Last Drawing/Painting Updates for now

I have realized that my painting ventures have hijacked my crafting blog...

Thanks to the talented folks at wetcanvas I have made improvements to the last painting and I am very pleased with it.

I do not intend to work on it any more...these are studies after all.

While painting on these studies I was having a bit of difficulty doing something that is very important to an artist...seeing.  The images were blurry and I was really having some difficulty so I went to the eye doctor.  Yep.  New glasses were overdue.





This is a slide show of another painting I worked on this past week:

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Still working on the knitted cowl...at this point I kind of wish I used bigger needles.  

I think I'm addicted...

..to painting!

Here is another oil study:

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I don't have a refined looking process but it works.  I start every drawing whether from photo or from life with an oval and perpendicular lines indicating the skull and eye lines.  I usually stray from it but that's just what I do

I have no idea how I am going to do the hair.  I'm just going to play it by ear and see what I come up with.  Hair is pretty universal.  Middle tones, darker tones, highlights to shape...

Here is a still:

I am contemplating what to do next.  I am still working on those cowls.  I will try to remember to snap some pictures of them when I whip out my camera again.  Knitting always goes slow for me but the crocheted one is coming along really nicely.

More painting...

I forgot how much fun painting is, even if it's not your "thing."  A quick google search confirmed that I can mix acrylic with water-soluble oils so I took off with that.  I really can't stand trying to make backgrounds with oils.  Even water soluble oils dry pretty slowly so it is a bit nerve racking (but not nerve-racking enough to convert me to acrylics).

Anyways I was supposed to be working on the image from the previous post but I came across another image I found in my public domain/creative commons (I don't remember which so I will say creative commons) search some months ago.  I figured she would be a good subject for light and dark and for utilizing the method that I learned so long ago (to make sure I still remember how to do it).

I also wanted to play around with collage so this is a mixed media study.  My husband said that he understood I was just practicing to get back in the groove but he really wanted me to do a bigger one similar to this one.  Not a chance, yet.  I have several more canvas boards to practice on.

This is the sketch and beginning tonal underpainting.  I didn't take a picture of it once I had set all of the light and dark tones in...the camera just wasn't on my mind.  I did change the pic a little for interest.  On the original the negative space just wasn't interesting so I changed some elements of her face around just primarily the shape around the edge.  I made it more angular.  Also her headwrap around her face...angles are better what can I say.

My son caught me working on it.

The completed painting.  Her headwrap is made up of cut up papers decoupaged to the surface.  I painted over some elements with gold,.  I made her dress a flat gold.  The background I just had some fun.  Despite all of the fun I had with a flower stamp it doesn't distract from the portrait.  The coloration is more natural in this although I wasn't really aiming for realism.  In person I have flecks of some of everything in it.  That's the fun with experimenting.  This is a much different from the grisaille piece and I will use this method in the future.  I am going to play with more unrealistic colors like blue and red in the future.

I'm going to hang this on my wall.  I am definitely more pleased with this one than the grisaille piece.  



I will work on the lady from the previous post next...maybe :-).

And the cowl?

Temporarily abandoned as I started knitting a cowl too.  I have enough to stop with the crocheted one but I am determined to make that a hood.  I will see how far I get with the knitted cowl before I 1) lose interest or 2) get tired of frogging a million times.

Drawing update

Don't worry I've been crocheting too!  I am working on a hooded cowl (my first!) in my down time.

I finished up the grisaille painting:

I'm semi-pleased.  Overall I like it.  I wasn't going for too much detail since these were studies.  I really love the eyes and the overall form and composition of the piece.  I think I could afford to flesh out the nose area more but I'm not going to touch it again. 



I have started working on another piece that is 11 x 14 (the above one is 8 x 10).  Here is the freehand drawing on canvas board.  I used an image from hcptcar on flickr (creative commons):

I will use an underpainting with the local color on this one.  This is the way I painted with oils most in the past.  I'll probably get started on the painting in a few days, perhaps after I finish my cowl :).

Wristwarmer pattern - free and ongoing art projects

There's nothing that gets you going with crochet like cold weather.  Fall is really starting to come in good now and while we may have a mild day here or there, the colder temps are here to stay.

That being said I had to take care one of my pet peeves about the season.  Cold forearms.  I can't stand gloves as they hinder my ability to properly and effectively do important things.  Like drive.  Also anything on my palms irrirtates me.  I had come across wristwarmers before online and thought, "that's not a bad idea."  The only issue I had with most of them was the sewing aspect.  I was in the middle of cleaning and clearing out a studio space for myself.  I had no interest whatsoever in hunting down the needles to do anything remotely related to sewing.  Finding some in the round proved to be a challenge and when I did find them I wasn't fond of their overall design. The human wrist and hand are not rectangles.

Anywho, I experimented (while simultaneously organizing) and came up with this pattern.  I have since refined this pattern to one I will post for sale in the near future on my artfire. 

I have found that wristwarmers or wristlet in my case tend to follow the maker's own personal preferences.  Some end right at the end of the wrist.  Some come all the way over the palm to the base of the fingers.  Some (like the ones I prefer) come to the base of the thumb or a little over.  It is really up to the crocheter so this pattern is essentially a guide more than the end all be all.

Bear with me. Writing patterns isn't my strong suit.




Materials:

Vanna's Choice Cranberry
5(F) Hook
Children's yarn needle (optional) for weaving in ends

Try it on and adjust as you are making it.

The pattern (work in back loop only):

Ch 26 loosely (or however many it takes to go around your wrist comfortably). Sl st in the first chain to make a circle.

Row 1: Ch 2 and hdc in each stitch. Sl st into ch 2.

Row 2: Ch 1 (insert stitch marker) and single crochet

Row 3 and 4: sc in both moving the stitch marker up with each row.

Row 5, 6, and 7: ch 2 and dc in each stitch across. Slip stitch in top of chain 2.

Row 8: Ch 1 and sc in each stitch across. Slip stitch in top of ch 1.

Row 9: Ch 1 (insert sttich marker) and sc

Row 10 and 11: sc in both moving the stitch marker up with each row.

Row 12: ch 2. DC in same stitch as join and in the next nine stitches. 2 dc in next stitch. *dc in each of the next ten stitches. 2 dc in next stitch.* Repeat from *-* around and sl st in the top of chain 2.

Row 13 and 14: Ch 2 and DC in each stitch. Slip sttich in the top of chain 2.

To start the Thumb hole:

Row 14: Ch 1 (insert stitch marker) and sc in next two stitches. Chain 6. Skip next six stitches and sc in each stitch across.

Row 15 through ? : SC in each stitch across moving the stitch marker up. I sl st into the stitch market stitch and used a yarn needle to finish it off smoothly.

I don't like for mine to go all the way up because the yarn irritates my palms but you can go up as much as you desire.

Like I had said, I was doing some cleaning, mostly to clear out a space where I could paint that wasn't visually cluttered.  I tend to amass a great deal of items and since I do so many things this is very easy.  I have stuff everywhere.  Even when I was finished organizing I STILL have things everywhere, only neater lol.

My neater, more refined painting space.  I decided to take up oil painting again.  This is usually impractical as you have to have proper ventilation and all that for the fumes, however I'm working in water soluble oils so this takes care of that factor.  Also I am right by the back door.  This is one half of the dining room that we rarely use.  See the colorful drawing?  My kindergarten baby won first place in her Oktober Fest Student Art Contest.  It is hanging (with her blue ribbon) on the wall now.

I reverted the table into a drawing space.  My husband's laptop won't usually be there though lol.  You can kind of see my organized clutter.  I have several boxes under that table.

A better idea of how I organize clutter.  Sketchbooks, canvases, and foamcore abound.  I have two large tackle boxes from Wal-Mart that hold a lot of my drawing and painting supplies.  I was so pissed off when I was younger when I realized that artbins were essentially expensive tackle boxes.  Yes, the novelty with name brand wore off real quick.  Everything is more easily accessible now and out of the living room.


My crochet is another story.  I have a large wicker drawer that I am storing all of my yarn in.  I'm still working on my "ugly" blanket so that should take care of the scraps.

What's on my easel?

This 8 x 10 oil painting.  I did this a few nights back and even though it is with water soluble oils I'm still waiting for it to dry.  I am using the grisaille technique.  Grisaille means "grey" in French.  With this technique all the values are worked out before any color is added.  The colors will be followed up using translucent glazing and scumbling techniques with the heavier applications of paint coming in the last stages.  I haven't done a painting of this nature in years.  It is only a study to see if I can still do it.  I haven't oil painted in some time.

I love painting eyes, which should be obvious as they are the most refined portion of this painting.  My subject was holding a necklace which I painted out.  I will probably add a 3d element of a necklace when it is finished.  No, I will add a 3d element, my venus figures.

I created a small Venus of Willendorf some time ago out of polymer clay.  I wanted to do more work exploring the woman so doing venus figures seemed like a natural extension of this.  The mold is made out of Amazing Mold Putty.  It is expensive but I love this stuff.

These were the original polymer clay venuses that I made.  That Willendorf was a challenge.  I can see these as additions to artwork in the future.

I love working in polymer clay.  I also love experimenting making faces.  This is the latest one I created.  It hasn't been baked yet as I am refining the features more.  I am happy with how it has come out so far.  I didn't get a view of the side but her hairstyle is three bounded buns.  Her neck ends in a straight area towards the back so she could be mounted.  I have plans for her.

This polymer clay venus stands about six inches.  I utilized my anatomy book to work on this particular piece.  It still needs to be sanded smooth and when I work up the patience (I can't stand to sand) then I will do so.  It has a foil armature with the polymer molded over.  I am pleased with how it came out considering I haven't molded a model in over 10 years.


I haven't even posted the million drawings I have done.  There is so much I want to do including larger paintings.  Everything takes time.  I will get there.