After Harper



Weaver Bird in color pencils and Pigma pen

It seems like it has been a while since I posted a swap-bot swap.  I have been busy with other projects lately so I only have three cards to share.  The top two designs were inspired by the artwork of Charley Harper.  Instead of ATC's this swap was to design a circular card.  I chose the Weaver Bird which is so common in Africa as my subject.  I have had the pleasure of taking many photos of these birds and I thought their homes would work well with a Harper-like geometrical emphasis. 

I have enjoyed Charley Harper's artwork every since I ran across his original prints while working for Creighton Davis gallery back when I lived in the Washington DC area. (By the way they are having an online auction this Wednesday.)  I wish I had been in the position to purchase a couple at that time.  Sadly, Charley Harper died in 2007 but his work looks as fresh as ever.

Weaver Bird and Mate hand drawn with colored pencils and Pigma pen

This ATC was for Sender's choice, so I modified one of the Tree series I had painted earlier adding this giraffe and the suggestion of the background  trees. I used photographs taken in South Africa as a reference.

South African Bush with Giraffe painted and hand drawn with acrylic paints and Pigma pen

Long Neck Kitties

Mama Cat Baby Kitty Love

Trying out a slightly larger format for a swap.  This is a 4x6 drawing in colored pencil and ink on watercolor paper. It was inspired by the tradition in Senegal of painting people with long, elegant necks.

A Mini Gallery

Spirit of the Griot

It's been a while since I have posted my ATC's.  Following is a little tour of my recent works.  This is a little painting of a baobab in Pebeo's Moon Effects enamel paint.  The background is color pencil.  The baobab is a remarkable tree in the landscape here in Senegal.  In the countryside it is often the only tree in the dry landscape.  I have titled the card Spirit of the Griot because there was a practice of burying the musician/historians known as griot in the trees.  You can learn more about this practice here. 

This ATC is a small painting with textile paints on watercolor paper is one of the series of ATCs exploring the work of other artists.  This is a copy of Manet's Asparagus painting.  That painting has a cute story.  Manet painted an additional spear of asparagus to send to art collector Charles Ephrussi after he was over paid for a larger asparagus still life. 

Madame du Barry

This one was designed for an artists choice exchange.  I dipped lace in paint and created a print on two cards.  I cut out a heart and added a paper flower and photo of a Madame du Barry ceramic doll.

Little House

This ATC is to be in the shape of a small house.  Little houses and buildings are a recent trend in the world of ATCs.  This cottage is in oil pastels.

After Don Li-Leger

Another ATC in the series inspired by artists, this one after the work of the artist Don Li-Leger. His painting are of flowers in soft jewel tones and earthy colors. Many of his paintings are also sub-dived into squares and rectangles. He aims for an Asian inspired, meditative mood in his paintings. My ATC is painted with acrylics, enamel, pen and oil pastel.



Cool Garden by Don Li-Leger



Happy Valentines Day!

In honor of valentines day I am posting a couple of small projects with romantic themes. 

First are three small hearts (~4 in.) for a hearts for a Dollstreet Dreamers heart exchange.  Each heart is made with a different African wax print fabric that I hand drew and then machine stitched. I painted each portrait with kissing lips using Jacquard acrylic fabric paints and added detail with Micron and gel pens.  I embroidered X's and O's, the traditional letters representing hugs and kisses on each heart.  I then embellished each piece with beads collected from South Africa and the United States.

 My second project is for yet another ATC swap with a mermaid theme.    The cards are drawn with colored pencils and ink on card stock.  These drawings are inspired by my daughter and her love of princesses.

Dragon Fairies and Dr Who

What do they have in common?  Not much, they are just the current subject matter of my most recent ATC's.  The Dragon Fairies swap theme was just that but the the Dr Who card is for a steampunk swap.  The dragon fairies are supposed to be a hybrid creature.  I drew a few prototypes and realized they were all male.  That is when the couple below evolved.  The Dr Who card happened as I was looking around the Internet for some steampunk machines and found Alex Holden's Steampunk Dalek and thought it was perfect for my peering Victorian gentleman.  My image is enchanced by minature brads.  (And by the way, this season of Dr Who is one of the best so far, even if my heart still belongs to David Tennant.  OK and this week's episode is written by my favorite writer, Neil Gaiman.)

Mermaid ATC

This Mermaid ATC is for a resend.  All of the items I mailed that day through the South African post have disappeared.  This mermaid is in colored pencil with glitter paint.  She is based on a contortionist.

Snowy Owl ATCs

The weather is getting cooler here in South Africa so I was inspired to do more wintry themed owls.  These ATCs are drawn entirely in colored pencil.  Both owls are North American species.  The owl on the left is a Snowy Owl and is after Stow Wegenroth's Matriarch.  The owl on the right is a Barred Owl. 

You can see a copy of Wegenroth's print Matriarch at the Old Print Shop (bottom of the page.)  As an aside, I was offered a job at their Georgetown location when I was working at Creighton Davis Gallery. 



On a bit of a roll

 

Two more ATC's.

 

The top is colored pencil and ink on layered tissue paper over recycled junk mail.  The recipient in interested in Ancient Egypt so this is Sehkmet breathing on a representation of Ib--one of the 5 parts of the soul representing the heart.  The ATC on the right is based on a vintage artsy nude with collage, colored pencils and beads.  The words on the card are Who is this flower before me?  And what is the work of this God?  It is taken from a prayer known as the HA prayer.                                                

Another Tree; Tree of Life ATC

I just love creating art with trees as my focus. They are so figurative. The picture above is ink and colored pencil Tree of Life ATC for a swap on swap-bot. As I was working on the theme, I easily came up with a dozen ideas....my next theme for a series of art quilts? Hmmm.

Per usual I retain all rights to my images on this blog, copyright Penney Hughes