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@marsjeffries

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Mostly things and stuff I make somewhere along the Hudson.

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Mural for @thefitinn

The brief was “…Overgrown?”. Tony’s favorite color is orange and Molly’s a redhead that looks good in jewel tones. They were good clients.

Painted with spray paint and swatch samples from the hardware store. by @marsjeffries

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a year ago

So I started this experiment where I sketch in the form with my left hand, and then refine and add color with my right.

I want to look into this more; I’d thought that the right brain was better at free-wheeling creative flights of fancy stuff and the left brain, being more ANALytical, would give me more spatial sense and help with discerning proportion.

Turns out: the opposite. While the right hand has much better dexterity, he’s all over the place and kinda seems like he’s off the leash and does his own thing; a very petulant teenager vibe to the enabling parent brain.

The left is much more the diligent student and like a typewriter works from the top down and listens to the coordinated communiqué from the eyes that tell the brain that tell the hand where to go and what to do.

However; the diligence and attentiveness is compromised by the dexterity to a large degree so then we bring in the old show Queen right hand to finish off the image in some (probably) superfluous flurry of flourishes. Obviously she had her passive aggressive assistant write that.

It’s a very master and apprentice kind of vibe, but one which will surely see the apprentice surpassing the set in her ways diva of the old guard. Maybe they’ll both find their spiritual middle ground. But it’s working all right for now.

Anyway here’s some drawings continuing my figure drawing journey this week.

I think the times were 2o mins, 1o mins, 5, 2’s and 1’s.

Done @greenpoint_figure_drawing @bigobjectstudio, which held a real chill and on point drawing session. Excellent model, set up, lighting(!), materials should you need them, like boards, but plenty of actual TABLE space(shock), and good lord, a supply of drinking water with normal sized cups. Actually the more I remark on it-maybe the best figure drawing I’ve been to. Well, they are pros.

Hope you had a good poop.

#figuredrawing
#lifedrawing
#nude
#drawing
#queerartist by @marsjeffries

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2 years ago

I used to go to drawing sessions with a small supplies store’s worth of materials. Like one of those rare lil indie boutique ones where you kinda wanna just get like a pen or something and gaze at all the moleskines that you could easily get at Barnes and Noble but here there’s just… something different and then “Ahh..” you realize what it is, the prices, yes. But you’re there already so maybe just… something.. “This postcard-sized watercolor book looks appropriate, and it’s worth it cause, yeah, I’ll watercolor on it and send them to friends. So really, it’s like a gift.. totally worth it.”

I would splash around at these drawing sessions trying to throw everything at the page. While, if I was lucky enough to have enough room in the circled ring of folding chairs made by a sociopath to prop my ankle over my knee to balance a drawing board or just working on my lap, trying to deftly sneak a brush into a little vessel of water tucked away under my chair so it wouldn’t get knocked by someone, it wouldn’t, until I would. Or spill my coffee.

The results, shockingly, were inconsistent. Scattered, with brief glimpses of what I was going for.

What works for me the most now, at least in terms of enjoying the process, is limiting my options. I think there’s something to the relationship between limitations and creativity. Hard ban on wet media for any drawing session out of studio. And limited palette and materials. I love a pencil of color.* But I don’t need Scarlet lake, burnt sienna, moon splooge, mystic leaf or light topaz. We can make all we need with some basic bitch primaries or my favorite, CMYK.

Ok and sometimes a brush pen, but she fickle and moody so usually we don’t hang much anymore.

Oh and of special note; I was excited to try out my new favorite color #fantasmas pictured in the last slide.

If you read all this I hope you had a satisfying shit.

*Oh and speaking of; thanks to @keshet_tape for the PC descriptions of coloring media. I’m old and probly out of touch.

#figuredrawing
#drawing
#queerstuff
#queerartist
#queerart by @marsjeffries

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2 years ago

Some figure drawing. Want to bring life drawing into more of a regular practice, we’ll see. I mean there’s a lotta stuff I wanna do. The biggest barrier is just finding models and all that outside of a life drawing group. And time and space.

Toned paper always seems a bit like cheating, I feel like anything looks good. Like it’s nice to finish something that might not be, well, you’re best work even tho it was your best effort and still be like, “well the colors are pretty..”

Well sometimes “ok” is good enough. And I’m happy about this being my apparently singular annual post.

Do we post anymore?

Do we hashtag anymore? I dunno.

#lifedrawing
#figuredrawing
#queerartist
Sure that’ll do.

Ok bye by @marsjeffries

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2 years ago

Hand-lettered and subsequently vectorized and then 3 color screenprint on paper and tee.

The vision for this came to me pretty much entirely formed in early March 2020. Little did I know. It made me giggle as I walked to my neighborhood Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf through the pre apocalyptic setting that is La Cienega Heights,(the paradoxical name still gets me; The Swamp Heights? Marsh highlands? ok. And in LA fashion the actual name of the neighborhood is surely hotly disputed.)

When an idea makes me even crack a smile I generally feel it’s worth doing. Even if it’s something probably sardonic and layered with nuanced cynicism, it still gives me a check and balance when “everything” feels … questionable. Or when I feel like sinking into the swamp.

Swipe for a process sketch and a distressed version of a tee if you’re so inclined.

#everythingsfine
#screenprint
#printedtee
#lettering
#handlettering
#habdlettered
#marsjeffries by @marsjeffries

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3 years ago

A prototype from our Pride mugs @connormcginnstudios.

Lots of feelings about these.

It was an adventure that went at a kind of fever pitch pace. I’m over the rainbow(sorry?) with how the final result turned out. These were a lot of tomfuckery, waxing, glazing, waxing over glaze, waxing, glazing, crossing fingers, but also well worth it. I think.

#pottery
#pridemonth
#pride2023
#pride
#ceramics
#mug
#queerpotter
#mugshot taken in Makers Central, NY by @marsjeffries

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3 years ago

Poppy arrangement.

Spring 2023

This one ended up being my favorite out of the series of florals I did recently. A confluence of influences and inspiration most of which completely esoteric; from those Dutch Masters florals to the Marimekko slip cover my grandmother made for her sofa in the 70s. This is the one I look at and don’t feel like I wanna tamper with it.

#👌

#groundbreaking
#acryliconcanvas
#floralarrangement
#floralpainting
#poppies
#art
#acrylicpainting
#flowers by @marsjeffries

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3 years ago

Shot of my set up at the @makerscentralny mom day market, 5/13-14/23

Was super fun and the first time I put anything I made out of mud up for show and sale. The opportunity, resources and last minute pep talks courtesy of @connormcginnstudios were the crux of this even happening. Really proud of my little wall and probably prouder of the work the CMS team and I do at the shop, from spinning plates to building flamingos. Thanks to everyone who came and showed support and appreciation ✨🙏✨

#macgruber
#art
#ceramics
#marsjeffries
#makerscentral
#floralpainting
#painting
#pottery
#vases taken in Makers Central, NY by @marsjeffries

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3 years ago

automatic mandala morning meditation whatever thing. I dunno. Been reading a lot of Joseph Campbell lately and he talked a lot about Jung and his fascination(?) with mandalas. So I sorta interpreted an idea for a meditation exercise to plumb the subconscious and thought I’d draw some daily mandalas. I dunno if this would even “qualify”as a mandala but that’s what I’m calling it.

I really enjoy the whole automatic practices tho, writing, drawing etc. I never know what I’m gonna find, and the mystery is compelling. With the drawing practice it’s interesting to just let the pen wander, and pen is key, there’s no erasing, you gotta just go with it, commit. And I find like meditation, you’re not actively thinking really but more observing your thoughts and the lines give you something to do while you watch the thoughts parade by.

I dunno it’s a thing to do.

#automaticdrawing
#mandaladrawing
#mandala
#pen
#drawing
#meditation by @marsjeffries

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4 years ago

Glazed result of the plates I did with @connormcginnstudios for @makerscentralny little Sunday suppers they do. Connor calls the glaze Hudson, it may be my favorite glaze he’s got at the studio. I love all the variation.

#pottery
#tableware
#ceramics by @marsjeffries

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4 years ago

Flower arranging on some canvases. I don’t know what kinda flowers these are and I’m usually pretty good with id.

#🌼
#flowers
#art
#painting
#flowerpainting
#vanitas by @marsjeffries

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4 years ago

A plate I made.

This was a little tomfuckery with the slab roller, taking impressions with some “found materials”. Trash. It initiated a run of about 40 plates that actually used molds of some cardboard assemblages I made. They turned out ok. But a soft spot for this one.

This one waited patiently til the others were done. Then was glazed and the last one to be fired.

#pottery
#ceramic
#slabbuilt
#wabisabi by @marsjeffries

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4 years ago