New experiments and ACEOs

I love the graphic effect of linocuts. The lines are very bold and I find the stark contrast of black and white as well as the interplay of negative and positive space to be most interesting. I also love it when the color element is added as the colors seem brighter and the work has this "comic book" effect to it. I am in the position where I do not have the facilities or equipment (inks, press, linoleum) to recreate this method any time soon. So I improvised and created the following piece.





On the back of the card, I affixed the queen of spades playing card. I've been meaning to use these for ACEOs for awhile now and thought my little experiment here would be the perfect compliment. This is called a gouache relief and the resemblance to a hand-painted lino is uncanny to say the least. It is a beautiful process, albeit time consuming. I wouldn't say it is for the perfectionist especially since the effects are somewhat unpredictable.

I completed the following ACEO also. I entitled it, "Just the Right Size II," after a piece I completed some time in 2007 with similar content. I also added these interesting jewels as embellishment plants on the piece, a bit of experimentation on my part.

Completed Commission

I have finally completed the commissioned doggies. They were really a joy to draw (as well as a challenge). I have entitled this piece, "All to the Dogs." It will have a home with its owner very soon. I wasn't able to scan the entire piece; the white doggies ear and part of my name was cut off in the scan. My fiance said the white dog was the feistiest as far as looks go. Indeed her owner said she was a little spitfire however also very sweet. I am rather pleased with the final results and I hope the owner is also.




I have also completed a kitty ACEO. It was completed in graphite and verithin prismacolor pencil on watercolor. It is entitled, "The Stare." It is one of many graphite pieces I am getting ready for the new year. I am also going to complete a few watercolor, gouache, and ink pieces (and a few doodles). Maybe a few oil pieces later in the year. I am going to be a bit busy and I am looking forward to it.

Commissioned Dogs

I was commissioned to draw some doggies by a former co-worker of mine. They are the cutest little miniature fluffy dogs (sorry their formal names escape me) I've seen in awhile. This piece measures 11 x 14 and I have used graphite, colored pencils, and archival proof ink to create this piece. It won't take me too much longer to complete it. It's mostly getting the drawing down and working on the value relationships and tonal range.

Mali Girl Completed, Maine Coons WIP

I have finally completed Mali Girl. I completed this for an event I have coming up in March. I'm rather pleased with the results. It was completed in gold acrylic, archival proof ink and watercolor on 140 lb Arches Watercolor paper. The original scan I had brightened a little bit because it scanned really dim. I then glazed over the original in a reddish tone to brighten the face. This scan is unaltered.

I am still working on the Maine Coon kittens. Eventually I will get them completed :-). These are graphite on 140 lb Strathmore paper (I think it responds to the graphite better than the Arches). I am still working on some commissioned work. I will post that as soon as I am at a sufficient stopping point.

Playing around

This is just a sketch I did playing around with my wacom and photoshop. I made a baby girl note/greeting card with envelope and thought something was missing...

Two ACEO kitties

I completed these over a week ago. I haven't really been working on anything besides a commission of a few doggies and the maine coon kitties. When I get to a good stopping point I'll post the progress of those. I try to stagger my time as best I can around my schedule. I will have these up for auctions probably sometime tomorrow or Wednesday.

Sleeping Beauty


Christmas Stocking Stuffer

I did one similar to this last year called Christmas Sweetie. It will probably be the only Christmas themed work that I do (however don't quote me on that). I will attempt to update in a few days.

New Kitty ACEOs

I have two new kitty ACEOs. "Watchful" was completed a little over a week and a half ago and I just did "Casual Hunter" yesterday. These are going up for auction tonight. I am in the process of working on a Christmas Kitty similar to one I did last year...I started that yesterday also. The Maine Coon kittens are almost finished and I am about to start on a commission of four puppy dogs...I have two weeks to get them finished so I am about to get on the ball. Here are the kitties:

Watchful, watercolor and ballpoint ink


Casual Hunter, watercolor, koh-i-noor nexus ink pens, graphite

New Kitty Oil Painting

I completed this painting last week. I'm posting this week because it took that long to dry lol. I was torn between making it realistic or going with a more expressionistic approach. I think I found a happy medium. I didn't see the purpose of recreating a photograph. My scanner does not do oil paintings justice I'm afraid so there are some areas that seem kind of whitened out and such and not as vibrant as the original. I am going to invest in a better camera than my camera phone one of these days since I intend to do more oil paintings. I haven't named this piece as of yet. It measures 5" x 7" on canvas board.

I've been tagged!!!

I've been tagged by the wonderfully gifted artists Danielle Barlow and Diane! From what I understand, I have to now expose 7 unusal things about myself to the blogosphere. Then you tag 7 other bloggers at the end of your post and let them know on their blogs that they have been tagged! There's no pressure to join in (although it is a lot of fun!).

Okay here we go:

1.) I really like frogs. I find them to be fascinating creatures. I'm not fond of toads, just frogs. Green ones, blue ones, red ones, etc. etc. My father had this song he used to sing about frogs when I was a little girl about a lonely frog that didn't have a home and he had a frog toy hanging from his rearview mirror that squeaked when you squeezed it. I loved that thing.

2.) I entered an art contest when I was in fourth grade...it was about how to use the rules of safety in the neighborhood. I drew a girl on rollerblades in full safety helmet and pads. I bought it in and my art teacher at the time, Mr. Wiggins, refused to put it in the contest because he thought someone else drew it! I suppose I should have been flattered. At the time I was devastated (darn teachers!)

3.) For Pre-Calculus class in high school, I built a guitar and tuned it based on mathematical expressions.

4.) In Physics class in high school, I recreated the color spectrum based upon a scientific analysis of color waves and light refraction (that's how I passed the class).

5.) I work in accounting. Most of the people I went to school with have this deadpan "say what?" expression on their face when they hear what I'm doing (since I was an art major). Wow is it THAT much of a stretch?!?

6.) When I was younger those characters at places like Six Flags and Disney World and clowns used to really freak me out. The sight of one of those characters with their eerily happy dispositions and affinity for hugs would automatically activate my flight reflex and that's pretty much all she wrote. I can tolerate them much better now since I have children that love them. It all began with that character, Bugs Bunny. I went to Six Flags when I was 15 and shortly after entering through the gate, there he was. Just standing there unassuming and still. I began my trek across the courtyard. All of a sudden, the next thing I know he breaks into a full run towards me with his arms outstretched. Scared the living crap out of me. I turned and broke into a full run back towards the entrance. I refused to come back in until all of the characters were gone. I couldn't really relax and enjoy the festivities for fear that I would be accosted by an oversized cartoon character. Thankfully I am over this fear and can have a laugh at my own expense about it.

7.) Although this isn't really "unusual" I believe it's worth noting. Last Friday was the very first Black Friday I have ever attended. My mother, my SO (significant other) and I went to Walmart. We got there at 4:15 and the line was a mile long. The Walmart employees opened a side door about five minutes before five and a jostling of sorts occurred between the people who were already waiting in line and the folks coming in trying to get some leverage. When the ropes dropped, it was pandemonium. Shopping carts collided and a lot of pushing and shoving ensued. It was an interesting sight to watch. I didn't want anything in particular...and neither did my mother for that matter so it was much more leisurely for us. We got a few deals here and there however as a whole it wasn't really worth the loss of sleep and general aggravation of dealing with an overly emotional public (thanks to the holidays). Will I go again? Probably not.

Ok that's all folks!!

Here are the 7 people I would like to tag (because I love their blogs!).

Serena P. Lewis, http://artbyserena.blogspot.com/

Rachel Parker, http://rachelsstudio.blogspot.com/

Adebanji Alade, http://adebanjialade.blogspot.com/

Linda, http://artwolfs-briar-rose-gate.blogspot.com/

Shari, http://inkbrushcreations.blogspot.com/

Megan Coyle, http://meganacoyle.blogspot.com/

Ken Gillam, http://kengillam.blogspot.com/

These are great artists whose blogs I visit often!!! Thanks so much for stopping by!

New Still Life Painting

I haven't painted with oils since painting class in college back in 2003. I was pretty decent at it. Shocked my professor at the time....I only worked strictly in charcoal and she thought I would have had a more difficult time with oil painting. I prefer oils over watercolors for a variety of reasons. It takes longer to dry. I can redraw with the oil paints. Watercolors are a bit unforgiving. I can paint and repaint over and over with oils. The best part of working with oils is that you can add the highlights LAST. With watercolors you have to be careful to retain them. I try to do that with oils also however all is not lost if I don't.

That being said I did a quick still life study in oils of a bowl and some fruit. Yes, I know, really original, right? Considering I haven't worked with oils in so long I didn't deem it wise to jump into a major project right away. I completed it on canvas board and it took me about 3 hours to complete it. Below is my painting, still on the easel, and the still life set up I used. I was standing at the easel looking down on it rather than at face level. I don't really have a studio space as of yet. I have a desk that is set up strictly for drawing and watercolors...my poor easel hasn't had much use due to my lack of space to set up. I am in my living room in front of one of the windows. I used only natural light to paint it also...one light source is more than enough to keep up with. I am working on another project...once I am able to hunt down some foamcore I'll have those posted ASAP!



Not bad for an almost 6 year hiatus. It measures 11" x 14". I don't really do small oil paintings. I prefer 24" x 30" on up however the lack of space causes me to economize.

This is at a slightly different angle than the one used to paint the still life however you get the idea.

More good news...Some of my work is being displayed in a local art gallery called "The Art Spot" in Lexington, South Carolina. The Cat and Fish drawing (now entitled "Fishing") and the watercolor Siamese (now entitled "Curious") are now hanging there. The gallery owner said she will list that I also do pet portraits. I am really thrilled about the exposure and I'm currently working on pieces to display in another local gallery.

Mali Girl in Watercolor

This particular painting is taking me several days to complete. First I did the drawing outline. I made it really detailed. Then I added the masking fluid to places I wanted to keep white (for now). I wish I had documented the steps up to this point however I didn't expect it to turn out as well as it is presently. I used gold acrylics, watercolors, and the nexus ink pens up to this point. The next step is the headdress. You can still see the blue masking fluid still on her scarf...I'm still trying to figure out the best way to do it as I have embellished my reference photo a bit and am utilizing fabrics I have around the house with a little bit of imagination to complete it. The continent of Africa is behind her head and the rest is a textured gold with a gold underlay on the bottom. It will probably take a few more days to complete it. I will post the progress as it comes.

New Watercolor Painting

I'm getting the hang of this watercolor thing. I spent two days working on this Kitty and fishbowl combination and I rather like the results. The watercolor worked beautifully (IMO) with the Koh-I-Noor Nexus studio pens I purchased on ebay. It was a practice type drawing however the results came out better than I expected, especially since I've never really drawn water reflections in that manner before. This drawing measures 5" x 7". My next project will be a human being.

The Forgotten Kitten

I did this Kitten ACEO some time ago and for some reason never posted it. It is watercolor and prismacolor pencil on watercolor paper, standard ACEO (2.5"x3.5") size.

New Drawings

Tonight (or last night at this point)I worked on this pretty watercolor kitty. It measures 5 x 7 inches and is really me practicing with the watercolors and my nexus pens moreso than anything else. I rather like the results and tried to not be so tight and detail oriented to see what the watercolor could do for me. I may put it up for auction later on.

I completed this kitty on Monday night. It is an ACEO, graphite/colored pencil on watercolor paper. I will have it up on auction probably later this week.


I did this sketch over the weekend of a girl and her cat.

New ACEO

I have completed this ballpoint ink and watercolor drawing just today. One of my coworkers was astounded I could get such fine lines with a common papermate. I will be putting this one up for auction next week sometime. I have set up a new workspace at home so I should be able to work more efficiently and in more mediums at one time. I hope.

New Kitty ACEO

I decided to go back to an unlikely medium again: ballpoint ink pen. I love the effect and the cleanness of it. I can still get a great tonal range and I like the fact that the mark is pretty much permanent, which can lead to some interesting results.

I did this peaceful sleeping kitty over the past few days (ballpoint ink is time-consuming also). I did a spot of watercolor for the nose.

New ACEO completed today

I just did this one...I had the sketch around for some time so I decided to finally complete it. It will be up for auction either next week or the week after next. It is watercolor, black micron ink and sepia ink on watercolor paper. It's entitled, "The Things Cats Do."




UPDATE:

I haven't been able to work on my Maine Coon kitties as of late although I have filled in more of the fur on the first kitty. I will update the end of next week.

Old King and New ACEOs

I did this drawing back in December of 2007. It is entitled, "Old King." It was to complement a piece I had done entitled, "The Pride" which I sold on ebay. It is up for auction now:

Old King


It is pencil on 140 lb cold press Arches Watercolor paper and measures 5" x 7".
Here is "The Pride":




I worked on a few more ACEOs:



Gold acrylic, watercolor and sepia ink "Symphony in Gold"


Pencil on watercolor "Kitty Bliss"


Watercolor and sepia ink "Me-Yoooww!"

I've been a little busy in my absence. All of these will be up for auction next week.

Some New Work and WIP

These are the pieces I have been working on the past few days.


I started this one last month and finished it (added the butterfly) this month. It is up for auction on ebay now.


I completed this one on Friday night. It is a mix of watercolor, graphite, and black prismacolor pencil. I liked how it came out.


This is a work in progress of two Maine Coon kittens. First I did the shapes. Then I did the outlines. Now I am getting to the detailing and I like how it is turning out so far. It is 8" x 10", a lot larger than I usually work. I'll continue to post the updates until it is completed...I'll say in about a week or so.

My first "real" watercolor...

It's been a lot of fun playing with this medium. It took some getting used to it drying so fast compared to oils however other than that I feel it is worthwhile to explore it some more. So I decided to paint a flower. I did a blue and yellow underpainting and layered the other colors on top to build up the color. I never thought I would enjoy flat brushes so much (I prefer filbert). Also, who knew that textures would be so easily achievable with such a volatile medium? There was a yellow and red flower in the background however it was becoming more prominent than the purple one so I tried to brush it out with the green-blue background. I like it.

Update

Ok after feeling a bit uneasy about the pastel piece I was determined to figure out what bothered me about it. Then I did. The eyes were uneven. Now since the piece is fixed I couldnt' go in and manually correct it so I had to be a bit creative. I decided to add the wedjat, the left Eye of Horus. It is most appropriate because this is often depicted on Hathor, the mother of Horus. An ankh, the symbol of life, was added to the background to counteract the heavy focal point the eye ended up being on the piece. I feel much better about it this way than before and made sure I measured it so the eyes could align properly.

New ACEO

Ok...I still didn't stick with the drawing for the day theme. Today it was supposed to be a lamp however I drew giraffes instead. Gold acrylic (background), watercolor and pastel pencil (for some highlights), and sepia ink on 140 lb watercolor paper were used. I love the gold acrylic. I'm going to do some more decorative type things with it in the future. I really liked working on this mother and child duo...I rarely ever draw animals that aren't felines :-).

Draw a.....

To make sure I actually do a drawing a day, I have written down a bunch of subjects (inspired by the EDM challenges) to draw everyday. Well my sketch for Friday was supposed to be a shoe...not the most interesting subject matter so I changed it to drawing in public. I'll try not to change the subject like that in the future. I drew my 2 year old daughter while we were at a restaurant. She was looking behind her at a group of people that were laughing loudly (babies are so nosy lol) so I finally had a pose that she could stay in long enough to quickly sketch her with all those purrty curls. When she realized I was drawing something she kept trying to sneak a look...she's a funny little girl. This was done in fine point sharpie.




I started working on this piece and finished on Saturday morning. I had these Gioconda soft pastel pencils sitting here ever since I bought them off of ebay last year and never really used them. I figured it was about time. This was done on a toned Mi Teintes charcoal paper. Once again practice makes perfect and I'll continue to practice with these until I get the hang of them.

About Face and new ACEO

I attended the About Face studio tonight. I worked on a larger piece...unfortunately I couldn't photograph it very well with my camera phone. Here goes.


This is the first drawing of the night. Charcoal on paper.


This is the second drawing...I only worked on two tonight because I wanted to play with a longer pose. This is Charcoal and ink on drawing paper. This paper did not have enough tooth for me. I'll try a different one next week.


A close up.



New Kitty ACEO


Gold acrylic, watercolor and sepia ink on watercolor paper.

Two Cat ACEOs

I completed this one this morning. Watercolor, gold acrylic, and archival free sepia ink on watercolor paper.



I completed this one on Saturday 10/4. I am revisiting a series I did back in 2005 and this is the second one completed this year in the Watching Kitty Revisited series. Simple pencil on watercolor...I like this far better than pencil on bristol...as I've said before, the smooth texture of bristol takes something away overall in my opinion.

I have started an etsy shop! I am picking a few to list on there however I still intend to list on ebay often. More than likely I'll continue selling the Watching Kitty series on ebay and the Naptime for Kitty will be listed on etsy.

Calico ACEO

I completed this drawing tonight while watching the vice presidential debate (which was rather uneventful). It's a calico kitty in watercolor and sepia ink pen on Arches 140 lb watercolor paper. This will go up for auction next week.

About Face Studio Classes

Tonight I attended the About Face studio classes that are held at the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, SC. The space is really huge and I felt really at home immediately. Our model was great too. He had a really angular face...a bit Rubenesque (is that a word?) and was a great challenge to draw. He had a long chin so it was fun working on the proportions. I worked primarily in charcoal. Other artists there were working in a wide variety of medium from pencil to oil paints. I attended both the portrait class (6-7:45) and the figure drawing class (7:45-8:15). The classes are longer respectively however you can attend either. Here are the fruits of my labor:


The first drawing of the night...my warm up.


My second drawing of the night. Some of the folks seemed surprise that I was doing them so quickly. If it's not a commission I find it difficult to stay on a live subject for too long without moving around or doing multiple drawings.


I got a little restless from doing just the face so I did a quick body sketch. I wasn't able to scan the entire drawing however I managed to get the gist of it.


This is my final portrait drawing of the night. I wanted to concentrate more on the strong lighting moreso than anything else as well as his angular face (most interesting!) A full frontal (I was bored with the side view) really gets the starkness of his features and that wonderfully elongated chin...lots of room for experimentation there. The figure class had begun during my time drawing so I ventured over there. I only managed to get a few gestures and a 15 minute drawing on a 25 minute pose done before I called it a night. These I won't post here and in the future I'll probably stick with the portrait class. This was all in all a lot of fun and "good practice." I'm not as rusty as I thought I was...Well until next Tuesday :-).

Tiger Eye Drawing

I was playing with my Staedtler Mars Lumograph pencils today. I abhor anything remotely related to blending or smearing outside of the pencil itself so watercolor paper is my preferred paper. Well not today. I had some bristol board laying around here for over a year that hasn't gotten any love, mainly because of the smooth texture. I decided to give it a whirl. The result is this tiger eye. Hair is a lot easier on watercolor for me versus bristol because I have to make the texture on it using alternative means such as my exacto knife to get something workable. It's ok I guess...more practice (and back to domestic cats!).