Abstract Portraits

I have tried for a few years now to paint portraits.  I am realizing I just do not enjoy creating realism.  Maybe because it is too much of a challenge for me (very possible)  or maybe its because abstract is just more interesting to me.  Either way I grabbed a canvas board the other night along with some paynes gray and white welcoming whatever showed up.  

Whenever I paint this way I always feel as though parts of myself spill out onto the canvas.  I suppose each of us leave small parts of ourselves within our work.  Whether its images or words it would be hard not to.  As artists our work comes from a deeper place, one that we may not even be aware of.  And that place can be very powerful . . . 

xo

Linking up with Paint Party Friday today :)

The Girl With The Crazy Red Hair!!

Ok, so I know I said this about my last painting, but I LOVE this girl!!  She is based off of a sketch I did about a year ago and as with the angel I omitted the open eye and nose.  And I think it fits somehow.  The idea of using red for her hair was very scary for me.  I went with golden's pyrrole red.  I think that shade just goes so well with black and white. 

As always  I like to show a few pics of how she came to be . . . 

First I used black and white paint very thickly applied to the canvas.  This is another 16x20.  Surprisingly I am enjoying going large with these faces.  

I use a stablilo marks all pencil in black to sketch her out and also use a faber castell gelato which smudges really well dry for the eye details.  The hair I squeezed right out of the bottle of the fluid acrylic.  Scary indeed!  It reminded me of scribbling!  

Here is an upclose shot so you can see some of the detail.  I stamped in her hair "you are loved"  which I hope you can see in this pic.  I still love stamping.

This gal is available and headed to my etsy shop soon but you can email me if you fall in love with her too! ;)

Today I flipped through my sketchbook and picked out another girl.  I started a new black and white background.  I hope to get to sketching her out on it soon!

Sharing at Paint Party Friday.  

Hope you are all enjoying a great and safe  holiday weekend.  I will be back on Sunday with some new digital sketches to share!

xo

Progression Of An Angel . . .

 

Is it really Friday already??  lol  I have been painting more girls this time an angel.  I didnt know she was an angel when I started out.  This girl was inspired by a sketch I did a long time ago.  I think I am going to keep looking through sketches that never made it to a canvas and paint them.  

When I began I quickly painted a grey background and then loosely sketched her out with graphite.  I am trying to not get caught up in the details.  

At this point I knew I wanted her to have copper hair.  I was a bit scared to just go with it but I tried to go bold!

When it came to the wings it was Lou who suggested the patina color.  I did NOT like it at first.  But something about the patina with the copper just worked.  I used a small bottle of golden fluid in bronze to drizzle detail onto the wings.  I also lightly wrote out the words that came to me "Angels Carry Hope On Their Wings" along the left side of the canvas.  

As you can see from the first image I added lots of scribble detail and used stamps for the words.  My favorite part is when it all seems to come together.  Even when you don't think it ever will.  

Sharing with Paint Party Friday!

I have a new girl in progress that I am excited to share soon!  So be sure to check back!  

xo

Painting My Girls And Going Bold !!

For those of you who have been following my blog for awhile you may already know how much I do not like painting faces.  I love to sketch faces but when it comes to painting them I get too anxious and I end up with a stiff neck from stressing out trying to be perfect!  Last week I saw a link someone posted on Facebook for an art video by artist Karrie Evenson.  I was not familiar with her or her work so I decided to check her out.  And boy am I glad I did!  Her work is amazing!  She has many videos up on youtube on acrylic painting.  She is all about being free and being bold in life and in your art.  One of the videos I watched was from her tv show "karrie on canvas".  She was painting a woman with wild hair.  

Watching her paint and not get all caught up in the perfection of it inspired me to give it a try and paint one of my girl sketches.  I am still on a black, white and red kick so I thought I would continue with that palette.  I went big and bold choosing a 16x20 canvas no less!  I added molding paste for texture.  The first image is how she started out.  I was so inspired that I took a small bottle of black craft paint and drizzled her hair on the canvas right out of the bottle.  Then I scratched into it.  I was shocked at how much I enjoyed it.  I decided to not get crazy with her face.  I drew on the face with my Stabilo pencil and smudged with a brush for the details.  She has no nose cause lets face it, they are really hard for me to paint!  lol  And besides, I kinda like her face this way.  

Here is the finished piece.  I just love her!!  Adding all the details was just super fun.  I used some new foam stamps for the words.  This piece has lots of texture.  I am so happy to have discovered Karrie and I hope you will visit her website.  I think  you will love her too!!  If you want to loosen up and be inspired be sure to check her out!  

I have even started a new large canvas with another girl, this time an angel.  I will share her soon!  She is almost finished!  

Sharing this piece over at Paint Party Friday.  

xo

Love Is Enough . . .

"love is enough"

mixed media on 12x24 wrapped canvas

available on etsy 

This is the first time I tried a 12x24 canvas and really love the size and rectangle shape.  I went shopping last week and bought canvases as well as some new foam alphabet stamps and a foam heart stamp which I used on this new piece.  As  you can see I am still on the black, white, and red kick!  I may be stuck there for a while.  There is just something about black and white.  And red just fits so well with it too.  I have been using pyrrole red instead of a crimson.  The pyrrole red is an orangy red which I like better with the black and white.  When I used crimson it looks like blood to me.  Weird I know!  Ick!  lol

I added lots of texture with scrapes into the paint and drizzling black and white in scribbles all over.  Love the foam stamps.  This time the words were in my head before the painting.  I added the lines around the words with a faber castell gelato.  Its water soluble but looks like a crayon when u first draw with it.  I liked the look of that.  I needed something around the words.  They looked so lost out there alone!

I like the graffiti feel of this piece.  Lately hearts and love are the main subject of my work.  I have been feeling very out of sorts these days.  Anxious to the point that nothing even looks the same or familiar to me.  I really hate feeling like this.  Hope it will pass soon.  In the meantime I will try to just paint and get out of my own head.  Not an easy task but a necessary one.  

Sharing with Paint Party Friday.  Is it really Friday again already???  

xo

Love Never Dies . . .

"love never dies"

mixed media on 20x24 canvas

I am in love with this painting!  I have to say that it is my personal favorite of anything I have done thus far.  I used a limited palette of just black and white with some red.  There are a couple of other undone paintings underneath.  I just didnt like what was happening so I gessoed over it and started new.  

Here is the first new layer done with just foam brushes . . . 

I thought I would have trouble with all the space but I am getting used to painting larger.  I used mostly foam brushes and a palette knife.  My favorite part was adding the white drizzles!  

The words always seem to come to me as I paint.  And these words fit the piece perfectly.  Last night Lou hung it up on the wall in our living room.  It will be making its way to my etsy shop soon.  

I am sharing this piece over at Paint Party Friday.  Its always a great time over there!  

I am already planning another black and white piece similar to this except I am thinking a burst of yellow hearts this time!  I do love some yellow with grey. 

Now its time for some ice cream!  lol  

(seriously though, when is it NOT time for ice cream??)

xo

Getting Grungy With Graphite . . .

I have quickly fallen in love with Golden's graphite gray!  I knew I wanted to use a limited palette and cover up an ugly canvas I started a few weeks ago.  lol  Ahhhh, the beauty of acrylic!  I like the grungy look of this piece.  I don't feel like its done just yet.  The top may need some drips or something.  And maybe some glazing over the letters to push them back.  

I see a couple of images in there as well.  You all know how much I love it when that happens!  On the bottom in the center I see very small figures walking hand in hand near a tree.  And then up on top toward the left side I see three figures floating around.  Would love to hear what you see??  Otherwise I may think I am crazy!  lol

Sharing this piece today at Paint Party Friday. 

I also want to let you know that I donated some of my art/photography to an art auction being held on FB this weekend.  It is to help support young women with breast cancer.  Being a young survivor myself I am always happy to give back!  So be sure to check out this link if you are on Facebook!

Live for Lauren Art Auction

Hearts . . . New Painting

"Love Inspired"

mixed media on 11x14 canvas

I had a canvas with an unfinished painting.  I no longer felt connected to it so I decided to create something totally different.  And I am so glad I did.  It is pretty liberating to cover over an old idea with something new.  

My new favorite colors are magenta and blue as you can see.  I was surprised I had the patience to layer!  I am slowly learning that if I can add more layers the painting has lots more depth.  I really enjoyed creating this one.  

Here is the first layer.  I used phalto blue and phalto green.  I applied the paint with my hands and a sponge brush which I have never used but love the feathery effects you can get with it .

 I fell in love with the first layer but knew I had to keep going.  

I love to add letters so I sprayed through my alphabet stencil and also added some white circles.  

In the background of this image you can see a larger painting.  That is something I am working on for Flora Bowley's "Bloom True" online course which I am in the middle of.  (more on that to come!)

I knew I wanted to incorporate hearts so I added that next.  

I also used the magenta which is transparent to cover some of the blue.  That was pretty scary for me.  Silly but true.  I get so attached to my layers that I really struggle to let go and cover stuff up.  

Once I did I liked that I could see the white peeking through from underneath.  

Initially I was upset I covered over the letters on the right side so I brought them back.  I also added a stamp on the heart which reads "when I want to see love defined I look at you".  I felt like it was a nice finishing touch to this piece.

I will be adding it to my etsy shop soon! 

Linking up today with Paint Party Friday.  If you haven't joined us yet be sure to check it out!  Lots of great art to be seen!

xo

Finding The Face . . .

I am discovering a style of painting that I think is becoming my own.  I really love being free with paint, picking a couple of colors, adding some white and using my hands to smear the paint around.  I also use a scraper sometimes.  Then I stand back and look to see who or what shows up.  I love it when I find a face.  

I am hoping you too can see the face I discovered in the top left side of this piece.  It almost looks like a mask and it is only half of a face.  I am sure there are other discoveries to be made!

So now I would like to ask you . . . 

What do you see??

Sharing today at Paint Party Friday :)

New Grungy Love . . .

 Graphite gray . . . I am loving this color just as much as I thought I would.  It is the perfect shade and it has a nice shimmer to it.  Great for grunge.  

For this piece I decided to go back to some photo art.  I scratched up my "love" photo and incorporated it into this piece.  There is molding paste, scribbling, and scrubbed paint.  This time I used white paint to adhere the photo and it worked well better than I thought.  Read about the story behind this image HERE.

Grungy love. . . its my favorite!

Sharing this at Paint Party Friday.  Please do come by and join us!

Procession . . . New Black and White Art

"procession"

acrylic on 8x10 wood panel

Well as you can see  my blog has been abandoned for a couple of weeks.  I have been down for the count and I did not even see it coming.  What started out as a cold evolved into what I can only believe was the flu.  I am finally feeling better but not quite over it yet.  It is s sneaky little bug.  I would feel better and then bad very quickly.  Thought I was good christmas eve only to spend christmas day on the couch.  Quite the bummer but certainly not the worst thing compared to the sadness that has been happening around us lately.  

I did however get one day where I felt well enough to paint.  And lately I have been enjoying creating abstracts using a scraper and my hands.  I love the texture it creates and really like the process of scraping the paint around.  

I wanted to try just black and white.  So for this piece which I did on cradled wood panel I applied alot of titanium white first.  I am finding that I like the hard surface to paint on.  Then I used the black mixing it into the white randomly.  I kept going till I felt it was done.  I see some figures on the left side.  What do you see?? 

Sharing with Paint Party Friday.  

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday.  I feel so out of the loop when I am not online.  Hope to visit you all very soon!

xo

Tell Me . . . What Do You See??

9x12 mixed media on watercolor paper

Who knew it could be so much fun to paint with a squeegee!  Lou gave a an extra one he had from home depot (which btw is a great place to look for painting tools!)  and I wasn't sure if I would ever use it.  I quickly gave it a try on watercolor paper using a limited palette of payne's gray, quin nickel azo gold, and some titanium white.  These are colors I don't normally use together but I was inspired by a lesson in Misty Mawn's online class "Open Studio"  and thought I would give it a whirl.  

I only used my hands to lay down the initial layer of colors and then started scraping with the plastic scraper thingy.  I was nervous at first wondering how much of it I would mess up as I just randomly scraped away, blending and removing color all at the same time.  It also came in handy to scratch some lines which I often love to do.  

I was just about to add another layer over it because I did not like it at all when my husband came in and said he liked it.  He told me to leave it overnight and look at it with fresh eyes in the morning.  Pretty good advice.  He told me he saw a white house, and I realized I saw a bird in the center.  I also see a waterfall in the right lower corner.  When I posted this on facebook a friend told me he saw a nativity scene!

This is what I love most about painting abstract . . . each person who looks at it sees something different.  I love the discoveries!!  I love the images that just show up!

So now its  your turn.  What do you see??

Sharing at Paint Party Friday

xo

Landscape Painting . . . I've Missed You

I have always loved landscapes, in photography, and in paintings.  Despite the fact that I have had a difficult time being loose when I paint them I still love it.  When I discovered art just under 3 years ago I started out with landscapes.  But often I found that I tried too hard to be perfect.  All that did was kink my neck up much like portrait painting does.  

I had the idea for this piece a few days ago and decided to give it a try.  I have been getting looser and more abstract with my art as of late so I wondered how that would affect my landscape attempt.  Well, I happily discovered that it enhanced it.  I don't like to use paintbrushes anymore so I was able to paint this with just my hands.  Not easy but fun!  I picked some non typical colors but some of my favorites.  I used payne's gray, alizarin crimson, raw umber, and titanium white.  

Linking up with Paint Party Friday.  Click HERE to join us!

Looking forward to seeing what you all have been up to!

xo

Back To Black And White . . .

It has been so long since I painted in black and white.  I was using it alot when I was creating pieces using my photography a while back.  So yesterday I got out a new 12x12 canvas and my black and white acrylics.  

I really do not like using brushes.  So I gloved up and started smearing paint.  This time an image did not show up right away but I knew I wanted to create some type of face.  I did have the large open circle and worked my way around it.  I scratched into the paint layers with my palette knife and scribbled with a white-out pen

I have to say I was a bit creeped out when I stood back and looked at the finished piece.  But I had such fun during the process.  And to tell you the truth I do like it.  I feel something when I see it and I hope others do as well.  

Sharing with Paint Party Friday.  Click Here to join us!

I sketched a face the other day for the first time in many months.  I will be sharing that in my next post so be on the look out!  

;)

In Balance . . . A New Face Shows Up

Hope all of my US friends had a nice Thanksgiving yesterday.  It was a quiet one here with just Lou, me, and the pug.  Although I miss having lots of family around the quiet does me good especially lately as I am just a sponge for the crazy energy out there in the world.  I think it is that energy playing a role in shifting my art.

This piece is quickly becoming one of my favorite's.   I was inspired to use colors I typically don't put together, yellow with payne's gray.  I started this once again by smearing the colors around the page with my hands.  Then I stepped back to look for what showed up.  I saw the face over on the right and what looked like it could be a birdie on the lower left.  The heart was the only thing I purposely created when I was pushing the paint around.  I scribbled into the paint and later realized that it looks as though the bird has a string or something in its mouth connected to the heart.  With the eyes off kilter on the face I feel like the bird is trying to balance that person.  

I long to create pieces like this, pieces that tell a story, and hopefully make others "feel".  

I am sharing this over at Paint Party Friday.  

Click HERE to join us!

Also, my work is being featured today over at Julie Prichard's blog for another installment of her Art Gallery Tour!  Be sure to check it out HERE!  

And Another Face Just Showed Up . . .

"the enlightenment of love" 

9x12 mixed media journal page

I have been working in a new Strathmore journal.  I went bigger this time graduating myself from a small 5x8 to a 9x12.  I wanted more room to be messy.  I smile to myself everytime I say that because a year ago I would have cringed at making a mess with paint.  

For this one I used just payne's gray and titanium white.  I only used my hand to smear it around and play with the paint.  The I stood back to see what showed up.  

I stood back and found a face.  Can you see it too??  I traced a circle around the face.  I saw 2 eyes and a splotch of white where a mouth would be.  And from there I pulled it out of the background till I was happy with it.  

As I was painting the face the words "the enlightenment of love" popped in my head so I wrote them in pen over in the right side of the finished piece.  

I have to say I am really enjoying this way of creating.  The other night I tried to draw a face and then paint it.  Oh my it was awful!!  And I mean it felt bad to create that way. At the moment I cannot plan out what a piece will look like.  I need to smear paint and see what shows up! 

Sharing today at Paint Party Friday.

xo

Letting Go Of Perfect . . .

"Letting Go Of Perfect" is the title of a technique article I wrote in the current issue of Somerset Studio Magazine (super exciting to be published again! )  And I felt it was also the right way to start off this post.  

For those of you who are long time followers of my blog you probably know about my perfectionist ways and longing to paint a perfect face.  Well, lately since the hurricane actually my art has shifted especially with the faces I am creating.  I was slowly becoming more messy with my backgrounds and recently have welcomed creating imperfect, messy faces like this latest journal page I am sharing today. I really love her.  I feel connected to her.  

I am never going to be an artist that can paint realism certainly not when it comes to portraits.  But what I did realize is that I want to create art that makes people feel.  I want to evoke emotion through my work.  And I don't think I need to paint a realistic face to do that.  This has opened up a whole new world for me and a new road to take with my painting. Not sure where it will take me but so far I am enjoying it.  

Sharing over at Paint Party Friday.  

Artist Seth Apter is hosting a charity auction over at his blog that will benefit those affected by Hurricane Sandy.  As a NY'er I am grateful that we made it through the storm unscathed unlike so many others who are homeless and suffering right now in this area.  You can find out more about the auction HERE.

xo 

A Face Emerges . . .

I am not quite sure how but since this storm my art seems to be changing.  I suppose due to the emotion of it all.  I am liking where it is going.  It is starting to feel more like "me".  Yesterday I posted my first painting where the change can be felt.  Just visit my last post for details on "eye of the storm"

This face emerged from a messy background.  I used watercolor crayons and gesso mixing them together with my hands.  Then I looked around and saw what looked like eye shapes from the background.  I decided to go for it.  I typically don't like to paint a face but this messy imperfect thing feels right to me.  I didn't care that the eyes were lopsided or the nose was too long.  I added the pink along the top for "hair".    The drips just felt right.  

I am sharing her over at Paint Party Friday.  Click HERE to stop by!

Speaking of parties, Julie Prichard from Land of Lost Luggage is hosting one of her own.  Actually it is an art gallery tour and I am excited to have some of my work  featured along with other great artists who have taken classes with her and Chris Cozen.  I have taken many a class with them and they are fab!  Be sure to stop by Julie's blog for the first leg of the tour!  

Click HERE!

Metallic Paints, A Heart, And A Woman . . .

I had been wanting to try some metallic paints.  I was browsing in the craft store and picked up a tube of copper paint.  It was Golden's iridecent fine copper.  It was love at first sight.  I really love the rose tones in that shade of copper.  That color was the inspiration for this painting.  

Originally I was going to make this a multilayered painting.  But then I kept looking at it after the first layer and it just felt like it didn't need much more.  I added some silver in both paint and sharpie form for some scribbles.  And splattered some of the silver as well.  I posted the image on facebook and it already has a home!  

It felt good to paint again after a long hiatus so to speak.  

In case  you missed my last post I wanted to share another piece I created this week.  I used a piece of birch wood and payne's gray.  I smeared the paint around on the wood with my hand and a paper towel.  Immediately this image appeared!  I thought it was a bit creepy at first but then I really loved it.  I used a black watercolor crayon to bring out the image and shade a bit.  It looks like a woman.  And I can't help but wonder who she is . . . 

I am sharing today over at Paint Party Friday.  If you haven't yet joined us please come by and check it out!

Click HERE

xo

The Circle Of Life . . . And Where I've Been

 Well, I am finally back after neglecting this blog for a week now!  This is the first painting I have done in quite a few weeks.  I don't typically have that long of a dry spell.  Not sure what is going on with me.  I have not felt like myself lately.  I feel lost on many levels.  

Never in my life have I been so painfully aware of the passage of time.  I feel stuck, I feel down, and I feel all mixed up.  I have always been spiritual and intuitive.  I feel like the energy all around me is chaotic, I mean out in the universe.  Wonder if anyone else feels that way these days.  When I my mind feels messed up my art shows it.  As  you can see here is messy journal page I did yesterday.  

Despite the mess though the message is a good one I think . . . 

Sharing over at Paint Party Friday today.  Hopefully I will be back soon with new art but if not I have lots of silly pug pics to share!

xo