Saturday, February 21, 2009

"IF: Instinct..."

...or in this case ...
"Flying by the seat of my pants!"



I am fascinated by the concept of "Artist Trading Cards"
and
recently have seen that several friends
have created them.
Sooo...thought I would play around Friday...
follow my instincts...
no plan whatsoever..."paintbrush first-straight in"
and simply see what might happen!
My efforts resulted in the "test" cards posted above.
Gosh...they are so small!
And now...what does one do with them???
Hmmm...
Anyone up for a trade? :)

Illustration Friday Topic: "Instinct"
February 20, 2009

"Good instincts usually tell you what to do
long before
your head has figured it out."
~
Michael Burke

"Instinct is action taken in pursuance of a purpose,
but without conscious perception
of what the purpose is."
~Van Hartmann


"Flying by the seat of one's pants
Definition: Deciding a course of action as you go along,
using your own initiative and perceptions
rather than a pre-determined plan
or mechanical aids."

22 comments:

yoon see said...

These are so beautiful!
Just a few test pieces and they turned out so nice! Do more Margaret and experiment more...you will get different version of beautiful cards!
I like to get involve with the trading card too when I am less busy after my students' exam:)

Unknown said...

I too have recently been noticing artists trading cards being traded, and have thought about getting a hobbie and collecting them. (i used to collect postcards when I was a kid!) Maybe its collective conscience, or simply that great minds think alike, or that bloggers just want something tactile? Anyway...I would love to swap...but I need some time to come up with some first. I will let you know when I have some!

Dee said...

These are sheer beauty! They leave me envious... but inspired. PLEASE keep on doing this.

Angela said...

These are beautiful! I used to do a lot of watercolor and ink, then moved away from it - but have had it on the brain a lot lately with all the doodling I've been doing.

So, do I risk making the doodling even MORE addicting than it already is - and possibly never finish any of the actual work (real paintings) that I've started finished? What I'm afraid will happen if I let it roam too far from my sketchbook. Or, since I spend so much time on it anyway, should I turn it into something I can do some thing with?

Dilemmas, dilemmas! :)

Marva Plummer-Bruno said...

Margaret - I love these! I've been doing ATCs for several years now for I used mixed media for them. I may have to see if I can make up some to trade with you! Marva

Kate (Cathy Johnson) said...

Oooh, pretty! I love that last one, especially, the colors just sing...

stapeliad said...

Wow these are great! I love the borders.

You said you want to trade?
I'll trade my cactus card from last Monday for one of yours if you want.

:)

marianne said...

I would love to trade!!!
They are gorgeous
And yes when I saw them first I was surprised how small they were!
You can click at my sidebar to see mine.
I am very addicted to these little pieces already.

Have a nice weekend!

Lindart said...

I just love these ATCs! I especially love the borders you do around your work. Very creative each time.

Anita Davies said...

Margaret riding by the seat of your pants suits you, these are gorgeous!
I'm always up for a swap.

soulbrush said...

and they have turned out so well...your instincts were right.atc just seem so small to work on....

studio lolo said...

I have a hard time creating in these small spaces too! Maybe one day I'll get some extra ones done for trading. Right now I have to finish enough for all the CM members :)

These are super fun and colorful, full of your whimsy!!

bubblemunch said...

These are gorgeous, beautiful.
I've heard more and more recently about ATCs (didn't know what they were for a long time!)
Yours rock! ... all of them.
Anyone would be extremely fortunate to get one of those in a swap!

sandy said...

They're gorgeous. I kind of wanna try this one of these days.

MuseSwings said...

They are beautiful! The non artist in me wants to do some scratchings on paper so I can trade with you. Are those actual size? What a lovely idea!

Teri said...

They are beauteous! I've never done these but I'm sure you won't have any trouble trading them.

3rdEyeMuse said...

these are better than terrific and I absolutely adore the first two - those colors!

oh yea, I need to make some ATC's ... would be thrilled to trade with you at some point. :)

stapeliad said...

Amazon has the book. :)

http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Flower-Book-Celia-Fisher/dp/0712349456/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235256836&sr=8-7

Mary Hanson said...

Beautiful cards. I'm so glad to find that I'm not the last one to discover this fun concept. I just made my very first card last week! I've been planning to post them as a series after I have a few more done. I would love to trade "first for first". How do we go about it?

Eveline said...

Call them ACEO (Artist Card Editions and Originals) and you can sell/buy them too. ;)

I love making these cards, whatever you call them. I agree that the size is a challenge, but that's why they're so much fun to make.

sddonlon said...

Hi Margaret!
These are WONDERFUL! The colors and the pen just make them pop. Very fun!

My husband just bought me a whole bunch of the Strathmore ATC blanks, so I'll have a bunch real soon! I'd LOVE to do a trade!!
Sherri in Sacramento

Margaret Ann said...

The last card...the red flower has now been taken...
I am so delighted that these ATCs are being enjoyed! :)