The Daily Portrait Project of Julia Kay

Send in the Clowns

2008-08-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

Can I Save the Cerulean?

2008-08-26T23:59:00.000-07:00

I'm finally going through all the old tubes of watercolors I've collected over the years, including many inherited from my mother, and seeing what I have and what condition it's in. The chemical data sheets for cerulean state that it ' tends to granulate or become chalky in watercolors' and indeed what's in the tube is not the usual sticky mass of dried paint but rather a crumbly powder. It is a fabulous color, and a tube runs about $12 so I'm trying to figure out if I can reconstitute it. I used it here for the 'sky' but it did not apply evenly nor in a proper watercolory manner.

Cap of Blue Hair

2008-08-25T23:59:00.000-07:00

If Nothing Else is Cooking, There's Always Blind Contour

2008-08-24T23:16:00.000-07:00

Right-handed this time...

Tennessee Valley Beach

2008-08-23T22:54:00.000-07:00

My friend, painter Anne Longo, and I hiked through Tennessee Valley and sat on the beach painting. I can't remember the last time I tried to paint 'en plein air' but it was easier to deal with now that I've had so much more experience with watercolors. I put myself in at the far end of the cove in my red hat and pants but I decided to leave out the dead beached seal.

Ow, I Banged My Head!

2008-08-22T23:17:00.000-07:00

But it's not as bad as I made it look!

Also, since I've complained so often I'd also like to give credit where it's due. They swapped around rooms next door so that we wouldn't hear Rawlston Masoniai's music as much, and when I called him this evening because it was still vibrating in the rooms nearest their house, he did immediately turn it down. So thank-you to Rawlston, we really appreciate it!

Spare Hands

2008-08-21T23:27:00.000-07:00

Playing with Shadows on the Studio Floor

2008-08-20T22:36:00.000-07:00

On the Aiki

2008-08-19T22:36:00.000-07:00

...for Guy Steven's 40th birthday party. The Aiki is Guy's boat - I was amused to note that the colors of paint chips used included regatta, speedboat, catamaran and victory. I wasn't looking at the names when I chose colors - I see in retrospect that I actually rejected kayak. And can you guess which of those colors are purples and which are yellows?

Urgent Rooter and Tiki Heads

2008-08-18T23:27:00.000-07:00

We were so pleased with the job Urgent Rooter did for our clogged plumbing last month, that I asked to pose with their equipment so I could do a portrait - it's just taken me a few weeks to get to it. And yes, there really are giant Tiki heads across the street.

Let Your Fingers do the Walking

2008-08-17T14:25:00.000-07:00

Peace

2008-08-17T00:20:00.001-07:00

In the immortal words of John Lennon, 'You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one...'

Ralph Lauren Power

2008-08-15T23:24:00.001-07:00

Another entry in my bad High School poster art series (the other one was my illustration of getting vaccinations before my trip to Thailand last year.) In any event, it sure looks political, but my only intentions were form and color and continuing to play with my 10+ years of collected paint chips.

More iPod Touch Squiggles Fun

2008-08-14T22:44:00.001-07:00

We take a break from this week's previously scheduled paper cuts, to bring you more silliness curtesy of the Squiggles program on my iPod Touch. This was based on my 2007.04.10 self-portrait, with overlays, tinting and distortion curtesy of Squiggles.

Hand of Many Colors

2008-08-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

Plaid Green Hand

2008-08-12T23:50:00.000-07:00

Ralph Lauren

2008-08-11T22:52:00.001-07:00

Makes the very best paint chips.

Driving My Car

2008-08-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

This weekend I made separate trips south to Los Gatos, east to Albany and north to Santa Rosa, making my unfortunate contribution to global warming.

Papercut of "I Think It's Level"

2008-08-09T14:50:00.000-07:00

At today's demo of kirigami for the Los Gatos Art Association, I demonstrated cannabalizing your own imagery for papercuts by making this piece based on my collage 'I Think It's Level'.

Kirigami!

2008-08-08T23:59:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I'm giving a kirigami paper cut demonstration to the Los Gatos Art Association, so this evening I made two kirigami paper cuts of my hands holding scissors. As you can see, they look pretty similar when folded up, but quite different unfolded.

Black Dog, Green Garden, Red Pants

2008-08-07T23:59:00.000-07:00

Oba & I in the Garden

2008-08-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

Guess I'm on a dog kick!

Marble in Color

2008-08-05T23:45:00.000-07:00

Marble Came to Visit us In Inverness

2008-08-04T21:31:00.000-07:00

She brought our friends Bruce & Gillian with her.

Ocean Beach

2008-08-03T22:43:00.000-07:00

Landscape is not my natural subject but it's always an inspiration. A week or so back printmaker Ruth Paesch and I bailed on waiting for the museum to regain power so we could see the Frida Kahlo show, and headed out to the beach instead.