"Cold Inside"

"Cold Inside"
18" x 24"
Colored Chalk on Paper

I lost a big chunk of my thumbnail while working on this one.
It was worth it.




See other chalk drawings.
Learn more about Laura Converse.

Practice Makes Possibility

"Second Thoughts"
Approximately 6" x 7"
Acrylic on wood

Remembering

Some things should not be forgotten.

Grace

I finally used this piece of paper I'd experimented upon with leftover watercolor droppings, salt, and some clamps (to keep it from warping).  I've learned that wasting things is completely unnecessary in art making, and supplies don't have to be fancy in order for the art to be good.

For the drawing part, I used orange and white chalk, charcoal, and an eraser.

 

"Grace"

Knife Painting

This was an experiment with both painting style and with art supplies.  I used two gessoed sketchbook backs and the under-frame of a torn canvas, and I tried my hand at knife painting for the first time.

 

The tools I used.

See more paintings.

La Inferma

I used two little blobs of paint for this.  Watercolor is so much different than any medium I've ever used, and I think I like it.
As an experiment I soaked the paper in my sink for about ten minutes, and then used some clamps to hold it to a piece of wood and keep it from wrinkling.  It stayed evenly damp throughout the whole process, which helped the colors merge better.

I think for my first watercolor-only piece, it turned out pretty well.

See other portraits, art pieces involving watercolor, or check this piece out on my store.

She's Underneath

How this was made:

• First, I affixed some patterned paper to a piece of wood.
• Second, I created a stencil using a piece of scrap paper.
• Once the stencil was complete, I taped it at the edges to the wood and sprayed it with lime-green paint.
• Finally, I added a layer of red tissue paper, and scraped off bits of it.

See more mixed-media art here.

Prints and the original are available on my store.

Please Stop Me

I used some strange materials to create this image.  I started with a crumpled up piece of hp photo paper that was bound for the garbage.  I then did the sketch with a uniball pen, and splattered on some orange-red ink and—strangely enough—vanilla extract.

This small picture is available for sale in my store.

See more of my mixed media portraits.

The Boy in the Wall

Learn more about Laura Converse here or see more surreal photography here.

Guilt

This is an oil pastel drawing which I created in a coffee shop in downtown Bellingham.  I then scratched crosshatch patterns using a scratchboard tool.

See more of my colorful art pieces or drawings that involve blood.

Lau: a spray-painted portrait

"Lau." Made with a 12" x 12" piece of wood, spray paint, and glaze.

Into the Light (spray paint portrait)

Made of two 12" x 12" wood panels and dark green & grey spray paint.

Watercolor experiment: Unauthorized

5" x 7", watercolor and sharpie.

How It Feels to Know Too Much

This is one of my early spray paintings.  It's 12" x 12", with black, red, and grey gloss spray paints on wood.

See more stencil work here.

Precursory: Portrait Made with Cut Paper

This is what I did with some scrapbooking materials.  

I guess I didn't read the instructions.

 

"Precursory"

 12" x 12" 

paper and glue on wood.

See more paper art.

No Safety Net

rock bottom is bad,
but it's not so bad

remembering it is worse
looking down, seeing it far away
and knowing one could land there with one bad move
knowing one could damage many others with a single slip

rock bottom really isn't so bad

i've met orphans, like this one, who don't seem afraid
even though they have no safety net

or maybe they are afraid
or maybe they think they can't fall any farther down

This is a 15-minute charcoal sketch from a photograph I took in Mombasa.

See more charcoal portraits here.

We are thirsty

They said they would give us water—so we came. We choked on dust, but we followed, our tongues hanging out in anticipation.

They gave us water. It came to us in shiny cups, glinting in the sunlight. We held out our hands, we held open our mouths.

But this water didn't quench our thirst.

This water cracked our dry lips, shriveled our tortured intestines.

Now we are more thirsty than before.

I have more portrait photography.  You can find it here.