Artist Trading Cards

Some of my "Orange" cards.
ATCs by Phillip Hoyle

Orange was the theme for Thursday night's Swap, Make, and Swap Some More session. I wondered what I would do and opted for the color orange. Eventually I decided to do some florals. (I know the illustrations here may look red, but in reality they are orange and red orange.) I took two pages of orange flowers (18 ATCs) and another of mixed colors (blues and purples). The trade was great fun as always.

Cards with "Words and Letters"
ATCs by Phillip Hoyle

In a couple of week there will be another trade at CORE New Art Space in the Santa Fe Arts District (always the second Saturday of the month, 10-12 noon). The topic for that session is Words and Letters. I've completed three pages of cards, one of which is shown here. Messing with such graphics is one of my big buzzes in the ATC world. I had fun but I won't be able to trade since I will be out of town. I'm sure I'll find someone to trade with later.

I keep discovering new ideas through making these trading cards. They serve me as a low cost, slight use of materials and supplies way to experiment. Give them a try; make baseball size cards 3 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches. Check on line for artist trading cards to see what's happening around Denver and all over the world. You'll be amazed. Make some and come and trade with other artists. 

Denver, 2015

The Printer's Edition

If you squint you can make out the
signature and numbering.
Prints by Phillip Hoyle

I finally did it, completed a goal I didn’t even know I entertained. Sometimes I am modest to a fault. Now I have printed a numbered edition of 12 prints of the trees I showed about three weeks ago. I have gone so far as to sign and number them.

Now it’s on to Artist Trading Cards. Two topics are coming up fast: ‘Orange’ and ‘Words and Letters’. The first reminds me of the orange paint a grandson picked for a group of paintings we were doing together. I thought I hated the color until I started working with it and watching him do likewise. I still don’t often grab for the orange but guess I had better do so soon.

On the other hand, Words and Letters seems perfectly suited to my work. I’m making some tiny weavings with pages from books and newspapers in different languages. I will also make several figures using letters as the structure for the designs. I haven’t quite decided whether to do people, animals, plants, or abstracts. Guess we’ll have to wait until next week to see if I have come up with anything.

In the meantime I am sure to play around with many ideas.

Of course, the greatest accomplishment of my week was to file my income taxes on time. I’m pleased.

April 2015

Circus Big Top

The theme for the Artist Trading Cards swap at CORE New Art Space last Saturday was Circus. I had thought and thought about the theme recalling circuses of my childhood, especially one that set up west of town with a big top and side shows and of course lots of animals. I made some ATCs of the theme that required a three-panel as they are called among swappers. They got snapped up right away at the trade. I treated the image in three different ways.

Making these tents was great fun and reminded me of many details both seen at the circus and in movies about circuses. But the circus isn't just tents or just the three rings inside the very large big top. It's much more and I had to work more to capture some if the fun.

After the tent is set up, the performers begin practicing to make sure everything is safe for them and the crowd. That's when the color increases and the anticipation grows. Of course there are clowns, but I had made clown cards galore in the past year. I thought and thought and got the idea to do a tribute to the NY artist Keith Haring. So with apologies to his memory, I presented some of the circus people and animals a la Haring with cards I titled Keith Haring Meets Barnum and Bailey.

I mostly hope you, dear reader, have a good art week!

Denver, 2015

My Favorite Color

RED is my favorite color. It has been so since as far back as I can remember. Perhaps we were asked to tell what was our favorite color in some elementary school class. I don't recall, but I do remember a red sports coat I wore in seventh grade and recall telling people all my life that red was my favorite color.

The hue shows up in a lot of my artwork. One perceptive artist in the Artist Trading Cards groups I attend knows that about my work. So he was pleased when he saw a group of nine cards--white backgrounds with red printing and black drawing on them. He took two of those cards. I replaced them so I still have nine cards to show trade. 

I'll be taking them to a trade at CORE New Art Space in the Santa Fe Street arts district on Saturday.

Denver, 2015