"Ah, New York in the Spring"/ 21 Days to Midsummer

    So several friends of mine have traveled to New York City this past spring, and many of them are there for the summer. When I was challenged to create a three animal hybrid I created the Frilled Lizatog which is a combination of the Frilled Lizard, Rat, and Dog. I was thinking about what kind of creature might form in the miles of underground sewage that exists under downtown new york, the resulting creature made me smile.

"Ah, New York in the Spring"
Gouache on Paper

Having worked very little with Gouache it was quite an interesting experience, and i've found it was basically a giant battle against the flattening nature of the paint.

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"21 Days To Midsummer"

21 Days to Midsummer's Creator,
Benjamin Frankenberg

    A good friend of mine and extremely remarkable actor, Benjamin Frankenberg, created an artistic endeavor called
21 Days To Midsummer in which he challenged artists to essentially record the daily adventures and inspirations from the world around them, spanning from the start of June to Midsummer (June 21st).

It is a phenomenal celebration of both life and the arts. All were invited to document their journeys in whatever medium and style they choose, as well as whatever seemed most applicable to the situation (Paint, Photograph, Drawing, Poem, etc.). Then at Midsummer he has plans to throw a celebratory party and presumably post his own adventures and ask others to do the same. To read more about the sensational event, click here.

Unfortunately I have been traveling for most of the beginning of June and have taken quite awhile to unpack and settle myself in. Now facing the last few days of the event I find myself lacking, and worse for it.

However, the challenge to make every day a memorable experience has never been far from my thoughts, and if I were to think about it i'm certain I could make an itemized list of every single day and state the extraordinary experience I had therein. The only regret I have is not even sketching, writing, photographing, or otherwise recording the occurrences in any way. Jealously guarding my journey, unwilling to reveal it to the world in a physical form.

But all in all, even entertaining the idea of making every day count, and living with artistic purpose, made all the difference.


Until next time,
~Elise Mesnard

Monster Series

So awhile back I started a monster series and once everything calms down I'd really like to start them back up. The first one I did is called Chrom-Luach

"Monster: Chrom-Luach
Feeds solely on the Eyes of the Innocent, when nearing starvation, will gouge out and consume its own eyes. Such being poisonous, it will then proceed to vomit an acidic paste which can be smeared over one's eyes to induce prophetic visions."

 The next is called the Eldingar Hestur.


"Monster: Eldignar Hestur
Rides on the stomclouds before battle and appears to the future victor as a powerful warhorse. Its tail is made of lightning which is thrashes about, causing all it strikes to become blind and deaf."

I'd love to be able to make an entire bestiary of them as well as individual prints.

I already have one fellow artist that wants to pay me for a print of Chrom-Luach so now I just need to get my stuff in order and do it!

Patient 001 (Case Study: Anorexia Nervosa/Melancholia) COMPLETE

    I just finished the painting I was working on from my mental illness series which has ties to the victorian era's treatment of mental patients, primary women, and the societal idea that the illness was a "disease of the soul". To read more about this painting, go here: Patient 001. The class critique went pretty well and it was received with the concepts it was attempting to convey so all in all i'm happy with the feedback. Its not smooth enough for my neoclassical-loving tastes and I intend to work on it more in the future once this layer of oil paint dries, but in the mean time- enjoy. 

Patient 001 (Case Study: Anorexia Nervosa/ Melancholia)

Oil on Canvas

3' x 5'

~Elise Mesnard

Patient 001 (Case Study: Anorexia Nervosa/Melancholia)

I just finished drawing my first patient in my "disease of the soul" series which delves into the victorian idea that mental illness was an affliction rooted deep within the soul. The first shows symptoms of nervous anorexia and depression. The former contains within it a skewed image of the patients figure, causing them to have an overactive fear of becoming obese.
To quote the good people at answers.com, it is a "psychophysiological disorder usually occurring in young women that is characterized by an abnormal fear of becoming obese, a distorted self-image, a persistent unwillingness to eat, and severe weight loss. It is often accompanied by self-induced vomiting, excessive exercise, malnutrition, amenorrhea, and other physiological changes." 
Its only fitting with the concept of self-loathing that I should already start to hate this painting a little bit. 
C'est la vie. 


~Elise 

ITS ALIVE!

This is the first mark among many that I make on this blog of mine.