Cowboy Kimono

Category: Studio

  • Animated Chalk Art

    Animated Chalk Art

    Creating chalk drawings on dark paper is my current favorite drawing activity. For me, drawing the light instead of the shadows is a both a drawing technique and a formula for contentment. Converting these drawings into an animated video involved lots of watching and re-watching online animation tutorials. Here’s the basic process along with links to the videos I found most helpful:

    Preparation

    1. Create thumbnail sketches of actions to be animated.
    2. Work out the sequence of events.
    3. Write-out notes to the side of sketches to describe camera angles, zooming in or out, sound effects, etc…
    4. Photograph models or collect reference images for each major action. (I took photos of my son with a strong light coming from the bottom for this video)
    5. Modify the reference images in Photoshop as needed to unify lighting or amplify dramatic moments. Convert to black and white images.

      Drawing

      1. Print images at medium quality on copy paper (20#) to fit the size of your dark paper and scanner bed. (I use 8″x10″ black card stock which fits on my scanner bed)
      2. Transfer image to black paper, tracing only the very basic outlines and shapes.
      3. Draw the light values onto the dark paper using a white pastel pencil. Re-establish darkest values and lines with a kneaded eraser and/or pencil eraser.
      4. Scan each drawing and save as a jpeg. Improve contrast as needed in Photoshop.

      Animating

      1. Place jpeg images in a Photoshop document as layers.
      2. Select VIEW > Timeline to begin animating. Here are two video tutorials that I found very helpful:
      3. Save Timeline animations as mp4 clips.
      4. Create graphics in Powerpoint or Keynote.
      5. Combine animated clips, sound effects and music in iMovie.
      Final Chalk Art Animation by Marisa Mott
    6. 3 Sign Designs Inspired by Vintage Chintz and Steam Trains

      3 Sign Designs Inspired by Vintage Chintz and Steam Trains

      Just 120 miles North of Santa Fe, New Mexico is the captivating Village of Chama, home to the historic Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. From late-May to mid-October, steam trains transport passengers from the sunshine of New Mexico to the snow covered mountains of Colorado, all on the same day.

      Railroad service to Chama began in 1881, it rapidly evolved into a boomtown, and ultimately matured into a lively Western-style business district. In the heart of the business district, Railyard Rebel, a one-of-a-kind shop filled with gorgeous clothing, jewelry, accessories, and New Mexico inspired gifts; offers a blend of western style and Bohemian design. The shop is housed in the Sterling and Sage building. Recently the shop and building needed signs and that is how my husband, Curtis (a sign painter), and I got involved.

      My primary objective for this project was to develop a logo for Railyard Rebel. Drawing inspiration from steam trains’ textural elements (iron, metal rivets, wood), and vintage floral textiles, I was able to create a logo that married vintage train character with western style and boho design.

      Railyard Rebel Logo Design

      Railyard Rebel’s new owners wanted to repurpose signs from the previous business.  There were four wooden signs with cut-out shapes resembling old Scenic Line of the World advertisements. In the before and after photo you can see that I tailored Railyard Rebel’s logo to fit the semi-circular band at the top of the sign and swapped the yellow and red for their brand colors.

      • Vintage Ad for Scenic Line of the World
      • Before and After

      Overhauling the train illustration involved a bit of research, but I was lucky enough to find a reference photos depicting one of Cumbres and Toltec’s engines. I rendered the train digitally in Procreate and Adobe Photoshop.

      Steam Engine No. 463 Reference
      Digitally Rendered Steam Engine

      Printed decals were produced once the design was complete. We cleaned, sanded, and painted the wooden signs, then carefully applied the decals. Curtis skillfully hand-painted the tassels and finials with a glossy white sign paint.

      Hand Painting Tassels and Finials

      Although there were a handful of design challenges, we were able to take four tired signs and breathe new life into them.

      Railyard Rebel Wooden Sign
      Final Sign Design

      A new sign was created to hang beneath the covered walkway.  Bright pink and gold floral elements on a smoky gray base serve as the backdrop for the logo’s light blue letters. It was finished with a hand-crafted wooden frame to generate an old western-feel.

      Framed Hanging Sign

      Sterling and Sage, the building housing Railyard Rebel and The Lofts @ Sterling & Sage, needed exterior ID signs. The owners’ design concept was to use a sheet of thick metal and have the letters cut out. The painted black finish was determined in the final stages of the design.

      Sterling and Sage – 534 Terrace Avenue, Chama, New Mexico
      Metal Signs with Cut-out Letters
      Installing the Sterling and Sage Metal Sign on the Front of the Building

      Railyard Rebel is looking forward to their first fall season since opening their doors in May 2022. It is a great time to ride the railroad, enjoy a day trip of exhilarating rugged mountain views, and relish the fall colors.

    7. Black and White Chalkboard Therapy

      Black and White Chalkboard Therapy

      “I just want to make beautiful things even if nobody cares.”

      SAUL BASS

      An artist’s dream – living in a place where you can draw on the walls. As a renter in a home with blackboard paint on the kitchen door, I kinda lived that dream. Using school chalk, I would draw for hours creating images to celebrate holidays (a few of my favorites below). Although there were no paychecks attached to these illustrations, there were gobs of benefits. The stress of my day job melted, my artistic confidence bloomed, and my wandering mind stayed focused in the moment. Not having to make color decisions was one of the many reasons I found it relaxing. Admittedly, I dug the subtractive drawing vibe; erasing areas for darker values and adding chalk for the lighter values.

      Cupid for Valentine’s Day
      Hipster Santa for Christmas
      Cowgirl for Fourth of July
      A Few of My Favorite Chalkboard Door Drawings

      I no longer reside in the house with the dreamy chalkboard door and was craving some black and white chalkboard therapy. The work-around solution? Taking a rediscovered pad of black paper, a brand spanking new white pastel pencil, and drawing! I drew each subject on a separate piece of paper then scanned. (Separate images in gallery below) Once I had digital images, I placed them into a single composition using Photoshop.

      Street Artist
      Harmony Player
      Spreading Harmony
      Separate Chalk Drawings

      This time my concept wasn’t based on a holiday. Instead, it was a play on words – harmony and harmonica. The next step was to Frankenstein words together and craft a message that flowed through the composition. “Harmony – Spread That Stuff Everywhere,” won out. Lots of tries later, I surrendered to design defeat; the message and the composition weren’t jiving. This is when not having a chalkboard door went from being a hurdle to being a springboard. This is when I realized I had all the components for an animated video. I created animated clips in Photoshop, combined and refined them (a bit) in iMovie, gathered copyright free music from YouTube creator’s studio, and built an artsy video (below). Beautiful to me (and maybe to you). “…even if nobody cares.”

    8. Cactus Patch Mail Art

      Cactus Patch Mail Art

       

      Cactus Patch Mail Art

      I just finished teaching a Mail Art class at Pennysmiths Paper. In the class, we discovered the different effects that could be created using Studio Series Dual-Tip Alcohol Markers. The markers are a perfect tool for exploring blending techniques, watercolor tricks, and doodling patterns. The two-hour class was over before we could draw our fourth envelope, the Cactus Patch. Below are the steps I followed to create the mail art pictured above.

      Supplies

      • Envelope
      • Studio Series Alcohol Dual-Tip Marker Set (available at Pennysmiths Paper)
      • Uniball Signo White Pen, Broad (available at Pennysmiths Paper)
      • 1 sheet heavyweight paper, cut to fit inside the envelope
      • 1 sheet heavyweight paper, to protect the surface where you are working
      • Post-it Notes
      • Mailing Label (optional)

      Steps

      1. Start by placing post-it notes on the front of the envelope over the address area to keep it the same color as the envelope.
      2. Insert a cut sheet of heavyweight paper inside the envelope to keep the markers from bleeding onto the backside.
      3. Select 3-4 harmonious colors (these would be next to each other on the color wheel or all the same color family). Blues or greens work well. Go a bit wilder by using orange, yellow and red or purple, red and blue.
        • Using the brush end of the pen, make an inverted “U” that flares out a bit at the bottom.
        • Grab another color and draw a stripe just to the right of your first line. The stripes can touch or overlap on the edge. Let the stripe get wider as you move towards the bottom.
        • Repeat until the “U” shape is filled with stripes of color. 
        • Using the fine tip in the same color as your original U-shape, dot the outside to create needles.
        • Repeat the above steps next to your original U-shape, but make this one smaller in size and overlap it a bit. This will create the illusion of depth. 
        • Continue making different sizes and overlapping until the bottom 2/3 of the envelope is covered.
      4. Pick two harmonious colors for the blossoms. Using the fine tip, make clusters of upside-down teardrop shapes along the top each cactus.
      5. Select one of the lightest markers and use the fine tip to draw lines for the sky.
      6. Use your white Signo pen and marker’s fine tips to draw different patterns lining the cactus stripes. If you need some pattern ideas, check out the black and white handout (below). 
      7. With the white Signo pen, add needles to the edges.
      8. Finally, draw concentric teardrop lines inside the cactus blossoms using the white Signo pen.
      9. Remove post-it masks. Cover address area with a mailing label for cleaner edges (optional)
      10. You can play with the design even more by:
        • Mixing-in different types of cactus – add a barrel cactus or prickly pear.
        • Create a sea life version with coral, starfish, and seaweed. 
        • Finish the envelope by lining it with colorful paper. Envelope liner templates are available at Pennysmiths Paper.

      Cactus Patch Timelapse  Video

       

      Black and White Handout

       

      Looking for more inspiration?

      1. Little Chimp Society, Mail Me Art Gallery  https://www.thelittlechimpsociety.com/gallery-mma4
      2. Pinterest: Search Mail Art or Envelope Art
      3. Zentangles : https://craftwhack.com/how-to-zentangle
      4. YouTube: Search Alcohol Marker videos
      5. Link to the time-lapse video (below) of this technique: Cactus Mail Art

    9. Painted Portrait Jacket

      Painted Portrait Jacket

      Just delivered this freshly painted, Cowboy Kimono, to a dear friend and creative supporter. She commissioned the project as a present to herself and wanted something as vibrant as her personality. The few simple asks included maintaining the glory of her silver hair (she earned every strand and it’s a source of pride). Her response to the preliminary sketch was an enthusiastic, “Go for it.” (Love that form of creative cheerleading)

      Interested in a custom Cowboy Kimono? Let’s talk!