Monday, September 15, 2014

Mermaid Circus fun and painted backgrounds

 

Mermaid Fun


I have joined the Mermaid Circus with Jane Davenport and Teesha Moore.
We are making a shaped journal and using collage in the creation of our Mermaid.
At first I found it very challenging to work within an already outlined area.
I was also not comfortable with using collage in my art work at first.  I have only ever used collage in creating backgrounds, but not in the subject itself.  But I persisted with the creation of this project with an open mind.  Whilst creating my mermaid I started to enjoy the process more and more.  In the end I was very pleased with the effect of the collage pieces to create the scales for the mermaid.  I really like the effect it has.  I will definitely incorporate collage into any of my future art creations again.  It also taught me that it is great to try new things and challenge yourself to create in ways that you do not feel comfortable with.  If you keep an open mind and just go with the process one step at a time and just enjoy the process rather then expecting a result, the whole experience can be quite rewarding in the end.




Painting Fun


I have also been busy playing with paint on canvas and watercolour paper.  Just playing around with paints and dylusions spray inks creating backgrounds.  The idea was to just play and have fun like an 8 year old.  Experimenting with different types of colours and combinations and seeing what happens.  I am very new to painting.  But I love all the paint colours available.  It is very nice and relaxing to just play for the enjoyment of painting itself, rather then doing it for creating a result.  Afterwards I scanned the backgrounds into my computer and used the images in Picasa to create a collage:




Before I started the painting session, I created the following intention for myself:


Having an intention before you set out to create,  is a great way to remind yourself during that session, what it is you set out to achieve.  Some days you might just like to play and be curious like a child.  Other days you might like to learn a specific technique.  It is great to mix things up a bit and have different intentions on different days.  As each will bring your forward to your next step in creating art and exploring the possibilities that are available to us.


Friday, September 12, 2014

29 Faces - Face 5, 6 and 7 & an Art journal page

I am a bit behind with creating a face every day for 29 days.  I find it quite tricky to keep up with any challenges that involves creating something every day for consecutive days.
I try to get in my art room most days and do at least something small towards a project that I am working on.  I often have many projects going at the same time.  As a result I don't always finish everything I am working on.  Sometimes it can stay half done for ages.  But at the end of the day I guess that does not matter.  As long as we are busy making something that inspires us on a regular basis to give us joy.

Here are first 3 faces I sketched in my sketching journal with pencil.  I like to sketch faces to practice different face shapes and hair styles.

Face 5:

 

Face 6:

 

Face 7: 

 

 

Art Journal page:

 

For the following art journal page I created, I was inspired by the Art Journal & Tutorial videos by Iris Impressions.  The particular video that inspired me for this page is called: 'She did her best'.

Here is a link to one of Iris's blog post that includes this tutorial:/http://iris-impressions.com/2014/08/art-journal-tutorial-videos/
 and many more great inspirational videos created by Iris.



Today she has posted another great tutorial on her YouTube channel called: Access your Joy.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

29 Faces - Face 3 and 4

Face 3:


For face 3, I decided to use water soluble oil pastels.  I continued to work large on the A3 printer paper as I did for face 1 and 2.   I am more used to working with coloured pencils, which have a nice fine point.  So working with these oil pastels was quite a challenge for me.  I am glad I was working on a big piece of paper as it would be impossible to draw any fine detail with crayons.  The other challenge I found working with this medium was that I could not rub out any mistakes.  Any lines down on the paper were final.  With these oil pastels I also could not smooth and blend the colours with my fingers, as you can with charcoal, graphite or soft pastels.  I did not use water with these water soluble oil pastels because the paper would not allow for it.  I would need to try that on water colour paper.
Once again I enjoyed working large and drawing with crayons gave me the feeling I was drawing like a child.  Just putting down lines and colour without being too concerned about any perfections.

Face 4:


For face 4 I used black india ink, drawing with a bamboo dip pen.   Again, I used the A3 printer paper because I enjoy working large at the moment.  Creating the zen-tangle style hair was very relaxing. 


Thank you, for your visit!

Thursday, September 4, 2014

29 Faces September 2014 - Face 1 and 2

I have decided to participate in the 29 faces challenge created by Ayala Art.
29 faces was originally created in a leap year to celebrate the year with art.
29 faces in 29 days in February.
It's all about a FACE.

The idea is to gather up all your art supplies and to try something new to YOU!

It is time to play and not be afraid.


To be ready to mess up, fix up, practice and have a huge amount of fun while doing ART.

I am not sure if I will be able to keep up with this commitment every day for 29 days, but I give it a try.

The only way I have any chance to create 29 faces in 29 days is to create a face quickly in not too much time.  Generally when I draw a face I can easily spend a long time on it.
So my challenge is to create a face in a limited amount of time as well as using mediums, methods and elements I normally would not use a lot.

Through my blog posts I will share with you the faces I have created and the challenges I have faced using different methods and mediums and what I have learned from each experience whilst creating a face.

Here we go:

Face 1:



One of my first faces I ever drew that I was really proud of, is when I was a teenager and created a face with  charcoal.  I have not used charcoal for years.  So I went looking around my supplies to see if I could find some.  I could not find my original charcoal I had as a teenager, but I found a packet with charcoal pencils, charcoal sticks, a blending stump, and 2 different type of rubbers.  First I had a go at sharpening the charcoal pencils.  But I was not successful.  Every time the point would break.  So I decided to just use the charcoal sticks only, to draw with.  I got out an A3 piece of printer paper.  So nice cheap paper and cheap art supplies (little packet was from a thrift shop - probably explains the breakage of the charcoal pencil).  
I drew this without any reference to look at.  Just a quick sketch to loosen up.
I enjoyed drawing on a larger scale as I would usually (A4 or A5).
Drawing on A3 with a large stick of charcoal gave me a nice free feeling.  I loved just sketching without any expectations.  Using the A3 paper allowed me to draw a larger face as I would normally draw and I experienced that because of this I was now drawing more from the shoulder instead of my hand.  
I will definitely start drawing larger on A3 paper more often from now onwards.  I managed to draw this face in approximately 15-20 minutes.  

So I drew another one:

Face 2: 



I used the same art supplies and A3 printer paper.  I feel working large is a great way to loosen up and leave my tendency of wanting to create in detail behind.

I am looking forward to see what else I will learn on the way creating 29 faces.  If you are participating in this challenge as well.  Please leave a comment and let me know what you are discovering on the way.


Here are my 2 drawings together with the supplies I used: