50 Things: Aesthetics Edition

For those new to the program, every once in a (great) while when I feel like things have been getting a little too negative on the blog I'll do a 50 Things list. Fifty things that I like, that is. Or that make me happy. Or whatever, so long as it's on the positive side. This time around I thought I'd give myself a challenge and see if I could come up with a list focussed on the artistic side of life. I'm giving myself a little leeway here by calling it aesthetics, but that's mostly just so that this doesn't become a list of only painters or only colours or only carbon pencils. That'd be tricky. Erm, all of the above are allowed to appear on the list, by the way, and probably will.

Are you ready? Keep in  mind that I'm doing this entirely on the fly, so I have no real idea of what's going to come out:

1. Spiders. Yes, spiders. I find them aesthetically pleasing, in case you hadn't noticed. They're built very well for what they do, and there's a beauty to that. Just check out the Thin-legged Wolf Spider on the typing stand above. Kind of pretty, right? She's been my morning companion, you know. Doesn't talk much, but keeps the place bug-free.
2. Carbon pencils. I'm in love with carbon pencils. Absolutely sensuous to work with.
3. Lilies. Fantastic bold lines.
4. Interesting paper. And note that interesting doesn't necessarily mean expensive.
5. Renoir. A bit cliché, I know, but really my first introduction to impressionism so I'll always have a soft spot there.
6. Black paper. I like the occasional challenge of not being able to erase my mistakes. Only occasionally, though.
7. Branching patterns.
8. Patterns in general.
9. Diagonals.
10. Leaves. Leaves are a great way to practice drawing what's really there as opposed to what you think a leaf's supposed to look like.
11. Purple. Like the Early Blue Violets below (which are purple, despite the common name). They're all over Dad's yard right now.
12. Ok, violets of any colour.
13. Smudging. When it's on purpose, that is.
14. Moleskines. And I hate that I do, because it feels like I got sucked in by the advertising.
15. Watching people create almost anything. Even industrially. Remember the motorcycle-building shows that were all the rage a few years ago? I was heavily into them. And I haven't been on a motorcycle since I was a kid. Um... it was with my uncle, I should say.
16. Tulips.
17. Learning the thinking behind artistic choices.
18. Dale Chihuly. Well, his work. I honestly don't have an opinion one way or another about the man himself. But if you ever get the chance to see Chihuly in the Hotshop when PBS reruns it, watch. You'll be amazed.
19. Rich wood grain. You know, like an old library. I don't understand how people can paint over that sort of warmth and comfort.
20. Watching work progress. Someone I follow on twitter is currently tweeting photos of a mural that he's working on and it keeps interrupting my thought process here, to be honest. Not that there was much thought process to begin with, but...
21. Making myself get messy. It's completely against the grain for me, but every once in a while I just really need to open up my mess of a mixed media journal and make it even more of a mess.
22. Texture. It's one of the reasons that I've not had much urge to learn to paint. The brush is too much of a barrier to the media for me. Maybe I should take up fingerpainting?
23. Monet. Again with the impressionists, yes. I like impressionism, I guess.
24. Greens. Plural.
25. Actually getting something right. I spend too much time not liking my doodles, I'll admit.
26. Water drops. Take a closer look at water droplets on leaves or flowers after the next rain. Thousands of tiny magnifiers, really. Which leads me to...
27. Seeing things in a different way. Magnified, stripped down, opened up... whatever. I like seeing different facets of familiar things.
28. Daffodils. Geez, lots of members of the Liliaceae today. Not too surprising, though. I really do like the lines.
29. Am I allowed at this point to say flowers, period? I'm going to anyway.
30. Being surprised by a style or genre that I didn't think that I liked. Has anyone out there seen one of the seasons of Work of Art: The Next Great Artist? I'm not going to debate the merits of the works as actual art (and the whole idea of artists even competing like that) because I'm up in the air about it myself, but the show does have the advantage of introducing a person to methods of working and end results that you might not have even remotely considered in the first place. Stretching your boundaries is always a good thing.
31. Just plain doodling without an aim. I don't do enough of it at the moment (well, I don't do any of it until my wrist heals a bit more), and I need to make an effort to start again.
32. Hidden detail. Things you won't notice the first time around but surprise you the second or third.
33. Crud, am I only on 33? Ok, unexpected results, as long as it's not in something I'm doing for work. Work stuff needs to turned out as planned. Nature of the beast.
34. Inktense pencils. I kind of suck at using them still, but I'm having fun with the mistakes at least.
35. Trying out new media on someone else's dime. In other words, thank you to my enablers who keep giving me gift cards for things that I'm far too cheap to ever think about buying with my own money (yeah, I'm laughing at myself here, but it's true).
36. Masking fluid. It's still sort of a new toy for me, but other than the smell it's kind of fun.
37. Really good soft graphite pencils.
38. The Group of Seven. Being Canadian I grew up seeing their stuff on calendars and things like that to the point where it was boring and routine. A number of years ago, though, I was lucky enough to see many of the actual works on display in Ottawa and... wow. In person you really get what all the fuss is about.
39. The way things are put together in nature. Growth patterns, things like that.
40. Being nearsighted. And this is the only place you'll see my myopia on a "like" list. Overall I'd rather not be nearsighted, but I think it's given me more of an appreciation for detail.
41. Digital cameras. I said before that I like seeing things in different ways, and digital cameras allow me to do that without the worry of the cost of developing a bunch of wasted film. Sure, film photography has more craft to it, but digital has the freedom. I mean, just try googling camera tossing. Would that have ever happened without digital?
42. Lichtenberg figures. Look it up. They're amazing. Frozen lightning.
43. The internet, for making it so easy to find art.
44. Shells. Again with the strong lines. I suppose I'm not really into fussy.
45. Art stix. Another thing that I'm still figuring out how to use. Maybe I like things that I'm incompetent with, I don't know.
46. Pewter. Or, rather, neat things made from pewter.
47. Coloured gemstones. Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but aesthetically I find them fairly boring.
48. Butterflies. And moths, actually. And ladybird beetles. Insects add interest to flowers for me. Like a brooch on a nice jacket. Shut up. That's not weird.
49. Having an art gallery at work. It'll probably be gone with the upcoming renovations, but I'll certainly miss the opportunities it's brought along with it. Opportunities of all sorts, including having some of my own stuff exhibited (which I never would have imagined happening in... ever).
50. Soluble graphite. Ink wash without the ink, and at least partially erasable (thank goodness).

There. That's fifty. I'm not going to read them back just now since I've been called for lunch, but when I do I'll no doubt cringe. Ah well. The cringing is all part of the... fun?

Or whatever this was.

Type at you later.