Mixy's Art Blog

17% Quirkfulness

I spent most of a day putting together the little concertina sketchbook that I’m using for the 100 Day Project this year AS WELL AS the Sketchbook Project.

Most every time I’ve taken on these projects, I’ve overclocked myself.

Given that I’ve already missed the deadline for the SBP by 6 months I thought to mash up these two projects.

Let’s see what becomes of it.

Some thoughts on Quirkfulness.

As I cut and glued and trimmed and finagled together the concertina pages, I watched the ebb and flow of acceptance that the stuff I make will inevitably have a wonkiness to it.

Yes, I measured and cut with a ruler. Also Yes, the pages came out a bit skew-whiff.

Yes, I cleaned my brush before I primed the paper, and also Yes, there was still a bit of dark blue paint on it that’s got them a bit streaky already.

Theme established:

It’s all part of the Quirkfulness.

Now, every day as I film and photograph steps in the progress, I remind myself:

Through the ugly stages, the layers i know will get covered up, the point is to carry on.

Quirkfulness is my style, it’s a feature not a bug.

It’s a sketchbook, not rocket surgery.

It’s okay to be okay with this.

Today we reached day 17 and I’m fully in my stride with daily progress, an idea of what the finished piece will look like, and all manner of chaos on and around my desk!

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Winter Holiday News

My Etsy Store will be closed for a winter break from 3 December 2021. Until then EVERYTHING is 50% off!

Art Postcards, Stickers & Zines make perfect little gifts to mail to your friends and family who you aren’t able to meet up with over the winter holidays. And for you too!

Send someone something brightly colorful and quirky, something a little bit silly, and make them smile 🙂

Imaginary Friends & Curious Creatures Zine (ltd edition, signed & numbered)

International shipping is available to you wherever you are on this amazing little planet!

Art postcards – individual cards or sets – lots of designs

Your 50% discount will be applied automatically at checkout – no coupon code required!

Etsy Store Made by Mixy — Stickers – Zines – Art Postcards – Curious Creatures – Magical Dreamscapes

You'll get an email to confirm you've signed up and are human. Sorry, only humans (and their cats) can join. Check your spam folder cos sometimes the good stuff gets swept in there by mistake. You’ll get an email to confirm you’ve signed up and are human. Sorry, only humans (and their cats) can join. Check your spam folder cos sometimes the good stuff gets swept in there by mistake.

Slow Art Journaling

Two art journals filled up gradually over two years. Here’s how they turned out….

I chose these two big sketchbooks because I just couldn’t resist the cherry red & magenta pink covers!

Over the next couple of years, one or both of these books sat perpetually open on my art desk, and whenever I had extra paint to use up, or new pens to try out, these pages began to take shape.

This is where I’d scribble notes to myself, idly doodle in between times, while I waited for a zoom call to begin, and during online classes.

I’d see a face in the doodles and gradually these new characters began to show up.

As the pages got heavy with collage and paint, I tore out and tore up and glued back with wild abandon.

There are no rules in these books, there’s no upside down, no right and wrong.

Page by Page

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september news

exclusive youtube preview & the story of this art journal.

Today’s the day my September newsletter flies out!

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half a year of doodles

For a little over a year I’ve been adding a weekly spread to this ginormous sketchbook. This is what’s happened…

Here is the latest flip through of my Book of Days 🙂

find out all about the project here

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giant sketchbook anniversary!

For a little over a year I’ve been adding a weekly spread to this ginormous sketchbook.

Because of the ginormity of this book (600 pages!) it’s going to span the course of a few years to come, and I’m excited about that. To see what appears in these pages is as much of a surprise to me as it is anyone else.

You can see a flip through of the first pages and a second update from early 2021 here on my youtube channel

Since then more creatures and people have shown up on the pages.

They populate the spaces in between the thought scribbles, color swatches and the occasional off-cuts of the projects that happen along the way.

The latest flip through catches us up with from January to July of this year, it’s exclusively previewing this weekend to my newsletter subscribers.
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collage season

We’ve all agreed that time isn’t real, right? because I’m fully embracing that in my reality now.

All that to say, World Collage Day was in May. I posted some photos of my collages in June, I’m writing this in ~~July~~ August, and you could be reading it any time after I hit publish 😉

In my world, I’m somewhere in Collage Season.

Step one: make space on the floor, spread out all the bits so see what you have to play with.

Starting out with a bundle of collage images – mostly cut out from magazines and book pages + a few abstract patterned papers – kindly supplied by the Arizona Collage Collective + some from my own collection, I began with some swapping of heads.

Gradually these newly imagined characters formed together in groups, in turn finding their home in the pages of my Book of Days

I’ll be posting a flip through of the latest pages in this book where you can see this, and the rest of the collages. For an exclusive preview you’ll need to get my next newsletter.

how to nourish your muse

I’ve been taking a few online classes lately. Exploring areas I already feel comfortable – mixed media, collage, watercolours – and adding to my range with the help of some fabulous teachers.

What I was not expecting from this, is how it’s encouraged me to revisit some older pieces that I’d got stuck with.

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the view from the middle

Reporting in from half way through the 100 day project, I am up to my eyes in part-done paintings!

Because this time I’ve chosen to make my 100 pieces all at once instead of one per day, it’s proving tricky to see how far it’s progressing.

I’ve posted daily snippets of progress over on IG, including short videos & time-lapses showing some of the ways I’ve been keeping on top of this ridiculous number of works!

Adding a layer to a bunch of paintings all at once by drawing across them as one was fun. The spaces and shapes the big abstract squiggle made on each piece connects them, and also makes a individual drawing on each.

Filling in the gaps in between made these sweet sibling painting pairs.

Whole families of similarly colored pieces began forming, and this whole endeavor feels like a new community forming.

I look at these and consider: would a less complicated person call these finished?

Which leads me to wonder if an unconscious part of me decided to tackle the project this was a way to work on the art of knowing when something’s done.

One thing’s for sure, I don’t want to spend days 98 & 99 in a mad scramble of adding last touches to dozens of paintings. That sounds like such a ‘me’ thing to do.

So I’m thinking the second half of this marathon should focus on the process of final layers and finishings.

This is the where we are at, day 50, the end of the beginnings snd the beginnings of the the endings.

I’ll be back soon with news on the other doings and goings on in my studio. Meanwhile, to be first to see what I make and find out the thinking behind it, do sign up for my monthly-ish newsletters.

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6 weeks of daily painting

How ridiculous would it be to begin 100 paintings all at once? Let me show you…

We are 6 weeks into the 100 day project and I’m really loving this challenge.

Every day I post snippets of progress on IG, photos, videos & time-lapses of the layers adding up.

There’s a box on my desk homing the 100 started paintings, and at any one, time several are scattered across every flat surface around me as the newest layers dry!

Here are a few of the pieces I’ve been playing with this week.

So far I’ve used watercolours, acrylics and inks for larger blocks of color and graphite, charcoal, markers and fine liners for the details.

Is that all? It’s been a dizzying blur (but in the best possible way)

Yeh, then there was some potato printing & stamping with a recycled hot water bottle. I’m feeling like some collage elements could be showing up soon, and maybe some stitching too. watch this space! 😉

Next Sunday marks day 50, so I’ll be back next week with a special post at the half way point.

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#100daysofQuietColor