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.

The “Exquisite Doodle” Artist Project, Post 15

by Alex Mitchell

an onion peel slide on a rainy day…
“Onion Rain,” for Paula Joerling

For the cover image of Paula’s box I was inspired by an illustration from a book by Ramona Badescu and Benjamin Chaud.  They are both wonderful illustrators and I think Paula would really like their work.  The image I remember is an onion peel spiraling down like a slide and a little bird crying big tears as it walked downward.  As I started painting for Paula, I was cutting out big blue drops and then the words “onion rain” popped into my mind.  I felt like sending Paula a little message about finding the fun in any given situation.  Even a rainy day can turn into a fun ride!

The outside...

and looking inside.

The way the scroll starts...

and ends.

The “Exquisite Doodle” Artist Project, Post 14

by Alex Mitchell

a night at the theater...
“To Be Or Not To Be A Flea,” for Tom Haney

For the cover image of Tom’s box I was inspired by his own artwork.  I knew I couldn’t give him a box without some kind of moving element.  Tom is a wizard of mechanics, making his sculptures move and tell stories.  His work has so many layers, starting with a poetic idea and ending with a moment of magic when we witness what happens.  I wanted his box to have doors so that there would be an initial element of surprise when he opens them to see what’s inside the little theater…

Doors closed.

Doors open.

The outside...

and looking inside.

The way the scroll starts...

and ends.

The “Exquisite Doodle” Artist Project, Post 13

by Alex Mitchell

the world is within you…

“Go Inside,” for John Frame

For the cover image of John’s box I was inspired by his vision as an artist.  I look at his current film project "The Tale Of The Crippled Boy" and I am completely inspired to continue my own artwork.  He reminds me to be fearless about the content of my work, and also to trust my process which is for me deeply rooted with my purpose for being here.  The link above will take you to a short video about John and his work which is truly wonderful.  As John says in the video when he quotes John Ruskin:

Fine art is that in which the head, the hand, and the heart go together.

The outside...

and looking inside.

The way the scroll starts...

and ends.

The “Exquisite Doodle” Artist Project, Post 12

by Alex Mitchell

 a hare’s point of view…

“Give The Rifle To The Hare,” for Keith Newstead

For the cover image of Keith’s box I was inspired by a scene from a childhood storybook called “Struwwelpeter” - a book full of now legendary cautionary tales that completely fascinated me as a child.  I’m not sure if Keith also grew up with this book, but I feel he would like the way it always puts the shoe on the other foot so to speak, like what I painted for Keith where a hare steals a rifle from a sleeping hunter and follows him around shooting until the hunter falls in a well (“The Story Of The Man That Went Out Shooting”).

The outside...

and looking inside.

The way the scroll starts...

and ends.