Marilou's Art Blog

How to carve pumpkin for halloween

2011-10-31T15:45:00.000-07:00

For this halloween I decided to carve out a pumpkin in a different way, not our typical jack-o-lantern. It is a great family activity for the afternoon or even extend it to a multi-day activity. Here's some simple steps:

Step 1: Select your pumpkin.Once you've picked up your pumpkin, keep it in a cool dry place until you are ready to carve it. A carved pumpkin can only last a few days especially if you have lit a candle inside it.

Tip: Select your pumpkin with a design in mind. Use the natural shape of the pumpkin and stem and incorporate into your design.

Step 2: Select a simple design.
There are many sites online for free printable designs. Scale it to size to maximize the size of the design to make it easier to carve. Smaller designs are more challenging. Print it on paper.

Step 3: Use pins to keep your paper in place.

Tip: Adjust the paper by making mini-folds (instead of bigger folds) to accommodate the curved surface of the pumpkin.

Start pinning! Basically you use a pin to trace the design from the paper and transfer it on to the pumpkin.

Step 4: Start carving using the pinned design.
You'll end up with something like this. Can you see the design?

Tip: You can trace the design again using a pencil to make it easier to see.

Tip: I trace the entire outline first using an Exacto knife for more precise carving.

Step 5: Continue carving until you have carved out the design.

Tip: Use different size and tips of knife to make it easier to carve certain areas.

Tip: Using different thickness of the pumpkin flesh will determine how much light comes through.

Tip: Cut through some parts of the design to let more light through and allow air.

Tip: Add texture by carving with the tip of the exacto knife (see the "fur" on the cat"

Tip: When lighting using a candle, use a tealight holder to keep the candle secure.

Tip: Keep the lid a little open to allow air for the candle to continue burning.

Do not leave your lit pumpkin unattended!

Enjoy!

Extra!! Wash and roast the pumpkin seeds and sprinkle with salt!

Another art pendant is in a collection!

2011-01-11T12:36:00.000-08:00

One of my original art pendant is in an Artfire Collection! My piece in on the second row third from the left side. It is a square glass pendant called "Green Mountain". A nice surprise to see that curators like my work. There are a lot of interesting, original, and hand-made creations at Artfire. A great way to shop for unique items and supporting artists. Valentine's day is coming up, so shop early for best selection.

One of my original art pendants is in a collection!

2010-12-16T20:06:00.000-08:00

What another nice surprise today with one of my original art pendants included in a curated collection at Artfire. Be sure to check out my online store I'm offering a studio-wide sale until the end of the month!

The ArtMix Guild Collection I

Curated By: TheLittleAlch...

ArtFire.com

Indie Design

My gingerbread roof in a collection!

2010-12-03T23:27:00.000-08:00

It was a nice surprise to be included in a curated collection at Artfire. Mine is the gingerbread roof photo on a magnetic bookmark for $2.50. Middle column on the third row. Come check it out and look around for some great stocking stuffers!

Gingerbread

Curated By: ViragoCreations

ArtFire.com

Handmade Gifts

My Artfire Studio is now OPEN!

2010-11-25T11:02:00.000-08:00

After being a Basic member for quite some time now, I have now upgraded to PRO member. Come check it out, shop and spread the word around. Happy shopping!

Art & Craft Shows well underway

2010-11-19T01:55:00.000-08:00

Excitement is in the air! 'tis the season for the art and craft shows. Time surely flies since I started being at art and craft shows only one year ago! One of the things I love about Vancouver is that people are open to new things and if those are also one-of-a-kind and handmade, then it is usually well received.

I've been keeping busy with my graphic design business called Third Leaf Designs but I'm ready for my art's busiest season! I finished one show last weekend at the Ukranian Community Centre in Richmond, BC. It was pouring rain but it was nice and cozy inside. I am so pleased that my bookmark magnets are well received and so are my art cards. I sold out on most of them that I had to reprint more for this weekend's show! Besides getting the reprints, I have included a few new ones and I'm excited to bring them out as art cards. And of course my new batch of original art pendants are great gift giving idea!

If you are in the area, drop on by to any of these events coming up:

West Point Grey Community Centre
Aberthau Mansion 30th Annual
Holiday Craft Fair
4397 West 2nd Ave, Vancouver, BC
(2nd Ave & Trimble)
Nov 20, Saturday
9:30AM to 4PM

Westminster House
1653-140 Street, Surrey, BC
Nov 26, Friday
10AM to 4PM

Lonsdale Quay Market, 2nd Floor
North Vancouver, BC
Dec 18 & 19, Sat.& Sun
10AM to 8PM

Happy shopping! and thank you for supporting your local artists.

Another successfull Artful Sunday

2010-08-12T00:50:00.000-07:00

The Artful Sunday event this year for is a success! Despite the weather being so drizzly and a tad cold, I had a steady stream of people at my tent interested in my wares. We arrived to set up at a little past 10AM and it was pretty much non-stop for me talking with people. I managed to do a little bit of painting and showed my process to those who are interested. One of the people who bought a few of my art cards told me that she first saw me last year, missed my art show in Steveston last year and have been wanting to get a hold of me. Voila! Seeing me back at the Artful Sunday on a rainy August Sunday was both our lucky days. It was just a really nice thought that I actually have some fans/patrons. One of the new products I introduced this year are the magnetic bookmarks. Indeed it was my best seller in terms of quantity for this show. Here's some pictures of my set up for this show.

These are among my best sellers!

Artful Sunday 2010

One of the new displays for my art pendants

My new (ever-evolving) display set up

Looking forward to another show at this Artful Sunday if there is cancellation for August 29 or September 5. I had fun talking to people about my process and my art. Thank you to all those who came by and especially those who supported the local artists.

Artful Sunday, Aug 8 noon to 5PM

2010-08-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

I am excited to be a vendor participant for the Artful Sunday event this Sunday August 8th. The Artful Sunday event is every Sunday in August but I am participating only for the August 8th show. This is the poster I created for the event.

Stop by, come and say hi, I have lots of new art pendants, glass gem magnets, silhouette art cards with some never been published before, and some original art. Thank you for supporting local artists.

Artful Sundays (August 8, 15, 22, and 29)

1661 Napier Street, Vancouver, BC

(Napier and Commercial Drive)

My new art blog name

2010-07-14T11:27:00.000-07:00

I have decided to make change the name of my art blog from dressed-art.blogspot.com to artbymarilou.blogspot.com.

This was an easy decision and I should have done it sooner. I acquired the artbymarilou domain a few months ago to use for my online store for selling my art pendants, glass gem magnets, art cards and other art related handmade products.

I like this name better since it has a lot more potential to include my art experiments, work-in-progress, events announcements, art reviews, product reviews to name a few. In other words, I will be posting more often than I have in the past.

Art Trading Cards Show

2010-03-01T00:23:00.000-08:00

I attended my very first art trading card show last Saturday night (Feb 27) primarily because I was one of the 50 artists at Carded! It started at 8:00PM and we would have been on time if only I remembered to bring the exact address. By the time we actually found the place, it was close to 8:30PM and the place was packed! I introduced myself to the curators and as they thanked me for submitting they also gave me a stack of my very own trading card. It did not long before someone asked if I have something to trade. Before I long I was trading cards and ended up having 18 different cards from traders and artists! It was a lot of fun. It was also fun to have "fans" request for me to sign my card and talk a little bit about my art. I would have stayed a little longer if I was not feeling unwell due to my allergies and having a cold AND also the fact that my dear husband and (by then sleeping) daughter were waiting in the car for me. Although my husband was not a big fan of the event, he is my greatest fan and supporter, and he came along "just in case I did not have anybody to talk to at the show". It was also very nice to have a ride home instead of taking transit.

It is always inspiring to meet other artists and their art. I'm looking forward to attending this fantastic event next year and perhaps even submit for their other show, Hot One Inch Action, where they trade buttons instead of art cards. These are great events for artists and art collectors alike or even just for a social event and meet other people who enjoy art. There were even a few kids present and trading cards already!

Here's a pic of the packed gallery at around 9PM.

Pardon the angle on the picture since I did my best to get the camera as high as possible.

Here's a pic of the piece I submitted hanging on the wall.

Here's a close up view.

You can also look at my other silhouette art on my web page. Please feel free to leave a comment if you are so inclined. Check out the Carded! website for all the 50 art trading card entries.

Painting without a brush

2010-02-25T22:10:00.000-08:00

Over the months that I have been trying different ways to make art and I found that I enjoyed working on small art, from 3" x 4" wood cradles or 3" x 6" primed canvas, as long as it is at least 2" minimum on one side. Perhaps it's because of being a frugal artist or the lack of space but somehow my min art which usually comes from scraps of canvas, wood or paper turns out well (at least I think so). I'm starting to think, that may be the one of the reasons why I like working on my original art pendants, because it is small in size. Here are a few of those small art I have done recently and over the last few months. You will notice that each one has a different style and that is because these are mostly experiments in colour, medium, material, or style.

This is one of my favourites to date. I used paper towel and a small palette knife to paint this. I did not have a reference for this painting but just whatever came to mind at the time. I was inspired to try this style of painting from a workshop I attended last September.

"Into the Light"

Acrylic painting, 3" x 6" canvas

Here's another one. This is even smaller than the one above. I was experimenting with some leftover green paint and glossy medium. A palette knife was used to create this painting.

"Blue Green Stillness"

Acrylic on raw canvas

It is a great idea to experiment and find your style. Let me know what other experiments you've done in your art.

Connect Community Art Show

2010-02-24T16:21:00.000-08:00

As mentioned in my previous post, I am on this show from February 5 to Mach 20, 2010. Here are six of my artwork installed at this show.

There are 2 more interactive art workshop:

609 Helmcken Street, Vancouver

(use the second entrance to the gallery on Seymour Street)

6:30PM to 8:00 PM

March 11 - Photography

March 18 - Drawing

New art and shows for 2010

2010-02-24T14:02:00.000-08:00

The rest of 2009 was busy with creating and selling my original art pendants. I have been really pleased how well it was received in Metro Vancouver as well as various places in the US, UK, Europe, and Japan. It really shows that it has a universal and timeless appeal that crosses cultures and ages. I am working on my spring collection which I am planning to launch by end of March 2010 by setting up an online store at Artfire.

The holidays has also given me some inspiration to create a series of watercolour paintings from our travel pictures taken in Utopia, TX. In January I started one preliminary painting and had time for some experiments since it has been a few months since I painted with watercolour (I have been doing mostly acrylic since July 2009). I will post some of those sketch book painting in my future posts. I finally bought a set of artists quality watercolour paints with 20 colours recently and I was just amazed how much better the colours were.

Connect Community Art Show

The Gathering Place, 609 Helmcken Street, Vancouver,

Feb 5 to Mar 20 1PM to 5PM

The opening night on February 5, for the Connect Community Art Show in Vancouver was fabulous with record number of people attending. The most exciting part for me was to see guests and art lovers reaction to my paintings and getting direct valuable feedback from them. Needless to say, I was really inspired! The organizers also produced a catalogue with a picture of the artist and one piece of artwork, I'm on page 29! The catalogues are on sale for $20 at the show.

February 27/2010, Saturday 8PM to 12:00

Jacana Gallery, 2435 Granville Street, Vancouver.

I finally completed 3 silhouette art pieces. Two of those paintings were submitted for a show and was pleased that one of them was accepted to"Carded! Trading Card Art Show". You can read more about Carded! and if you are in the area, drop by. Mention that you saw my blog and I'll give the first 5 people one of my own trading card.

My art has grown organically

2009-10-17T22:12:00.000-07:00

This term was recently coined by a fellow artist when referring to, how I got to where I am now. Since my last blog post in early July, a lot has happened in my art journey. My first two attempts in getting to a show were rejected. After receiving the second rejection letter, I created a file which I called "Rejected Art Submissions". I thought I might as well start a file on it since I am not planning to give up submitting to calls for artists. Since those 2 rejections, I have been accepted to 3 juried shows and will also be showing at a group exhibition in addition to 2 outdoor art shows and 2 trade shows. August was busy with shows and trade show every weekend and October is turning out to be even busier.

I also started creating original wearable art in the form of glass gem pendants in August. This was not done on purpose but "just happened" out not being a wasteful. I started painting leftover paint after a painting session, onto pieces of art paper. I used those artworks for my pendants. My original intention was to reproduce my artwork on a smaller scale and use partial artwork to create a glass gem pendant and glass gem magnets. Due to a time crunch in trying to get some art finished to sell at an outdoor art event the following day, I ended up using original, unique, and beautiful pieces or wearable art. I was so happy that it was so well received and made enough money to buy more supplies for the next trade show, and I did the same thing at the shows that follow. I will be launching my new website specifically for my artwork but primarily for my original wearable art called Art By Marilou.

I am wonderfully surprised and grateful at this turn of events. I share this good feeling of luck with my husband and he remembered recently reading out "being lucky". I read the article which is titled, "Be lucky - its' an easy skill to learn".

October is speeding by with 2 art openings back to back. The Red Dot Affair at Maple Ridge Art Gallery from Oct 17 - Nov 28/09, opening reception is Oct 22/09 at 6PM and the Burnaby Artists Guild Fall Exhibit and Sale at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts on Oct 23-25/09. See hours and details on my website.

The other show I am excited about is the Connect Community Art Show. They accepted 6 of the 7 artworks I submitted. I just finished the photo shoot for the artists catalogue they are producing. The show will be from Feb 5 to Mar 30/09 just in time for the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics, here in Vancouver.

Colour Harmonies

2009-07-02T02:10:00.000-07:00

I had my first painting class last night! I was so excited to go to this class and very keen on learning new things. Getting to class was quick but finding parking at Granville Island is proving to be a challenge even at 6:00 PM, so by the time I found the classroom on the fourth floor with no elevator pass, it was exactly 6:30PM and the teacher is already talking to the class. No time for dinner until after class at 9:30 PM! Most if not all the people in class want to be there so no one even took a break in between doing the in-class exercise.

We did a double primary colour wheel in-class and even though I have made colour wheels before (colour theory class a few years back), this was something different. I was doing well until I made a mistake and used a warm blue instead of a cool blue on the cool side of the colour wheel. After correcting my mistake, the teacher went on to explain our next project which is on colour harmonies. We are to paint the same 9 small paintings using 9 different colour harmonies. We had time to do one in-class, the achromatic colour harmony, which means the absence of colour. It is basically grayscale similar to a black and white photography.

I was not really inspired in class and my set up at home is much more comfortable. I took the homework home and did the achromatic and monochromatic color harmony painting. Here's my achromatic and monochromatic homework painting. What do you think of the achromatic.? It is amazing how just using one hue plus white and black, the mood of the painting emerges.

Achromatic color harmony

Monochromatic color harmony

I also did some experimentation on using acrylics, palette knife, polymer fluid and using some bits of un-stretched canvas. I find painting on paper uses less paint than painting on canvas. The artwork I did were a bit odd since I did not really have any composition in mind when I started. I thought it was a good use of the leftover paint and just to experiment.

My artistic journey continues as I learn new techniques, mediums, and inspirations.

The Ups and Downs of an Artist

2009-06-23T03:11:00.000-07:00

My first group exhibit opening night was a huge success in my perspective. I had a lot of invitees who showed up with their spouses or friends in tow! Thank you to all my family, friends, and associates who came to the opening and to those who visited during the exhibit. I can only recall that I talked pretty much non-stop throughout from start to finish. I was still suffering from my second bout of allergies and regretfully turned down a community TV interview which I arranged. One of my clients has also expressed a keen interest in purchasing one of my artworks. This is truly exciting for me. Our art collective finally had a chance to get a group photo which I am sharing here.

The down side of being an artist is the amount of rejection one has to endure when applying to exhibits or calls for entry. I received my first rejection in the mail last Friday and my second rejection on Monday. Rejection is just part of the process and need not be personalized, just simply move on. It is still hard to take and I think one still has to go through the emotions but not dwell on it.

On the up side, I will be participating as a vendor for Artful Sundays "a multimedia, outdoor, visual arts market", on August 16th (noon to 5PM) at Napier Square, Britannia Community Centre on Commercial Drive in Vancouver. If you are a local, please drop on by and see my art cards, glass magnets, glass pendants, and other crafty items I will be creating in the next while. I will be receiving my supplies soon and will be directing my energies in creating wonderful arts and craft. I will post more about Artful Sundays soon.

I am also excited about my painting class starting next week. I will be posting a few new watercolours I did the other day and tell you about my painting class.

The Art of Framing Your Artwork

2009-05-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy month of May. As I prepared for my group art show, I learned quite a bit about framing. My works are currently on paper which require proper framing for presentation as well as preservation. I had a detailed demonstration from one of my art marketing group, Alma who does custom framing. It was very generous of her to show me a demo and took the time to explain many aspects of framing which I did not know about. My initial intention was that I can do it myself. After all I am a "DIY" kinda gal! I realize it is best to leave my art to be professionally framed, at least for now. Now I have more of an appreciation and better understanding about what goes into framing art. There are a number of things to consider besides the frame itself, like the matting , backboard, hardware, and the multiple choices for the right type of glass for my particular art. Knowing this now will most likely be a determining factor on the size of artwork I will be creating in the future.

This morning we finished our art installation for 10+1 Art Collective group exhibit and I felt more confident that I had my artwork for my first art exhibit framed professionally. A big thanks to Jon who helped hang my artwork on a very uneven brick wall! Here's a picture of my 3 pieces on the wall at Raw Canvas Gallery, 1046 Hamilton Street in Vancouver. Our exhibit can be seen from June 1 to 30 with an art opening night on June 11 from 6PM to 8PM.

Tree Sculptures in Stanley Park

2009-05-03T22:30:00.000-07:00

This spring has been the most challenging for me for allergies. In fact, this is the first time I have ever suffered allergy symptoms in my life! So after a full day of staying indoors when it is sunny outside, I was somewhat reluctant to go for a walk in Stanley Park with Jon, my husband and Daisy, my active 3 year old. To my delight, it turned out to be a really nice walk in the woods after dinner. Jon has taken Daisy to these trails before but it was my first time to walk through the Cathedral trail, near Second Beach. This is one of the areas of Stanley Park where a lot of big old trees came crashing down in the fall of 2006 during that wind storm. I admire the creativity of some visitors of the park to create some surprising sculptures out of the logs and stump. We saw the alligator log, the tree chair and a face. I took some pictures but had to use flash photography due to poor lighting.

As it got dark in the trail we headed to the beach to see a gloriously orange sunset and felt so lucky that we live in this part of the world. Daisy bee-lined to the nearby playground and spent a few minutes there. I realized as we headed back home, that I did not sneeze even once!

Daisy what do you see? I see moo moo cow milk :)

2009-04-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

Daisy had fun doing this watercolour abstract. She painted this last week while I painted At Wood's Edge. In fact, we use the same tempera block paints! I enjoyed looking at Daisy's art while it was taped to the wall to dry. We used this painting to create a birthday card. Daisy has done so many wonderful paintings that I have to remind myself that it is the process and not the result that really matters. She uses a few techniques that I have shown her and adding her "stamp" on her work by using her fingers and hands at the very end. It can get really messy but it is a time well spent together.

Daisy is now quite verbal and tries to express what she see in her paintings. At times, she has drawn shapes and told me what they represent. For this particular one, for some reason she called it Moo moo cow milk. I'm glad that she has quite an imagination too. I don't quite get it but i I see bird or maybe even 3 birds. What do you see?

A dream to reality

2009-04-14T23:24:00.000-07:00

After the painting marathon last week, were I did mostly abstracts, I challenged myself to paint something that is real or at least have a reference.

I had a dream a long time ago. I wanted to capture the beauty of Howe Sound. I have a few photos of that wonderful scenery with the mountains, islands and sea but it was not the spectacular shot I always wanted. I even dared to entertain the thought of painting such a scenery. Of course I made the attempt long ago and I have proof to show that I was not a good painter at all! I recently came across the aforementioned photo while I was rifling through my photo collection looking for suitable pieces to include in my website. And so with that, I turned a dream into reality. I'm showing here the original watercolour painting and the digitally enhanced version.

I must have been inspired for some reason as I managed to finish this painting and the Twilight Forest (shown on my previous post) while Daisy was in preschool. I worked on the digital enhanced later that evening and was quite pleased with the result. I liked both paintings as each has a different mood and feel. Let me know what you think.

Another inspired sunny day

2009-04-08T00:14:00.000-07:00

Leaf Fishing Line

Twilight Forest

What a beautiful day we had today in Vancouver, sunny and warm. Quite a change from the last few days from our extended winter! I took advantage of the time I had to do more painting when Daisy went to school today. I am still getting know my brushes and paints. I barely finished two paintings by the time Daisy got home from preschool, the paint was not even dry yet! The first painting was another leaf and scallop pattern. I quite like the effect of this simple pattern. The forest painting was really just trying to finish off the paint that was still on my palette. It started out to be abstract and turned into this serene forest scene at dawn. I was unexpectedly pleased by this turnout. I scanned the painting and did some digital enhancement.

One of the rewards I love about making art is the positive reaction I get from my viewers. It is very encouraging for me to hear that "it is a work of art" referring to the forest painting. Could it be true that the more you look at your own art, the more you like it? It certainly holds true for me.

The journey begins with the first art

2009-04-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my art blog. This is an opportunity for me to share my journey as a visual and digital mixed media artist. I create art using traditional water-based mediums and then digitize and complete it using the computer. Some of my artwork will have no enhancements but digitized for documentation and showing on my website.

I will also be posting artwork done by my daughter, Daisy. She is a great inspiration for me to get back to doing art. Ironically, I had to put a hold on my artwork when she was born (in 2005). Now maybe as she grows, I will also grow as an artist.

As my first post, I am excited to show you the 5 artworks I did yesterday, after coming home from a play date with my daughter and her friend. On the rare occasion that Daisy takes a nap in the afternoon, I try to take advantage of daylight to paint. This was the first time in a long while she took a nap and there was still daylight. I must say these artworks are more for getting acquainted with the brushes and watercolours. All artworks are 6" x 9" watercolour on paper.

Please feel free to leave comments. Thank you.

Spring Sunset

Colour Block

Eye Leaf

Fall Fire

Under the Sea