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Showing posts from 2019

Shades of Pink

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Shades of Pink This is kind of a culmination of lots of things I have been working on for the last couple of  months.  It started with a photo I liked, putting it into GIMP I wanted to put it into color dropper and see what colors/tones were coming up.  They weren't quite striking enough so I then went to adjusting the color curves.   Came up with several options that I really liked.   Thought it might be a great fun way to better learn how to mix colors and do a little mini series as well.  Going to call it Shades of.... Then it was back into oils.   I kind of am addicted to them now that I got through the first painting.   I do really like how they blend.   Currently am using a styrofoam meat tray as my palette so I can just toss it when it is to messy to clean.  However this was more complex or something and I wasn't able to get it finished in just one sitting.  So I needed to utilize some of the painting medium for my oil mixables.  First of course I had to get the c

China Doll woman's portrait

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China Doll Well this was a real slug fest.  I almost quit her 3-4 times but decided I had invested so much time and energy I was going to add some collage, some facial paint and let it go as it was.  This is for a challenge with the word prompt steam punk.   I have seen steam punk photos, (this is from Michael Cain) but really didn't get it.  But it has conventions with a pretty big following and lots of people really enjoy it, so ... It started out as a trial because I used some paper from the company that used to make Kitty Wallace paper (that was supposed to be the best paper).  It is sanded and while I have tried it before, I didn't like it then, so thought I'd try it again.   Still don't like it.  But started going forward with my pan pastels and was doing pretty well and realized I made her nose way toooooo long.   But I was pretty well down the path so lengthened some more things and moved onward.  Got most of the face in and after messing around with it s

Sunbathing pastel figure Sunbathing

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Sunbathing Still working on pastel and experimenting with color block and bolder skin tones.   I wanted to work larger, so this is 16"x20".   Since I don't have pastel paper that size I decided to try painting it in that technique I had used for pastels.   It really didn't work out the way I imagined.   So experiment time began. I was working on hot press watercolor block and after I blocked in all colors I added a layer of clear gesso.  Now I thought I would be set up for working with pastel.  It buckled a bit, was not too much.  So I then began to add similar colors to the darker underpainting and I was off.   Now I know there is a lot of color and not sure I would go again with this palette, but I think it is interesting.  I was worried about the hair but think it actually turned out ok.     While I worked with a posterized palette I ended up not using the reference and tended to add different colors into the wide expanses of solid color.   I didn

Studio Organization Reveal

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STUDIO ORGANIZATION REVEAL Yesterday I was Miss Build It, and I assembled the organizational furniture for the art room.  Just me, a wooden hammer, and a couple of wrenches was all it took.  I felt pretty fortunate to find both of these, which think will fulfill my needs and was able to do it for under $100.   Both are quite lightweight.  No particle board or formaldehyde either.   I have been searching on and off now for a couple of years to find something to help me keep better organized.   But it really has been a pity to see how flimsy the plastic storage is and how much they want for it.  Seems there was nothing between plastic and heavier furniture.  I have art tuff, I just never can find it, even in my crates I forget what I got.  I have limited horizontal space where I paint and really want to use it when I am painting.   So had to find a place to stash the junk that was preventing that.  Also time to throw out all these practice paintings as my archival box is stu

Straw Hat pastel woman portrait

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Straw Hat Got to say that the heat here has finally broken and I got to tell you it really changes my disposition.   Do you hear my husband clapping?   Anyway It really shouldn't be mid 90s in October.   Still no rain, but at least we can come and go outside without fainting. So, I guess that has kind of encouraged me to get on an art roll.   Got lots of ideas, am making GIMP do some work for me and actually getting some results that I think I can repeat.  Also broke out a set of Gallery pastels that I have had hoarded for years, the Sennilers are next on the agenda.   Tomorrow I am getting some things I ordered that should help organize my studio.  Have threatened to do for for a while and didn't spend the money.   But found some things (a plastic cube system with doors that you can make open any way you want, a rolling tray cart, that can function like drawers but is much lighter than all that fake-wood furniture) reasonably that I think will work, if so I will pos

The Future

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The Future Well am doing the happy dance.  This is my second attempt at visitation by posterizing the picture.    I have been try8ing to learn how to do GIMP and figured out how to do that and take a color picture to gray tones.  Minimizing the number of gray tones also help to better see tones.  I actually took the colored reference and postruized ti down to 5 tones, but ended up having to add a few extra to get the look I was going for. This is pastel and I tried going with pastel mat.  I have worked on the pastel mat previously and wasn't super happy with it.   You just can't blend as well - at least not initially.   But the good news is that it doesn't dust everything and does hold lots of layers. Thanks much for stopping by and taking a look.

Spirit Keeper acrylic portrait indian eagle

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Spirit Keeper One of the things I enjoy about art is that I have to constantly learn things.  When doing this painting I wanted to portray a young Indian who would learn the tribes tradition, culture, language, spiritual teaching and respect for animals.   I couldn't think of a title that would convey he would be the person to take it to the future, The Hope, just seemed too generic.  I looked up the Cherokee word for hope, but it is a string of letters no one would know.  Since most of the native historical traditions are oral I next went to learning about the storytellers.   Storytellers are a key person in the tribe and impact their knowledge to the future generations through the native schools.   That led to me understand how desperate the US government had been to stamp out and eradicate all indian cultures.  It is truly shameful. this is acrylic and I played around with the bokeh background to keep it simple and the focus on the connection between the boy and the eagle

Secrets acrylic portrait of a women

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Secrets I haven't take a log of classes so I am not sure if the way I am doing my online lessons is correct or not.   But while I watch the videos I don't usually do the actual photo reference, usually try to find a reference similar but then work through the process with that photo.    This is a lesson that Kara Bullock did in my online course and, well, it was just fascinating to me.  So in this case I made an exception as I really like the pose for this.   I looked for something similar but didn't find it.  The lighting in this is really interesting and hard to come by. However, I took a little liberty with the background as I always struggle with making them interesting. Learned so much in this lesson, the colors are not what I would normally use in the skin tones so really just expanded that option so much. Thanks much for stopping by and taking a look.

Into The Mist

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Into The Mist It is always good to mark milestones on your journeys, and I feel like I have made one in my art over the last few weeks.  Not what you would call consistent, but I think I have hit onside winners.  I am trying to analyze what exactly is different, but not really sure what it is.   I think I am working with more with:  contrast, layers, different palette colors.  It seems there is more solidity and depth, overall a more pronounced presence in these paintings that I really like.   This is a combination of two photos, one from Neil A. Kingsbury of PMP, and another of a small girl with the cloak that I liked.  The word prompt was "in the mist"  I changed it up a bit and turned it "into the mist" as I really liked that hand coming out at you inviting you to what?????? Thanks much for stopping by and taking a look.

Male acrylic portrait

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This is my attempt at last weeks lesson by Sabra Awlad Issa.   And wow, what a powerful lesson it was.  While I wasn't able to totally go abstract and loose I think I really captured the essence of there person.  I am not sure whether it is the reference, or the techniques (some of which I was able to use), but in the end I think it comes off as a very solid strong presence.  I saw that as well in the other student pictures.   I don't feel so bad as really no one was able to pull off what the teacher did. I have to realize that I am going to pick up and utilize what I can and flow it into how I paint.  I will try again I am sure to come up with something more abstract, but for now, this is the best I can do.   What's different in this is that it started with an underpainting.   Oh, I know about underpainting, but I don't always start with it.   Well, I should.   While it is pretty ugly and loose it does get mid tones, darks and lights down and sets the subs

Femme Fatale acrylic woman portrait

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Femme Fatale Well, things don't always go exactly as planned.  This was supposed to be a mixed media piece, but ....  it almost turned into a fatal piece gone so wrong - could I save her?   You be the judge. When I first saw this reference it made me think because the girl was wearing the veil - she was the perfect Russian, of course, spy from the 1940-1950s.  She was definitely going to have a glamorous mysterious look. So I painted her carefully and then boldly decided to put on some of the handmade collage paper I made especially to emulate the veil.  Well, once I started applying it definitely was too dark and you really couldn't see all the facial work beneath it.   Usually the tissue melts into transparency, different than what I usually use and boy it didn't melt away - but really was opaque.   So now I had to figure out how in the heck could I pull it off and could I repair the damage done to the paint surface, paint over the gloss medium I had used,

Castaway oil/cold wax experiment

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Castaway Preliminary sketch Well this is my first result with the oil/cold wax technique.  I haven't painted that much in oils and while it is similar it is definitely different.   It is like painting with butter and does made the oil quite a bit more opaque.  This technique is from my online lessons, I had heard about cold wax, thought about it, but hadn't done anything about it.  So this pushed me to go there.   I have heard this described as somewhere between encaustic and oil painting. Let's talk first about the title - why Castaway.  I watch So You Think You Can dance most seasons.  I am fascinated at how coordinated, lithe and flexible these people are.   However, it makes me think of Broadway, live theatrical, music or singing performances to note just how many talented people there are in this world.  But, unfortunately most of them don't ever get discovered.  When I watch the dance show it also makes me think of athletes and how fleeting their s

The Fire Inside mixed media portrait

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The Fire Inside Meet Grace, she is the granddaughter of a photographer friend from PMP-Art, Sandie Bell.   Sandie is a wonderful photographer and has share so many photos, of her dogs and her grandchildren.  We have gotten to watch Grace grow up and she is maturing into a beautiful young woman. Wanted to try my color patch technique again and as always have to change things up.   Actually I started this using acrylic paints.   However, this palette was really, really subdued.   I just couldn't get the color to lighten up.   So decided to try an experiment.   I hear your groans!!!    Anyway, slapped on some clear gesso and decided I would switch to pastels and see how the technique worked with that.   So, I think what I came up with here is still lots of color, but not as bold, more subdued but still full of energy and vibrancy. Thanks much for stopping by and taking a look.

Littlest Brush acrylic child's portrait

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Littlest Brush Just had a friend tell me I was working too hard, too much and was supposed to be retired.   Got to say she has a point.   I have taken on several large yard projects (topdressing the yard, putting 12 steps up my berm and then killing all the weed/brushes crap that the builder's land clearing has put in my yard).   If you are asking am I little bit controlling yes, that is why I am doing it rather than hiring someone else - paying a lot and not really getting what and how I want it. So, moral of that long paragraph is I haven't been in the art room until today, recuperation day, and I have been utterly art starved.  I really feel the difference in my stress levels - I just haven't gotten my release. The Art Sherpa has a term for the children who paint her tutorial - Little Brushes - I thought that was so cute.   When I saw this picture and this child so full of life, color, energy - I knew I just had to paint her.   This  is one of my clean the pal

Inside Out acrylic portrait

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Inside Out I don't know about you but I do find it difficult to do someone else's tutorial.  However, I was so taken with this picture that I really tried to follow what The Art Sherpa, Cinnamon Clooney, did and not go my own way.   I just thought this was so inventive and now I am on a quest to see if I can come up with some more surreal images. This is all acrylic and yes, I did struggle with the clouds and sky in general.  Guess that is going to be one of my things to work on, maybe next year, and that will be landscapes.  Maybe there is a really good course out there for those of us who are challenged!! Anyway, thanks for stopping by and taking a look.

Dark Beauty - Believe Girl 3 acrylic woman portrait

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Dark Beauty Had an opportunity to get away from all that is technology - not necessarily by choice, but ended up that way.   Was really good in that it was an excellent time to just enjoy each other, think and watch nature and see the beauty.  Was plenty hot here so nicer temperatures were certainly appreciated. But, got to say it was good to write down all the ideas, but even better to get back in the art room and start to put things together.   Dark Beauty is doing double duty in that this is somewhat based on this week's first acrylic lesson and the weekly challenge from my other group.   Ended up using parts of several photos together to come up with this quasi-Goth girl. Stuck pretty much with straight acrylic this time, and that felt kind of strange after doing so many mixed media pieces.  After taking off the random tape pieces I didn't really like the light and felt that the blue would add some color/energy to the overall piece.   Hence the reason I am claimi

Believe Girl 2 pastel woman portrait

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Believe Girl 2 Today is a bit of sketchbook practice as I wanted to see if I could do color patches with pastel.  Of course I ended up and added probably more than I really wanted to, but I do like the soft result. When I originally saw this photo it made me think of the 1940s, and I think I am going to use it as one of my challenge pieces, word prompt icons and idols.  The suggested "to paint" picture was of Marilyn Monroe and I will probably do her yet.  Thought this reference in black and white was pretty glamorous.  Not entirely sure this isn't some starlet from days gone by, but don't think so.  I think the thing that really made me think 1940s was the style of the dress (think my great Aunt used to wear something like this and called it a sundress).   The dress and hair flowers are done with a tissue collage and the rest of the piece is primarily pastel.   Necklace is just a little bit of graphite thrown on for a delicate necklace - actual photo was cryst

Her Majesty's Realm

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Her Majesty's Realm I have found it difficult to find reference photos of people with their backs facing us.  So when I saw this pose I knew I wanted to paint it.   Something about this appeals to me, even though it could be considered provocative, it has a sense of innocence about it.  I also love doors and gates and I found a wonderful window with the view to the ocean I felt they were perfect together, and so, it was finally time to paint it.   This is another mixed media piece.   The stone walls, shutter and her gauzy wrap are all collage, the rest is painted with maybe a little pastel/graphite thrown in.  I am hoping that I got the lighting right as the two pictures weren't really all that compatible.   For collage paper in this piece I used just simple brown paper bag (on the shutter), cheap brown hand towel (for the walls, it actually has dimples which added to the texture) Handmade tissue/papers (for the walls) and white tissue for the wrap.  I have been expe

Believe Girl I

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Believe Girl I While I am working through my online course I have also started looking at some other tutorials regarding faces from The Art Sherpa (translated that means I am bored with charcoal but got one more lesson and then we get to switch media).  She had a face quest in 2017 where she goes into details and did many tutorials on portraits about working on the face.  Not all of them are really my thing, so I pick out the gems/jewels and if patient enough to watch all the tutorials I usually learn something important.   One of the looks I really like is the pixelated, abstract, impressionist color, California vibe, blocked color look.  I have been hooked on Art Lover and one of the competitions winners had this style and well, I just fell in love with it.  But, I kind of absolutely have no way of getting there.  I find all kinds of images that you can do with filter and things in photoshop - but I need to train my mind to be photoshop.  So I am going to take Cinnamon's a

Rainbow acrylic portrait woman

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Rainbow Well, "they" say that if you put your mind to it nothing is beyond your doing.  But got to say that this is pushing my limits pretty much.   This is from an inspiration tutorial from The Art Sherpa and he inspiration of Guy Tang, an avant guard hair designer.  Back to me, cause you know it's always about me - anyway, my ind just doesn't work along these lines I guess.  Been way too many years as a traditional person and not sure I could change now.  Of course, this could be my next hair color/do and perhaps my world would change quite a bit.  Bet this is more fun than being blonde!! Thanks much for stopping by and taking a look.

In The Spot Light acrylic portrait

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In The Spot Light In The Spot Light You might wonder what the deal is with these unusual titles.   I am working through another year-long challenge by the Art Sherpa.  I figure since I am doing both lessons and pictures inspired by my online lessons I could couple it with word prompts for the inspired pictures on her site.  It is an additional FB group that all are working from similar things and it is always a learning/inspiring thing to see what other are doing and why.  Even though there are landscapes and other subjects I am kind of building a collection with my portraits using various techniques that I am learning in my online course. This isn't exactly what I saw in my imagination.  What's with the circle?  Well, this was inspired by my friend Rita, on IG @ritaquatrinivaselli, who is currently working digitally with an app, where she can really utilize her creativity.   She showed a post where there were square color blocks across the face, and well, it looked

Hard Times mixed media still life

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Hard Times As you know I don't do landscapes, I really suck at them as a matter of fact.  I used have big issues with backgrounds too.  Then I found collage.   It seems to have addressed some of my background issues with portraits.   So, I was curious, could it help me with the quest to do landscapes?   So is this experimentation gone wrong? I have, after seeing a program on Yellowstone buffalo herds in the winter, painted buffaloes before.  Hence the idea of a buffalo in a snowstorm was born.  I wanted to see if I could take the techniques I have been working on in my course on faces and see if I could bring them into something else. This was done in 3 stages, background/middle ground/foreground.  I put down some charcoal to give me tree shapes, then wet it, added some home made collage paper and several layers of really liquid gesso over it.   (for this painting I made soft blues/grays special paper, trying to give me shapes that would represent trees, the snow drifts,

The Daydreamer mixed media portrait

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The Daydreamer  This is the second attempt at this week's lesson by Juna Biagioni.  She does all kinds of wild things to get texture, I still don't have some of her techniques down, but am using some of them and taking off on my own. Again I started with a collage.   I hand make the papers and then chose the parts that kind of made a similar pattern on the kimono to what the black/white reference photo showed..  The top is part of Paul's used coffee filter and I put a couple of strips of handmade paper on the side so that she appears to be either in a doorway or window.  I had actually torn some of the greenish paper to make leaves at the bottom, but felt I didn't need anything else, so left it pretty open. Then I went forth with water and brush and took wet charcoal and slopped it on for the darker background and parts of the hair.  I tried really hard this time to be sure I didn't get it on the skin area of the face and chest.    One of the challeng

The Gaze charcoal portrait

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The Gaze Still working in charcoal this week.  The Gaze is all about trying to get really dark and trying to be looser and rougher texture skin tones, not polite blended glazes. Many thanks to Deborah Shapiro, https://www.deborahshapiroart.com, a phenomenal collage artist, be sure to check out her website.  Anyway, she did water using strips of collage papers and I thought it was so cool I knew I wanted to try it behind a portrait.  Also used some Artagain paper on the left-hand side, a drawing sacrificed its life for the cause.  But you can see it really took the matte medium in an unusual way, but I think it offer lots of texture and the illusion of braided hair. Thanks much for stopping by and taking a look.

Cowboy mixed media portrait

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Cowboy Don't know about you but I think this dude could look pretty good on the cover of a romance novel.  He is this weeks charcoal lesson.   I had to fancy him up a bit and did a bit of collage work before I tackled working in various hardness of black and white charcoal.   I used the second part of my Artagain paper and while I kind of like it with pastels I wasn't super happy with it for the charcoal as it really doesn't hold enough layers to get the darkest darks.   Thanks much for stopping by and taking a look.

Apparition

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Apparition Ok, had a total mind meltdown, so have been gone for a few days.   Apologies, I will catch up with you in FB and IG.   I think that I have been watching so many things that are so mew and different that it was just taxing my poor old brain.  Have to say that I have so many things pounding to come out.   But I have done a few things in the last so many days that I absolutely hate.   I have seen so many folks working on "word prompts".   Thought it sounded pretty neat, but well, just came up with blanks.   So have found someone now who does both prompt and then a suggested photo.   So will start with photos and try to graduate to just working off word.    There is kind of a whole structure around the group and hoping that I will learn lots more, coupled with my year-long course and make it a year of good growth - forward - fingers crossed. Anyway, this was a realistic portrait reference, but I wanted to go more abstract.   Ended up adding more paint areas

Homeless graphite study Homel

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Homeless Getting ready for many days of rain - been 21 days since it rained here, so a little precipitation and cooler weather will be much appreciated.   I also finished top dressing my yard, hoping it gives it a kick to fill in as it really didn't do well over the winter. I had to do blood work yesterday so was reading several small articles about returning veterans.   So many just can't readjust, so much guilt and fear.  So many are homeless and the suicide rate is at an alarming daily amount.  I had pulled this reference because I loved that face, all the lines tell such a story.  I had my starting point. I wanted to try an experiment, actually several, in this piece.   First this is a very large head - 14"x17" on Bristol paper.  Knew I wanted to work with graphite, so wanted that smooth surface.  I started with yellow and blue underpainting of highlighter markers.  Didn't work too well, way too bright and graphite couldn't tone it down successfu

Abandon acrylic woman study

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Abandon Well as you can see I am still processing my last several weeks lessons and had also watched some portrait videos - a British TV production where they look for portrait and landscape painters of the year.  The winning several artists get commissions with the winner get a really big commission and a painting that hangs in some national gallery or library.  I have found it quite fascinating as it shows a lot of the judging process - how they think.    It is on YouTube under Art Lovers. I looked again to super saturating a photo to come up with striking color combinations.  Lucky for me similar colors were already waiting to make the background as they were left overs still on the palette.  I wanted to try to do something with nonconventional colors and with more of a loose approach.   Since this is painted on that canvas paper which  has a non-absorbent film-like finish the paint really tends to slide around on it.  Was easy to make some marks in the background.   O

'Tude acrylic woman portrait

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'Tude This is an acrylic, 14"x18", a bit larger than I normally work.  This is actually based on last week's lesson where Kara painted her daughter.  Since I don't have a daughter, what I got out of the lesson was she paints rather "unfinished" and her teenage daughter had a bit of an attitude in her reference photo.  The other challenge was to paint a full figure, well I got most of one.   That is the main reason I needed to paint in a larger format.  Kara painted her 4'+, so I am still really tiny. I really like this reference, the direct gaze, her more sophisticated makeup against the really casual leggings and hoodie.  I have to tell you my heart stops when I put paint across the more finished sections and had to go back in and add some pastel to get a bit more action.   As I got lower on the paper I tried to finish it less, just give the impressions, because I really want the focus on the face.  In case you are wondering at the stre

Floating mixed media abstract figurative

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Floating Well the last three lessons have been about learning to paint intuitively.  For a straight arrow such as myself, it has been a pretty sufficient challenge.  While I have tried to let go I still find myself partly painting in a semi realistic fashion.   Maybe that is just going to be my style - but doesn't mean I won't continue to try to let go.  But the beginning painting process, where the subject is going to come from, and how it is going to go is definitely getting free from preplanning.  Mostly it becomes a study of finding the hook and then where does that take you.  My teachers are creating most of their paintings without any references at all.  And, of course ranging from folk to abstract art.   Beginning of painting w/little collage To start this lesson I scraped off my palette and got some color on top of an old painting.  I then collaged a couple of sheets of paper towel (had been under the glass in my palette and gotten stained) onto the surface.

Nicolae's GF Laughing Giraffe mixed media portrait

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Nicolae's Giraffe Over the years we have decided the places we like to visit and have gone back multiple times.   In this day and age I think it is uncommon that in a hotel environment the workers would have been there 10-35 years.  So friendships develop.   Each of the people we have encountered have made our stays extra special in a variety of ways.   One of the ladies that works the check in desk had a baby last year.   Since we were unable to go in November we just saw her when we were in DC.   He is now 14 months, and in love with giraffes.  She has a yellow and gray nursery decor and I wanted to do a giraffe.   Wasn't sure if it should be the "kiddie" kind, but thought he might outgrow it.   So I decided to do one semi realistic so that he wouldn't outgrow it right away.  Aren't they just the strangest looking animal? I always wish I would keep my mouth shut, because it does worry me when I say I will paint something - it sort becomes like a com

Just watching mixed media wolf portrait

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Just Watching Well a couple of days without painting, and I get kind of antsy.  We have had the most beautiful weather in Georgia for the past few days.  So you just had to be outside to really enjoy it.  Yesterday we took a drive and were in 3 states, doing the Cherahola Skyway. But, I wanted to see if I could incorporate some of the techniques I have learned into doing something other than a portrait.   Ok, technically this is a portrait, but it is an animal.  I haven't done an animal portrait in sooooooo long, I wondered if I could remember. Anyway, of course I had to add more pops of color, so I took the original photo and really saturated it again in the photo program.   It came up with the blues, but feel it  needed more, so and added a bit more of the purples and yellows.   I started with an "underpants", shown below, (yes this is a technical collage term - I didn't make it up) collaging tissue paper that I had made myself and the other half of

Left Waiting figure study

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Left Waiting Today was another experiment of painting an abstract background and then finding something.  I wanted to paint mostly today trying to tell a story with emotion.  I saw the arches in the abstract and have wanted to paint a lady from behind for quite some time.   However, it isn't easy to find a reference photo of a woman from behind.   Don't ask me why, but there aren't many of them. Anyway, after deciding on the figure I felt that the background was way too much and that I would need to quiet it down a bit.  Hence the arches were the perfect way for her to view into the woods/garden.    I felt that the slump of her shoulders was what would tell the story and that is what I used to derive the title. What do you see in the abstract?   What could be another story? Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.

Mother Nature abstract figure

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Mother Nature Well this week's lesson was a doozy, packed full of so much by a master artist,  Cathrine Edlinger-Kunze . She is a spectacular artist who does abstract figurative paintings. The goal here was to create an abstract beginning. Then you need to visualize the figure or portrait that would go into it. Yes, I forgot to just take a picture of the abstract itself, so you got it when I had already started filling it in. I have done pictures like this previously, but setting out to do it this time was a bit scary.  I had this reference picture that I have been hanging onto, knowing I would do her some time.  I wanted to call it Mother Nature - or maybe is should be Esmeralda?  Anyway, maybe she isn't old enough to be Mother Nature.   But anyway, when I saw the picture I liked the idea of the swing and couldn't really come up with a background that could be nature.  But here with the drips I think it can pass for either sun, sky, trees, or creek flowing

Koningin woman portrait mixed media

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Koningin Original Reference Saturated Collage  Well, this is Koningin, means Queen in Afrikaans, so I have really dubbed and called her Queenie during the painting process.   When I saw the photo reference I thought she was very regal, and, of course, I loved the color and pattern of her headscarf.  Figured it would be a good challenge. As you can see the original photo was really dark and pretty much devoid of color.  So put it into the photo program and really saturated the color.  This now became a whole new photo to work with. Next step was to do the collage.  You can see on the sketchbook that I have taped multiple pages together to give it some support, sort of like a watercolor block, so that the paper will dry back pretty flat after I applied all the matte medium.  Once dried I painted random lines on the page, then put plain white tissue paper over the background.   The effect of the tissue softened the color and lines.  Paul's used coffee filter gav