Sunday already?

Weekend walk in the park, and clementines, which means winter is coming.

New Paintings

Woman and Wolf, acrylic on wood diptych, 24" x 24"

Linos

These are some linocut experiments from last spring. While I'm loving the painting/drawing program so far, I do miss printmaking. Next semester I'm seriously torn up over a scheduling conflict between figure painting or letterpress.

In with the old

Garage sales are the best thing in the world. Especially if you're a broke-ass art student (ahem). Summertime in Toronto is the perfect time to pick ups awesome garage sale finds, if you can handle the 40 degree heat. I picked up this chintzy yet awesome round mirror last weekend (it's looking quite oval here - it's just the strange angle) and I can't help but think that with a good SCRUB and a coat of paint, this would be a great addition to my front hall.

Here's my predicament: what colour should I paint it?
So far I'm considering white, matte grey, and turqoise.
WEIGH IN!

p.s. the steady stream of silly/grainy camera phone pictures will end as soon as I buy a USB cord for my camera. I promise!

Summer food

Lemon curd blueberry tarts and sangria in my backyard for bookclub (until the mosquitos drove us inside).

What I'm wearing to work tomorrow

Striped shirt - Joe Fresh, suede wedges - Dolce Vita, chain necklace - Biko, Nars blush (Orgasm).

I'm also currently watching Little Dorrit, a BBC minisiries based on the Charles Dickens work. It's insanely good and highly addictive, whether you're an anglophile or not (I am). Strongly recommended.


I mean, just look at that face... he wants you to...

Bits of my weekend

A weekend of drinking wine and reading on my back porch, new flora (please let me not kill it!), and redecorating my apartment. A home-tour is soon to come!

3D

Another earlier project - a giant replica cardboard polaroid camera. I believe the scale was 1:3 (click for bigger images)



A close-up detail shot of my plywood sculpture:

figure drawings

These are some figure studies from earlier in the term; unfinished, but focusing on light/dark and shadow.



conté on paper

ink on paper

Exciting things... in other countries

Good news! My painting, Outlander, is featured in the newest and 10th edition of Her Royal Majesty, a quarterly literary/art magazine run by my friend Harriet Lye, who is based out of Paris. The launch was accompanied by a 4 day exhibition at Galerie Iconoclastes in Paris, with an opening champagne reception on March 24th.


I wish I could've been there for the gallery opening... but maybe I'll join Harriet in Paris so I can be there for the next one. Oh, wanderlust! The magazine will be available to download online in mid-april. If you purchase a physical copy, it includes an original piece of art. Check it out!

http://herroyalmajestyparis.weebly.com/
http://www.heroyalmajesty.ca/

When you wish it was a dream

Edward Hopper
Automat 1927

Pugs R Us

Just for fun.
Gouache on paper.

Here's a recent mini-doc that I made as a homework assignment. My grandmother recently passed away and I've been thinking not just about loss, but also about the constant tension we all experience in our lives between our past and present, and how we deal with that space left behind by someone. Surreal stuff!

Also, how horrible am I at updating this blog? Sigh... life without a scanner. In any case, this is the beginning of a new era (of regular updates). Just you wait.

Screenprinting

Two outtakes from my first screenprinting class (both are 12x14", click to enlarge). Funnest activity ever! I'm having some serious angst about whether I should be majoring in painting/drawing or printmaking, and I have to pick in the next couple days. Serious thinking time this weekend.

This is my latest work from last semester (watercolour, ink and collage on paper). My intention was to explore the interaction between two different landscape narratives.

2011 is off to a good start, and I'm stupidly excited about my upcoming foray into the world of printmaking. Maybe a few of the trial and error prints will make an appearance here...

Onwards and upwards

Since my camera is officially on hiatus due to an unfortunately timed accident, I've been taking pictures lately on my phone (and a few soon-to-be-developed rolls). These are recents taken with the obnoxiously addictive 'hipstamatic' app.

This winter season has been strange and dream-like. I had christmas in my home for the first time, which became an unexpectedly nostalgic experience for me. I had dreams of places and people that don't exist anymore... in the way that no longer makes you sad, just makes you miss. I took a break from art (so that I can still love it), but dying with anticipation to start again. It was marked by a passing. And I really love this warm january rain. I love listening to it.

my resolutions: enjoy and relax and don't take everything so seriously for god's sake! live in the moment. bake lots. read more. be ambitious. be less grumpy when i wake up.

Potato stamping (all over the place!)

'Tis the season

...to be making handmade christmas cards, which I am doing this year to get in the spirit. If you would like one, send your mailing address to sarahrdesigns@gmail.com!

It's hard to draw yourself

An in-progress snippet of part of the (full length) (life size) self-portrait I completed today. I'll post it in it's entirety shortly, I want to add some watercolour touches as well.

Joy

The first is the result of a school structure assignment building a word out of plywood. Can you spot it? Band saws and scroll saws and power sanders, oh my! More recent work to come.
Ok, I admit, this blog has definitely not been my first priority these days. In fact, I'm hardly ever on the internet due to a severe case of real life. I spend too much time drawing, painting, building, making, and cooking. This autumn is yummy. I love padding across a cold kitchen floor in the morning, my gloved knuckles on bicycle handlebars, thick sweaters, sipping coffee and chatting with my life drawing models. It's the time of year when day meets night and breath begins to hang in the air. Superlatives.