot coming to mind at the moment. just a whole lot of yawning and sighing and painting. and when i am reminded of how unique each day is, how not one cloud in the sky is exactly ever the same and how the sun moves throughout the year, marking the season. i can rest. sleep well fair friends near and far.

::what's hot + what's not::

::what's hot::

so i have decided to join loobylu's what's hot + what's not this week, at least this week. can't make any promises to follow up next week. i have been thinking about it. what's hot? what makes me tick, what really defines the hot this week?

well, i have no idea if this counts as what's hot but, i feel like my family really ought to come in at number 1. family feels and pretty much seems like the coolest thing i could think of, lame, no! not a chance. many say about their own families that there's never a dull moment. the same could be said about fam collier. we work together, we play hard together, we party together, we debate and struggle with one another. there's growth and comfort and a deep respect for one another. conflicts have become rare and i suppose in their place, five grandchildren have appeared, almost out of nowhere. maybe that explains it.

second on my list of hot; is paper decorations! i'm dying to make. it maybe old news but it's still hot to me; loving the small objects thanksgiving paper garland.

i'm also pretty stoked about more paper cutting; found jenny lee fowler via flickr this week and am completely committed to my xacto knife, until death do us part.

a month or so ago, my mom and i went to a library book sale. i found two treasures. i wish i could wait until christmas to reveal but cannot. since i'm on hot and paper cutting/craft i've got to mention 'the christmas spider - a puppet play from poland'. i don't know that i've seen anything as perfectly sweet.

aaron tucker's work continues to be and inspiration. he recently began blogging. cutpaint securely wraps up my week of what's hot!

::what's not::

...is it just completely ridiculous to complain about the weather. the back and forth temperatures, the rain, the warmth, the cold. bottom line is that it has been downright unpredictable.

GIVE ME A BREAK! i am not buying the book. i'm not stuck on celebrity gossip either. i mean really! So can you guess what's not? i don't understand the point. NOT HOT!

last but not least. to be frank. i haven't been riding my bike as much as i would like. not hot, not cool. riding partner are you out there?

so that's it. that's all i've got. if you'd like to play along, feel free and share, just leave a link with a comment, or post it up at loobylu's.

goodnight.

::apartment living::silhouette&shadow

the collected evidence is in. the findings in this case have been recorded, the proof is in the photos. the facts are faultless. i am not a photographer. i am an artist. i am different than a photographer, but the same because we are both artists. i never was, what i'd call a photographer and this is not a sad truth but rather something i have actually known for a very long time about myself.

the happy truth is that i love my little digital camera, it is just right, just enough for me. it gets the job done and fills whatever creative gap i feel in my daily comings and goings. don't get me wrong, i'm often tempted by the polaroid, the manual or the newest and badest nikon on the shelf. really though, i am perfectly satisfied, couldn't be happier. i'm still capturing the light, the silhouettes, the shadows and i'm addicted. seriously addicted but not like i am to making art or twirling my hair when it's soft or to chewing gum. it's a easy addiction that doesn't really require a whole lot from me in the end.

i also, often think that my artwork looks better in photographs, my apartment looks cleaner and brighter, really nice autumn light or morning light looks more real than real in photographs, sometimes. maybe it's the automatic manipulation that an image taken through the lens goes through that's addictive or fascinating. like i said, i'm definitely not a pro, it's not my number 1 passion but it is wonderful and fills me with good stuff. i love seeing lines revealed and disappearing in silhouettes and shadows, it's a simple as that. it comes down to line(s) and the positive//negative space principles, you know?

so...day 3. can i do this? it may mean i take a whole bunch of really so-so photos or it could mean i take myself back to the beginning and begin again. reinvestigate my photo taking history and see what i can see. who knows?

wip::phillips family tree

with monday almost behind us here, i thought it'd be fun to show some of the process of putting together the phillips family tree. i feel like i've found my groove with this one. over the weekend the momentum just grew, so i've actually made more progress but alas, darkness falls earlier and earlier, thus poor photo ops.

but sticking with my personal decision to use what i already on hand, i decided to use martha stewart's labels and cut out the center in order to frame each family members face. this just felt like the right thing to do, especially after having done a little bit of research.

talk about easy too, i guess the only difficult part was trying to decide how to crop each face. lucky for me i had 16 labels and there are 16 faces. crazy!

i also pulled out the kenneth james fibres wallpaper sample book i got years ago and found the perfect papers. there are a few, each a little different but reminiscent of tree color and texture. after laying the family tree out on the back of the wallpaper i proceeded to draw a simple sketch of a tree around the framed faces.

there's been so little preplanning here, that it's been a delight to just move through this project with more ease than what i originally thought i'd have.

i plan to complete finish cutting out the tree tonight and get a nice "underpainting" layer of nice golden green and blue tissue paper mod podged to the surface of the canvas. i guess painting in and around might become the slowest part of the project. i am still debating on whether or not to incorporated any lettering toward the bottom that says "phillips family tree". i actually have an idea; and will just need to patiently get there, you know?

i might be even crazier to think i can finish before the end of the week. i'm absolutely going to pace myself and not kill myself without sleep. with that said, my coffee is growing cold and the xacto knife has got to be warmed up. and and and, so you think you can dance is on. did i mention i'm a little bit excited about this season! sssshhhh!