Sunglass Filter

Left my camera at home this vacation and after a while of taking photos with the iphone (new software allows you to use the volume buttons as a shutter release- very helpful!)I tried to play with the camera a little bit by using my sunglasses as a lens filter. Below are a few shots from my little experiment – no editing.

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I don’t know where I learned to use my sunglasses as a filter, but I’ve been doing it since the very start when I got my first DSLR. These sunglasses were my mom’s 20 years ago and have Serengeti lenses in them, which seem to be very different than anything else I’ve used before.

I’m waiting on a Diana Mini to arrive so I can start playing around with lomography and using some actual film again… I think in anticipation these shots somehow came out feeling lomo. I’m excited to get back to film!

Can’t Get Enough

Moar. Just practicing:

This site has just become my personal archive lately because as soon as I finish something decent I immediately give it away. What am I supposed to do with them??? As you can tell I’ve really been enjoying my little watercolour set I got as a gift from some very generous friends of mine. Watercolour is just so easy & relaxing & forgiving and mess/prep free that I love diving into another piece any time of the day while listening to great music.

‘Bit’ Abstract

I made this for my friend Faizal based off of a great picture he took of a sunset by the water, so it was a bit of a joint effort.  I know the resolution is low , but can you see what I was going for?

First Abstract

This summer I attempted a lot of personal firsts in the field of art and design. Not only did I finally go to ACAD and do things like graphic design and silkscreen for the first time, but I approached some new things at home by working on a large scale and with different mediums. The push to go big was definitely from the encouragement that my brothers gave me, and I’m so glad that they convinced me to try it!

Below is the result of the first time I did an abstract piece. It is painted on plexiglass from behind, this meant that I had to do my signature first and in reverse in order for the plexiglass front to be uniform and for it to be read correctly when viewed. I also had to keep in mind that the final result would not be what I was looking at when I was painting, but what was seen from the other side of the plexi.

Not the best picture of it, but I’m too excited to share!
Hopefully I can update the image soon.

This piece was made for the blank wall that is in my fathers office downtown, and it is based on the idea of the immense value within Alberta’s prairies.  The great thing about abstract is that my Dad sees something completely different in it. I absolutely love the high shine and feeling of  distance  that the thick plexiglass adds, I will definitely be working with it in the future and playing with abstract styles more often!

Abroad

My family and I travelled around France this summer, and also visited Tunisia. The following are the watercolours I did on the trip. I thought I would post them here because this site has been left unloved lately. Thanks for visiting, enjoy!

Looking Up

I haven’t updated this in a long time so I thought I’d quickly put up an image straight from the camera that I took in France this summer. look forward to more posts soon (hopefully).

Graphic Design 101

Printmaking: More Silkscreen

A little update on what I’ve been up to in the silkscreen class that I’m enjoying at ACAD. My teacher is part of the Alberta Printmaker’s Society so I got the chance to see some of the printed posters they did for bands playing at this year’s Sled Island.

Usually they would be digitally printed, but they decided to go with AP to add another element of artistry into it.  The designers of the posters are not printmakers, so it was interesting to see how some designs were more suited to silkscreen than others were. It seemed to me like a lot of work went into these, and the depth that silkscreen gives is incomparable to the digital images online; they are definitely worth more than the ~$25 price.

As a beginner printmaker, the chance to print my own photographs was rather exciting!

The first one I did was this one above^. It’s a one-color print of apartment buildings in Hong Kong. I made a bundle of greeting cards out of the print, but I don’t know who would like them as a gift. Let me know if you want them and they’ll be yours! Oh, and please ignore the blurry picture! You can see the original photograph in this post.

To the left are the stencils used to create a two-colour print I did. If you remember, the image on the left is a crop of a photograph of the Eiffel Tower I took (original here). On the right, I made some brush marks with Ink. These are then ’burned’ onto a silkscreen by using photo emulsion.

I then printed each image over top of the other one. For the background I did a blend of two inks to create the fade, and for the structure, I just did one color and tried to focus on getting the registration of the two images right. Below is a blurry picture of the finished result!

Finally, I had some scrap cork and decided to make a few busniess cards out of them. My first time designing a business card! I really liked the organic feeling and simplicity of them. The squares represent my name in Braille, I just used some mini adhesive mosaic tiles I found to make the stencil.

That’s all the silkscreen I have for you so far! Thanks for reading

mixed media sketch

The sketch above was so much fun to do! It’s based off a picture I took in Rome, Italy. I started with some basic pencil marks, blocked in the colour with watercolours, and then finished it off by adding detail with a fine point sharpie pen. I had the style of another Italian building sketch of mine in mind (Venice sketch linked here), but they turned out quite different. I wanted to leave it rough and unfinished, I feel like It adds to the suggested features and the sketchy style. This was so fun, quick and fulfilling to do; definitely something I might do a series on in the future.

mini may watercolours

I’ve been in a bit of a card-making mood, and they are all quite spring-ish. This cheery card was done using masking fluid, and based off a design I had attempted to print with a silkscreen and a paper stencil (you can see the attempt in my last post). I really love the gradient and the fresh overall look. I think I’ll be using negative space a lot more often, it’s a nice twist on basic designs.

Here is a quick abstract card based of the teachings of my good friend Currim! I had tried this on a postcard a while ago, and I think you can really see how my understanding of watercolour has improved since then. But, I think credit is partially due to better paper and better quality pigment. You can see my previous attempt linked here.

After making all these personalized cards, I don’t think I’ll ever go back to buying one. These are SO easy and mean so much more. You should try it!