The “Exquisite Doodle” Artist Project, Post 19

by Alex Mitchell

Paula Joerling - Going to lengths to be a good friend.

I was delighted to receive Paula’s Exquisite Doodle box from the good old Southern state of Georgia.  Paula has a keen eye for design, color, pattern, and texture.  I especially like it when she incorporates maps into her mixed media collage works.  Photos: ©Paula Joerling

Paula’s drawing style is so much fun!  On her scroll she wrote me a message that reveals her joy of traveling…

which is probably where her love of maps comes from.  And here’s a map I made a while back.  Maybe Paula can use it to come visit me someday?
Photo: “La-La Land,” ©2008 Alex Mitchell

Wherever Paula goes and whatever project she gets involved in she does it with lots of heart, like these mosaics she made working with kids from the Boys & Girls club to adorn the sidewalk of Luckie Street in Atlanta about ten years ago.  Photo: Luckie Street, Downtown Atlanta, ©Terry Kearns

I’m lucky to be doing a letter-writing project with Paula right now, and this finished letter is sitting on my desk.  On her lovely blog she tells you all about it:  http://www.paulajoerling.com/2012/07/foreign-correspondence.html.

Here is the way the scroll turned out after Paula doodled in the white spaces I left for her!  See Post 15 to compare.  Scroll pic 1 of 3,

scroll pic 2 of 3,

and scroll pic 3 of 3.

Paula has beautiful mixed media collage works for sale on her etsy site:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/PaulaJoerlingStudio.  Photo: “Perfect Ensemble,” ©Paula Joerling

I had fun adding one more touch by painting the interior of Paula’s box!
I hope she likes it!

Paula always manages to squeeze in a bird or two!  This one she added to my tree.  And that’s it!  “…Soup and wine with a friend, the end,” or maybe it’s just the beginning?!

The “Exquisite Doodle” Artist Project, Post 18

by Alex Mitchell

Bob Seal - Trust in the heart!

I was thrilled to receive Bob’s Exquisite Doodle box all the way from Australia.  His work is so beautiful that I could hardly wait to see what he did to his scroll.  Photo: Bob working on his woodcut “Madonna of the Chook Shed,” ©Bob Seal

To my delight, I found that Bob had doodled with paint in the interior of the box.  And then I saw his scroll...

Bob’s drawing style is simply amazing.  And he left me beautiful messages like this one.   

I have to share that I once made a “sign post” of my own in the same spirit as Bob’s message.  Photo: “Free Cake,” ©2008 Alex Mitchell

Here’s another example of Bob’s style and wonderful sense of humor from his site http://advaitatoons.blogspot.com.

Here is the way the scroll turned out after Bob doodled in the white spaces I left for him!  See Post 17 to compare.  Scroll pic 1 of 3,

scroll pic 2 of 3,

and scroll pic 3 of 3.

Another great place to see more of Bob’s work is his site http://bobseal.tumblr.com.

Photo: “Hide and Seek,” ©Bob Seal

See, I told you he painted the interior of his box!

Trust in the heart!  Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon… there’s another post coming your way real soon!

The “Exquisite Doodle” Artist Project, Post 17

by Alex Mitchell

the hand that sees all…

“Eye Am What Eye Am,” for Bob Seal

For the cover image of Bob’s box I was inspired by his own artwork.  He recently shared some drawings with me that had little eyeball-people (creatures that had an eyeball for a head and tiny bodies).  I was going through some old postcards and came across one of Mexican imagery of a hand and the words “La Mano” underneath.  So, Bob got an all-seeing hand on his cover.  I also drew for him a silly little cartoon on a tiny scroll in honor of his own cartoons as an accomplished illustrator.

Silly cartoon on a tiny scroll.

The outside...

and looking inside.

The way the scroll starts...

and ends.

The “Exquisite Doodle” Artist Project, Post 16

by Alex Mitchell

that little creature in the tree…

“Starlight Serenade,” for Lisa Kaser

For the cover image of Lisa’s box I was inspired by her own artwork.  Lisa has a way of stripping an illustration down to the bare essentials:  color, humor, and real feelings.  I painted a little creature clinging in a state of bliss to a tree as stars dance and sing overhead.  The painting kept transforming every time I would work on it, and in the end it strikes me as if the trees themselves seem to be moving around like snails, something I thought Lisa could appreciate.

The little guy in the tree.

The outside...

and looking inside.

The way the scroll starts...

and ends.