Last Painting of the Year?

Probably the last one of 2011. Looking forward to the New Year!

Heart, New Oil Painting.

I just finished this up.

"Heart" 24"x30" oil on canvas.

Process of Creating "Underwater"

The first step was to tint the entire canvas with a layer of raw umber so that the layers that followed would have a neutral undertone without having to mute them individually. Then On top of the solid color I did a sketch in pencil, inked it with india ink then added highlights with white.

Next I started to add the middle tone background blue

Then more of the foreground color

Then I filled in the hair and added more glazes of blue in the background and deepened the shadows on the face .  

Here is the completed painting:

"Underwater" 18x24 oil on canvas Dec 2011

New Painting Tea Party

I just finished this up !
Tea Party
24x30 oil on canvas

Available in my Etsy.com shop http://www.etsy.com/listing/89018646/tea-party-one-of-a-kind-original-oil

New Painting

Right now I'm working on a new painting here are some photos of it so far
Stage 1

Almost stage 1 actually haha. THis is after adding a little color to the black and white underpainting. It's cropped off so the surprise isn't ruined.

Stage 2. Adding more color to the face and highlights to the armor.

Now it will need to dry a bit. 

More Progress

I took a break from the sculpture because the wet clay wasn't drying enough to use. I set up my space heater and that is helping to make the clay more workable. I should have more pics soon it's coming along nicely.

Day 2

Second day working on this sculpture. It's starting to take shape but I will probably have to take a break. I didn't realize how long it would take the clay, which is still to wet, to dry out when the weather is cold.

Sculpting Another Clay Bust.

I am starting my second bust.
I am going to document the progress as it goes.
Okay so here is phase 1. The clay was a bit too wet so I am working on drying it out a little then I will begin to add the facial features today, hopefully. More pics soon.

Also, another face hanging sculpture I recently finished:

Grace Behind The Guns

I have been working on a design project where I turned a painting into a tshirt. Below is the painting and the design for the shirt.

If you'd like to find out more about the project check out the blog gracebehindtheguns.blogspot.com

or our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Grace-Behind-the-Guns/240516206004047

The original illustration is also available in my Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/listing/85559135/original-illustration-for-grace-behind

Tangled

I just finished this painting titled "Tangled." I started it a few months back but made a mess of it and had to scrape it, redo the under painting and start the color over again. Now that it's finished I am pretty happy with it. Sometimes they just have to be put on the shelf facing the wall for a while to get a fresh perspective and start over.

Something New.

I wouldn't say that I was bored of painting but I think it's good to do something new. I have been taking a break from painting to try my hand at sculpting. I plan to do a bust soon but since sculpture is new to me I did a face to try it out and get used to the medium.
Here is are a few pics of the face sculpture I just completed. It is life size and made from air dry clay.
I am still debating whether or not To paint it ... Perhaps I will make a mold so that I can cast and paint a duplicate.

Little Birds

I always mean to document a painting from beginning to end. Usually I get too absorbed in the painting to remember to stop and take pictures between stages. This time I got one of the underpainting and finished work.
It's titled Little Birds and is 24 in by 36 in, oil on cnavas.

Here is the initial underpainting

And the finished peice

Valkyrie

I just completed a new painting titled Valkyrie. In Norse Mythology it was a female figure who chose who would die in battle. This is very similar to the Celtic goddess Badb, who I recently painted.

This painting is available in my Etsy shop
 

New Artwork

It's been a little while since I've posted anything, so I have a lot of new paintings to share. Lately I have been doing a lot of fantasy and scifi themed work

Red Roses 18x24 oil on canvas

The Journey 24x48 oil on canvas

Badb 24x48 oil on canvas

Dragon's Wing 18x24 oil on canvas

The Archer 22x28 oil on canvas

Untitled 16x20 oil on canvas(sold)

Unicorn 22x28 oil on canvas 

Kelpie(Waterhorse) 20x16 oil on canvas

Several of the new paintings have been added to my shop on Etsy 

If you have any questions feel free to send me a message 

Pop Femme Sugarcoated Strange. Group art show in Santa Fe New Mexico.

I have a show opening soon in Santa Fe, New Mexico!


POP Femme Sugar Coated Strange 2011
April 29 – May 31, 2011
Opening reception: Saturday, May 28, 6:00
Show opens Friday April 29th with artist reception Memorial weekend Saturday, May 28th. In POP tradition the show will host an art raffle with 100% of the proceeds to benefit Southwest C.A.R.E. Center, a Santa Fe based non profit that supports New Mexicans living with AIDS & HIV, without prejudice. Tickets available now-$10 each or 7 for $60. Raffle ends May 31st (art online by April 29th.)
Featuring Aunia Kahn, CJ Metzger, Miss Mindy, Kristen Margiotta, Elizabeth Caffey, Angie Mason, Laurie McClave, Catherine Zacchino, Rudy Fig, Aleloop, Sara Holbert , Phresha Le Vandale and Emily Trovillion among others.
Preview of the show online now.
Pop Gallery, 133 West Water Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501

Oil Painting Tip(Underpainting With Gesso instead of Acrylic)

Oil Painting Tip(Underpainting With Gesso instead of Acrylic)

   I have heard of a lot of people doing their underpaintings with acrylic and then completing the painting in oils. I have done this too in the past because it dries so much faster than oil. The advantage of an oil underpainting as opposed to an acrylic one is that the oil paint will absorb each subsequent layer better than the acrylic.

Also when you attempt to paint over the acrylic layer the oil layer on top of it will seem dry but as you trying to build on top of it the paint pulls away, you can actually see a height difference. This is probably because of the nature of acrylic paints. They dry slick and aren't porous like oil paint is. The layer you place on top doesn't sink in properly to truly bond with the underpainting.

   An easy and effective alternative to acrylic underpainting is just using black and white gesso to do the underpainting. It has the same drying time as acrylics but is more absorbent. It gives the surface the tooth that acyrlic doesn't. If you want a smoother surface you can lightly sand the dried underpainting with a fine sandpaper. Just make sure to dust it off afterwords.

   I recently started doing this and it has worked out a lot better than acrylic. If you are doing the underpaintings in colored acrylics I would suggest adding gesso to them to improve the absorbency. 

Not only has this helped keep the first oil layer on top from peeling or scraping away the oil paint seems to dry faster.

                                         Underpainting

                                             Finished painting

And now for something completely different!

Recently I did a series of paintings that are very much different from my earlier work. This series drew from memories of emotional experiences. I really felt the need to experiment with an alternate method of expression. Rather than using the human figure to communicate an experience or feeling I used a series of objects. And invented a few machines. I really had no idea how these images would be perceived in comparison to my earlier figurative work. It felt like a risk and in the end was more exciting for me.

"Slowly" 14"x18" oil on canvas

"Phobia" 14"x18" oil on canvas

"It Likes You" 14"x18" oil on canvas

"Why Does Everyone Run Away From Me?"

18"x24" oil on canvas

"I Feel Sick" 14"x18" oil on canvas

"Come Closer" 16"x20" oil on canvas