OUAH!

"OUAH!"

The owl historian apprentice has successfully time travelled to Paris and exclaimed "OUAH" ( like YES! Wow! in French). She's riding on cloud 9!

I used reproduction copies of an antique Parisian street map for the clouds, the big cloud is lined with French themed brass stampings, vintage watch faces and watch parts. A copper toned vintage tourist souvenir piece joins the owl as the focal point. Vintage pocket watch bezels are used as balloons here, well, this occasion definitely calls for some celebration! :D

This artwork measures 16 inches by 16 inches on canvas.

In The Time Tunnel

"In The Time Tunnel"

The time has been set to France in 1851. Contrary to popular time travelling beliefs, one does not travel at blasting speeds filled with blurry dizzy images. Instead everything is magnified and illuminated. One finds somewhat strange bizarre absurd sightings in the tunnel. Some of them are fellow time travellers while many are in fact old irretrievable memories and deep heartfelt sentiments. They, like anyone else, yearn to be remembered, not forgotten or forsaken. Memories which are retrieved will cease to loiter in the tunnel. The owl historian apprentice takes all she sees to heart.

This 2nd piece of the Time Travel collection measures 16 inches by 16 inches on canvas. Antique bisque figurines, vintage hardwares, clock watch parts and brass stampings are glued onto the canvas with trusty epoxy glue. I like how the owl look with the antique optical lens over her right eye :D

The Gears That Set History In Motion

"The Gears That Set History In Motion"

Finally, here's the first piece of my Owl Time Travel collection!

I made a wish on Christmas 2011 that I would wish to time travel to France in the 19th century, this 1st piece documents the moment when gears started shifting in my head for this possibility. It turned out quite different from the sketch that I showed in the previous posting, especially the background. I thought a dark and almost black background gives that mysterious sense of imagination.

This artwork measures 16 inches by 16 inches on canvas. The owl is embellished with vintage clock and watch parts acquired from a watch parts dealer from Eastern Europe. Her head is layered with mainly clock and watch gears, I added a bee in there too, inspired by the saying "I've got a bee in my bonnet!" !

Owl Art - The Frozen Seconds (Mixed Media Assemblage Collage Art)

Here's the 9th piece of my "Catching A Fleeting Moment" collection, The Frozen Seconds.

I wish time could stop in its' tracks for just for a few seconds, let me experience the sound of total silence, let me stroke the wings of a butterfly resting on a flower, let me admire the shapes of the passing clouds a little longer, let me memorize the silly grin on my dog's face ....let me hold a moment before it's no more.

The owl was painted on a slightly distressed vintage love song music sheet. Her eyes embellished with light purple pearls and her wings with milky white rhinestone gems. I used torn strips of decorative papers to create a shabby chic border. Fabric flowers, vintage inspired clock and key charms, buttons, creamy lace and butterfly appliques with rhinestone gems were layered and mounted onto the border.



This artwork measures 8 x 8 inches and 10 x 10 inches when framed.

Owl Art - Renoir's Summer 1880 (Original Mixed Media Assemblage Collage Art)

Here's the 7th piece of my "Catching A Fleeting Moment" collection, Renoir's Summer 1880.

If I could live for a moment in a master's painting, I would choose Pierre Auguste Renoir's Luncheon Of The Boating Party :D He portrayed 14 Parisians from diverse backgrounds enjoying a summer Sunday at Chatou, the Maison Fournaise along the Seine River. It was not just a group portrait, it was a scene, a moment in modern life that Renoir wanted to express through this painting.

Susan Vreeland's New York Times Best Seller, Luncheon Of The Boating Party is a vivid novel of what went on behind the scene of this materpiece. Through the author, I was being transported to the summer of 1880 where Renoir organized the setting and his models to pose for him over several Sundays and it was here that he met his future wife, Aline :D I would have loved to be the silent observer of the happenings while Renoir worked passionately on his canvas.There was an interview with Susan Vreeland at the last part of the book  and she expressed it so aptly that I couldn't agree more. When asked why she chose Renoir's Luncheon Of The Boating Party as a subject for a novel, here's her reply:

Besides being the central masterpiece of the art movement that changed the look of art forever, it represents the qualities of the French soul: joyous friendship, appreciation of beauty, verve, and the intoxication with life. It invites us to ask ourselves: How can one live a life so filled with beauty and so rich with pleasure?............what is the painting about? In part, it's about the tantalizing riches of the senses. It evokes sensuous experiences beyond the visual: the feel of the breeze on the skin, evidenced by the fluttering scallops on the awning and sailboats making their way upstream; the frangrance of the fruit that fills the nose; the taste of wine that enlivens the palate; the feel of one's surroundings - one woman's fingers in a dog's fur, the sun on another one's back; the sound of songs sung by boaters as they row past, and by the models to each other. They are sucking pleasure out of everything, valuing the last taste in the glass and the colors surrounding them, noticing the look in soneone's eyes and engaging in spirited exchange.

One looks at the painting and envies for an instant the characters' capacity to fill themselves with pleasure, to grasp the fleeting present and hold it as one might hold a bird before letting it go. The painting is imbued with this encouragement to notice the delicious details in life, to value the moment, and to each other. Seen in the press of high-speed living, it seduces us and urges us to stop and look and listen and taste and feel - and ultimately, appreciate. At its' best moments that's what fine art can do if we let it work on us."

This Blue French Letter fabric by Tracie Lyn Huskampm printed by Windham Fabrics is used as the background with the owl painted with bright summery colors. The owl's eyes are embellished with white pearls and her wings with sparkling gold rhinestone gems.

One of the major highlight of this piece is a miniature dollhouse framed painting of Renoir's Luncheon Of The Boating Party, measures about 2.75 by 2.25 inches. Found these petite glass Czech intaglio cabochons of sailboats which I mounted on vintage blue buttons, love the way they seem to sit nicely on the buttons.

Felt the need to include a vintage watch face here because Renoir was determined to complete this painting before the summer lights came to an end, time was of essence. At the bottom right corner is a yellow brass artist's palette, I added some paint onto the palette. Other border embellishments included wooden butterflies, french colored ribbon, antique metal buttons, rhinestone buttons,an antique gold stamping of the side profile of a lady (I wanted her to represent Aline, the woman with the puppy who eventually became Renoir's wife) and orange red poppy fabric flowers, those were the flowers found on Aline's hat :D

This artwork measures about 12 x 10 inches and 14 x 12 inches when framed.

Owl Art - Child Of The Eternal Garden (Mixed Media Assemblage Collage Art)

Here's the sixth artwork of my "Catching A Fleeting Moment" collection, Child Of The Eternal Garden.

This piece is one that reveals my thoughts about the ageing process, such a delicate topic. To begin with, I'm someone who is concerned about ageing. Even though I do my fair bit to engage in some daily age-defying acts and routines, deep down I know and we know that it does not halt the ageing process, it just simply slows it down and the eventual state is still a certainty. So then, the question is how to age gracefully? Investment on the inward part should pay off in the long term. Weariness of the heart can add years to a person's face, hence cultivating (I use the word cultivating because it's hard work, just like farming) a positive and vibrant thought life perpetuates the mind's rejuvenating process, I suppose it invites the child of wide-eyed wonder and drives out the adult who has resigned to fate.

In say about 30 years from now when I reach 65, I hope I will look just like this artwork :D Obviously with rust and age but with charm nevertheless. Almost everything is this garden is old BUT it's weed-free with blooming flowers and glimpses of jewel-ly sparkles.

 I had in mind to construct an antique European garden. This is an elegant French garden fabric, I tea-dyed it to make it look older than it originally looked. Painted the owl on the fabric and embellished her eyes with lilac pearls and her wings with light green rhinestone gems. You will see broken bisque porcelain artifacts such as the doll head and two dogs, they were dug out from a factory in Germany's doll-making region in the late 1800s-early 1900s.  I added some intricately-designed metal buttons from the Victorian era and vintage watch faces all around the border.

 I particularly love the antique-flavored verdigris patina stampings, that's why many of them are here. Someone from Latvia custom made these pretty fabric florals for me, getting the right florals was the most time consuming part of this piece but they were worth the wait :D

This artwork measures about 10 by 10 inches and 12 x 12 inches when framed.

Owl Art - Beethoven's Moonlight (Original Mixed Media Assemblage Collage Art)

Here's the first artwork of my "Catching A Fleeting Moment" collection, Beethoven's Moonlight. They will be available for purchase at my etsy shop once I finish posting all 12 artworks here.

It was one of those afternoons when you just want to listen to classical pieces and I chose Moonlight Sonata. After a while, I found myself drawn into its' beautiful haunting tunes and I ended up playing it all over and over and over again. I was stirred from within and this artwork was my response to the stirrings in my heart. Without any delay, I went online and hunted for a vintage piece of its' music score. It was a successful find, I was thrilled!

I then proceeded to sketch and brainstorm the elements and objects which I felt were in sync with the music's mysterious, enchanting and melancholic qualities.

First, I painted an owl on the music score and added white pearl cabochons around the eyes and sparkling dark indigo blue rhinestone gems (they really sparkle in person, especially when light falls on them :D) on the feathers.  Then I went on to embellish the border with an antique china doll head reclaimed from the site of one of Germany's famous Thuringia region doll factories, doll head was likely to be manufactured in the early 1900s. The other players include a vintage watch face, black lace, appliques, vintage buttons, shabby chic black and white floral fabrics and a custom made singed organza chiffon flower. (All elements were glued securely using trusty glue with industrial strength)

The artwork measures 12 x 10 inches unframed. When framed, it measures about 13 by 15 inches.

Stay tuned for more! :D