I heart Moleskine

My latest project (because I always need a latest project) starts tomorrow... I stumbled across an art journaling challenge posted by fellow blogger Ghislaine Bruno. I love Ghislaine's work, and also enjoy reading her blog in french then seeing how good (or how poor) my french comprehension is these days :).

A challenge! I'm there! Er... at least I'll start it...

In all seriousness - my sketchbook is down to its last few pages and it was about time for another. Getting *something* down on page consistently is important for your art, and I've decided that it's just going to be a constantly waxing and waning thing with me. It's so easy to get caught up with my non-art related work, home, life... you all know that there's always more that needs to be done. Like everything important in life, you just have to ~make~ time for the art. And that's exactly what this challenge is about. For you artists who might be reading this you can find the details on WetCanvas here. Basically the task is to fill a sketchbook in one month - specifically the month of October 2010.

Now this doesn't supplant my 100 dogs challenge, in fact it will augment it... I need to fill this sketchbook in a month, there are definitely going to be some pooches in there! I'm only up to 20 in the dog challenge, and coming up fast on the one year anniversary! At this rate I'll be.. well, let's not talk about how old I'll be when I finish it.

(c) Pam Boutilier 2010, Dog Sketches #14-19

Suffice it to say that more sketching is always better, and more dogs are always better (at least as far as sketching is concerned)...

.... and then there's the Moleskine!

You see, I've always slavered over Moleskine sketchbooks. They really aren't that impressive, a simple black book with an elastic binding. They ~are~ a high quality sketchbook, but it's more than that. There's something about the romance of using the same kind of book as Matisse, Picasso, Hemingway.... *sigh*. Maybe it's just we artsy folk who do this - but somehow there's an energy in such a thing... almost as if you are linked through time and space to those great thinkers and artists by virtue of a nondescript, little black book.
But despite the romance, I always seem to talk myself into buying a different sketchbook. One that is bigger, bound differently, less expensive, or just happens to be there and the Moleskine does not (buying sketchbooks is rarely something on can ~wait~ on). And so never have I actually had a Moleskine. And so when I read of this challenge I knew immediately that a Moleskine it would be! For simply practical reasons, they are smaller - and if I'm going to fill this thing in one month I really shouldn't start with a 100+ full-page sketchbook. So with only practicality in mind (*cough*) I jaunted down to the local art supply store and came home with this....

Isn't it beautiful?!

*happy sigh*

Of course now I have to mar it's simple perfection with my coarse markings. Perhaps the inspiration of Matisse will seep through the pages to infuse my pencil and brush. We'll see.. Even if I don't achieve those lofty heights, I will get some sketching done - and after all, that's the *real* point here...right?

>:)

~ Pam

(PS - I'm a total hipster aren't I?)

(PSS - how do ~you~ pronounce 'Moleskine'?)

100 Dogs Challenge #13 - Schnauzer take II

This time in colour....

Schnauzer Study, 4.5x 5.5" Ink/Watercolour paper

100 Dogs Challenge #8 - Little Frenchie

French bulldogs are the breed of the month on WetCanvas for February - this little guy was so cute he prompted me to try something I've been thinking of but haven't done, painting with my Ampersand inks on paper (*gasp*).


This is ACEO size (2.5 x 3.5) on archival matboard. He was tremendously fun to do, though I have to get used to the different feel on paper compared to Claybord.

Thanks for peeking!

~ Pam

100 Dogs Challenge - #6 (and #7)

This is a quick ink sketch/painting I did this evening. It's in my wee sketchbook which is not at all the appropriate paper for ink washes, but I felt like just doing something 'quick and dirty' (the scratchboard is not being my friend tonight).

Next time I get the urge I promise I'll go dig out my watercolour paper :)
(And I'll actually work on getting accurate colours instead of having fun with ink mixing)

'Roughly Buffy' 5x7"

And sick of the brush I kept doodling with a ballpoint pen and lo, sketch #7 happened:

'Gromit' 5x7"

Remember one of the stipulations of the 100 dog challenge is that I post 'em all - even the rough ones!!

~ Pam

2009 in Review!

2009 is coming to a close and I promised a poll!

Really, I've gone through phases over the years of making huge lists of resolutions or none at all. New Year's eve is a fun date on the calendar, but it's meaning is more symbolic than anything to me. However this year the planets have aligned such that I'm finding myself very reflective the past week or so, particularly about my art business.

Although it's technically been over a year since I started Cat-in-a-Box this still seems like a good time to call an 'anniversary' and take stock. This year has been an exploration and a bit of an experiment - for someone with no background in the business side of art it has been a huge learning experience. I've gone about some things in a pretty inefficient or backward manner, but I've learned every step of the way. In the last six months I finally feel like things are falling into place (though it may not look that way from the outside).

The main purpose of this post is to address, what else but the blog! Anyone who's followed the blog since it's inception will know that the subject matter has been a bit random - from posting progressions of works-in-progress to showcasing new art, talking about the technical side of the media I work in and peppered with some more personal entries. This has been a bit of planned randomness to help me get a feel for blogging and see what people are interested in.

Now there are analytics and numbers that can track what entries people are looking at (and I have a tenuous grip on such things so I will be looking at them) but call me an old-fashioned gal, I just can't look at numbers alone. So the purpose of this post is really to ask for feedback from anyone who's reading this blog entry:

~ what things have you enjoyed about my blog?
~ what things did you skip over?
~ what would you like to see that isn't here?

If you have a moment please leave a comment, or take a quick second to fill out the poll to the upper right of this post (it will be up for one week). If you'd prefer to send an email, by all means - send it to pam@catinaboxstudio.com, or use the 'contact' sheet on my website www.catinaboxstudio.com (please note that the website is undergoing some revisions so if you hit upon an ugly page please ignore it and come back next month! :D).

In 2010 I want to take a more directed approach to this blog, and continue the newsletter as a companion to the blog. If you have not signed up for my monthly newsletter please consider doing so! Your feedback will be tremendously helpful in both areas!

Now this being an art blog we need at least one image! So here's the latest 100 dogs sketch:



(you can read more in the Newsletter, and also see this dog's bad habit :D)

See you next year!!

~ Pam

100 Dogs Challenge - #2 and #3

The 100 dogs challenge continues!

These two sketches are prep work for a current scratchboard commission I am working on. I was lucky enough to meet little Cali in person this summer - the first sketch is from a photograph of her when she was younger, the second is from one I snagged.

'Cali' (5 x 7" and 7 x 9" graphite on paper)
(c) Pam Boutilier, 2009

She is adorable from any angle, but the first sketch is the one that speaks most to her mom's heart so that is the one we are using for the scratchboard.

I knew when I started the project that it would take awhile to get 100 sketches done, especially with the hectic nature of the holidays as well as the upcoming shows and art events I hope to enter, and that is exactly why I did not put a time limit as part of the goal.

Having set it out that way I find that even though it may be a few weeks before I get to the next sketch, I'm already looking forward to it! I have a pile of reference photographs that I am eager to work on and, like Jazz, maybe some of them will speak to me more loudly and get developed further. Artistically this project is shaping up to be a very valuable tool.

I'll keep you posted as more sketches emerge!

~ Pam

Going for 100

This post is a bit of a non sequitur, but by posting it here I make it real, so here goes.

Something in the October issue of The Pastel Journal caught my eye - it was an article entitled 'Going for 100' by pastelist Marla Baggetta about her self-challenge to paint the same small landscape 100 times. I am focusing more on scratchboard and whiteboard these days than the pastels, but the basic concept applies regardless of your medium. It's not a new idea - on WetCanvas there are very often challenges such as '100 x in 100 days' ranging from subjects, subject groups, media, etc. People often do similar challenges without the time limit.

The reasons for such a project are many - for many animal artists it is a way to explore a range of species or breeds, giving you a framework to systematically study their differences. For some it is a way to stretch their knowledge of a particular subject - to capture it from different angles, maybe even in different media. Marla Baggetta's goal was as a practice in gesture painting. She limited herself by time and size so that each painting was spontaneous. Her rationale was that if I know I'm doing 100 versions of this same scene I will mentally relax. Some of them will be crappy, some of them will be great (refer to my previous blog entry about the paralyzing effects of worrying about perfection). Also, by using the exact same scene for all of the paintings she was able to put away worries about subject, composition, etc and focus on the subtleties of colour and value instead. This, in turn, led to taking more chances and working sometimes outside of her 'box'.

I've been intrigued by this idea for some time and it falls on my perpetual 'someday I'll do that' list. Well, fellow procrastinators out there know that particular list rarely ever gets accomplished. Unless you say you're going to do it in your blog and newsletter... then you have enough external pressure to fuel you (right? Hm, we'll see I guess).

So... I'm officially announcing my self-imposed 100 Dog Challenge. My personal goals are to explore some breeds that I may not otherwise ever 'get around to', to shift my focus away from the end product (like Marla Baggetta said - not all of these are going to be masterpieces), to loosen up with my sketching and to produce 100 dog sketches!

1) 100 dogs, any media on paper is acceptable

2) Limit to roughly 1hr/piece (ie I will try to not spend more than 1 hour on each one - this promotes the 'gesture drawing' component of this project, this is not a hard and fast rule)

3) No time limit to complete this project (between my other art commitments and full-time job I think that would be a bit too much)

4) I will only include sketches from this post onward (no cheating here :D)

5) I will post all of the sketches (even the ugly ones) here on the blog as they are completed

And to show that I'm really serious about this, here's my first sketch:

Jazz (9 x 12" graphite on paper)

This is a beautiful doggie I met at the Basalt Sunday Market. I loved the way the light caught his face as he sniffed the air. It took a bit more than an hour (closer to 1.5 hours - see, there I go breaking the rules already!). I might turn this one into a whiteboard, if I do I'll be sure to post it in a future entry.

So welcome along for my 100 dogs journey! I hope you enjoy the art - comments are always welcome!! Let's see what 100 dogs does for me, and if any of you are artistically inclined I encourage you to consider your own 'Going for 100' challenge!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And in other news...

If you prefer to get your Cat-in-a-Box blog fix straight into your email inbox sign up for my new NEWSLETTER!



~ Pam