Just a quick post today as it’s nearly 1am and I’m desperate for bed! I made this card for a friends daughter. Medium is ink and watercolour which I found really easy to work with. Once I’d got the hang of drawing the mini and got it inked the actual painting part was really quick and easy. This is definitely something I’ll try again!
I’ve finally completed Petals in the Rain. I’ve struggled with this one and it has made me realise that I need to work on my speed. I’m always very enthusiastic about my work when I start but after a day or two I lose my momentum and I think my work suffers so I’m going to try and complete my next painting in no more than 3 sittings. This may be difficult but not impossible, I’m just going to have to learn to paint smarter and not allow myself to be distracted by all the other things I have to do (like the mountain of washing up waiting for me!)
So anyway, here is my finished painting which will be on sale on my website shortly.
Just a quick WIP post today. I managed to fit in a little more work on Petals in the rain while waiting for the filler to dry in my half decorated bathroom, now it’s time to go paint with some really big brushes!
It seems like forever since the last time I posted and my only excuse is that for I’ve been dreadfully distracted. Between a few minor emergencies, my sudden desire to spring clean and decorate and the discovery of the very addictive Twilight Saga I just haven’t been in the mood to finish this painting.
That aside, nothing absolves me from not posting my most recent progress which has been sat on my camera for quite a while. So, here it is. Since my last post I have put the first wash on the background details, added detail to the parasol, and put some shades into the kimono. Not as much progress as I should have made by a long shot but I often get my inspiration from the books I’m reading at once I’ve finished “The short second life of Bree Tanner” I will be reading “Geisha” by Liza Daley which should put me in the right frame of mind to finish this painting!
I’ve now started working on my Petals in the rain watercolour. I’ve only got the first layer of colour down but so far I’m happy with the design and colour choice.
I designed that kimono myself based on real kimonos both classic and modern. I wanted to use the outer garment to pull together the sky and the water so I decided to make a vibrant blue kimono with a cloud and bird design at the top in the blue sky and a lily design in the blue water skirt. I wasn’t sure if it would work or if it would be too simplistic but so far I’m happy.
At the moment the red undergarment and the black hair and eyeliner so look a bit out of place but as I add more colour to the rest of the painting these should look more in place.
Unlike my last Geisha painting which was based heavily upon a photo which I requested permission to use, this idea comes completely from my imagination. I’ve started with a pen sketch to plan out what I want. In my original vision, I was going to have my Geisha on a washy blue grey background but as I added more detail to the sketch a background appeared all by itself… funny how that happens when your not concentrating too hard. So, I’ve decided to use the background but keep the colours in blue greys with perhaps the odd hint of colour, while the Geisha in the fore ground with be in very bright yellows, greens and reds.
I feel as if I’ve hit a brick wall with Pooch now as I don’t think I can go any further. I’ve corrected his left ear and eye as much as I can and put the finishing touches on him but I’m far from completely happy. I keep reminding myself that he’s a practice piece and I was never expecting him to be perfect but that doesn’t stop me wanting him to turn out that way.
I still need to make a small adjustment here and there to the left eye in particulare and I want to make the background darker but other than that I’m going to live with him for a day or two before I decide he’s completely finished. I’ve also decided that I need to do a few more pet portraits to try and get my fur technique down… good thing I know lots of people with pets I can practice on!
Pooch is looking rather demonic today but he’s also getting a little closer to the way I want him to look. I’ve worked on the darker fur some more and I’m pretty happy with the nose. I’ve fixed the eyes a little but I think I’m going to have to tweak them a little more next time, I also need to tweak the left ear to give it more depth as he’s looking a little wonk at the moment. Once all that’s done I think I’ll be able to fiddle with the white hairs.
I’ve also done a little more planning for my next painting which I’ll hopefully be able to start next week. I’m going to have to start setting myself a routine for painting because it’s just too easy to get home form work and plant myself in front of the TV which is not good… Do I really need to watch another episode of Grand Designs?!
… I’ve just realised that I’ve topped 25 followers, I wonder if I can get to 30 before I turn 30?... No I’m not telling when that is! ;-)
After lots of procrastinating I’m finally working on the pet portrait I’ve been planning on doing for a month or so.
I can’t remember the last time I painted a dog in watercolour (probably over 10 years ago!!) so I’m not expecting this one to be perfect but you can’t get better unless you practice the things you’re not comfortable with.
My source material isn’t perfect (start of the pre-emptive excuses lol) as it is a home printout which is only about 4” square, so I’m looking at this as a challenge on all fronts.
I prepared by doing a couple of sketches, first very loose and then slightly more detailed. Neither was perfect but that was ok as I just wanted to get a feel for the shapes rather than create a masterpiece.
Once I had the general layout on the paper I started drawing in the fur in progressively dark blues taking care to follow the flow of the fur… I’m working first on the black fur as I’m going to have to be a little more creative in expressing the white fur. I’m going to have to correct the right eye on my next sitting as it’s far wider than the left. That shouldn’t be too much of a problem and I left the details like the eyes until last so that I could make slight adjustments to their orientation as sometimes I find it’s easier to see that I’ve got it wrong after I’ve worked on the painting a bit and if I’ve already invested a lot of time to the details there’s nothing I can do to fix it.
Once I was generally happy with the black fur direction I placed a wash over some of the areas to darken them up and I placed a very light green base wash on the background.
In my next sitting I will be placing a second wash on the background, correcting the right eye and working more detail into the black fur. At the moment I think that I may have made the head slightly too squashed but I’m going to keep working and see what happens. I often don’t like my work at this stage so I’m getting used to pushing through the self doubt and hoping for the best.
I’m already thinking of the next couple of paintings I want to work on and am going to start working on preliminary sketches for both soon. I’ve found working on a portrait from a photo quite restrictive so my next too paintings will be far more in the realms of plopping things straight from my head onto the paper.
I feel like this painting has taken me forever but I’m happy with the result. I started work on “The Harpist” at the beginning of December and it really shouldn’t have taken me so long to complete but I just can’t paint when it’s cold (in my next life I shall be a polar bear and just sleep through the winter!)
I’m very happy with the way she’s turned out now that she has strings on her harp and eyes that, breaking with tradition, are not crossed. I certainly feel that I’m reconnecting with the skills I had before I took a 10 year break but I also have a long way to go before I will be happy that I can get what I have in my mind onto the paper consistently without a struggle. I guess that will teach me to never take a break again! lol
All that is left for my harpist now is to be framed which I will hopefully do at the weekend in between painting and tiling my mothers bathroom for her. If that doesn’t earn me brownie points nothing will.
Moving on, I have already started preparing for my next painting. I’m going to be working on a pet portrait of a friends dog. Unfortunately I only have a very small photo to go on but he’s quite distinctive and I’m viewing it as a challenge. I will also be using my shiny new watercolour set for my new painting, so I’m really eager to get started but I’m determined to do a number of sketches first as I really want to capture a good likeness. :-)
I’ve reached the point in my harpist painting where I’m making very small changes and then having to wait while they dry. Today I have finished her eyes (nearly) added a few more shadows into her hair and lips and put the basic colour onto the tuning pins. With any luck I’ll be able to add a few more tiny alterations and put in the harp strings. I think that addition will make the painting look very different as it will add detail to the big empty patch to the left of the painting and it should make the background colour fall back a bit.
I can’t wait to see this one finished and framed!
I’ve already got my next painting which will be a pet portrait lined up. I’ll be starting him tomorrow.
Another hour of work on my Harpist painting and she’s really starting to move along now, one or two more sittings and she might even be finished.
Today I worked on adding detail to her hair, more skin tone, shadow, detail in the shirt and detail in the hand. I still need to add the detail to her eyes, I think that will need to be a job for next time. Once that hurdle is over it will just be the strings and the finishing touches… I hope! I’m looking forward to getting this one finished but I’ve only got another week before I hand over my keys to my house sitter and head off on my Christmas holls. I had better get a move on!
In other news, I’m really chuffed to have reached 20 followers! Thanks everyone for your time and comments, I really look forward to reading them.
Today I got some more work done on my latest work in progress The Harpist. I’ve added detail to the facial skin, hair, dress and harp. I’ve also added a bas coat to the background colour. I’m not sure I’ve made the right choice but I’ll find a way to make it work. Hopefully the green of the dress will even it out when finished.
Nest time I want to add more detail to the face, hands, top and background. The last thing that I’ll do is add the strings and tuning keys.
I’ve been very quite recently and I have a very lame excuse for it. England has been having a big freeze and I most certainly am not a fan, sub zero temperatures have sent me running for the covers literally!
Anyway, the temperature has temporarily gone above Zero so I’ve started painting again. I have no idea why I chose my subject other than the fact that I’ve always loved though of harps as incredibly elegant.
As always I started by making several sketches to plan out my painting, at first I was going to paint the picture from a far wider angle but I prefer this composition as it gives a better focus to the painting.
Once I’d decided what I was going to do I mixed up the skin tone as I have the most trouble with this, I also worked in some darker skin tone and some pinks into the cheeks. The harpist is going to have a cherub like look to her, very pouty and rosy cheeked.
Next I put the base coat on her clothes and the harp wood. The harp is going to have a light pine look with a simple medieval pattern inlaid in a darker wood. I’ll need to put a lot more work into this to make it convincing. I also want to make sure that I get the stings correct.
Finally I added the base colour for her hair, a sort of golden brown, colour to her lips and the lightest shade of blue to her eyes. I think I may have actually succeeded in not painting someone cross eyed this time but we’ll see!
Hopefully the better weather will continue so that I can keep painting!
I thought I’d make a short and random post as I’m very proud of myself and my friends today… We won a charity quiz night!!
We’ve been going to this quiz for 6 months blinking months and never done better than 5th place so we were slightly stunned when we won tonight… We skimmed over the fact that we had one more person than allowed and were therefore technically cheating. To be fair I don’t think that I really count as a person for all the questions I can answer. Apparently I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed!!!
So anyway, well done the “Us” team (after winning we wished we’d spent more time thinking up a team name lol) we may have cheated but at least we cheated and won unlike the other dozen times we cheated!!
To prevent this post from being nothing but a ramble I thought I’d post this video which I found on www.emptyeasel.com and thought was very interesting. It covers a method of adding shadow to skin tone that I think I will try next time I paint a portrait.
Speaking of paintings I will be starting a new one next week possibly featuring a harpist, although I haven’t finished planning it yet.
“Soldier Girl” is now finished and framed. I’ve put her in a cherry wood frame as I wanted to go for a classic look and toned down my original idea of mounting her in red and blue, instead using cream and blue which on reflection I thought would work better and keep attention on the painting rather than the surround.
In a completely unrelated ramble I really have managed to hit myself on the head way too many times today!!! First I took down my pull-up bar for the winter and dropped it on my head (ouch). Then I took my mothers old wardrobe to the tip for her and managed to hit myself on the head once when getting into the car and a second time when the wood resettled as I went across a roundabout (ouch, ouch) and finally I place the frame for “Soldier Girl” on the back of the sofa while I cut the mount but forgot I’d put it there, flumped down on the sofa cracking the back of my head and sending the frame flying into my studio area scattering paints and equipment everywhere (really ouch!!!) luckily nothing was broken but I do have some rather impressive bumps appearing… I’m hoping that tomorrow will be less painful!!!
Well, solder girl is all finished and I’m pretty happy. It looks enough like Jen to be recognisable (well, she recognised herself anyway lol) and the only thing that I think I would have liked to have done differently would have been to use a authentic uniform instead of a costume.
I’m going to mount her in colours to match the Union Flag and use a plain dark wood frame I think, but knowing me that plan will change the moment I get to the art shop!
I didn’t think I’d get any painting done today. I’ve been stuck at home with food poisoning (I have no idea what gave it too me but whatever it was I don’t recommend it!) but at one of the short intervals when I wasn’t doubled up in pain wondering about the merits of falling into a black hole, I discovered the joys of painting in bed.
So today I made the background darker, put base coat on the hair (Jen isn’t really blond), filled in the shirt and tie, added a few more darker shades, started painting the badges and finally added some more detail and tone to the face.
I’m pretty happy with where this is going now and may even have it finished tomorrow. Assuming I haven’t jumped into that black hole!
Today I started a new watercolour based on a photo of my friend Jen at a 1940’s party a couple of years ago (that was a good party) she’s in a WWII military outfit, not a perfect representation but close enough and she did look amazing! And with veterans day coming up it seemed very appropriate.
In the original photo Jen was stood in front of a large swirly curtain with a small Union Flag (It’s only supposed to be called a Union Jack at sea. One of the many random facts I’ve learnt from Dr Who!) behind her but in my painting I decided to put a large flat Union Flag behind her as it looks better.
I started as always with a tweaked pencil outline. I made Jens waist more defined (I’m sure she will be happy about that!) left out her rings and learnt that the Union Flag isn’t symmetrical, you learn something new every day!
Next I filled in the larger areas of colour on Jen and put in the majority of the shadows. I’m not yet happy with the skin tone as Jen does look a little florescent in places (I’m not sure how that happened) But I’m sure it will look better once I’ve added the rest of the features and hair. I’m also a bit concerned about the hand giving a jaunty salute, I never did like painting hands. I am very happy with the jacket and cap though, which are both looking pretty good at this stage.
And finally here’s where I am so far, I’ve got a bit more tone in the salute hand but it does still need a lot of work. The face will need some definition and shade once the first coat of paint is fully dry. I’m starting to think maybe I should have left the poppy she was wearing in her hair out but it’s a bit late to do anything about it now (I suppose that would be one of the advantages of oil over watercolour) I’ve also added some tone in the skirt and oh yeh, almost forgot I’ve painted the majority of the flag in the background… easy one to miss that!
I want to concentrate on getting the face and hands right on my next session, I think I’ll be happier once I’ve given Jen some hair too… I’m sure Jen would mirror that sentiment!
I’ve been using a extremely old non-refillable set of watercolours that my grandfather gave me for my 15th birthday (my God that was a long time ago!) for my last two paintings. Sadly I think that set may be coming to the end of it’s life *sniff* so it will soon be time to go shopping for a shiny new set me thinks! Yay!
Yay! Moms b-day present it now framed and ready to be wrapped. I’ve re-named her “Butterfly of Gion” as I wasn’t happy just calling her Geisha, Gion is a famous Geisha district in Kyoto (it was the location for the book “Memoirs of a Geisha”).
I’ve never had to properly frame anything before but as the Swindon Artist Forum requires members to professionally frame their work I thought I would practice on this piece. I chose a white frame with a black border (I couldn’t tell you why it’s just what jumped out at me at my local store) and I bought myself a 45 degree angle cutter so that I could cute the board to the perfect size. It’s a bit fiddly cutting out the board with it but I got there in the end… I also discovered my math left a lot to be desired lol!
Below are a couple of YouTube videos that I used to learn framing. As I said I’d never framed anything properly before and was under the impression that all you needed to do was stuff the picture in a frame and that was that, apparently I was wrong lol
Cutting Mat
How to tie picture wire
On a completely unrelated topic I hope everyone had a good 5th of November and saw lots of amazing fireworks. For those of you not in England the 5th of November is Bonfire Night when we remember an attempt to blow up the houses of parliament and kill King James I in 1605. The Gunpowder Plot failed and to celebrate we set fire to a “Guy” (an effigy of Guy Fawks) and set off loads of fireworks.
I went to see the local firework display with my friend and a fluffy hot water bottle (Well it is cold) tonight and had a great time writing rude words with sparklers lol
“Remember, remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason, why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, guy, t’was his intent
To blow up king and parliament.
Three score barrels were laid below
To prove old England’s overthrow.
By God’s mercy he was catch’d
With a darkened lantern and burning match.
So, holler boys, holler boys, let the bells ring.
Holler boys, holler boys, God save the king.
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