MICHELLE RODES
  • HOME
  • PET PORTRAITS
    • CAT PORTRAITS
    • DOG PORTRAITS
  • ARTWORK
    • PLEIN AIR PAINTINGS
    • COMMISSIONS
    • ILLUSTRATION
  • ABOUT
    • EXHIBITIONS

Sea Dragon Illustration

5/2/2022

 
Picture
Picture
Sea Dragon Illustration
In this illustration I used  my usual technique of playing with black and white notans. I then worked with 5 values to develope value studies as a a guide for how light and dark to work with the paint. I painted the finished illustration with watercolor and sumi-brush pen along with some white ink marks to give the illusion of splashes of water! What is the story? Well, the kids went fishing and caught a rather large scaled friend. I love watercolor for the looseness of the paint! The clouds were exploding with moisture and about to rain!
- Michelle Rodes
Picture
Picture

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

12/31/2021

 
Picture

RINGINING IN 2022

This month's illustration is inspired by the New York Times Square countdown to the new year. Confetti, streamers, balloons all help celebrate the birth of a new year and all the possibilities that come with it. A stork stops to let the new year baby lion unwrap and swing the cowbell that chimes the start of 2022. Goodbye 2021, hello 2022!
​

outdoor sketching

8/23/2021

 
Picture
One of my favorite things to do is take a sketching break outside. It only takes 20-30 minutes to set up, with a morning cup of coffee, my sketchbook, some water, and my little palette. Put it on a breakfast tray and go find a comfy spot to linger for a while. Pick a happy flower or vegetable. Draw lightly with pencil. Then try to make a sketch that has some emotion.  A peaceful way to start the day.

keeping up with the designers

10/23/2013

 
Picture
I started seriously working in interior design while I was still in college studying illustration. Houses and their unique character have always been an important part of my work.
1995 "Andrea's House"
This month I had the pleasure of presenting to the East Bay Artist Guild on the topic of "Art from an Interior Designer's Point of View". Having worked in the field for over 20 years, it was quite an experience to go back through the years and consider what I know that I could share with fellow artists. I started seriously working in interior design while I was still in college studying illustration. Houses and their unique character have always been an important part of my work.

At the high end, where I mostly worked, I was in the practice of keeping the visual artist in me far from the design office. The motto was "don't try to be both to your clients".  To combine the two in any way (other than just using skills to execute the interior design process) would be considered a poor execution of design. But the artist in me could appreciate and help promote the work of other artists if I had the opportunity.

Some of my basic tips for artists have to do with realizing that designers are professionals in business, and when working with artists, they expect the same. To transact with designers on a business level, artists must provide adequate levels of documentation of their work to facilitate the designer's ability to promote and sell it to their clients.

In this day of electronic everything, the more electronic renditions of the artwork,  promotional materials, business documents, sales platforms, and social media venues, the better. The long and short of it is, if our clients and customers are going online, then so must we!

It was fun to sift through photos of binders and reams of documents that used to make up a design office, and to know, that while some are still using fax machines, the large majority are fully digital, and pushing less paper and more "paperless".

With these lessons in mind, to consider my own art practice, the value of the actual artwork becomes more nostalgic with each technological advancement. Digital and print reproductions are easy to create and will continue to get easier and better. Certainly, the implementation of digital age business practices is an on-going and ever changing preoccupation for all of us. But as we continue to chase the electronic moving target, the real deal original hand painted artworks, in my estimation, will only get more valuable. I find myself evermore excited and committed to making original art, one painting at a time!

KNOW THYSELF

7/16/2013

 
Picture
Lefty Loosy - Righty Tighty!

Here is painting that I started a few weeks after having surgery to my right shoulder in March. The right hand is the right one I paint with, so I had to use my left hand to start this piece. As I recovered, I finished it with my right! Can you tell which part was done which hand?

It is from a trip to Delphi, Greece, the home of the ancient oracle at Delphi where travelers are invited to come to the oracle and “know thyself”. We ate at this exquisite and ever so charming restaurant. I loved that wagon and had to paint it! A great way to ponder oneself on a hot summer afternoon. Between that and 3 months in a sling, I have got to know myself really well.  See more paintings in my Greece Series.

Michelle


    blog 

    SNIPPETS FROM MY ART LIFE.

    Archives

    May 2022
    April 2022
    December 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    July 2019
    January 2019
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013

    Categories

    All
    Boats
    Characters
    Children's Illustration
    Diablo
    Gestures
    Greece
    Holidays
    Houses
    Illustration
    Interior Design
    Logos
    Open Studios
    Plein Air
    Restaurants
    Shoulder Recovery
    Watercolor

    RSS Feed

Artwork
Pet Portraits
​Landscapes
Still Life
​Illustration
Purchase
Online Store
Commissions




Follow
Michelle Rodes, 2022
  • HOME
  • PET PORTRAITS
    • CAT PORTRAITS
    • DOG PORTRAITS
  • ARTWORK
    • PLEIN AIR PAINTINGS
    • COMMISSIONS
    • ILLUSTRATION
  • ABOUT
    • EXHIBITIONS