Art and Tie Dye

April 4, 2017

I have a painting started on my easel.  Here is my start.  I’ll show the progress when it happens.

Tomorrow is Tie Dye Day.  I have a new design in mind.  From 9 AM to whenever I’ll be doing the Tie Dye Tango.  Etsy has 23,000 plus tie dye shops and a gazillion die dye tees.  Hard to believe so many people want to tie dye.  Maybe because it feels so good when you stop.

Painting compared to tie dye is a breeze.  Slack city.  You can sit if you want, usually only use one arm.  Change things if all is going wonky.  When you finish the painting you can maybe sell it for 150.00  – 2,000?  I’m over simplifying.  Painting involves sorting through all the art education you have while holding that brush.  It’s mental gymnastics.  Choosing the wrong blue could make you suicidal.

I love painting (I do oils).  Making your mark.  Making those decisions.

Do you paint?  Do you tie dye?  For me both are solitary pursuits.  It would be good to  hear your take on one or both.

Later, Miz Tick

 

 

This is not a Miro

This is a hand painted tee shirt.  Painted with fabric dyes usually used in tie dye.

After admiring Miro’s work I thought about combining his idea of symbols to make a word picture to paint  on a tee shirt.

 

 

I call this “Midnight Song of the Sea”.  Here is the tee shirt front and back.

There are seabirds, waves, moon and stars.  Fish in the sea and the eye represents my Etsy shop name, Get Ogled Tie Dye.  I have other tee paintings in my shop, please take a look and tell me what you think.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/GetOgledTieDye.  Thank you, Miz Tick

Caught between a paintbrush and a rubber band

In 2000 I began painting.  Studied most of the ‘How to’ books in the local library.  At that time there was a tremendous art section, today there are very few art books in the library, they have taken a back seat to Videos and meeting space.

While going through the books on oil painting I also took classes when I could.  Had classes with some very knowledgeable local artists.  Then on to North Carolina for a class with Mattelson.  Later had a bad class at N.C. School of the arts that taught me a lot.  Funny how we learn.  Began to paint still life then portraits.

Portraits seemed to be my thing.  Showed my work here and there, joined an artists studio group.  Began to get commissions.  (some of my paintings from this time are on this blog.)  Worked as a portrait artist for 15 years.  Marketing skills were awful so when husband had to stop working I became a certified nursing assistant for home health care and that pretty much put the kibosh on painting.

Did continue to paint a bit.  Mostly pet portraits.  They were smaller, did not consume so much time.  Marketing skills still sucked.  Ran out of gas on home nursing care.  Just quit.  Couldn’t do it anymore.

Husband takes a small job.  Suddenly, free time.  I fall into fabric design with dye and resists, aka rubber bands.  Something I had been interested in when Japanese painting and design showed it’s self in the library years ago.

Tie dye for 3 years.  Fun.  Hard work, very low pay.  If you figure the cost of supplies and the profit I’d say no pay.  But I love it.  Have a new shop on Etsy and have several stores that take my designs in the summer.

Husband says his job is not covering our expenses and since I have such tremendous art talent and have sold paintings for 2 and 3 thousand dollars, I need to paint a couple of portraits to boost our income.  Anyone with my talent and ability should not be wasting time with tie dye. “We could use a chunk of change”.

I let that simmer for about a week.  Wasting my time with tie dye?  Not contributing to the household?  Too talented?  I was hurt.  On the other hand who am I to think I can just do what ever I want and not contribute to the finances?

Alright.  Let’s see what we got.  I don’t want to stop tie dyeing.  That has pretty much paid for it’s self, although it is a time eater.  Some dyers can knock out dozens at a time.  I do two at a time tops.  I enjoy it.  Turn on Buffett, get in the zone and play with color.  Great stuff, what could be better?

So, how about one week paint and one week tie dye?  Went to the easel, there sits a canvas started two months ago. A simple seascape with beach umbrellas.  I’ll just knock this out and start a portrait.  There is a lady interested in a portrait of her two beautiful children.  I haven’t painted seriously for three years but lets see what happens.

Here goes the umbrellas.  Red, orange, yellow.  Oh! These colors are transparent.  Blue background shows through.  Oh!  Remember that?  Just barely.  Wait, was I suppose to ‘oil out’ before putting fresh paint over dry?  Oil out with what?  I had a little jar with a mixture recommended by Harold Speed, here it is.  It’s all dried up.  Where did I write the formula?  Oh! Oh! Oh!

If I can’t paint a simple beach umbrella, how can I catch the glorious fresh color or those children’s cheeks?

Here’s my plan.  Paint the beach canvas the best I can, just get on with it.  Paint the damn thing. (old Chinese saying.)  Meanwhile get back to the books, renew my painting education and practice, practice, practice.

So husband was wrong.  It isn’t my amazing talent that let me paint portraits.  It was steady working at it and study, practice, study.  We’ll see how quickly it can be relearned.  You can forget about a quick “chunk of change”.

There are other artists who have gone through down times.  Are you one?  How did you “recover”?  Have any advice?

Caught between a paintbrush and a rubber band.

Miz Tick

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happiest Tee Shirt on the Planet

A recent article in the New York Times Styles section had a selection of yellow items with a  note that said “If happy was a color it surely would be yellow”.  I agree.  I’m gaga over yellow right now.  Just finished four tee shirts I call “Sunshine Heart”.  Surely the happiest tee shirt on the planet.

The ice dye technique creates the random carefree patterns around the heart and tie dye makes the heart.

This tee shirt with a white skirt, pants or shorts is a knock out.  Add a bit of sun  tan and you will get  ogled.   (Ogle – To devour with your eyes)  Love that.

This is part of the Times article.  If the model in the newspaper had been wearing a  “Sunshine Heart” she would have looked happier.

Summer is on it’s way, hope you’ll have a sunshine heart.

Miz Tick  http://www.etsy.com/shop/GetOgledTieDye

Sunrise on a Tee

Every morning a lady in Virginia Beach goes to the ocean front and takes photographs of the sunrise.  Sometimes the photographs include sea shells, found objects, seagulls and always lots of beautiful morning light.

For years I have made a tie dye tee shirt called ‘Seascape’.  Something like this one.

 Just ocean, clouds, sky and shades of blue.  Now I’ve added a ‘Beach Sunrise’

Like the ladies photographs, each morning sky and each sunrise tee shirt are unique.  Using tie dye techniques and fabric dye I paint the scene.  A painting, wearable art.  On my Etsy Shop I have a variety of ‘Seascapes’ and ‘Sunrises’.  See a view of our beautiful sea shore for beach lovers everywhere.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/GetOgledTieDye

 

Hello Artists

Hello Artists, a few quick questions.

1.  Do you paint what you think is popular?
2.  Do you paint what you think might sell?
3.  Do you paint in a style uniquely yours?
4.  Do you paint what grabs your attention?
5.  Are your paintings ‘exercises’?

Take a look at Van Gogh.  He saw his boots and painted them.  Not popular.  Not in demand.

The legend is Van Gogh sold only one painting in his lifetime.  Meanwhile his “Irises” went for 53.9 million in 1990.

I haven’t painted in a while.  I’m trying to jog my brain, motivate myself to get back to the easel.

I’m saying to my self – “Self, paint on”.  Paint whatever and however you want.  No restraints.  No hard rules.  Once in a while go out on a limb.  Approach your canvas like you never saw it before.  Paint in a new way.  Use different brushes.  Make a quick painting of something you “simplify”.  Rediscover the joy of making your mark.

Hello  Artists,  Show me one of yours and I’ll show you ones of mine.

Miz Tick

Life and what we do with it.

April 14, 2017

Today I saw two men working on a house addition.  Two stories high, just upright boards against the sky.  They were both balancing on not much.  One steadied a piece of plywood while the other man used both hands to nail gun the plywood to one of those uprights.  Each totally dependent on the other.  Like a dance.

Were they afraid?  Was this business as usual?  How do you learn that? Is that art? I think so.  Is an hourly wage enough applause?  Is satisfaction of a job well done compensation for risking your life?

Those two men caused me to stop and consider my life.  What is work and what is art?  How high can I go?

I guess we are all risk takers.  What do you do with your life?  How high do you want to go?  Tell me.  Show me.

The men working on the house reminded me of this little painting

 

Tie Dye and Life

April 6, 2017

A little more tie dye.  Tie Dye is labor intensive and if you sell one say for $25.00, at a shop, the shop takes 40%.  On Etsy sell it for $25.00, subtract cost of tee and dye, part of postage and a small percentage to Etsy.  Comes out to maybe $1.00 per hour.  I am slow.

I love to tie dye.  Masochistic?  No.  There are so many elements of dyeing that require personal, hands on, direct, immediate attention.  Let’s call it creativity.  Creativity alive and throbbing.

What moves you?

I’ll get to the life part tomorrow.  Meanwhile here (I hope) is a tee I did recently.