(gouache on coldpress, 13x17")
Fine Art and Illustration by Amanda Russel
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Thesising
February finds me delving into my thesis work, as well as two independent studies. I'm floundering a little but I think that I've recently turned over a new leaf.
I'm doing a lot of absorbing right now- books, articles, images, poems. I'm filling a sketchbook with as many ideas as I can while continuing my research, and am beginning to turn some of my more successful ideas into more realized paintings and illustrations.
Slowly but surely, I think, everything will come together.
Stay tuned for progress.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Cover Art
My longtime friend Matthew Heller's self-titled album comes out February the 7th!
Cover artwork by yours truly!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Winter Break
It's a few days after xmas, and I've been enjoying winter break and taking some time to create artwork for loved ones for the holidays, as well as taking much-needed downtime. I've been getting back in the habit of doing my arm exercises for physical therapy and am already feeling better because of them.
About a week and a half ago I moved out of the house I have rented a room in for the past three-and-a-half years, which made me very sad as I loved my Sellwood neighborhood, but my housemates needed the space for the arrival of their new baby, Charlie, who will be born any day now. I am gifting them some gouache pieces on wood for Charlie's room, which will be circus/animal-themed:
I have found a new apartment to live in with a roommate, and hopefully we will move in within the next few weeks. It's in SE Portland and I'm so so so glad we found an accessible place in the area of town we both wanted. And it's along two major bus lines and near two grocery stores.
Until then I am thankfully able to crash at my parents' house for a few weeks, until the apartment is ready (they are completely refurbishing it so when we move in it will be a completely brand-new interior). It's a ways out which is frustrating as I am not near a bus and therefore dependent on others for transportation, but I also needed the downtime.
School starts back up the 17th, and I will have four classes: thesis and thesis writing, then two small independent studies that I was granted special permission to do (usually the limit is one per student per semester).
Healthwise I seem to be pretty stable and have successfully tapered completely off of Prednisone, so my body can function somewhat normally again. Although it saved my life, Prednisone is a terrible drug and not only does it have lots of icky side effects, it's really wreaks havoc on the body. I feel much better knowing I am putting one less chemical into my body on a daily basis.
I take down my show at Palio on the 31st, and I have sold eight paintings in all so far. I received notice that someone bought all four of my Day of the Dead paintings, and I couldn't be happier about it. I've been saving up some money and plan to purchase a Wacom tablet within the next few days. I can do so many things with my art with a tablet and I'm totally excited to start experimenting more with one.
Until next time,
Amanda
About a week and a half ago I moved out of the house I have rented a room in for the past three-and-a-half years, which made me very sad as I loved my Sellwood neighborhood, but my housemates needed the space for the arrival of their new baby, Charlie, who will be born any day now. I am gifting them some gouache pieces on wood for Charlie's room, which will be circus/animal-themed:
I have found a new apartment to live in with a roommate, and hopefully we will move in within the next few weeks. It's in SE Portland and I'm so so so glad we found an accessible place in the area of town we both wanted. And it's along two major bus lines and near two grocery stores.
Until then I am thankfully able to crash at my parents' house for a few weeks, until the apartment is ready (they are completely refurbishing it so when we move in it will be a completely brand-new interior). It's a ways out which is frustrating as I am not near a bus and therefore dependent on others for transportation, but I also needed the downtime.
School starts back up the 17th, and I will have four classes: thesis and thesis writing, then two small independent studies that I was granted special permission to do (usually the limit is one per student per semester).
Healthwise I seem to be pretty stable and have successfully tapered completely off of Prednisone, so my body can function somewhat normally again. Although it saved my life, Prednisone is a terrible drug and not only does it have lots of icky side effects, it's really wreaks havoc on the body. I feel much better knowing I am putting one less chemical into my body on a daily basis.
I take down my show at Palio on the 31st, and I have sold eight paintings in all so far. I received notice that someone bought all four of my Day of the Dead paintings, and I couldn't be happier about it. I've been saving up some money and plan to purchase a Wacom tablet within the next few days. I can do so many things with my art with a tablet and I'm totally excited to start experimenting more with one.
Until next time,
Amanda
Monday, December 12, 2011
Finals, finally.
My show opening at Palio (at 1996 SE Ladd, a lovely little dessert and espresso shop) went amazingly well, and the show will hang until the end of December if anybody wants to go check it out but didn't make the opening night.
One more meeting of each class, and I am finished for the semester.
My thesis book project was approved for next semester, and I will begin crafting it when I go back to classes in mid-January. My last semester of college, finally. I've had a few setbacks, but I'm going to graduate.
For my painting class I've completed four 9x15 ink and gouache pieces from reference photos I took at Occupy Portland:
For my advanced drawing class, I've been exploring ways to visually depict the body, particularly in a state of illness, without literally drawing the human figure:
One more meeting of each class, and I am finished for the semester.
My thesis book project was approved for next semester, and I will begin crafting it when I go back to classes in mid-January. My last semester of college, finally. I've had a few setbacks, but I'm going to graduate.
For my painting class I've completed four 9x15 ink and gouache pieces from reference photos I took at Occupy Portland:
For my advanced drawing class, I've been exploring ways to visually depict the body, particularly in a state of illness, without literally drawing the human figure:
(Both are gouache and ink on arches coldpress paper)
Last but not least, the most realized piece I have come up with so far in preparation for my thesis book project. A self-portrait, hand-lettering, gouache layers, and cut up pieces of one of my MRI reports from back in December of 2010:
I plan to put more of my thesis progress on this blog. Stay tuned for more, and thanks for reading!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Show!
("Michelle Bachman", gouache, 9"x12", 2011 © Amanda Russel)
I have my first solo show coming up! I am very excited about it. It will be the evening (around seven, though the exact time is not yet nailed down) at Palio Dessert and Espresso House, 1996 SE Ladd in Portland. I will mostly be hanging new gouache pieces, but will also include some less recent, smaller ink pieces. Everything will be for sale, so come on by!
Monday, October 17, 2011
Stills and Thesis
I had my midterm review for my thesis last week, and everything seems to be going swimmingly. I'm leaning in the direction of a book of some sort, more illustration-heavy than text-heavy, about my experiences with lupus and acute transverse myelitis over the past nearly eleven months.
It is going to involve a lot of visual metaphor, as I don't want it to be overly reliant on narrative or a literal interpretation. I want it to be able to be read in any order. Rather than reiterate my story from beginning to present, I want each page as well as the entire book to leave a lasting impression, because lasting impressions are how all the memories have manifested themselves as my own experience.
I also want to create artwork that could be interpreted as a wide variety of human experiences with hardship. I don't want my book to be read as simply a self-obsessed memoir; rather I want to take what I've experienced and weave it into something that is more widely accessible. Although what has happened in my life indeed brings a unique perspective, which I plan on utilizing to further the goals of my artwork, I want the end product I come up with to speak of universality. As example, one does not have to have been in a crippling auto accident or in chronic pain to appreciate the art of Frida Kahlo.
I've also gotten to paint some more film stills for my illustration painting class. Here's one that took me hours and hours despite its smallish size (9"x12"), but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I took the color scheme from a still from Hedwig and the Angry Inch and applied it to Daisies. Here's the result:
It is going to involve a lot of visual metaphor, as I don't want it to be overly reliant on narrative or a literal interpretation. I want it to be able to be read in any order. Rather than reiterate my story from beginning to present, I want each page as well as the entire book to leave a lasting impression, because lasting impressions are how all the memories have manifested themselves as my own experience.
I also want to create artwork that could be interpreted as a wide variety of human experiences with hardship. I don't want my book to be read as simply a self-obsessed memoir; rather I want to take what I've experienced and weave it into something that is more widely accessible. Although what has happened in my life indeed brings a unique perspective, which I plan on utilizing to further the goals of my artwork, I want the end product I come up with to speak of universality. As example, one does not have to have been in a crippling auto accident or in chronic pain to appreciate the art of Frida Kahlo.
I've also gotten to paint some more film stills for my illustration painting class. Here's one that took me hours and hours despite its smallish size (9"x12"), but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I took the color scheme from a still from Hedwig and the Angry Inch and applied it to Daisies. Here's the result:
("Fashion Parade," gouache, 2011 © Amanda Russel)
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