Shhhh....detail

here's a little bit closer shot so you can see the cool textures....

Shhhh....

TA-DA!!!!! Here she is, all finished! I think i really like how she turned out. and getting there, while scary, was also fun! and i used supplies i totally didn't plan on, so the end result was a very unexpected surprise. I still have a few angles on the face i'd like to perfect for the next painting, but it'll get there, and today was definitley another hard lesson in patience....and in letting go. all in all i really enjoyed the process, and would like to do a few more pieces this way, but with maybe a little less charcoal muck....perhaps i'll perfect the drawing on paper and then transfer it to canvas. but maybe not...that oil pastel is brilliant against charcoal mucky-muck.... ; )

Shhhh.... Stage 5

Holy Dead Corpse Bride, Batman! what have I done! Yes, i fixed the angles of her nose and eyes, but now she's just creeptastic Now it occurs to me to take a break, it couldn't have been BEFORE i recreated an autopsy scene with her face......I really didn't know if it was fixable. I had to remind myself that it didn't matter, that i WAS JUST PLAYING....

and then....cha-ching! I remembered my oil pastels!!!! and thought how much fun they would be to play with...that i might get some interesting textures.....

and i did! ; )

Shhhh.... Stage 4

Here I added that same lavendar i had originally painted the background with to the sash, neckline, and wings. I like how these colors go together, a lot. I also added some raw sienna and burnt umber glazes to her to make it more dimensional. Here's where i should have stopped to review the pictures and taken a step back for a minute. the face was not totally horrific here. the neckline is at a much more graceful angle, and it's still relatively unmucked with charcoal dirt. but, alas. I am very impatient. .....

Shhhh.... Stage 3

Hmmm, the face is not so bad...Here I added a bright tangerine glaze to the upper right and lower left corners, topped that with a glaze of my Irr. Antique Copper, and another layer of the tangerine glaze. I also added some white glaze highlights to her arms dress and hair, and right along the profile of her face. Added a very thin bit of the copper glaze to the wings to try and bring back some depth.

Shhhh....Stage 2

I have such a hard time with this face angle. I am really going to have to keep practicing it, and not in willow charcoal. This stage I added a glaze of my Irr. Antique Copper mixed with a raspberry color to the background, and a white glaze to the wings.I did try to redo the face....a few more times! LOL fix. fix. fix. repair. repair. repair. LOL i do like the wings so far though...

Shhhh.... Stage 1

So, today I decided to just let go and play. I started with a canvas i had painted a lavendery violet, covered with sewing pattern tissue, and then added a wash of liquitex's Irridescent Antique Copper, which apparently they've stopped making. I'm quite pissed about that actually, because it's my favorite color to mix with purples and violety pinks. I have been trying to find a similar replacement color, but no such luck yet. They're all way too orange...this was neutraly brown, almost rosy. It's hard to explain, but it was perfect, so of course now it's gone. Anywho. so I took my willow charcoal and just sketched a quick angel. ugh...she's crappy. she does get better. and then worse. and then, i think, better again. anyway, it's all about playing today! and, fyi. if you've never photographed your progress, it's quite eye opening. I wish i had looked at my photos at each stage before i continued....there are some things that i thought i had done wrong, but looked ok in the photograph, but of course i had already tried to cover over my boo-boo's. NEVER A GOOD IDEA WHEN USING CHARCOAL>>>IT JUST GETS SUPER MUCKY!

Portrait of Christ

I don't know if i'm calling this one done yet or not. I love the colors, and the grid pattern of the photo transfer, but I am debating on doing a big sacred heart line drawing on top of the whole thing in wither white or silver. I am trying to think on it. This is one of the photos i took in the cemetery...I love using them in my work!

22"x30" mixed media on Arches watercolor paper

The Final Red Abstract

This is the final panel for a commission I was working on... The 1st shot is a detail shot of the right side, and the 2nd larger shot is the whole painting. I think this one might be my favorite of the 3, but I might need to see them all together to say for sure!

40"x40" acrylic on canvas

Private collection of Mr. A. Allen

New Work In Progress #2

I just have to add one small detail to this one and it'll be done...so basically it's done...and it's already claimed! Awesome! It's a small narrow panel, and I painted on top of a coffee filter...I am using them in a few pieces on this series. I don't know what to call this one.Hmmmm...

30"x8" acrylic/mixed media on canvas

New Work In Progress

Still have a few things to add to this one, but it's almost done, and I wanted to go ahead and post it...Those are coffee filters on the bottom...

2'x2' acrylic and mixed media on canvas

This will be for sale during the salon show...dates tba

Fleur de Lis Madonna

I had some "leftovers" that I decided to mess around with...a photo that I cut out and crumpled, and some copper heart cutouts from jewelry making class. I collaged them in with acrylics, fleur de lis stamp, and copper leaf.

New Abstract

Here's one of the new pieces I've done that will be in the art show at my friend's hair salon. I think it still might need a little something-something, so it may change a little bit before then, but so far I'm pleased with it... Acrylic on 30"x30" canvas

Red Abstract 1 & 2

Here are 2 of the 3 commissioned abstracts that I recently did. Each are 40"x40" acrylic on canvas.

Private collection of Mr. A. Allen