I am very much so a novice painter. I only started to dip my fingers/brushes in paint a few years ago. And more value based painting? I think we are approaching a month :D.
Here is what I'm learning its all about layers. Some really ugly "will this ever look pretty?" layers.
Here is the current painting I have up on my easel. No pretty picture here (yet)!
Layer one the outline/foundation of the darkest spots
Getting some flesh tones laid in
Put in her irises.
Hated her irises so whited them out again!
And this is where ugly stage really comes in! I looked back at my reference photo and her eyes had gotten really low while I kept packing on the shading areas. Solution? Never be afraid to gesso out and start over? And her hands? Not feeling confident on such a detailed hand so gessoed that out and re-drafted her pose.
And that is where she is right now on my easel! Back to work I go, more updates soon!
Now go paint, draw, sew, write.... Whatever makes your crafty heart sing, and don't be afraid of "mistakes" think of them as just another layer of the finished product!
This photo has nothing to do with the post I just figured a cute photo will prompt you to sign up!
Yep, I did it I finally got my butt in gear and got a link over there on the right for you to sign up for my newsletter. Why sign up for my newsletter, well I promise I will only send it out once a month unless I have something fun and up my sleeve for my newsletter subscribers like coupons, promotions, and what the heck even some free stuff! So if you want to hear a bit more from me on a casual basis sign up buddy!
I recently read a silly quote on facebook, something along the lines of: my house was clean last night, then the kids woke up this morning, the end.
his favorite silly face currently
That sums up my life pretty well, I am trying really hard to embrace the mess and all that comes with a houseful of kiddos (if you are keeping track we are now up to four!) I know that one day they will all be grown up and the only messes I will have will be mine (most likely from paint tubes). So instead of focusing on the mess I will focus on the kiddos that make the mess because boy oh boy do they make my heart swell!
the mess seems to come back everyday
What is making your heart swell lately? Lets chat in the comments!
So as some of you may (or may not know) I have been pushing my art for awhile, and as I have been pushing my art has taken some twists and turns really changing even from what I was doing less than 6 months ago. Because of that I am ready to move on and find permanent homes for the art I have made over the last few years. There is a big mix of items (some only a few months old others 3 years old!) I am ready to part with and I thought a fun way to do this would be to give those that have always wanted some of my art but didnt have the funds to be able to name your own price. No really, I am asking that minimally the price is $5 plus shipping. Want to pay more, great, cant, no biggie leave the price at $5 at the time of check out.
So here is how this will work, see the link on the top of my blog that says, shop? (Those using a feed reader, you need to click over to my site) click on that link and it will take you to all the pieces up for grabs, there are a lot of different series and as new pieces come back into inventory (I have some stores sending over some pieces to get a new rotation going) I will put them up as well. (also those that were hoping for inspired art gals, I have a HUGE amount in inventory but I am waiting to hear back from a consignment store first before I list these, if they dont want them, they are all yours folks!) Sorry back to the details, when you find a piece you love and must have add it to your shopping cart, if you feel the piece is worth more than the $5 minimum you can adjust the price right there in the shopping cart and then click update cart. Now shipping, I have set it up that each piece is $10 shipping for US customers, now if the shipping is less I will refund you the cost after it is mailed back to your paypal account, so please dont let the shipping cost sway you. International customers, please contact me for a quote and I can send you a paypal invoice. I have set up the cart to not let you add a piece if it has already sold, but I am new with some of this html coding so if a piece has already sold, please dont get mad if I have to refund you your offer, I will also try my best to delete art pieces as they are sold but I cant guarantee how quick I will be able to do that, such is life with four kiddos running around.
So if you got through all the fine print, yay! Now get to shopping!
We are going to focus on the top right painting (sorry I didn't take a picture of the sketch on its own). So first I sketch out my drawing. Then I lay down a glaze where flesh tones will be seen. Shading begins, when I work on a face I almost always wait to paint the eyes until I'm almost done with the face. Background is laid in. And here she is. I'm thinking about doing a few videos of my paintings but not sure if there is interest and there is a good chance there will be lots of seeing my kiddos popping their heads in and out throughout the whole thing! Not sure anyone is still out there but if you are, hi and thanks for sticking out all the silence, I'm really hoping that this time I'm really back for good!!!
Life has been rolling around here lately, it has really been paint central as I have been prepping and going to different indie craft shows this holiday season. While I love my girls and their whimsy I have been having this tug that maybe it is time to get a little bit more technical with my paintings. I had asked a few months ago on my fan facebook page what art people are drawn to and an overwhelming response was nature. So I gave it a go but nothing was clicking until a crafty friend of mine posted this picture on her facebook wall:
(Photo by: Vanessa of Baily Belle she is an amazing accessories designer and hurry she is having a great sale on her etsy shop through tomorrow!)
Everything about this photo spoke to me the colors the feel just everything and the spark was found. Around this time I had learned a new technique (for me not in the world of art) with wet paint and plastic wrap. I was ready to play and push myself out of my comfort zone. And this is what appeared:
And since then I havent been able to stop painting birch trees! I have a group of them that I plan to mix in with my girls at the upcoming Craftacular in Madison, WI on Dec 14 & 15th. And who knows next year at this time it will be more about nature and less about whimsy, we will have to see or maybe just maybe I will find my own way to combine the two!
So there you go, still here, still painting, still growing. Hope you are too!
(Want to see more art that I will have at the upcoming show? I created a pintrest board of sneak peeks feel free to take a look, and give me some feedback!)
Hey guys, whoa summer is already up and I havent posted a darn thing.... shame on me between the new house, becoming a first time gardener, canning like crazy, and keeping three kiddos busy so they didnt go stir crazy these summer months have flown! And to top it all off baby #4 is going to make a debut at the end of January!
Now that we are caught up lets get down to business....
Our new home is a 60's style ranch we have had a lot of fun adding our personality to each room on our budget but we have come up blank and have no good idea/plan for the room we have deemed our family room. In comes Mandi from Vintage Revivals she has an Epic Room Makeover Giveaway and I would be crazy not to enter! That girl has my style down to a T and I know she could make some serious magic out of my very long pretty bland family room. So without further ado lets take a tour of the place shall we?
(no judging the amounts of so's, um's or how much I go on about having too many green things in our house!)
So there it is in all its glory, like I have said probably one too many times its a really long room at 22.5 feet long and only 10.5 feet wide. It has little wall space thanks to the very wonderful large picture window (which we love) and the cut out window to the kitchen (which flusters us as to what to exactly do with it!) along with two doorways (one being a double entrance- put doors in or not that is the question)
(this is the only time I actually dressed up the fireplace thanks to my abundance of peony bushes)
While I know I gushed about my couch ( I really do love it) everything and anything in the room can be relocated, painted, upholstered, or donated everything is flexible and the more change the better for us! The dream for us is to have a room that our kids can grow into and enjoy every season in there!
So here is my plead, besides the three little ones running around (6, 3, 1) our fourth will be making their debut by the end of January. Without Mandi's help this poor example of a family room will stay a hodge podge at least until next summer when I get out of the newborn haze!
Mandi please help guide me to make my room dreams come true, I am a hard worker with lots of creative gusto that is fearless when it comes to paint, color, and fabric but lacks the putting of it all together. (I can give you a picture resume of all my projects if that will nudge me to the top *wink*) With your help I know we can make all my home decor magazine and pinterest board dreams come true!
Now friends, voting for my entry will be in about a week (sept 7-14th), dont worry I'll let you know I'd love to get your votes! And for getting through this semi-long post here is a quick video keeping it real and how messy the room is when the kids take over the room....
