Pinup

I'm back again with another pin up girl.  This one is sitting outside on a picnic blanket.  She has a basket of fruit a jar and a lollypop.

I'm totally stoked about the blanket, her skirt, legs, and the jar.  I had a bit of trouble with the color of the shadow on her arms and so it is a bit of a drawback for me.  Also, I like the shading of her top, and her bangs.

I tried really hard to make her pretty lifelike.  I think I really got it, save her face.  I know thats a somewhat important part of a painting.  I don't think it turned out too bad, just not quite right.

This one won't be my last, so stay tuned for more pinups.

Surfer Girl on Beach (For lovelylightandpeace.blogspot.com), The Thrilling Conslusion

And here we are.  Kelly Murphy and I have both finished our write up of how we would paint out chosen photo.  Now is the time when we put our money where our mouth is, and actually draw and paint the painting.


Kelly Murhpy

Here is my process....

I sketched this out really quick....I tried to do the sketch within about 10 minutes....and I included a lot of extra lines....which infuses a bunch of motion and energy in the sketch...which shows up later in my watercolors....I like loose lines....and I tend to sketch quick with a water soluble graphite pencil....I tend to like to see lines all over my paintings...so I don't mind if these don't disappear when I start painting. 


Here is my sketch:

Just as I mentioned in my approach in Part 1.  I started with her left shoulder...I always start on the left. 

for colors....

I somewhat....haphazardly select colors....I have no plan....I have no real direction when painting...I jump about the page....with whatever feels like....where I should go. 

dipping into an ultramarine blue...a splash of some red...and watch it bleed and mix on the page...I never....or shall I say....rarely do I actually mix paint in any premeditated way....

as I mentioned to Michael....I just pick some paint and hope for the best.... let things bleed as they may....

oh, sure- I don't go all Dr. Seuss, oceans are blue....sand is sand color.....for this water...I think I used about 4 blues....with a dash of red...and some green....and splashed them about here and there.....

Next...I went for the girl....and splashed some brown....some orange....some yellow....some yellow ochre.... quickly...with lots of water. 

for added motion....after I splashed some color around....I used my watercolor pencils.....a blue one for some water....

and because I had picked up a purple watercolor pencil I found laying around...I used purple....which seems just as good as any to do some darker lines here and there...in her hair...and in the shadows. 

The thing is.....it seems as though.....the painting area....the palette...the way we approach the painting....and the actual painting of the thing....speaks volumes of us...our personalities....

the way....I haphazardly approach a painting....where my brushes lay around.....where I find my watercolor paint.....around the house....is who I am.  I'm disorganized.  If I want to sketch something...and I see a green watercolor pencil laying on a table....I pick it up and use that...for the reason that....it was there....and I used it.  just as good as any color....

and what happens is that...I think, at least in my method....much like life....sometimes you see an opportunity....or you're handed a certain tool....a situation....whatever may be handed to you....

and it's what you do with that.....thing....that counts....not exactly what that thing is....but how you use it to your advantage. 

and my lack of planning...only makes me....think about making the most out of the only watercolor brush I can find....or the only 3 colors on my palette....because I can't locate the others when I want to paint something that I'm driven to paint....I actually, I guess...create an environment that makes me....have to figure shit out....huh...how am I going to paint this with one brush and 3 colors? 

I just sit down and paint...whatever is around me at the time....is what is used....maybe I'm too lazy to go find all the tools...

or maybe....I just want to do the thing so bad....I just make it happen...no matter what I'm handed...

I'm going to make it happen. 

and believe me...I know my process...can drive some people mental....but so interesting to see how different we are as people....

you know....just....this kind of examination of how we paint....is really just....a bigger look at who we are...

everyone processes the world around them differently....we all just radiate our unique personalities through all we do....and when we start to examine how we paint...we see how we approach things in life....we see our strengths....and hopefully we can appreciate and love ourselves for the wonderful things we bring....and maximize those strengths....

because....by really thinking about these things....you start to know yourself....to really try to understand....where you are coming from...why you do the things you do....

and just.....LOVE YOURSELF FOR YOUR AWESOMENESS.....everyone should....

just....

do....

that. 


ahhhhhhhhh......man......deep philosophical stuff.....


peace...and love....and making.....it happen.  See Michael?  

This fun exercise just made me go off into....well, the place I go....life...painting....whatnot....how it all connects.  

Michael
So, I followed my own writings in order to make this painting.  First I started out with a nice drawing. There isn't a lot of detail here, so it didn't tae too long to do.












Next I tested a few colors to see if they really were what I wanted.  I was pretty satisfied with my initial color selections.  I don't think I needed to change any of them.  The only thing I did was mix a little of the quinacridone rose into the water color to get it a little purplish.

I'm really happy with the way most of this turned out.  There are a few things, however, that I wish I had done just a bit differently.  I must have rushed a few times.  First, the horizon line to the right of the girls head.  Second, some of the shading on her legs.  All these places there is just a little too much run.  I really wish that I had taken just a bit more time.  I will offer the excuse that it was considerably colder in my studio than normal, and the paper wasn't drying as quickly as I thought it would.

I am really happy with the hair.  I put it on just like I wanted to:  The mass of it one blob.  From there I began pulling out individual hairs and really putting form to her hair.  Then I darkened the color just a bit and began adding all the individual strands.  The overall effect of the hair I really like.

As for her suit:  its not really black.  I don't have black on my palette.  So I had to make a mix of all the primaries to get it the way I wanted.  Hopefully, you all like it.

Thank you to Kelly Murphy for being brave enough to ask me to help her on her project.  I had a blast chronicling my steps and producing what is, a very nice painting.  Thank you.


And so there you have it.  Two drastically different approaches to the same painting.  One, (mine) much tighter and literal, and one, (Kelly's) looser and free-er.  Both, I think, wonderful paintings.

Thank you, Kelly, for bringing me into your project.  I hope we can work on another one at some time in the future.

And thank you, faithful reader, for following what we did.  I hope you enjoyed it.   I know I did.

Another WIP

Another one with a lot of work to go.  I've also been kicking this one around for about 3 or 4 months.  Literally putting in a brushstroke or two a night.  Just while I'm waiting for other paintings to dry.  I think its about time to put in some serious work to finish this.

Just a quick posting to let you all know I haven't been slacking too much.  Thanks for taking a look, and remember to check back later to see how it ends up.

red

Here is a painting I started a long time ago.  I just never seemed to have enough time to finish it, or maybe it was interest.  Well, at any rate, I spent a little time last night to finish it up.  Hope you like it.

Pin Up Girl, Bending Leg

This is the second one, so I guess I'm starting a series.  Though if I am going to paint a series of painting, this is a good one to pick.  

I didn't notice this quite as much looking at the real picture, but I might have to darken the background a bit to make her stand out just a bit more.

Yes, there is a bit of backrun on this painting, and I thought about going in and trying to get rid of some of it.   But I rather like backrun.  Watercolor is the only  medium in which you see it, and it really makes paintings distinctive.  So, I decided to leave it.  

As with them all, I had fun painting this one.  Hope you enjoy it too.

A Departure From Birds and Flowers (Pin Up Girl)

 I am trying to paint much more loosely.  On this painting I got the entire sheet wet, blocked in some basic colors, then went back to put in details.

You can see that the paper is really warped.  I used some student grade paper that I had gotten for my kids.  I don't know why I did that, but I did.  I quickly realized my mistake.  I couldn't control the water at all.  Everything flowed everywhere.  I think you can see what colors held the most weight on this paper.  I was hoping to have a nice blue background, but when I went to block in some red and grey, BAMMO, back runs.  Oh well, that's ok.

Letting things dry, I went back and, using very little water, started to put in some details and shading.  This is what I came up with.  I got some good, and some bad.  I think its a good effort, but you decide for yourself.

Thank you and enjoy.

Daughter, Again

Ok, so, after I painted my daughter last week, I thought I would take another shot at it this week.

The good:  I don't have, or she doesn't have, hay stack hair.  last weeks hair, I thought, was completely ghastly.

I used my newly reclaimed paints.  As it turns out, it has several disks which are pretty good flesh tones.

The bad:  I don' think my daughters nose and mouth completely line up.  and one of her nostrils seems a bit wide.  Oh well.  If I was a pro, I'd worry about it.  But since I'm not, I think it looks pretty good.

Hope you like it.

Quick Pin Up Girl Sketch

Just a quick sketch to keep in practice.  Forgot to erase the drawing grid, but on a practice sheet I don't think it matters that much.

Lunchtime Drawing

So, I am determined to become better at drawing.  So, today during lunch, I drew a face.  Here it is.  As you can see I used a grid to make sure I had all the proportions and everything right, and set apart to draw it.

Well, as you can see, it helped, but not enough to make it look great.  I guess there is still a lot more to learn.  I'm gonna be sticking with this whole grid thing for a while at least in order to figure out proportions and what not.  I've got a grid draw on the photo I drew this from so you may see this one again at some point.

Hope you enjoy looking at this slightly cross-eyed girl.  lol

One Final Portrait

This painting for sale 9x12 $30

Ok, so I think I have saved the best for last.  Trying to pull together all the elements of a portrait that I have learned this month.  The eyes, the hair, the proportions  all of it.  I am certain this is my best work to date.  Laying down a bit of color on wet, or damp paper and blending seems to be the way I am gonna paint from now on.  There are plenty of artists that can user watercolors in only one layer, or two at most, but I think I have learned that that isn't me.  I need to put down a lot of layers in what I am doing.  This painting has a lot of them.  The background itself is two or 3 layers, then in order to ge the highlights on the face, I started out really light, and I bet I've got 5 or 6 on the face and that many on the neck too.

Here is a little bit of an intermediate stage.  Sorry I don't have one where I had just the drawing.  notice that I did paint into the area where the hair will be.  That is so that if you are gonna see through the hair at all, I want you to see some of the background color.

Here is the original image.  You can see and judge for yourself if I've done a good job or not.

Hope you all enjoy the painting, as you know, I had a great time painting it.

Another Portrait, and maybe more to come

This painting for sale. 8x10 $20

Once again I have a challenge to paint portraits.  I guess I could try it a little more conventionally but... sometimes you just don't wanna do it that way.  If I had done this the conventional way, then you would know what everything was supposed to look like exactly.  You would immediately look and see flaws in the picture, and they would stick in your mind.

Painting this way, you see the colors, and the the shapes, but not necessarily what you mind tells you you should be seeing.  There is a little leeway for me to make a few mistakes.  Actually, I think it makes it a much more dramatic picture also.

Here is the picture I started with.  You can see the drawing and that I had just started to paint.  There are a lot of coats of paint on top of the one that is down on this picture.

Actually, I should say that I really like to paint this way.  It takes longer to paint any particular picture, but I think its more fun, and I think the result really looks nice.  I don't know if I could do something like a landscape this way, but for defined shapes, I could do this all day.

Here is the picture that I used for the basis for my painting.  I still might go back and splotch in some freckles to give her face a little more detail, but if I don't do anything, I'm totally still satisfied.

Oh, and yes, like the headline says, expect mor portraits.

Fireflies Again!?

This painting currently for sale.   - 9 1/2 x 12 1/2 - $15
Contact Michael for more details

Here is my entry for the June watercolor challenge: "Images of Summer."  As you can see, the sandals are now gone, the eye and eyebrow look better and there is more shading on the picture.  I think this one is miles ahead of the previous post.

I still reserve the right to go back and monkey with this one a bit.  I may put eyelashes on her, and I may put some more shading on her shorts (or skirt, or skorts, or whatever they are) and perhaps the front of her shirt.  I'm still debating, and won't touch it for a week or so to be sure.

Fireflies in a jar

For those of you who don't know, I am a member of a website that is just for artist.  That website holds competitions each month.  Competitions are broken down into different groups.  I attempt the watercolor challenge nearly every month, but I could just as easily get into the drawing, or acrylics, or oils competitions as well.

This month the challenge is to paint something that reminds you of summer.  I didn't and still don't wanna paint a beach scene or sailboats, or flowers.  I chose something that will always remind me of summer:  Fireflies.  I searched for pictures of fireflies until I found a picture I liked, and here is one attempt at painting it.  Its unfortunate that the original size of the picture is very small.  and detail is hard to glean from it, but as you can see it is a girl laying in the grass looking at fireflies in a jar.  I thought it was a great picture to paint.

To that end, here is attempt number two.  Attempt number one is ok, but it is small and very quickly done.  This one is much more detailed.  I am going to do at least one more of these as I am not completely happy with this one.  My biggest regret in this picture is putting sandals on the girl.  In the  next one she will be barefoot.  I do think I got some good shading on here, and I like the way I have done the hair.  If you click on the painting, you will be able to see it in more detail.