Thursday, April 11, 2013

Urban Angst


The topic at Illustration Friday this week is URBAN and I am squeaking in at the last minute with an art journal spread that is very different for me. 
Started with a pencil sketch in my ledger journal inspired by a computer screen that we saw at the Science Center in St. Louis.  Connor definitely thought I was weird for taking pictures of signage when others were taking pictures of fossils, etc.
Changed things up with patterned paper for the colorful buildings. . . 
Glued it all down and painted the middle with gesso/white paint, some stamping and stenciling.  Topped if off with a painted silhouette that
was cut from a Gap ad in a magazine and spray painted black.  Later I'll cut the middle girl out from the left side and use her on another project. 
Quote from Lemony Snicket - seems to be a favorite source of wisdom lately. 
This is definitely fun and edgy for the likes of me. 

40 comments:

Melanie said...

What a beautyfull journal page.
Liefs, Melanie

Terri Corona said...

What fun! I really like it - and I totally get why you took a picture of that sign...

Kimberly Jones said...

Very cool!

veronica said...

Love your Urban look! i like the double U card in the corner!

DJ said...

I especially love the buildings! Very cool

denthe said...

LOVE this Michelle! I just started to experiment with drawing shapes in my art journal too. It makes for a nice change.

Christine said...

nice pages, thanks for showing your inspiration and process.

kat said...

Your art is looking groovy here, you have lovely pieces in your blog, it's been a pleasure visiting!

alarmcat said...

very nice! funny how the smallest thing (like the sign) can spark an idea! inspiration is everywhere.

Victoria said...

Gorgeous..strong visual presence..these pieces are fantastic..love the movement and expressive energy!
happy PPF
Victoria

Anonymous said...

Wonderful collage creation that certainly portrays ~ Urban angst ~ very creative and well done ^_^

Beverley Baird said...

Love your journal page and the tutorial! You should post it at Illustration Avenue - their theme was about posting a tutorial.

Dianne said...

Awesome art journal pages...love that you showed your process. It really helps me understand how you did it...I've been wondering how to get those great silhouettes!... It all works perfectly together!

Dianne said...

oh, and congrats on being featured on PPF!

SAMARA said...

you are absolutely beyond brilliant with the cut out and spray paint!!!!! as for the structure. oy! i am from toronto and moved to the country so i get it completely!!! metropolis..yuk! happy balzering day. lovies, samara

aimee said...

fab journal spread and congrats on the PPF feature, Michelle!

Netty said...

Terrific graphic artwork.
Happy PPF, Annette x

http://nettysartadventures.blogspot.co.uk/

sharon said...

Lovely strong journal page.

Rita said...

I love it! And very cool that you showed the process. Great job!

Anonymous said...

Striking figure with the dots. Happy PPF

GlorV1 said...

Wow, very nicely done. Love your style. Thank you. Happy PPF!

Anonymous said...

Great job on this. Thanks for the step by step explanation. I have learned so much from seeing how other people work.

Unknown said...

this is fantastic! Thanks for sharing how you made it. I love that you were fascinated by signage and not fossils!Happy PPF!

AM Zafaran said...

Oh it is so beautifully done! Thank you so much for sharing with us, Michelle! I love the final look!

www.dorissdaughter.com said...

Beautiful and creative work, thank you for sharing your thoughts and process in its making

Tracy said...

This is fabulous! Love the patterned paper buildings.

Linda Starr said...

super journal page, loved reading about your process and love the sign too.

Paulette said...

Awesome Michelle, Love your work and the colors you work with.

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing your process I take pictures of objects that my family thinks are strange for art too.

Deanna said...

Great journal page! I love seeing the progress of creativity. And I'm a little weird like you, I take photos of anything and everything, you never know when it may inspire some beautiful artwork.

Unknown said...

cool page!! I love the contrast of the dots on the silhouette with the blocky buildings.

Leovi said...

Very good. I like that beautiful silhouette and colors, excellent composition structures!

Elizabeth Rose Stanton said...

Edgy-good! Nice colors, textures, and composition. I'm intrigued by those little white dots.

Tracey FK said...

This is a fab journal page and I do love that you included the photo of the sign... that is the sort of thing I do also... and love Lemony Snickert... full of fun snippets of wisdom...sorry I am late getting here for PPF but figuring I am just extending the fun... well that is my excuse and I am sticking to it ...xx

Unknown said...

This is a great response to last weeks IF prompt - I was totally stumped! I love how you created it - thanks for sharing your process (I always find it so interesting!)
Cheers,
Kirstin
(p.s. thank you for leaving such lovely comments on my PPF painting! I greatly appreciate it!)

JaneA said...

Really beautiful! I love the warm colours and patterns in the "buildings." And the lemony snickett quote is so inspiring. I forgot about that one, I think I'll have to copy it down for inspiration this week at the London Book Fair. So glad I found your blog.

DVArtist said...

This is truly a wonderful page. I do like the process. Thanks for sharing this.
Nicole/Beadwright

Cindy D. said...

So many terrific ideas in one page! I love how you turned the figure into a black silhouette, and those buildings are really funky and cool! This is great!

Ilona Heimböckel said...

Hahaha, I know what you mean, taking photos of things that are not at all of interest to all the other people ;-)

Fun and cool project/page! Thank you for sharing the process!

Happy belated PPF!

Ilona

Marja's Stamp Addiction en Marja's Creativity said...

What a great work you make. Love it. Also this pieceof art. Thanks to step for step hou you made it.
lovely greet and nice Sunday
Marja
www.marjascreativity.blogspot.nl