The Aesthetic Elevator

Intentional Observation: Water, partially crystalized

pcNielsen — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:41:29 +0000

Recent Playfulness: Mighty ugly nihonga (red)

pcNielsen — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:23:36 +0000

There wasn’t much information with the nihonga starter kit that I received, so I’ve had to rely on the interwebs to learn the craft. Further, the pigments are not labeled, so I don’t know if they are actually made up of the minerals that die-hards will grind themselves. Regardless, I’m getting my feet wet with the kit and hope to further my skills throughout the year.

Filed under: Art, Drawing, Painting

Recent Playfulness: Mighty ugly felt

pcNielsen — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 15:12:34 +0000

I love working three-dimensionally; I’ve prefered it to drawing or painting for the past 10 years plus. However, when it comes to portraying certain aspects of one of my few favorite subjects, storms on the prairie, I’m starting to wonder if certain two-dimensional media will serve me better. Actually, I’ve been wondering this for more than a year now.

So about six months ago I started messing around with felt (still three-dimensional) and nihonga — a Japanese technique I first heard of about six years ago now when introduced to Makoto Fujimura — after my wife gave me a starter set for my birthday. For Christmas I received some powdered graphite, another new medium for me that has shown real promise in helping me portray the kinds of light and spatial nuances wood and clay may not be best suited for.

Prior to last year, it had been an unfortunate long time since I played around with a new media, since I let myself approach a piece of paper with no other intent besides learning. I felt pressure to produce something for a reasonable portfolio (a goal I had set for myself) every time I sat down to create something. I wasn’t setting out to create something Mighty Ugly while engaging in this recent playfulness, but if the paper ended up being ugly there were no worries.

As much as discipline is important to being a successful artist, so is playfulness. So here starts a new series of my recent ugly works, starting with this felted cloud from my very first foray into felt, four plus months ago.

Filed under: Abstract art, Aesthetics, Art, Art for art's sake, Beauty, Drawing, Fiber, Handmade, Inspired by, Painting

Christmas XII

pcNielsen — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:58:42 +0000

Via Gordon College

Tanja Butler’s Mondrian and the Magi

Filed under: Art, Christmas, Painting

Christmas XI

pcNielsen — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:21:50 +0000

Filed under: Christmas

Christmas X

pcNielsen — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:03:26 +0000

Rick Klauber via oh, what a world, what a world

Not Christmas specific, but festive and wonderful!

Filed under: Art, Mixed media

Christmas IX

pcNielsen — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:23:14 +0000

Hand-painted post card.

Filed under: Christmas, Painting

Christmas VIII

pcNielsen — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:24:48 +0000

Next year we’ll need a new

Filed under: Christmas, Fiber

Christmas VII

pcNielsen — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 02:45:51 +0000

Via Garmahis

I’m not sure I’ve ever liked the chubby, Coca-Cola Santa Clause. My kind of St Nicholas is thin and robed, like the carving my grandfather made me many years ago.