Saturday, April 9, 2016

New Work: Lyle and Shirley Throw a Party

Lyle and Shirley Throw a Party
image size 11" x 14"; painted papers on art board
As a kid I can remember reading storybooks. I inherited quite a few from my brother who is six years older than me. Many of the books pre date my birth year of 1970. The illustrations are dated now of course but the images and the words are still irresistibly charming in their simplicity. There is a real innocence about some of these books that I find to be wonderfully soothing even now. Many years ago my mom collected up what was left of the books and gave them to me. They sit on a shelf in my studio and believe it or not, I look at them fairly often. I find the stories to still be calming and familiar after all of this time. Over the years I have added to the collection with fresh books picked up at library sales or books that I have purchased new.  I find the illustrations to be refreshing and actually helpful in my art practice. 

The piece above wasn't initially inspired by anything. I started with the larger blue green piece on the right hand side. It was already cut into a sort of shape so I simply cleaned it up and trimmed it down to fit the space. That piece prompted other shapes and colors. Several of the shapes had been cut previously as experiments. I decided that now was the time to use them and in they went. Before I knew it, I had a little story going in my head about Lyle. Lyle is the main character in a book from my childhood. The book is titled Lyle and The Birthday Party and was written by Bernard Waber.  It's a lovely little story and as I was working this piece the blue green shape made me think of Lyle (who is a crocodile). I imagined him with one of my favorite contemporary artists, Shirley Jaffe. Together, Lyle and Shirley decide to throw a party. I also experimented with some new acrylic pens by Montana. I made some doodlings on the painted paper and used that for some of the pieces. I didn't really care for writing on the white space though. Give me time I guess.

OK, hope everyone is having a good weekend. Thanks for reading and commenting.

Libby

PS-Here is the Lyle story line in a nutshell: Lyle is a crocodile who lives with a family. The little boy of the family has a birthday party and Lyle, normally a fun and generous sort of crocodile, becomes jealous. His jealousy upsets him so much that he becomes ill. Once at the hospital (for humans), Lyle redeems himself by helping the other patients. He feels better and when he gets home, the parents have arranged a surprise birthday party just for him. 

13 comments:

  1. Libby, your own storytelling about your art process is as engaging as any book I've ever read, children's or otherwise. (Though I have my own wonderful collection of children's picture books because I've never lost my desire to enjoy their captivating charm.) And thank you for introducing me to Shirley Jaffe's work. I loved seeing her work. As I love seeing each and every new creation of yours. Brava! This one is another winner in my eyes.

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    1. Carol,

      Thank you for such a nice comment! Aren't children's book just wonderful? I find them inspiring and soothing somehow. I guess we never outgrow them.

      And thank you for thinking that this piece turned out well. I like that I was able to use the acrylic pens mixed with the other painted shapes. I will be trying it again to see what else I can do with the idea. who knows right?

      Thank you again-your visit is appreciated:)
      Libby

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  2. Dear Libby - I have to agree with Carol Beth - your way of sharing your art process and how certain things trigger your art is always the best read. I love children's books and have even went to that special section in the library to enjoy the art and stories that are still being written. The old ones seem the best to me. "Wind in the Willows" is a favorite and I have that one on my shelf - illustrated by Inga Moore. Of course who can resist Beatrix Potter's art and stories?? I definitely can see a crocodile image in your work Libby. Very lively and moving piece. Hope you are having a great week. Hugs!

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    1. Debbie,

      You certainly cited some beautiful books. Such delicate illustrations and really, timeless I think.

      The story telling (for the blog posts) helps me out quite a bit. I get to sort out my thoughts about what I made and the posts also help me to keep up my composition skills. It's important to be able to write a few paragraphs; enough to convey some thoughts coherently and in an interesting way (I hope!).

      Glad that you saw the crocodile. It certainly had me laughing:)

      Thanks again for the visit and comments.
      Libby

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  3. Absolutely love this, Libby! So delightful and playful and a lovely design. I think you need to write your own book! :)

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    1. Judy,

      Thanks so much! It would be fun to write a book wouldn't it? You never know:)

      Thanks for the visit and comments. Hope you are doing well.

      Libby

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  4. I see volleyball games on a sandy beach in this piece. And We could learn a lot from Lyle. Fun piece Libby!

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    1. Lisa,

      Volleyball games works just fine for me! That is the fun part of these pieces. Everyone gets to have their own interpretation. I really like that part a lot.

      Storybooks hold a lot of wisdom don't they? sometimes much more than regular adult books:)

      Hope you are doing well and being creative. Thanks you as always for the visit and comments.
      Libby

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  5. Ah, children's books. So many words of wisdom in many, so many "large concepts" written in such a way that children and adults can understand! I've given children's books to adults at different times because the theme hits where they are at the moment.

    Your painting is delightful and engaging. So much to see and think about.

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    1. Carol,

      I have done the same thing! Just recently I gave a storybook to a friend of mine who got a divorce and had to start over. The Little Engine That Could seemed the perfect match:)

      Thank you for the compliment on the piece. I really had a good time making it and thinking about Lyle the Crocodile made me smile! (maybe I could write a children's book...)

      Take care and thank you for the visit!
      Libby

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  6. I enjoyed the story. Never heard of the characters before.
    The use of the pens making the curvy lines replaced the punch of the striped pieces you used before.. Right? I like them!
    You are off in a non- representational direction Libby, the abstract still there with recognizable shapes...to a teeny degree. You have my total attention. Thanks for writing such an intelligent post. It helps me understand and become engaged.

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    1. Julie,

      Got it about the pens and curvy lines right away! Smart cookie! I so want to love these pens and use them in my pieces but am really learning what that might look like. I thought I would just try the doodling and see what happened when I cut the shapes. As soon as I glued the shape down I saw immediately that it was very zippy! It fit well value wise too and so I added some more. I like the contrast a lot just as I like those stripes. So, we will see what else happens. I think I have some ideas:)

      I am unsure about the non representational aspect of things. I try to find most of my shapes based loosely on something I saw but still, they are abstracted. And some of the shapes are there purely for design reasons but end up being a part of the narrative anyway. I'll just have to keep at things to see how far I go in any one direction. There is such a wide latitude of choices!

      Thank you as always for your observations and comments. It's information that I use repeatedly. And I am glad that the little stories are helpful in some way. writing about whatever is occurring while I am working seems to add to the work for me.

      Take care and thanks,
      Libby

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  7. I impressed by the jealous story! It's so therapeutic. Wonderful self-healing!

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Thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it! I reply back in an email if you are signed in and I can see your address. Otherwise I will post the reply here under your comment. I tend to cut and paste my emails too so that others can experience the back and forth which I think is integral to blogging.
Libby