Custom Jac

Crayola Air Dry Clay verses Paperclay and the fantasy art block

2010-08-06T12:56:00.000-07:00

Moving to Bastrop has really been wonderful. I have met a number of really interesting and genuine people. This town is a community of artists and friendly people! I love it. I am running for a position on the board of the Bastrop Fine Arts Guild in September! How neat is that?!

Things are going a little better now, they were a bit crazy there for a bit..and a bit frustrating... the fantasy theme is a bit challenging for me and I must admit to struggling with it. It made me focus on what I have been having trouble with the most...getting things out of my head rather than referencing something else. The development of personal style and vision is something that I always desired but I just could not seem to get it right in the translation, if you know what I mean..

Well...I started thinking about it and I had a curiosity as to whether or not this was associated with the same problems that I had will life drawing...(I always had trouble with drawing from real life because I had trouble flattening the image..I know it sound weird but when you use a picture the image is FLAT...in real life..it is not.) So...what could I do but take it into a 3d media?

So I decided to test crayola air dry clay (thanks for your donations!) ...

Let's just say, that in comparison to paperclay...I like paperclay better. The crayola clay was not horrible..but it just was not as good as paperclay. Initially the texture feels relatively the same but it becomes difficult to work with after it starts to dry. Paperclay can become kind of rubbery where the crayola becomes more brittle and will crack easier and is harder to repair. Both seem to sand equally well, but if there are joint issues I would be cautious. I would be much easier on the Crayola clay after it has dried (if you are going to try it). With the dried product however, I feel that the paper clay feels more porous and light were the Crayola clay feels more substantial and similar to actual clay....toss up there..I guess it is what you are doing.

Anyhow... success!! The sculpting is going well and I am having an easier time manifesting art-ness in the fantasy genre! Yay! It does seem that the inclination of my natural style is to be cartoon-ish and sometimes slightly warped...hehehe..wonder why..lol!

Be on the look out for more art! Thanks for reading! Luv U!

Jac

Super Awesome! (April 2010)

2010-08-06T12:54:00.001-07:00

So folks, here is the skinny... After much deliberation and strategizin.. I have moved to Bastrop Texas....Technically Paige..but just barely so. Out in the middle of the big beautiful pines and just LOVING IT! I have my own studio and the town is really neat. A real trip to the past. I went into town today to look at opportunities for business start up and look forward to joining the Bastrop Art Guild. Totally rockn! As you can tell I am super pumped about the amount of progress I have made on my business and my life. There are rough patches and I am sure more to come...but I look forward to the challenge with the ferocity of a lioness. I may even start to write poetry again... neato.

Speaking of poetry...my gran is going to send me some from my great granny...I am looking forward to reading them and seeing her drawings. I still have this little owl trinket, an unfinished quilt top, and a tin full of clothes we made together. I don't have a picture but sure wish I did..it would not matter anyhow because that is one face I wont forget.

I am still working on structuring my business model and writing my business plan. It is going to be AWESOME! Nothing in the world would make me happier than being able to do what I love.

Tomorrow I will be documenting more pieces to monetize my website for prints and merch and sell the originals. Gunna ship bug her pic of course but first...take a fantastic picture of it! That way those who liked it can also get a print if they want. But there is only one original! lol! Art is really human like that...you can copy but it wont be the same.

For those of you on this network who might be reading this...here is a sneak peak to the new fun thing coming to Custom Jac's fan page on facebook:

Do you know what an ACEO is? It is an original or limited edition trading card of the artist's work.
These little 2.5 x 3.5 cards can be a variety of medias and are highly collectible. I will be giving an original card away every time my facebook fan page increases by the 100... So...I will be giving one away when I get 100 fans and when I get 200 fans and when I get 300 fans and so on.. Random selection will ensure the game is fair and there will be only 1 of each card in existence. I will take a photograph of the card for my portfolio and display but that is all...no merch...no reproductions...just one card and it's owner. Should be lots of fun!!!

Well...I'm outta here for the moment..got more work to do on the business plan and such. Night all. Luv you guys.

Progress Report and More details (feb 2010)

2010-08-06T12:53:00.002-07:00

Things are going well and I can feel that rush of creative force begin to swell. Yay! I love working in different medias and different styles. I am having a lot of fun rediscovering my art and personal style after being a human xerox for so long. Not to mention the mental block thing. You guys are really helping me pull through and I wanted to thank you again for sharing your love and spreading the word around about what I am doing. I foresee good things for this endeavor.

I talked to the manager of my favorite store today and ok'd a video blog in the store! Excited? Yup! This will be the first recorded trip to the art store and I really am looking forward to showing some love to source of materials! I will be buying things specific to the subsequent projects...so you get to see exactly what was purchased and what was created with it!

This is YOUR donations folks! Don't you want to see what it is spent on? LOL! I am excited about doing some really interesting things! Nothing gets better than this! Doing what you love!

I am also going to start coordinating with charities to donate some of the pieces for auction! This will be done through my good buddy "The RedRum Pirate." Not only will the originals benefit charity, but products associated with that image will also go to a good cause. My way of giving back. :)

The "art project" got rolling a little late so I will be extending this theme a bit into next month...followed by some Jac mayhem to end the month. Then we will be going back to suggestions and theme content so that the months are fully associated with that theme.

This month's theme: Horses, Mountains, Oaks, Waterfalls...well you get the idea....
Submitted by : Elizabeth Dixon

The submitter of the chosen them will have the option to choose pieces within that theme for the cost of shipping only.

I would love to see pics of them hanging in your homes! I mean...how neat is that! Interactive art projects.

Submitters are in no way obligated to receive a piece. You don't like it? Don't have it shipped! :P

After the allotted pieces are removed, all remaining art will be placed for auction. More details to come regarding this process.

Subject themes will be represented in a number of styles and medias! Some of which I have never touched! How exciting!

Friends and Fam (Feb 2010)

2010-08-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

It is so nice to see the amount of support and love that my family and friends have for me and my endeavors.. Nothing makes me want to work harder than knowing that someone out there cares about what is going on ..in here..in my world.

I did my first video time lapse painting today. Even though it wasn't perfect..it was awesome and exciting to create a video that would allow people to see me actually working. Around three hours to complete and I definitely will do that again. Thanks again to my aunt for her awesome ideas and I look forward to doing more pieces with her suggestions! I love you guys and promise to show you some more real soon!!

As of today, I have added a donate button for hose with the inclination to donate to art supplies and the like. Perhaps this is a little forward but you never know unless you try. Any donations will go directly to the purchase of art supplies and various project costs.

I need to reformat my website so some changes might be happening to this blog site as I switch things up a bit...the biggest feedback from the site is difficulty in navigation and it being so big that it crashes computers...so here will be where I upload some of the images and the website will begin to reflect my best and most current work. More like a resume than a website because a social based business needs a figurehead...lol. Thanks for reading this...love you guys

Perfectionist Rant (Feb 2010)

2010-08-06T12:52:00.000-07:00

I am beginning to get excited about the whole venture... It's funny how tedious and hard things become over time with the stress and pressure...what stress and pressure you say? One word: Perfectionist.

I am....I will freely admit so. That being said...i had this realization that...even though I knew this..I had to compensate for the perfectionist point of view.

All the technique I know and the level of perfection I can achieve from a reference generated piece was one thing...applying it to images in my head was quite another.... Why? Because I had not done it before..

So how can I expect to apply a high level of skill and perfectionist expectation to something in its infancy? I can't. I can take what I know and loosely guide the formation of personal style and form that inevitably transform my personal art.

Will I be able to be the human photomachine still? Yes... But things from my head will have their own fluid nature and I should accept that.

Where is the perfectionistic view you say? I am not letting myself down or dipping below my skill level or receiving sub-par results. They are two different beasts all together.

I feel confident enough in my skill to say that I can render any picture put in front of me.

I have to view this type of self expression as working to perfection in THAT technique..my own...depth challenged and anatomically skewed or not.

For all you out there like me.....STOP COMPARING AND START IMPROVING. It isn't the same....technique is just a platform for development.

LUV
JAC

Just a Thought (Feb 2010)

2010-08-06T12:50:00.000-07:00

Things are going ok so far. I actually painted freely last night...nothing special..just a bit of color and fun but boy...did it feel wonderful. I really should be doing my homework right now...I am in the final week of my current set of classes but I am taking a break to revel in the creative juices.

Things on the homefront are kind of rocky but life is still worth living and the sky is still blue so I imagine that everything will be ok...nothing like a little turmoil to inspire the artistic drive...LOL!

I created a fan page for "Custom JAC." Interesting how narcissistic you can feel when you make your own fan page...I would love it if other people would post their art...maybe I am just lazy and want to have my own place to view people's stuff..LOL!

I am sitting here looking at one of the pictures I painted...it kind of looks like me...I suppose it could be a self portrait...she kinda looks how I was feeling at the time as well... I promise to take pics when they are dry...maybe you can try to guess which one I am writing about...tehe!

I have never been real great at drawing from my head...a human copy machine is more a description I would attach to myself..maybe that is what I need to do...paint from my head and not give a darn if it is perfect, correct, kosher....or even looks like the image in my brain....something is better than nothing...who cares if it does not live live up to my idealistic views of perfection...as long as some of them do..hahaha!

Well...wasn't that a ramble..

Love
Jac

Busy Bee (Nov 2009)

2010-08-06T12:49:00.000-07:00

Things have been really busy as of late. I have been going back to school and am currently in the 9th week of my second course of classes. Final projects are due on Sunday and I haven't even started one of them...I like to analyze arguments so it isn't a big deal. Interesting things have been going on and catching up seems to be an feat beyond expectation.

I managed to get a few things done despite the busiest time of the year ... I will be posting progress pictures of the piece I mentioned before shortly. Some can already be found on my twitpic account. :)

Beginning Again (Sept 2009)

2010-08-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

After severe artist block (talking about 6...7 years of producing minimal work), I have picked up the brush again. Flexing my muscles in other mediums has lead me back to my old friend...or nemesis....oil.
I don't limit myself to a medium as an artist and always reply so when asked but oil has always been my liquid love. Until that it...I started not finishing things..

Sometimes it even came down to me being so over OCD that I couldn't move past an area. Sometimes...knowing you can paint virtually whatever you want...leads to expectations that are too strenuous...or the simple question....

What do I paint?

Sometimes I would just look at a picture and see how it would be...the colors...the brush strokes...the contract...the velvet feel of well blended mediums...and that would be enough....

Except that I couldn't share it with anyone.

I will document my progress on this piece and any hereafter. I think I'd like to share...lol......didn't we learn that in kindergarten? Lol.

This piece is a portrait of Tomi Gunn....the Scarlett Kiss