Halloween T shirt Design

I had a great time creating this Halloween composition. It's completely orginal, no reference photos, just memory, so if it's not scientifically accurate that's why.

This is the link to my Threadless store: https://manssonfineart.threadless.com/designs/halloween-2023-ala-joan   should you wish to buy one. It only comes in black or dark gray and orange.

I created this Halloween composition on black pastel cold press paper using Pan Pastels and a few pastel pencils. The paper is 12 x 16 inches, black as I mentioned by Colour Block (www.colour-block,com) I am not sponsored by Colour Block or Pan Pastels or Caran D'Ache. I just buy and buy and buy.

The colors I used: red, blue, yellow, yellow ochre, black and white I blended this limited palette to create all the hues, lights and shades I needed. I used a pale yellow and a dark blue pastel pencil from Caran D'Ache. And pastel pencil you like will do. I just buy and buy and buy so I have several sets of pastel pencils and other as well.

I decided just a few days ago to design a Halloween T Shirt so I did.

This is my second holiday T Shirt. I did one for Christmas. I missed a lot of holidays in between. I may make up for that in the coming months.

Thanks for taking the time to watch the YouTube video!

Pan Pastels and Me Forever

Watch this YouTube Short to hear me explain

 

2023 Has Been a weird year. Lots of drama with a capital "D"

 Yep.  Yes. Yeah. My year was filled with surprises, family drama, illness, hospitalization, legal "stuff" and more. Lots more. Because not all of this stuff is mine; I don't own it; I won't share it. But it all started in December 2022 when my sister's daughter, daughter's husband and grandson moved to Florida. That's where I live. Then my little sister came for Christmas to help her daughter settle in. Little sister stayed with us, me and our big sister. I'm a caregiver. Little sister came from Colorado and during the winter, Colorada's geography started to collapse, quite literally. Sinks holes on a major highway was just the start. Then came family drama but not mine to share. Then illness. Mine. February brought me two abdominal surgeries and oh  joy, my para ostomy hernia was repaired but, a week later my ileostomy had to be moved. I was home for six weeks. Little sister became caregiver. Grandson stayed with us and helped. Big sister did her best but she had doctor's appointments and her son and daughter in law had to step in for those. Family is important. We need one another or is it each other? 

In the mean time, I didn't post. I finally drew a portrait of my niece's dogs. That was my return to art. A touch of sanity. I couldn't lift but it  was only a couple of weeks before I could drive. Instacart was a godsend. Not cheap but great. Little sister has trouble walking but she fell in love with the electric scooters in Publix. Big sister has trouble walking. Not me. I can walk. Well, all of this healing and drama and recouping went on until my birthday in the beginning of June. I did a lot with trying to figure out where I was going with my art. Trying to make videos. My head and heart spinning. Just so dizzy. So dizzy. I feel as though I lost 2023 and my blog posts have suffered. I was trying to post at least 2 a month. My aim was one a week. It's September and it's hurricane season. 

Bad news. Little sister lost one of her dogs; a bull mastiff named Bella. Just 5 years old. We are sad.

Lots of other health issues with other Florida family members but we are somehow surviving and what I want most is to make pretty pictures.  I just want to sit in my newly revamped art space (I prefer that to studio) and pick a subject: create a compostion and paint with pastels or draw; or both. Although I do a lot of experimenting I don't want to experiment. I want to work with the medium that is best for me; pan pastels and pastel pencils and I want to work on black watercolor paper. Black paper and I had a whole Big Bang epiphany. Creation came out of the darkness ergo my creations come out of the darkness.

But I really want to blog. I realized just the other day when I finished my last blog post, that, while I'm not the author of the next great American novel I have a decent writing style; sort of like a reporter though I don't see a Pulizter in my future.  

So I hope that... scratch that... I plan to write more blog posts. I would love to hear from you, whoever you are; recommendations or questions or comments of the nice kind. Nothing nasty, just constructive criticism or requests for things you think I can share about art.

Here's the portrait I did of Lucky and Gwendolyn:

My Art Space ..... or what I did on Labor Day

 Here it is, my newly revamped art space. I hesitate to call it a studio, but, I guess it is. Most of it, including the closet (not pictured) is filled with art supplies. This first image is of my sister's 56 inch wide pine desk. That's where I work on photos, videos and my bank statements. From 8AM to 5PM with a few food breaks I moved furniture and reorganized supplies until I reached perfection. Well, my version of perfection. The video on the bottom is a taste of what I was working with.

This is the most important part of my art space. My work station; my drafting table equipped with lights and camera stands and easy access to all of my art supplies. It's only because I've kept my work table clean in spite of the mess that surrounded me that I've been able to draw and paint and make videos. While trying to make my space cohesive and actually I did, accidentally, I ignored what was most important; my work space needed to be free and uncluttered and allowed breathing space. Making sure that my supplies are neatly organized meant that I knew where everything was/is and there is less scrambling around for what I need to draw or paint. Right now I'm concentrating once again on pan pastels on black paper and my cart to the right of my table is filled with most of what I need. When I decide to use another medium, I can just pull out what I need before I begin the project and place it on my cart. I feel so pleased; so relaxed; so redeemed and I did this without giving away any art supplies to make room. In fact, I have room for more supplies if I want them. In truth, I don't need any more supplies unless I run out of a color or a pencil.  

Here is where most of my frequently used art supplies are now kept; in those brightly colored carts.  I have pencils, colored and watercolor, graphite, Neocolor, gouache, watercolor, inks, brushes for every type of medium and so much more.  In the far corner I have a cart for most of my white papers, mostly watercolor and drawing.  The larger pads are in the closet and to the right of my drafting board. Everything is reachable without moving anything. I do have to admit that I'm not comfortable with the stool which I've had for a year. It just doesn't feel steady although I've never fallen over. I guess I'm on the look out for a new one. 

This video is a taste of the mess I was working in. Please understand, I have been organizing my art space for the past 7 years and I finally feel as though I'm home.

My Journey back to Pastels...

 In my never ending search for my best medium, I have once again returned to pastels. As much as I like to draw (with graphite) I love even more what happens when I draw and paint with pastel pencils and Pan Pastels.  I'm sure I'll use other media. I have enough to keep me going for several years. But I realized, once again, that I am best when working with pastels.  There is a link to my latest YouTube videos under the images below. One is for the grayscale portrait and one is for the color portrait.  I hope you have the chance to take a look at them.  

I used Faber Castell Pitt Pastel Pencils, the 60 pencil set. I have several sets of pastel pencils and Pan Pastels. I also have a lovely set of soft pastel sticks from Sennelier but I don't often use them. Still, on occasion I do.

I used the grayscale portrait as my base for the color portrait, cover the gray areas with color .

This is my first portrait completed last week. Click on the image to see that video. I must warn you though that this video is nearly 2 hours long so bring some popcorn.

This is the color version. I never touched the black areas of Brix. That's his name. He's a beautiful Doberman I met at Mead Botanical Gardens in Winter Park, Florida. If you click on this image you can watch my second video. It's only 45 minutes long. So, in total, this project only took three hours. 

Although time has nothing to do with the selection of the medium, it is helpful to me that pastels require less time because of arthritis in my fingers. They are, for me, easier to handle, don't require the pressure of colored pencils or graphite and allow me to blend more easily than other media.