EXAMPLE OF JULY DRAWING CHALLENGE BY A MASTER!

Here is a most exquisite example of what can be done with a paper cut. I don't plan to do anything nearly as complicated as this image. Thank you, Marilyn, for sharing. The following is the e-mail I received along with this beautiful image.

"This is a life size paper cut done by Xiaohong Zhang. She is a professor at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She is originally from China.
I wish I could find her web site for a better image of this paper cut, this photo only shows the top part. The rest includes the legs,, with the veins being tree branches. She learned paper cutting from her grandmother. Her art is combining the western art with her Chinese art.

Marilyn Fuerstenberg"

Today I managed to get the NWS painting "Put Your Dukes Up" reframed and completed the paper work. This is the John Wayne image I did on Tyvek when we were working on starting with a grid.
There is a small window of 5 days when someone will be available to receive it, so I will wait until Monday to ship it off. The wooden frame required that I put the wire holders on by screwing into the frame. In the past I have often had to enlist the help of my husband because I didn't have enough strength in my hands to accomplish the job. Today I decided to manage the task myself. When I went looking for the electric screw driver I found 6 different ones (including 3 that looked exactly alike to me....two of these still sealed in their plastic packaging)!!!!!!!!!!! And I thought artists were compulsive about their insatiable desire for supplies. I decided to appropriate one of the three clones for myself. It is nice and compact, not very heavy and has about 24 different tips. I was very happy with my efforts...the wood didn't split and only one of the 4 screws is slightly askew. Next time absolute perfection!

I also spent a little time figuring out how to use my new mini printer connecting it to the computer. Before I just put the photo card in the slot. I printed out a few images, so now I will sit down and start my cut paper style drawing. Hopefully, I will have something to share tomorrow.

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD: JULY CHALLENGE

Today Gallery Concord changed the exhibit for the quarter. I spent the last few days getting these paintings framed and ready for the show. I wanted to exhibit some new paintings this time. I photographed them on the wall in the gallery so reflections are showing up in the photo. Like a double exposure, it adds an interesting layer to the images. I guess double exposures will be a thing of the past. Without film it can't happen. I suppose one could create the same illusion in Photoshop with a little effort.

Now I have to reframe my painting for the National Watercolor Society show. That is my project for tomorrow. There is lots of paper work for that show, as well. After receiving my signature with NWS, I was rejected the following 2 years. Makes one think perhaps they have lost their touch! I was excited to get back in this year. I missed getting in the San Diego Watercolor Society show by one painting! They notified me I am first alternate. Seems the societies are protecting themselves these days by having artists at the ready to ship their paintings should there be a problem with any of the accepted paintings. When you don't get in a show, you usually don't know if you missed getting in by a inch or a mile!

As soon as I can finish packing up the painting to send off to NWS, I am going to get back to serious drawing and painting. I was thinking about ways to create a paradigm shift away from photo realism to draw the image when I came across a web site of an artist that does cut paper. I loved it! Then, today, I discovered another artist that does fabulous cut paper work! The universe at work. I am providing the websites to check out these artists and get the idea. The key to cut paper imagery is basically that the shapes that are "cut out" have to be surrounded by a continuous shape so it doesn't fall apart. This requires some thinking, designing, and planning. When I have mine done, I plan to actually cut out the shapes and put the sheet over a darker piece of paper and photograph the result. If you are confused as to this concept, I think looking at these two web sites will make things clearer. There is nothing like a good visual to clarify matters. The first website is matthillart.com/cut-paper-slideshow/. His work is the simpler of the two. The other is Patrick Gannon Paper Cuts. You can find the link on the right side of my blog under Blog Lists.

I am looking forward to seeing lots of creative drawings from everyone using this idea. Just send me an e-mail with the image attached and I will post them as they come in.