November Girl

I haven't painted a girl in so long I must say she didn't really want to come forth at first. She didn't like her mouth so I have to gesso over the mouth and start again. That took a while. I have been doing Monica Zuniga's face drawing class. We are drawing with pencil so translating all those shadows into paints is another animal altogether. I have such trouble with blending acrylic on faces so I did an unspeakable thing...shhhhh..I combined acrylics with Shiva paint sticks and I am afraid some acrylic got on top of where I had blended with the Shivas especially around the hair line. Don't tell anyone, ok? I actually think the Shivas blend the face the best--at least for me at this point. I use my finger and blend and if it isn't the right color just blend again with a better color. The background is a gone wrong background---that's why she is in the corner covering up an ugly area.

Do any of you watch Dancing with the Stars? Does she look a little bit like Cheryl Burke to you? Well, maybe...

On the second image I applied some edges from my Graphic edges program that I paid an arm and leg for but hardly ever use---arggg...so there, I used it!!! Looks pretty good!

Copic Girl

Still playing around with my Copics. I have been putting off drawing and coloring a face because well---I guess I was just chicken-- but I decided to draw one. At some point I am determined to learn how to draw hair better. I have watched Youtubes but when I start to do it I can't remember what they did---and what colors they used. And I don't have those colors--ahhh the colors---will it ever end? I hope I can take my Copics to the poor house. I smoothed the shadow

on her neck in PS.

Greenville Journal time

It's so nice to have an ongoing art journal because in the times when there is nothing to do---well, with an art journal there is never nothing to do. I wonder what people do who do do art or have that outlet. I guess they read and do other stuff. I like to read too but I am so funny about the books I read---they better catch me at the first few pages or I am back to the art journal in a flash. But I do SO love reading a good book! Almost as much as painting a successful picture or journal entry. What is successful to me? Something that I really like---now that's successful!

I will be driving home to Jacksonville tomorrow. I hope the departure won't bring too many tears. :(

Greenville Journal time

While we are sitting around and baby sleeps I have some time to paint in the journal. I have set up a little table where I keep my art supplies. It has been a wonderful time up here in Greenville with the new grand baby but I am so glad that I can paint here too. I have to create---it must be part of my existence because if I go too many days then I start getting the art shakes!  I will be going back to Jacksonville on Sunday to leave the new parents on their own. I am sure they will be just fine. All is well.

Portrait Practice in the Journal

I love the way Sharon Tomlinson paints her portraits. They are fast and free and ----great!  She

has now started videoing herself---yea!! so check out her videos. It's very interesting how she paints these portraits from dark to light and adding Titanium white. This portrait turned out ok although I don't think I quite got it using her technique. Maybe that's because she hasn't finished her videos about it yet so I had to wing it. I'm going to stay tuned to see her next video coming soon.

I like it Grainy!

I was playing around with this great transfer paper called Sheer Heaven. This is an inkjet print of a cropped girl that I transferred with the Sheer Heaven Transfer paper. I really like the "grainy" results from the transfer although these sheets are virtually "suppose" to produce an almost photographic image. I like it grainy though and hopefully these are the results I will continue to get. It depends how much you bone fold it I guess. Pretty cool effect. The lines around it is just a Pitt marker.

She Has Faith

This is on a flat 8 x 8 panel that started out as something completely different and evolved into this. Her head is a print on a material I recently ordered. It's called Lutrador and it looks similar to Tyvvek. There is a book out about how to use this type of fabric and I guess I need the book because I am not quite sure what to do with it. It's wasn't expensive. Anyway, I printed just the face on it and it came out quite fuzzy but then I painted over it with Shiva and I really enjoyed the surface. I have also found out that clear gesso helps to strengthen the image so I tried that and it come out a clearer image---but the point here is not to have a clear image or I would use paper. That's what this is along with acrylics, stamps, collage napkins, some brush lettering alpha stamps, and a little metal charm that says faith.

Also the lace on her dress is "rusry lace" from Carol Sloan. She has it for sale in her etsy shop. She is a new blog friend and wonderful artist. The lace doesn't show up that great in the picture but in real life it is fabulous!! Love that rusty lace, Carol! (hint hint)

A Very Great Lady and Noble Princess on a Tattered Old Book Cover

I really enjoyed creating this and I think it is because it is something new that I tried. The girl's face is an original painting but I pasted her on and added some stamps to the background of the tattered black book cover. Her dress is collaged and I painted the collar. I went on a tattered book hunt and decided that I would not pay more than $5 for any tattered book. Surprisingly, sometimes the more tattered the more expensive the book is because it is old. But I did find some interesting tattered covers that I hope to incorporate some paintings on them. I actually won't use the ribbon when my antique brass chain comes in. Then I will swap it out. I found the text out of one of the old books. She is 5 x 71/2.

Portrait Practice in the Journal

The one thing that I have been searching for is to find out what medium paints the best face---for me. I have tried watercolor, acrylic, Caran d'Ache and Shiva and the winner is---as of today---Shiva Oil Sticks. I didn't really know the way to use them so I just decided to use them like any other oil paint and add some Gamsol. So this is the result. She probably doesn't look too much different from my other girls but I have struggled so much with the acrylic which leaves lots of brush strokes. Maybe that's ok but I am still searching. So this face was a pleasure to paint---you can change it and add more and change it and add more and it's just dreamy. I love it- so for now---I will use Shiva for all my faces---but will still use acrylic for the backgrounds. You can paint Shiva over acrylic but not acrylic over Shiva. 

Girl with a Bun

She is small---5x7. I used Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Paints by Ranger for this background. I really do love these paints and all the colors are great. They mix really well to make other great colors. As you see, I am in a portrait phase---from Poppies to portraits. I was thinking that I need to call these girls something other than portraits because "portraits" give the ideas that I have literally drawn someone real. Hummmm....I will have to think about that.

Telling Secrets

This is on 8x8 canvas panel and is the third of the three backgrounds I posted several days ago. I tried a different technique on her by using more Caran d' Ache water soluble crayons for her face. And I painted a bird! I love birds and if you look around blog and etsyland---they are very popular in many paintings. Besides her being just a little bit cross-eyed--she looks pretty good. I enjoyed painting her. Some come easier that others.
Hope to see ya tomorrow! Thanks for visiting.

Daisy Girl

I used the background that I posted several days ago (the third image). It is 8x8 on a canvas panel. I need to go to the store and get a deep edge canvas to adhere her too. I am seeing that all my girls are looking the same so am going to try and change them up and bit--just so they will not be the same girl every time. Actually these girls kinda look like my daughter, Macaulay, so maybe there is something sublime going on here.(Or is it subliminal--or both??) Hummmmm...except she has brown eyes.

A Virtuous Woman

This is on the background of the first canvas I posted several days back. The Scripture is from Proverbs 31--"Strength and dignity are her clothing and she smiles at the days to come".... and there is Scripture along the sides.

Near God's Heart

She is collaged and painted on 11 x 14 wood cradled panel. She has a metal embossed heart--yea! i used the metal embossing! Lori and I are going to A Small Cleverness tomorrow and take the metal embossing workshop and really learn how to do it. That will be fun!

On this piece I tried to not let the word strips quote be too prominent. You can read them if you walk up close---but then, isn't that the purpose?! She also emerged looking maybe of Indian descent? I think Indian women are so beautiful. Go see Slumdog Millionaire and you will see. Great movie, by the way--and usually I am a very tough critic.

Also, I will post something tomorrow that I am very excited about that I created totally intuitively. I think it is a breakthrough for me for a look I have been trying to achieve. I love a specific style that I have been seeing in the art of several of my admired artists that I follow--DJ Pettitt, Sharon Tomlinson, and Misty Mawn---among a few others. I am not sure what they do to get this dreamy, whitish effect on their art but I think I figured it out. White paint--or gesso! Who would have thought??? AND--I can't tell you how excited I am---I can even put my calligraphy on it. I will post it tomorow. I also have another girl that I painted on the first background that I posted yesterday. Stay tuned! My several days of research have recharged me.

Also, I forgot Milliande--she's great too.

HE Holds the Key

I am getting ready for my show at the ReddiArts Gallery here in Jacksonville, and yesterday they called and rescheduled my time to May and June rather than March and April. This gives me a little more time---whew!

This girl is on a 12 x 12 x 1/12 cradled wood board. You can find them at Hobby Lobby. She is collaged with paper squares underneath then painted with acrylic, stamps, Caran d 'ache and punchanella. He holds the key to her heart....so...who is HE? Well, HE holds the key to my heart too.

They Think Alike

This is acrylic with layers bubble wrap stamping, stamps, punchenella, and collage paper. It's on a 12 x 12 x 1.50 canvas and the sides are painted a brownish red. I painted the faces on another piece of paper and pasted it on--- and you can totally see that it is pasted on even though I tried hard to hide it with the hair. Well, it IS a mixed media collage. Who's to say I can't collage the face on!? Hopefully the collage police won't cite me.

Daydream

This is watercolor and acrylic on a YES! canvas. I have a love -hate relationship with these canvases but I had it in my stash so I have to use it. This is what I love about it: it takes the watercolor fairly well, dispersing and blending well. Lifting is very easy and I had a round sponge dabber that made perfect lifted dots. But what I hated was this: when I tried to glaze another color it took off the first color down to the white canvas even though it is dry. So that is why at this point I switched to acrylic for the face. Works great with acrylic, what doesn't? These canvases are suppose to take all mediums so I say Yes! to acrylic but NO! to watercolor on this canvas. Oh, also another thing I liked---I could write on it with my calligraphy nib!

This girl looks a little 'erked' for some reason. I guess she doesn't like her daydream. Sometimes the girls just have an attitude!

Surrounded by Light

This is on a 6 x 6 canvas panel and she is collaged with paper, gel transfer for my lettering then the face was painted with Claudine Hellmuth acrylic Studio Paints, which I love. The 6x6 is adhered to an Ampersand panel and the sides are collaged with pages from an old and very much falling apart antique Bible--hence the title "Surrounded by Light."

I think I might have gotten the hang of the gel transfer. This is how I did it (I am writing this to remind myself also):

1. Use a copy that is toner based

2. Put Golden soft gel on the back of the copy and on the surface

smooth out with a brayer

(I try not to put gel on the backside of the copy to be transfered so water can saturate better)

3. Let sit for about 2 minutes but make sure you can grab the corner

4. Pull the corner and HOPFULLY all the paper will pull off leaving just another thin layer underneath-if not just go on to step 5

5. Hit it with your heat gun

6. Saturate with water and rub. (Your transfer will show through when you put the water on it.) Be careful not to rub your transfer off! I use rubber gloves because it tingles my bare fingers too much

This is a combination of several techniques from my gel transfer research. So far it has worked really well.

Girl in the Black Chapeau

She is on an 10 x 10 canvas panel. I used Shiva oils and water soluble oils for her face. I love using oils although it is more difficult for me. I guess I should use them more often but being a mixed media artist---I like to "mix "it up and use diferent things. But oils are definitely something I have a desire to know more about and use more often.
The background is collaged with acrylic paint added and acrylic is also used for her hat.

Melancholy

I was playing around with my water soluble Caran de'Ache neo colors(love 'em) after viewing a video of Willowing . She uses a combination of the Caran de'Ache and white acrylic for her faces. It was very informative and I will try it again but this is the girl I painted using this technique. I am always trying to find just the right "thing" for me. I guess the thrill is in the hunt!! She looks a bit melancholy so that's what I titled her. She is on a canvas panel and it probably would be better to add more gesso and sand with sand paper to make the face smoother as Paulette Insall teaches.