Gingersnap

Well, I'm officially excited about this historical romance project now!!!! One of the faculty members suggested that I actually blow up the image of one of my novels and trace it onto the canvas just so I could get the proportions exactly right. The two acrylic paintings that I have been working on are looking so disproportionate that it's not even funny! I showed them at the in progress crit on Tuesday alongside a large scale litho crayon drawing. It seems like everyone likes the drawing more. Hmmmmm........I don't know what to think about that. I love it myself, but painting is very fun, especially mixing colors and imagining what these fancy clothes will look like in the end. I guess, we'll see what develops over the weekend.......

WOW!!!!!!!!!!! THIS NEW LAYOUT IS SOOOOOOOOOOO AWESOMMMMMMMEEEEEE!!!!!! Thanks, Jels. I love it. Really, really love it!!! Funny how this is so much more personal and unique to me than its shabby predecessor!!!!! The purple dots are very chic and the duckie under the umbrella is such a riot!!!!! OMG!!!!!! I'm just not over how insanely cute it is. It's the best pre-birthday gift ever!!!!! Thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

Happy birthday to my dear friend, Heather Caulfield!!!!! You're one of my bestest friends and one of the most talented painters that I've ever had the gracious opportunity of meeting. I enjoy your humor, your warmth, and your delightful personality!!!! I hope you're having a wonderful, spoiled time in California, but I do miss you immensely!!!! Love ya much, Janyce Images from www.myspace.com/heathercaulfield

(actual image of me and my tissue piles) I am sick as a dog. My throat is sore, my voice sounds horrible, and my nose is red from the constant wiping. The minute my nose runs, I feel a tingly sensation above my lip. (What is that area called anyways? The roof?) I greedily drank all of Tien's orange juice. Sadly, I still need more!!!! I missed two important school appointments because of this sudden affliction. I was supposed to meet with Emily to discuss internship possibilities (I have her for Fine Art Internship and it's week 5, I have yet to find a place to intern) and a studio visit from Matt D. @ 5:00 PM. But due to this sudden nastiness, I was forced to reschedule. Ugh!!!! But this email from Emily had me in high spirits today. You have been selected to be in a group crit with this year's Lightborne Resident Artist, Hank Willis Thomas. You can find out about his work at www....

LOL!!!!! These are so anatomically incorrect, but I'll fix them eventually. These are the first three I'm doing on a series based on historical romance (I read a lot of them!). I have appropriated some romance covers and have drawn Africans in the sensuous roles of virgin and master. I thought that it would be interesting to see "skin dark as coal with eyes the color of midnight" illustrated instead of "creamy milk white skin with wide-eyed blue eyes of clear blue water." The backgrounds are in the beginning stages, but they will be set in Africa with a significant animal, plant, or tree (or all) in the area. I imagined what the African world would be like if slavery hadn't been introduced. What if the English and Spanish invaders had taught them their language, their behavioral ways of eating, drinking, political thinking, socialization/romance, and of course clothing/fashion design? What if these conquerors let the Africans remain in their beautiful c...

I have a new idea for a series of drawings. I haven't done any black and whites for such a long while. I love sensuality and romance. Well, illustrated in books. I have read so many historical novels over the past few years that my mind has finally softened with touchy feelings of sinful pleasure and delicious decadence. Ideas just came into fruition after rereading this softly erotic novel by Virgina Henley. This old woman (not to be mean! It's cool that she is still doing what she loves and I only hope to do the same in when I get up there) is notorious for her scandalous sex scenes and passionately worded love play. I thought wow! I love corsets. They push the boobies up nicely and give an illusion of the tiny waist. I started thinking of beautiful African American woman with huge afros or sleek back, huge decorated hair buns and they're all wearing these richly adorned gowns with those corsets and shifts and whatnot. Would this manifested idea somehow be a part of my th...

I'm not good with these things. Of course our three instructors would say that that the most confident students go first. That statement is very true. Except well, I went last and I must say that though I showed much enthusiasm, I had none. I was nervous as hell and sprouting incomplete sentences left and right. Plus I wasn't looking at my notes correctly. I kept making sure to look at the audience, smile/laugh, and tell the wacky tale of what happened at the Days of Our Lives Charity Event. I made sure to talk about crazy women who cried, sweated a lot, and nearly fainted at the sights of the celebrities (I gained a lot of laughs when I said I was one of them). I received a lot of flack for not talking directly about my work and putting it far away from view. I was cursing myself because I knew that the best idea was to pass that small painting of James around, but I didn't. Big mistake. The way the teachers scored us was by numbered cards. Each of them had a pad from zero...