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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My "One Little Word" for 2013

The New Year has arrived and its time to make resolutions! I'm not a fan of resolutions. I think few people succeed. The resolution is either too broad or too difficult. I like the "One Little Word" concept. You choose a word and you let that be your guide/focus for the year.

Last year was about "creating" and developing my artistic voice. This year I want it to be about my business. One thing I'm terrible with is being disciplined. I know that in order to build my business I have to be disciplined and focused. I don't have a manager giving me deadlines and goals. I am the manager. But "discipline" is such an unromantic word. My artistic friends are choosing word like "soar" and "bliss". So, I turned to the Internet and a synonym finder, plugged in "discipline" and found "to grow".

The lightbulb went off and I thought "grow"! That's perfect!

 

"Grow" is the perfect word for me because I can apply it to all the aspects of my life I want to improve in 2013.

Grow my business.

Grow artistically.

Grow healthy.

Help my children grow.

Grow organized.

How will I apply this word into my daily life? I believe it's about choices and asking myself the question,

"If I choose this will it help me grow?"

What's your word?

 

In 2011 I took Kelly Rae Roberts' Flying Lessons and made lasting friendships with many creative women. We refer to ourselves as "The Fly Tribe". We continue to inspire and support each other every day even though the e-course ended long ago. Want to see what words my artist friends have chosen? Just click the link below and explore their blogs.

 

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Welcome 2013!

This is going to be an interesting year. My son, Evan, is turning 5 this week. Five! When did this happen? It seems like yesterday I was begging him to want to be born (he was a week late). And now I have to register him for kindergarten this month. I just can't believe it.

Christmas was loads of fun here as well. The kids met Santa for the first time and he was very good to them Christmas morning. Check out the haul! I have no idea why Evan looks bored. He probably wants more!

I also got some art supplies for Christmas. I've spent this vacation playing a bit with Derwent Artbars. They are similar to Caran D'ache Neocolor II as they are water soluble wax crayons. The main difference is their shape. They are triangle sticks that enable you to make interesting marks. They also lay down thicker than the Neocolors. Here is a sampling of my playtime in my art journal.

 

 

I love the texture I get from these. I also received some Bombay India Inks but haven't had a chance to play with those yet. Soon my precious inks, soon!

In my next post I'll share my "word" for 2013. This word is meant to represent the goals I hope to achieve for the New Year without it being a list of resolutions I will quit pursuing on January 5th. I am hoping 2013 will be a big year for my art. I don't know if it will be as monumental as starting kindergarten but I hope it's eventful!

 

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Counting My Blessings

Christmas is just a few days away. I managed to get everything done (shopping, wrapping, mailing cards and presents) around the 17th of December. A personal best!

I'm trying to keep things normal and keep my eyes and ears away from the news. The tragedy in Newtown, CT last week really shook me as a person and as a parent. Seeing flags around our town flying at half staff make me tear up.

 

I am trying to live in the moment. I'm remembering Christmases' past.

 

 

 

And trying to create new memories for this Christmas. Almost every night we drive around and look at the decorations. We're painting ornaments. Baking cookies. And maybe we'll even visit with Santa.

Every moment I am counting my blessings.

I hope you and yours have a joyous holiday filled with laughter and love.

In the words of Tiny Tim, "God bless us, everyone!"

 

 

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Experimenting with Faces

I think faces are a challenge for every artist. Getting the depth and personality can be very difficult. My shading has been hit or miss in the past. I really want to achieve depth and texture in my faces since I'm not going for realism. I went through my Paint Your Story videos again and played in my sketchbook. I decided to write down the steps I took to hopefully achieve the look I wanted.

I started with a head shape and then scribbled in my shade colors with pencils.

Then I used my favorite paint colors with some GAC 100 (this helps thin the paint) and tapped it onto the face with my fingers. Pretty scary looking, huh?

Then I used a bristle brush and scrubbed white gesso over the whole face. Not so scary now, is it?

 

I kept repeating the process adding heavy body white paint into the mix as I added more layers. I also used my Neocolor II crayons. By the end of the process I was using my paint brush instead of my fingers to apply paint.

Here are some details of the face.

 

 

I really like the texture and the depth of color I achieved. I need to keep practicing and find the methods I like best. I want my faces to each be unique and filled with personality. The more I practice the better I will get.

If you haven't checked out Mindy Lacefield's E-course, Paint Your Story, you really should. It has really helped me blossom as an artist. It's the best course out there to help you find your style.

 

 

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Squeezing Art In During the Holidays

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

And the craziest with how busy it is around here. Today is the 7th and I feel like Christmas Day is tomorrow. On the bright side, I'm pretty much done with shopping and I am in wrapping mode. There are a few other things to do. Christmas cards need to go out for example. I don't want to think about it.

Anyway........

I'm trying to squeeze art in and get things finished so I feel a sense of accomplishment as well as maintain my sanity. Working small helps. I finished these two pieces in the past week or so.

This is on 5x7 hot press watercolor paper. I used inks, water soluble crayons and pencils. My daughter requested the mermaid.

 

This is a 5x5 mini canvas created with paint and inks. I love these little doggies. I'll definitely be making more.

 

I'm not putting too much pressure on myself to "finish" things. It is the Christmas season after all. After Christmas is my son's 5th birthday (I can't believe it)! Once all the parties are over (one for family and one for friends) I can really buckle down and make some art.

I hope your holiday season isn't too crazy. Remember to take time for yourself so you can remain sane!

 

 

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