She's Painted! :)

"flying on wings of butterflies"

mixed media on 8x10 gallery wrapped canvas

available on etsy

So I decided to go with pink and chocolate brown. And I really think it fits her well! I initially thought about blue and yellow but I am pleased with the pink. I added a layer of collage to the canvas, then gesso (love gesso!) and added the pink. I have been liking bubble wrap for texture lately. I used a new faber castell gelato in black for shading to make the circles pop. Those gelatos are great! I only have black and white but they are creamy, smudgeable, and water soluble too!

I enjoy the details the most although I must say that I got a stiff neck gluing all the little butterflies on to the canvas! You are probably thinking "what the hek is wrong with her?" lol seriously though it doesn't take much these days to tighten up my neck.

I really love how she turned out. I need to get to sketching more of these girls.

I so love them!

xo

Challenging Myself . . .

untitled

mixed media on 8x10 cardboard

I feel tired as I write this post. I was up late last night painting. Creatively, I seem to do my best work at night. I try not to though because I need my sleep! But this was just one of those moments when I had to break the rules.

I am taking Misty Mawn's "Open Studio" online class. Up until now I have just been soaking it all in and not creating much. But something finally got to me and I needed to try to take my art to another level. I have been wanting to paint faces and also sketch directly onto the canvas. I wanted to not be afraid of painting a messy face. I want to embrace the imperfect. I am finding that of many things I am learning from Misty that is a big lesson for me.

I used a piece of cardboard for a canvas and I love it! I also loved painting directly onto a layer of gesso. The texture and tooth feel good under my paintbrush!

It was just fun to be messy and just let this girl speak to me. It was a whole new experience for me. As you can see from the initial sketch below I didn't intend this girl to be sad and teary eyed. I was originally thinking, light, happy, and lots of hearts. I initially resisted the colors I chose, didn't like how her face was coming out, and then just gave in.

I initially resisted the colors I chose, didn't like how her face was coming out, and then just gave in. And I am so happy that I did! I really love her! I think I will be using more cardboard for a canvas in the future! Its a cool surface to paint on!

For those of you who have painted on cardboard . . . any tips on finishing? I need to spray fixative on her but other than that what do you recommend?

I am sharing her over at Paint Party Friday. Click HERE to join us!

xo