Posts in Category: New Artwork
New Artwork: Betta Fish Torn Paper Collage
Wow, I guess I have a lot of pieces to update you on! This one is titled “Paradise.” Technically, it’s a pet portrait (I do more than just dogs and cats! Anything goes, really). Paradise is a Betta fish and this piece is a little larger, at 11” x 14”. I quite like working in the larger sizes since I can get a lot more detailed. I wonder how large I can go? I get this mental image of creating a piece that takes up the entire wall of a room… I… kind of want to try it.
Anyway, “Paradise” is a more ‘typical’ torn paper collage. I tear tiny pieces of paper from catalogs and magazines and attach them to a piece of paper using scrapbooking glue. The ZIG or EK Tools brand 2-Way glue is my preferred adhesive. I’m not too particular about the paper I use. Any good-quality artist’s drawing paper is fine. Recently I’ve been using Strathmore paper, which can be found in pretty much any store that carries art supplies.
I enjoyed working with some brighter colors for a change. Most of the animals I make are various shades of neutral earth tones. Nothing wrong with that—I enjoy the challenge of getting the subtle color graduations right. But sometimes, it’s fun to play with color a bit. Color’s a bit harder in some ways, since the pieces often require large amounts of the same color. Flower catalogs are good, as are some clothing catalogs, but they typically have smaller sections of color, so it can be difficult to find enough of the same (or similar) color for a large piece like this.
What’s your preference, bright colors like this or subtle earth tones?
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New Artwork: “Dragons” Mixed Media Series
I’ve been working on a new series of mixed media acrylic paintings, which I call the “Dragons” series. In my sketchbook, I had this noted as a completely abstract series. Sometimes things evolve a bit from the initial concept though!
I have a lot of just notes and quick, rough sketches in my sketchbook, rather than “good” art. I’m not all that fond of sketching and drawing, really. Perhaps I’ll do a post about my sketchbook sometime, so you can see my thought process. Just remember, there’s no ‘wrong way’ to use a sketchbook! If it works for you, that’s all that matters.
I currently have 8 dragons planned. They’re all 8” x 10” portrait-orientation pieces on canvas that combine acrylic painting with various other materials. I’m about 2/3 of the way through the series, though it’s slow going at times for some reason. None of the pieces is completely finished either. I haven’t quite figured out what to do with the eyes…
So, I suppose this is more of a sneak peek, work-in-progress post. I’ll have to update you when again they’re actually finished.
But I’m not about to leave you hanging! Here are some of the Dragons:
This is the Water Dragon.
He uses some of that shredded plastic stuff that people use in gift bags. I think some of it is also Easter grass, from Easter baskets. I’m not entirely sure… I found it on the ground in the neighborhood. I was ‘inspired’ by my Inspired Art piece that I told you about here, so I’ve been continuing to collect some of the interesting trash I find on my walks. I also used glass seed beads for texture. I quite like the look, so I’m planning on incorporating beads into all the Dragons.
Another Dragon I’ve been working on is the Shadow Dragon.
He uses pieces of purple ribbon and a grey velvet fabric that used to be part of a hair scrunchie.
Here is the Song Dragon.
I used sheet music that I printed out and then tore into pieces, much like my torn paper collages. I used Golden Acrylic Soft Gel Medium as an adhesive. There are also pieces of reflective/metallic plastic strips (more of that shredded gift bag stuff, I think).
Forest Dragon is a little different.
He uses pieces of lichen-covered bark and some dried mushroom stuff that is supposed to be ‘vase filler.’ I think it works much better here! The horns are actually three-dimensional, made with Golden Light Molding Paste, which I also used to build up a base to hold the mushroom piece, so it’s firmly attached and well-supported.
The Fire Dragon and Ice Dragon are in the very early stages, so I’m not going to show them just yet. I call it the “Ugly Duckling” stage for a reason! I haven’t really started on the Wind Dragon or the Lightning Dragon. They’re sketched out onto canvas, awaiting my attention…
I’m considering still doing a fully abstract dragon series. There’s no reason I can’t have more than one, right?
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* Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward me a small commission – at no extra cost for you.
New Artwork: Red Panda Leaf Collage
Here’s another new piece. It’s actually an experiment. I have No idea how it will hold up over time!
Based on an off-hand comment from a friend about a photo I took of my dog sitting in a patch of leaves, I decided to see if it was possible to create a collage out of leaves! It’s just another material, right? Kind of like the magazines and catalogs I usually use. But different…
Anyway, I created this collage of a Red Panda using just fallen leaves that I collected in my neighborhood. I’m not entirely thrilled with the bright yellow background, but it was kind of at the end of the season, so there weren’t many non-brown colors left to choose from! White is also quite tricky to come by. I settled for a pale tan. It kind of gives the whole piece and ‘aged newspaper’ look that I think I like.
Leaves are definitely a tricky material to work with. When they’re fresh, they’re flexible and easy to tear. The next day, they’re all dried out and crispy and nearly impossible to work with! I may try keeping them in a sealed plastic box or bag to keep them flexible. Possibly in the fridge, so they don’t start to mold. Fresh, ‘green’ leaves are also something I might test out. It’s definitely a material I plan on exploring further.
Since this was a ‘test,’ it’s a little smaller than I usually make my collages and isn’t quite as detailed. I really just wanted to see how well leaves would work for collage and how well it holds up over time. I used an 8” x 10” canvas panel and my go-to “adhesive,” Golden Acrylic Soft Gel Medium. I coated the piece with Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic Satin Varnish to help protect the leaves (and hopefully the colors).
What do you think of the result? I’ll keep you posted on how it ages over time.
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* Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward me a small commission – at no extra cost for you.
New Artwork: “Discarded” Lion Found Object Collage
I participated in the America SCORES Cleveland “Inspired Art” charity auction. America SCORES is a program that involves soccer, writing workshops, and community service projects for elementary school children in urban (and economically-disadvantaged) areas to improve their academics, physical fitness, and teamwork skills and feel empowered to lead their communities. You can learn more about America SCORES Cleveland here.
For the Inspired Art fundraiser, artists select a poem written by the students and use it as inspiration to create a piece of art. I chose the poem “Pollution” by the Mound Stem School CORE Boys team.
I was inspired by the parts where it talks about trash on the ground and in the ocean. I thought about all the trash I see everywhere around the neighborhood. So, I collected a bunch of trash that I found while walking my dog and used it as material to create a piece of art.
I chose a lion as the subject because I felt that it fit the edgy and defiant feel to the poem.
In “Discarded,” I combined my normal torn paper collage with pieces of plastic bottles, plastic bags, USB cables, rope, ribbon, bus passes, and even part of a Starbucks travel mug! However, I wanted the trash to blend in rather than being the emphasis, much like how I use catalogs in my regular torn paper collages. I wanted the piece primarily to look like “art,” rather than an assemblage of trash.
Because it uses a variety of materials, I created it on a gessoed wooden panel instead of my normal paper substrate. I also varnished most of the piece using Winsor & Newton Acrylic Satin Varnish to help protect them from dust and moisture. I left the plastic bag ‘mane’ unvarnished since all my tests turned out poorly! I had wanted to varnish that part as well, but I tried several different methods and varnishes and the fringes tended to clump and mat together and generally just didn’t look good.
I think “Discarded” turned out great and it was a lot of fun to take things in a slightly different direction. I’m considering expanding it into a series of pieces that are created with trash. What do you think? What animals would work well with this technique?
Want to stay up to date and see more of what I’m working on? Sign up for my mailing list here and get a FREE digital download of an exclusive tiger linocut print. (I promise not to be spammy with my emails—I hate that too!)
* Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward me a small commission – at no extra cost for you.
New Artwork: Backyard Birds Torn Paper Collage Series
This lovely little bluebird is finally finished! Just in time for spring. Hopefully… He’s been sitting in my studio for a little while, almost done, just missing the background. I’ve been working on a new linocut series, but I finally took some time out to finish him up.
I’m thinking of expanding into a backyard birds torn paper collage series. I have three already, so why not more? I don’t think I’ve shared the other two here yet, so I’ll add them to this post too! We’ll make this a Backyard Birds series post.
First, I have this lovely Cardinal. I used him on my Christmas cards last year. Maybe I should add a line of greeting cards to my Etsy shop. What do you think?
I also have this Baltimore Oriole. They have such striking colors.
Now I just need to decide which other birds I want to add to the series! So far I’ve done northeast/midwestern US birds, since that’s where I’m living currently. I suppose I could add some of the birds I saw when I lived in the UK. Maybe make a second series of backyard birds!
What are your favorite backyard birds? Tell me in the comments.
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New Artwork: “Grendel” Custom Dog Portrait
I took advantage of having a bit of time in my schedule to make a custom portrait of my own dog! Generally, I spend my working on artwork for other people but I decided that I wanted a portrait for myself too!
This piece is actually considerably larger than the portraits I usually make—it’s 17”x14”—so it took quite a bit longer to complete! The nice thing about the larger size is that it makes it easier to get finer detail than in the smaller sizes.
I’m really pleased with how it turned out—it really captures the energy and enthusiasm that Grendel gives to everything!
Would you like a custom portrait of your own pet? You can check out the process here or email me at tamara@tamarajaeger.com with any questions!
Want to keep updated and see more of what I’m working on? Sign up for my mailing list here and get a totally FREE digital download of a tiger linocut print. (I promise not to be spammy with my emails—I hate that too!)
New Artwork: Passion Flower Linocut Block Print
In some previous posts, here, here and here, I introduced a series of linoleum block prints of flowers that I am working on. Unlike the other prints in the series, this one isn’t an orchid! Instead, it’s a passion flower.
The original flower this was based on was white with dark blue and purple accents. I purchased the flower as a gift for my father and it started booming before I had a chance to give it to him (Don’t worry—I did finally manage to get it to him, and it was still blooming away, so all is well!).
I tried out some new carving tools for this block and sadly, I’m not at all happy with them. For a while, I seriously doubted if the block could be salvaged and thought I’d have to completely re-carve the design on a new piece of linoleum with my original tools. Linoleum is very unforgiving of mistakes or slips of your tools. But it all turned out okay in the end.
This print, along with the other flower prints in the series, will soon be available for purchase in both my Etsy shop and on my website.
Want to keep updated and see more of what I’m working on? Sign up for my mailing list here and get a totally FREE digital download of a tiger linocut print. (I promise not to be spammy with my emails—I hate that too!)
New Artwork: Slipper Orchid Linocut Block Print
In a couple previous posts, here and here, I introduced a set of linoleum block prints of flowers that I am working on. This is the third print in the set, a Paphiopedlium or slipper orchid.
The original flower this was based on was a neat green and purple/maroon color. I got the flower at a local orchid society show this spring and was thrilled with the colors when it finally bloomed. It’s hard choosing an orchid when you don’t know what the flower will look like!
I’m actually really pleased with how this one turned out. I suspect it would also look great in color. I may try out a limited edition of hand-colored prints with this piece. What do you think? Let me know in the comments!
This print, along with the others in the set, will be available for purchase shortly in both my Etsy shop and on my website.
Want to keep updated and see more of what I’m working on? Sign up for my mailing list here and get a totally FREE digital download of a tiger linocut print. (I promise not to be spammy with my emails—I hate that too!)
New Artwork: Cattleya Orchid Linocut Block Print
In a previous post, here, I introduced a set of linoleum block prints of flowers that I am working on. This is the second print in the set, a Cattleya orchid.
The original flower this was based on was a brilliant orange color. While I like the high contrast, black and white look of this piece, I’m considering making a few test runs of different colors, just to see what they look like. I might even try mixing up a good orange color—it’s not one that is typically found pre-made in block printing ink. This is another piece where I might try hand-painting/tinting areas of the print. I’ll keep you posted on the variations I try out.
This print, along with the other in the set, will be available for purchase shortly in both my Etsy shop and on my website.
Want to keep updated and see more of what I’m working on? Sign up for my mailing list here and get a totally FREE digital download of a tiger linocut print. (I promise not to be spammy with my emails—I hate that too!)
New Artwork: Phalaenopsis Orchid Linocut Block Print
I decided to take a short break from torn paper collage to work on some other things that I’ve been wanting to work on. One of those is a set of linoleum block prints of flowers. This is the first of the set, a Phalaenopsis orchid.
The original flower this was based on was a pale pink color, but I like the contrast of the black and white print. The rest of the flowers in this set will also be printed in black. I’m considering making a few test runs of different colors though, just to see what they look like. I might also try hand-painting/tinting areas of the print. I’ve never tried that before but I’ve seen it work well for some prints. I might have to print on a heavier paper than the Japanese paper I used here though, if I’m going to be adding color by hand. I’ll keep you posted!
This print, along with the others in the set, will be available for purchase shortly in both my Etsy shop and on my website.
Want to keep updated and see more of what I’m working on? Sign up for my mailing list here and get a totally FREE digital download of a tiger linocut print. (I promise not to be spammy with my emails—I hate that too!)