A New Painting

It started with this sketch in my sketchbook.

And I made some changes and created this 8"x8" painting.

It started with a messy background of papers and paint and I went with balloons instead of a hat.

Then I made the background a more solid color but I tried to keep the texture of the brush strokes.

I call it "Happiness" because you just can't help smiling when you see an elephant on rollerskates with balloons.

The original 8"x8" painting on wood panel is available in my Etsy shop as well as prints.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

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A Painting from Start to Finish

First it started in the sketchbook.

Then came the painting. I used an 8x10 acrylic board, papers and acrylic paint and inks.

Isn't he a cutie! This is perfect for a boy or girl's room. I will be selling prints and the original in my Etsy shop.

Thanks for stopping by!

A New Painting.... Mermaids

As promised, here is the big reveal of my BIG painting, Mermaids.

It took me about a month to create this 24'x36" painting. This video from Alisa Burke and this video from Mindy Lacefield inspired me for this painting. I watched Alisa's video and I thought "I can do that. I need to paint big!" I wasn't afraid or unsure of what I was doing at any point during this process. I was in the zone!

Here is is from start to finish.

A background filled with collage, paint and inky drips.

A face emerges.

 

Then another.

 

They are mermaids.

 

 

 

Here are details of the painting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am so proud of this painting. A part of me can't believe I finished this and another part of me knew I would because I was so into it! I am currently taking Mindy Lacefield's True Free Spirit course. It has really built my confidence as a painter. I highly recommend this course. The women who are taking it are so supportive. It is just amazing!

As a special bonus I have a video here from Qwiki. It's a new iPhone app that let's you share videos. They are short snippets of special times in your life.

Click here to see the video. I hope you enjoy it!

 

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Mermaid Painting from Start to Finish

Here is the completed painting I gave a sneak peek of in my last post.

First is the background with the beginnings of a face. I did this on a textured gesso board with paper, inks and paints. Funny thing is, I originally messed up on the background. I adhered some beautiful papers with gesso instead of glue. It made everything milky white and I lost all my colors. Oops. Well, I think I got my color back.

This is the face. It's still in the early stages but its going in the direction I want it to. I drew the outline with acrylic ink its dropper.

She has become a mermaid. I'm not happy with the tail. I need to tweak that.

I fixed the tail. I added some coral and shells and more blue to the background. I like the translucency and seeing the layers underneath. I feel like she's in a coral reef. I think she is done at this point and then I noticed the left eye. It looks like she got a black eye swimming under the sea. I felt the need to fix that.

She is finally finished. My three year old daughter (soon to be 4 this spring) insisted on some shimmer. She said it would be the "perfect finishing touch". So I added some shimmery inks to her hair and body. My daughter was right!

I really love how this painting turned out.

This is the second one I did based on the techniques I learned from Mindy Lacefield's True Free Spirit e-course. It's only the first month of twelve months of lessons and it is so much fun. We have a very active and supportive Facebook group and the work being produced is amazing. Mindy also created this video here that was an inspiration for my painting. It gives you a good idea of Mindy's style. I'm finding this class has given me a kick in the creative butt! I'm so excited with what I'm creating!

 

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Following my "True Free Spirit"

One of my favorite artists, Mindy Lacefield, has a brand new e-course for 2013, True Free Spirit. I'm reducing the number of classes I'm signing up for, but I had to do this one. It's a year long course with a different project each month. Mindy is trying not to plan too far in advance so each project is a surprise. Our first project is based on Mindy's new series of True Free Spirit Girls. You can see examples of them in her Etsy shop.

 

I started with sketching faces. So much fun!

 

 

Then I felt ready to move to canvas.

 

 

 

I love the look of these girls. Mine look so serene and peaceful.

I am finding creating these girls quite exciting.

Here is a sneak peek at my next painting.

 

I can't wait to see what Mindy has in store for next month either!

 

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Another Painting Finished!

Under The Sea

Here is how it transformed.

I blew up a sketch from my sketchbook to get an idea of where I wanted the mermaid to be. My background is paint and bleeding art tissue in mostly reds and oranges.

Then I sketched her in using a Stabilio Marks All pencil. They are water soluble and it looks very cool when wet. The problem is you can't get it wet again. It'll smear. So, I use fluid matte medium instead of water. It gives me the same look and it seals it in.

Her face is coming together.

I used bleeding art tissue for her tail and added details with a medium nib Pitt Pen. Then I used layers of transparent inks and paints to create the sea. I painted the negative space to expose my original background though the seaweeds and seahorses.

The final painting. I think I used every art supply I own. Liquitex paint and inks, bleeding art tissue, Caran Dache Neocolor II Crayons, some pastels and Pitt Pens. This painting is for my daughter. I hope to sell prints of it in the not so distant future.

 

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