Tag Archives: boston

It’s Thanksgiving already?!?!

Where does the time go? It’s a question I ask myself almost daily. There are hundreds of reasons this question enters my mind but without a doubt each day at some point the reason is because I want to know if I will I get a chance to paint or draw today. Sadly, that answer has been no in recent months but maybe that will change.

Per my typical rants, I blame my lack of creative works on a busy life and demanding job. These can be good things at times; however when it comes to fueling those creative fires, it just gets in the way. Now I am a realist, so I understand I cannot quit my job, move to Italy and live in a cluttered little apartment surrounded by canvases and lovely things but there is a dreamer living in here who is constantly trying to access the situation and find a scenario that would work.

Recently I have been lucky enough to travel, quite a bit to be honest and most recently my husband and I went to New Orleans. Seeing new scenery and experiencing new cultures is always inspiring to me. The laid back, relaxed mentality of New Orleans has me reaccessing my current ways, which include constant worrying, over planning, and staying at work way too long. My sister said it well the other day when she sent me a pic of a quote which stated the following. Find three hobbies you love: One to make you money, One to keep you in shape, and one to be creative. I’m trying to keep this in mind.

So today, after work let us out early for the holiday weekend (and I actually left), I had extra time and I decided not to fill it with some unecessary task. Instead, I picked up my paintbrush and started to lay down color. My mind was filled with what felt like a mountain of ideas but I couldn’t organize my thoughts.  I decided to start with the under painting and build on top of that.

As I sat there watching the paint dry I started to drift. My mind has always had a fun way of seeing things in just about every shape and shadow I see. As much as I struggle to put my ideas down on paper my mind is constantly creating, imagining, and pulling from the abstract to build something more… and so it began. A brush stroke here, a dollop of color there and then some scraping to take those actions back.

Below is the first piece I have completed in recent months that has felt complete enough to share. It’s a smaller piece, approx 9″ x 5″ painted with acrylics on Bristol paper. It has moments from past works, organic aquatic imagery intertwined with feathery orbs and floral accents. To be honest it contains most of the bits that make me happy.

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11/23/2016 Calla Grace Fogarty

All I can say is that I hope that this is the beginning of something new and that I can continue to keep my eyes open and senses alive, Absorbing all the wonders of the world around me. You only live once #YOLO and you have to love what you do!

See you you next time,

Calla Grace

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3″ x 3″ – POST #2

 

It’s weird what you end up painting when  you don’t really have direction. Your mind just jumps around between things you know, techniques you are familiar with, imagery that surrounds you and on occasion that brilliant moment of true creativity. The images below are examples of one or more of those ideas listed above. Fury critters wrapped in bold statements and color washes defined by a few hard lines.

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© 2015 Calla Grace Fogarty

 

The Orb – color washes pushed this image into a more defined image. Still abstract and loose the solidity of the orb brings a really nice contract to the background

 

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© 2015 Calla Grace Fogarty

 

Oh Look it’s a Squirrel – No one should ever be surprised when a fury critter makes it into my imagery. I wont lie that hook arm makes me mental but these are just small paintings that are meant for me and who ever stumbles upon them. So in that light I will embrace the hook arm and move on.

Enjoy and see you next time!

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Three Hundred and Sixteen! 

My dad said “hey look it’s the Travelocity Gnome” but I’d like to think my guy is a bit more interesting! The snow that has been completely consuming my life inspired the landscape and although it was not intentional the sky appears to be my interpretation of an aurora borealis. Loving these small-scale illustrations. Enjoy and see you next time!

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Three Hundred and Nine!

Decided to draw in bed this time. Winter has definitely taken a toll on me, whether it be mental or physical could be debated but either way I’m exhausted. At times in the evening I find myself drifting away into a space filled with random thoughts, ideas or images. Last night, when I closed my eyes in bed I started to image a creature. Somewhat like a bird, kind of like a skeleton but having roots in the human figure. The face came first and I think its apparent as it seems the most thought out or maybe it appears that way because that was already an image in my head. Either way the image developed from there and what made it fun was the lack of thought. No stress,  just me, a pen and a sheet of paper.  Enjoy and see you next time.

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Two Hundred and Ninety-Three!

Sticking with the furry critters, I tackled a new rabbit friend. I like how official he feels standing so straight up. I love animal behavior especially when it contradicts their natural movement. Saying that I am fully aware that rabbits can stand like this but it seems a bit awkward. I just imagine him delivering a little speech soon arms raising up to emphasize his story. Naturally, the small addition of the bow was necessary, a full blow vest would have been ideal had I not already drawn in the fur. Next time! Enjoy.

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Full Image Two Hundred and Ninety Three!

 

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Two Hundred and Ninety-Two!

Switching gears, focusing on some character drawings instead. I know it seems somewhat strange that I jump from totally random or abstract imagery to this but I love the result of these studies.I want to integrate the two but until then I will work on them separately. This little fellow was too cute to not draw and in regards to the wheels… I have no idea. Maybe next time he will be driving the cart these wheels belong to! That would be a pretty great image. Enjoy and see you next time.

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Full Image Two Hundred and Ninety-Two!

 

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Two Hundred and Ninety One!

Let’s revert back to the tree like imagery once again…. Not a fan but I am trying to just go with the challenge and not edit what I post. Based partly on the view from my back window, which currently comprises of snow mounds 4 feet high and the tops of fences and shrubbery peaking out from behind it. I will say that I was able to integrate some thoughts which always feels good. I love journaling and this is a way for me to integrate that idea into my works. Enjoy and see you next time!

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Full Image Two Hundred and Ninety-One

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Cropped Version Two Hundred and Ninety-One

 

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Two Hundred and Eighty-Eight!

I have been making sketches of these tree rings for years now. It is almost like an obsession. I love the repetitive yet different experience you get with each new layer. The concept of it depicting the life of something has always intrigued me. This image is a mess, but I enjoy the bottom half. The cropped version of this image is what I enjoy the most. There is something about the washes on the bottom right that really draws me in, maybe it is in its simplicity.

288 full imageAbove Full version of Two Hundred and Eighty-Eight

288 croppedAbove cropped version of Eighty-Eight

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Two Hundred Eighty-Seven!

Well here we are, image one of the newer version of my challenge, 79 images in 55 days. I haven’t worked in so long that the imagery just felt so sparatic. I like the range of marks and the use of color. It is funny what initially starts a piece for me. For this one, it was inspired during my drive home. There was a row of trees on the side of the road. I loved the way the trunks shot straight up  into the air and then became entwined in a web of branches. I cannot really speak to the other elements they just started to develop.

287 full imageAbove full image of Two Hundred and Eight-Seven

287 croppedAbove Cropped version of Two Hundred and Eighty-Seven

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Two Hundred Eighty-Six!

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I never thought I would like the end image but here we are again and I love the image I was supposed to cut up.  In these last two images I seem to mindlessly move across the page and by the end it’s become a crazy collage of imagery and pattern. It’s exciting and rather stress free. I will say I had half painted the birds ages ago, but that’s why I thought it would be a scrap image. I hated the birds originally which was why I gave up and it just sat in my scraps pile for about 2 months. Anyway, enjoy and see you next time!

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Close up left side.

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Close se up right side.

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