ashleywolff

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A picture is worth a thousand words!

A picture is worth a thousand words!

After sharing so many enjoyable stories through this blog over the past few years, I’ve made the move to a more visual platform where I continue to post stories, my latest work, news and more. Please join me on Instagram @ashley_wolff_art as the story continues… .

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Remembering my Amazing Mother

Remembering my Amazing Mother

Grab your coat and get your hat,

Leave your worries on the doorstep. 

Life can be so sweet

On the sunny side of the street.

Elizabeth Deanne Ibold, born November 10, 1928, at about 3 years old.

My mom, Elizabeth Deanne Ibold Wolff van de Velde, died on May 16, 2018 and I couldn’t manage to write a thing for 6 months. Then I wrote the 1st draft of this post.

Then I stopped…

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What on Earth is a HooDoo?

What on Earth is a HooDoo?

noun, plural hoo·doos.

voodoo. bad luck.

2. a person or thing that brings bad luck.

3. Geology. a pillar of rock, usually of fantastic shape, left by erosion.

If you picked #3 you may have visited the strangely wonderful Bryce Canyon National Park, Home of the HooDoos…not to mention-the mysterious eye in the sky! (hint, upper left)

What you can see on the Peek-A-Boo trail in Bryce…

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We are United States Strong

In 2011 Hurricane Irene severely damaged many parts of Vermont. In typical Vermont fashion, the citizens set to work repairing their state. Rutland residents Eric Mallette and Lyz Tomsuden created this now iconic image — a black silhouette of the state over green with the words “I am Vermont Strong,” emblazoned in white — with the, “simple intention of producing good energies out of the disaster.”

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A Mural to Celebrate Books and East Tennessee

Liz Garcia, a friend from Hollins University days and now a doctoral student in the Center for Children’s and YA Literature at the University of Tennessee had the brilliant idea of adding an original, reading related mural to the new quarters of CCYAL. She invited me to submit a proposal and we went from there.

I love working in a trompe l’oeilstyle, so I conceived a big, fat, open book…

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For the love of Goats

For the love of Goats

Two new kids moved in down the road. They are black and white and have cunning little hooves. Their names are Thor and Clementine.

Clementine

Goat kids have a certain vibe that enchants me. They are more playful than your average farm animal–leaping, frisking and gamboling, climbing on trees, seesaws and even children! They appear all over the place and my eye and paintbrush are always…

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Beachcombing with a purpose

Beachcombing with a purpose. Next time you are on a beach, try making a portrait from the trash and treasures you find.

I love the beach.

Maybe because I grew up in a Vermont-a landlocked state.

Sure, we had Lake Champlain, where I spent my childhood summers. It has a shore but not exactly a beach.

The unpredictability of what washes up on shore gives a beach LIFE! Nowadays there is a LOT of plastic, which is part what got me started making these beach portraits.

I have found so much trash on the…

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Here, Kitty Kitty!

This fall I discovered Paper Clay–and boy, have I been having fun with it. I found I could make multiples of objects by making an original and then a mold. I love dogs, but their heads are all different shapes and sizes. Cats are relatively uniform in shape, and by applying wildly different paint jobs, I could create a whole herd of them.

https://www.etsy.com/your/shops/AshleyWolffArt/tools/li…

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Painting Rocket

Anyone who knows me, knows I love Border Collies. I admire the intelligence that shines through in their gaze and their graphic markings that make them extra fun to draw and paint.

Recently I was lucky to be commissionedby his doting mama to paint a portrait of Rocket, a handsome western fellow. Lori sent a variety of photos and I chose several to work from. I liked his face in one and the…

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Welcome Spring!

After a long Vermont winter we all get a little blue.

We all need to get outside! We need to leave our coats and hats and boots behind. We need to wear sneakers, ride bikes, see some green, roll in the grass, play ball, ride a pony and dig in the garden. Spring fever is a real thing!

I recently visited the kindergartners at Orwell Village Schooland talked about writing and art, filling…

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Today's the day the Teddy Bears have their picnic

Today’s the day the Teddy Bears have their picnic

Assignment: Paint a picnic basket for the Henry Sheldon Museum’s 26th Annual  Pops Concert and Fireworks Display summer fundraiser.

Materials: basket, gouache paints, love.

Process: Get an idea, do some research, make a sketch.

You know me and bears, we seem to be inseparable lately.  So it wasn’t much of a leap to choose the lyrics to Teddy Bear’s Picnicas my inspiration. This version by Anne…

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This winter Middlebury Studio School invited me to teach a linoleum block printing class.

One block, carved and cut apart into 4 pieces. The artist separated the pieces, inked each piece in a different color, reassembled them, and printed them as one piece.

I chose Blick Readycut blocks for our projects because it is easy to carve. I wanted to the students to try making a multiple color print, like the one above, using just one block cut into pieces in order to prevent registration problems.

I prepared for the class by doing another two color print of one of my favorite subjects: Dogs.

Even though I planned this to be a two color print,  I carved it all as one piece. It is much easier to cut it apart later.  Carving the words became very tricky- probably because my design didn’t leave them enough room.

I often trim off any excess block beyond the design if I don’t want to bother carving it all out.

Once the block was completely carved I used an exacto knife to cut it apart into two pieces.

After my students created a design, reversed it and transferred it to their blocks, they began carving away any part of the block that they DIDN’T want to show in their print.

Once the block is carved and cut apart, each piece is inked using a brayer. The paper is laid gently on top of the inked block and the back of the paper is rubbed with a hard smooth object-such as a spoon or baren.

Finally comes the Ah Ha moment when the paper is pulled and the finished print revealed.

In the end my dog print was only a partial success. The carved quote part was a mess so I discarded it and added some hand lettering instead. Hand adorned giclee prints available here.

For our last meeting I brought in large, cotton tea towels that could be printed using the blocks carved during the class. There were no rules but this was one beautiful and orderly result.

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Teaching Linoleum Block Printing in Vermont This winter Middlebury Studio School invited me to teach a linoleum block printing class. I chose…

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In March I had the excellent assignment of teaching about 500 students in Northern CA a new art technique.

The parameters were rather strict:

It had to be FUN!

Set-up and clean-up had to be reasonable.

Each session would include up to 100 students and would be held in the echoing cafeteria.

The project had to be started AND completed in one hour.

Students would walk away with a piece of art that was basically dry and portable.

She looks like she had fun!

The technique I chose to teach was Pastel blending with mineral oil.

I designed two projects to appeal to my range of ages. My 1st group was 1st graders and we started with a direct draw of a hen and chicks with the help of a document camera.

They all drew with pencil, traced with Sharpie and then started coloring with oil pastels.

Using a document camera I showed how to draw a hen and chicks.

We passed out regular oil pastels and told them to color roughly-leaving areas of white paper would work to their advantage. Some followed this advice…

Once the chickens were colored it was time to use secret sauce (mineral oil)and magic wands (cotton swabs) to make these drawings into oil paintings.

mineral oil in paper cups-1/4″ is plenty

regular cotton swabs

I counseled using a different cotton swab tip for each color, but just like any other painting technique, if you want to, you can make all the colors blend together and end up with a lovely muddy result!

With 2nd grade and older I taught them how to draw a flying, fire breathing dragon. We followed the same process of direct draw, Sharpie outline, pastel drawing, and oil painting.

  These are great before and after examples showing how the rough coloring results in the smooth final painting.

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I also tried teaching the dragon to a T-Kindergarten class and saw some amazing results.

I love how this little guy attacks his coloring and painting with such purpose and enthusiasm.

Was it Fun? Check!

Set-Up and Clean-Up Reasonable? Check!

Possible with Crowding? Check!

Started and completed in an hour? Check!

Ready to go and Portable? Check!

    “Painting” Chickens and Dragons with Oil Pastels In March I had the excellent assignment of teaching about 500 students in Northern CA a new art technique.

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Joining the team at the 2018 Tunbridge World's Fair

Joining the team at the 2018 Tunbridge World’s Fair

Teamwork is everything in my business of creating picture books. The author/illustrator team, the author/editor team, the illustrator/art director team, all of the above and the marketing team, bookstores, librarians, teachers, parents, grandparents–ALL of us are on the team to get good books into the hands of children. So imagine my pleasure when I was asked by Robert Howe, Tunbridge Fair’s…

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While looking for something else I discovered Sam Cannon’s artwork and fell in love with his imagery and calligraphy. His eloquently realized animals, with beautifully hand-lettered quotations, spoke to a desire in me to do likewise. His tiny Petal Paper originals were particularly appealing.

When I looked into channeling his style I found I was fresh out of Petal Paper, so I just made my own version by wetting watercolor paper and painting  loose leaves and flowers.

Using these backgrounds as inspiration, I added figures and quotes that particularly resonated with me, keeping faithfully to Sam Cannon’s style.

As the paintings developed I added more leaves, flowers and stems around the figures and calligraphy, making the most of my watercolors.

I love the distinctive Sam Cannon ‘font’ and line arrangement. I experimented with different tools for the calligraphy.

I tried a more traditional opaque gouache approach with the dip pen on brown paper for this garden painting.

My favorite Thoreau quote is painted with white ink and a brush on the woodpile. These chilly chickadees are drawn from the flocks right outside my window here in Vermont.

I am using Schminke Aqua Bronze Rich Gold and Silver gouache to paint the metallic accents.

I learn by copying and experimenting and evolving. I hope to keep moving ever further from copying Sam and more into being entirely me.

As always, you can find my work for sale at my Etsy shop.

  Channeling Sam Cannon While looking for something else I discovered Sam Cannon's artwork and fell in love with his imagery and calligraphy.

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There are mushrooms EVERYWHERE! Days of rain here in northern New England have produced a sprouting, thrusting crop of fungus, some of them edible and choice.

Though I haven’t spotted any Chanterelles, like the ones Pumpkin is picking.

The shapes and colors of mushrooms make them fun to draw and paint. I have probably drawn them my whole life.

Lately I’ve been imagining them as tiny, secret houses.

You can own your own , hand painted mushroom cottage here.

Happy Hunting!

  There’s a Fungus Amungus There are mushrooms EVERYWHERE! Days of rain here in northern New England have produced a sprouting, thrusting crop of fungus, some of them edible and choice.

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The Ducklings Come to Hollins

The Ducklings Come to Hollins

For the 3rd year I have been creating and placing character cutouts around the campus of Hollins University during the summer term.   Each summer it is joy to choose which classic children’s book characters will be immortalized. Last year I chose to focus on female characters. This year the ducklings marched onto campus. To make them I first looked up reference from the original book, Make Way…