Details on The Solitary Soiree

per Laweez's request,
supplies used for:

          
I like to start out with a photograph from my collection.
Gives me somewhere to start.
and my friend,
Masking Tape - it attaches stuff and is the color of parchment and easily accepts a wide variety of mediums:  paint, pen, pencil....what more could I ask for?

The first three colors are:

Apple Barrel - Michael’s - Purple
Apple Barrel - Bright Blue
My Studio - Ivory

Mechanical Pencil - I don’t use drawing pencils, mechanical pencils are always sharp and the lead is easily manipulated for shading

Paper Stump - this extremely cheap product makes shading a snap

White Gesso:  all white paint you see me use in this video is Gesso.  I bought a huge, cheap container of it.  I  pour small amounts into an old salsa jar.  I stir it with a bamboo skewer.

Golden’s Matte Medium - one of the few more ‘expensive’ products I can’t live without.
It protects my pencil work

AND, it glues stuff like words printed from the computer.

Folk Art - Parchment - this is what I use for flesh.  It is VERY comparable to Golden’s Titan Buff.  It’s not as thick, which I like, but still has some body to it.  And the really awesome part is it costs a lot less.

Watercolors: sometimes it’s easier to start out with watercolors when you’re trying to get a feel for what the color scheme of a piece should be.  I use a super cheap $5.00 kiddie set by Nicole that I bought at AC Moore.

In this particular piece, I added a lot of black watercolor to the background and as shading around some of the figures.
This is what it looked like in the end,
a layer amongst many others.

I then balanced that out by adding the white text stamp
I love Love LOVE word stamps.
Here I am, being naughty and using it with gesso.
I like the danger of it.
I'm still a wild-child (even though I quit smoking).
Now I rebel in safer, but still destructive ways which actually end up being constructive,
if you know what I mean.  ;)

Pen - I so love using a ‘Bic’ pen in my work.
Pen opens whole new worlds.
Kinda like a magick wand.
But it's so easy!!
and cheap!!
Two of my favorite things!!
What more is there to say about the glorious'ness of pen?
I dare you to be more daring.
Draw with pen!

Charcoal pencil - Nicole brand again
Nicole makes low cost items that are still really good products.
I also own a heat-gun by the same brand.
I thought it died once, but miraculously it came back to life.

Delta Ceramcoat - Antique Gold - I am not sure you’ll find this.
It’s super, super old.
I don't even remember if I bought it or someone gave it to me.
But I can tell you that also own Apple Barrel’s King’s Gold
and it’s extremely similar.
These golds are not metallic, but are more along the lines of yellow ocher.

Most of the paints you’ll see me use are the cheap acrylics found in any craft section.

JoAnn Craft Essentials - Magenta
I used this because I wanted it to match my pants :)
nah, I saw it in that ribbon on the flesh of a Mermaid jar
and said to myself - Self, that color isn't in much of the photograph,
must mean we should use a lot of it in the painting.

Apple Barrel - Cobalt Blue
The blue keeps the work balanced.
After all that pink warming the whole thing up,
the blue blows in like a storm and cools everything down.

Craft Smart - Red
I gave it center stage in a couple places
and made it more subtle in others.
I was careful not to let it take over.
I muted its effects on the balloon by breaking it up with white.

Apple Barrel - Kelly Green
Just the tiniest bit here and there.
It's a fact,
green compliments red.
I try to remember all these little rules about color as I'm working.
But I also know I can break any rule I want to because it's my art.
You have permission to do the same.

All of these colors were taken from the photograph this entire scene began with.
color rule:  Colors should repeat, it gives the piece a cohesive look and a flow.
The green from the Boogie Man flesh jar is used in her eyes
AND under her eyes.
Because putting the same color the eyes are under the eyes looks good.
Not because of a rule this time,
just because it does.  ;)

This is how the green looks dried and layered with the other colors.
I am so enchanted by the blue left by the paper clip
and the pink around it
and how awesome this character looks up close.
All the colors are working together in such harmony
as to compliment each other,
not take the leading role.
The leading role belongs to Her and her odd beauty.

I even repeated the green in his blue hair.
That helps to pull your eye across to the other side.
There are lots of 'things' that are doing that.

Omg, check out what happened with the paper clip on this side.
Things can have a dual purpose - holding the page and creating a resist.
This IS mixed media, eh?

There was also texture created in all that flying of brushes and clicking of pencils,
but it was probably more from the scraping of old credit cards and the rolling of brayers.
I'm not quite sure what did this,
I just know,
I heart it.

and this

I just even noticed that the line of her lips is then repeated in the other girl's hair.
or is it vice versa?
A lot of what I do is repeating,
but maybe so it's not obvious.
Not like stripes.
That's more obvious.
or is it?
I like stripes.
Who doesn't?
They're pretty sexy.

So stripes isn't that unusual for me to do,
but I came up with the yellow stripes from the photograph.
That shelf is essentially a 'yellow' stripe.

Eeeeeeee!!!
I'd squeal one of those good Carrie Bradshaw squeals if I could.
For me mixed media is best under lots of distress,
With gesso I mean!
Lots and lots of layers of luscious gesso.
Makes it look aged
and aged art, I so do heart.


Here's the video in case you want to see all this stuff and me in action.

Otherwise,
get to work.
You've got a dream to live don't you?

I'm outta here.
~magick~
Meliss

Featured Film Short: Angels Adore Art (and creating it's pretty great too)

I love it when I do that crying because I’m so happy thing.
have you tried it?
It is really, really lovely.
If that means I’m a lunatic,
so be it.
I’d rather cry because I’m so freaking happy and grateful that I cannot contain it and it bursts out my eyes,
than cry because I’m sad.

Forget sad.
I have cried because I’m sad enough times.
I am not sad,
I am Magickal. (am M - a magickal Meliss.....coincidence??)

You can be whatever you want to be.
Choose wisely.

But back to the crying because I’m happy.....
I can tell you it is from this place:

I am just so freaking relieved that I am living a life I love.
AND part of that is that I am creating things in these todays that past me would have completely freaked out over and said, “I wish I did that!!!”
And then felt bad, pathetic, unable, hopeless, lost, worthless, pointless, completely untalented, hence nothing I could ever make would be as wonderful as that, so why even bother?
AND instead of all that junk.....
I am delighted.
(And magickal, I tell myself not to forget)

I can also tell you,
when that moon looked like it shook and changed color and the music hit that note at the same time.......
My heart said, Wow.
Not only magick,
but to prove that,
it was a partial accident.
I DID NOT plan that.

Here’s how it came about from my perspective:

Recording video while holding the camera steady in your hand (or hands) is nearly impossible.
Especially when you’re trying to focus in on one particular object.
So the moon was shaking and moving all around,
(my hands weren’t shaking, it was the moon - a’la The Hubby)
so much so that it was no longer in focus
and ‘The Man in the Moon’ wasn’t there.
One of the beautiful parts of a full moon is seeing all the details in it.

So, I wanted to cut the part of the detail-less full moon out
and find something more,
detailed.
I looked ahead and found a place where the moon was steady and in focus
and furthermore, I chose a place where the moon was more at the top of the frame,
where my cut would be ending,
so the cut would not be as noticeable -
as far as the moon wasn’t here and then suddenly somewhere completely different.

The chink in my plan was,
as I went further in the video,
I found the sky had gone black,
instead of that pretty blue,
and the moon had gone yellow,
instead of that gleaming white.
-uh-
It's gonna be noticeable.

What I usually do in these situations is,
Work With It.
I said to myself,
Cut it anyway.
Try it out and see how it looks.
So, I do.

Turns out,
it looks darn good.
I move on to something else.

Eventually, I got to the place where I was adding in the music.

I began it at the beginning this time, instead of letting it come in after the ‘presents’ part, mostly because I had more music than video this time, but if I used only one song, I would have too much video.....
Ah, the quandaries of video making.
When I tested it and the music synced up with the word presents and then with the change of the moon......
Magick.
I knew that’s exactly how the video would begin.

I’ve come to realize,
That’s part of the magick of my life.
Sometimes I do not quite understand how these videos come together,
but they seem to.
A page shows up.
A name shows up.
Music reveals its-self based off of what the page looks like.
I cut things out.
I cut more.
I add stuff.
And when I start to put it together,
magickal moments occur......
That’s when I know I’m on the right track
and I am bringing something special to Life.

I am just so happy being able to do what I do.
And I want that for You,
All of You.
I want you to be happy in your life.
God, whatever you do,
just be happy,
just make yourself happy so that whatever you’ve gone through is worth it!
Make The Tragic that is built into Life worth it.
Don’t avoid The Tragic.
It is a complete waste of time.
You cannot avoid it.
“I am alive, comes with the tragic.” Ke$ha - Animal
Instead, focus your energy on creating moments that delight Your Being.
It keeps The Tragic in check.
Also knowing what The Tragic is helps.
I’ve found it isn’t always Death.
Dying is not the worst thing that can happen to anyone or anything.
It is simply a part of the mechanics of Life that anyone or anything that is alive will experience.
“We cannot escape life by dying.”  Realization of Oneness - Joel S. Goldsmith
The two people I said that to went -
“Wow......say it again?”
We cannot escape life by dying.
Blows my mind....
like that Billboard Remix of Animal by Ke$ha.
Mmmmmm......
But, try that crying because you’re so happy thing though......
It’s a rush.

~magick~
Meliss

ps: I see 'my Papa' Tim Burton in that last one.  :)

Preview for Friday Day Video

~magick~
Meliss

Featured Film Short: In Spades

The red headed woodpecker from Leanin’ Ladders was a moment in my life that I happened to be lucky enough to capture on ‘film’.
It visited later,
when the hubby came home.
And I haven’t seen it since.
But,
she didn’t live with a Red-Headed Woodpecker,
she lived with a Red-Bellied Woodpecker.
And those I have seen,
both the male and the female.
This morning while outside trying to keep ahead of the weeds,
a Pileated Woodpecker flew over my head calling out
and then a Red-Bellied Woodpecker called out from the tree behind me.
I looked way up,
waiting for it to call again so I could pinpoint it.
It called.
I saw it.
Another called in response.

Whatever is around you,
that is what you’ll pay attention to.
That’s interesting.
I’m glad I’m not around Drama because I’ve been told to beware of that stuff.

My yard is around me,
almost all day,
every day.
I don’t find it boring.
There’s always something to see
AND some-thing (a lot of things) to DO.
And sometimes that part sucks.
Not to say that I never get bored,
but sometimes boredom is just being tired of having to weed
because weeding sucks.
(I gotta change my attitude about weeding if I want to get any done this year.)

Am I the best at drawing or painting or any of this?
No,
and I mean NO (a’la Sandra Bullock in 28 Days)
if I looked at Some People’s stuff and tried to compare mine to it?
(I have in mind that person who does the most amazing watercolor paintings on YouTube with the blues and the reds and the really intense gazes)
I might as well just stop now.
But I’m not gonna,
because what I am the best at is my own personal style,
infantile......I mean child-like and all.
(Some say Tim Burton - I say, Dr. Seuss, if him and Tim Burton and Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean and Kevin MacLeod all had a illegitimate daughter, that'd be close to Me.)

We are all best at being ourselves.
In art, trying to find out who that is takes Time.
It takes copying other people's work to find out how to draw
(yes, I said copying)
and then it requires doing it again and again
and some more
and more, more, more.

And all the time,
opening your own self up.
That means your heart AND your mind with no doors locked
and no secrets kept,
being willing to tell your art what scares you,
what excites you,
what makes you pee in your panties?
When you grow up,
that's a sneeze.
:)

Meanwhile, you’re looking at more and more people’s work
and bringing that in,
combining all of it with the You, you've uncovered,
to form this Frankensteined way that takes on an electrified life of its own
and becomes what people will eventually recognize as Your Personal Artistic Style.
That is if you stick with it.
It takes time and dedication and actual doing,
and unfortunately not just wishing.
(but I wish it did!)

My ego says to tell you not to copy my stuff.
But another part says,
No one can take anything away from me that I’m just giving to them.
:)
whatever.
I am not going to sit around here trying to protect me from someone stealing what I’m sharing.
Does it really matter anyway?
To some, but I try not to let it matter to me.
I don’t have the time to add my name onto every photograph I take.
If you like it,
right click it and copy it to your computer.
Forget it 'belonged' to me.
And just use it to get your juices going.
I’m happy if you do that.
Just don’t be making any money off it and we’re cool. ;)

I’ve found out,
sometimes there is no protection against people robbing you.
I get robbed by stores all the time.
No one does anything about that.
I buy something and the thing breaks in a year or two (or sometimes less).
Really??
How long should I expect a product I buy to last?
Depends on what it is I guess.
whatever.
I’ll just be here making art, recording it,
and making more art out of that
(and shaking my head in disapproval at 'Industry')
;)
all for our enjoyment -
Mine and Yours.

That’s what a part of every day of mine is about,
and Capturing some part on camera.
Do you think that woodpecker made a special appearance in my yard so it could become a forever part of my work?
There are a lot of woodpeckers out there,
but only one woodpecker opens the beginning of Leanin’ Ladders by A Magickal Meliss,
eh?
Even when that woodpecker dies,
there is a recording of it,
so a piece of it lives on.
Even after technology reverts at some point,
and no copy is left of Leanin Ladders,
it still was a part of what I created
and that can never, never die.
Even if no Hard Evidence of it remains.

Nothing Dies.
IF we could wrap our heads around that,
we could Live.

I have received some really heart-warming comments.
I cut them out and put them in my art journal planner made out of an old 70's photo album.
So I can have your words outside of my computer.
(Computer = Brain.  Words glued into an art journal planner page = Heart)

I do like what my hubby says about the videos....

“It’s cool because there’s no one there, and then....
There’s Someone there!”

I like that I can make someone appear
out of thin air (or paper as the case may be).
I can make them disappear as well.
and I have! 
M-wha, ha ha ha!

I can paint right over your ass if I don’t like it.
I can erase it.
I can fix it in some way where your ass works in harmony with the rest.
I can make your ass go into the background.
I can cover it up with something beautiful.
I can make it a layer.
I can blend it into what’s already there.
I can blend the edge of your ass right into the paper with modeling paste so I start to forget it’s there.
Or if it’s really bad,
I can dismantle the entire thing and take it back to basic paper.....
‘Cause, I can cut a piece of paper to fit exactly over that there spot that’s out of place on the page and is causing disharmony......

But don’t think I’m looking for your ass to be perfect.
Look at my art,
I enjoy the imperfectness of disjointed’ness,
of twisted’ness,
of miss-shapen’ness.
I ain’t looking for pretty pretty here.
I am into The Grunge,
AND The Glitter.

I really need to put some Glitter on my next piece!!
Glitter gets girls giddy.
And giddy,
we need 

~magick~
Meliss