Face #12 -- a pencil sketch

This is a pencil study, done in my sketchbook tonight after I decided that I need to do more serious practice of faces. I've been leaning toward abstraction and whimsy in my artwork recently, but I think that studying a face this way in pencil can help me draw abstract faces more convincingly as well. And I'm pretty happy with this face. I worked really hard to get the shape of the face right, and to get some shading that helped to add some dimension.

White-faced woman -- mixed media portrait

I've been participating in Ayala Art's 29 Faces Challenge this month. At this point, I am quite sure I will not make it to 29 faces this month. This is face #11. I drew and painted, drew and painted, ending up with a rather crazy, or shall we say expressionist palette. I am still finding my way with acrylics, alternately loving then hating them, but hopefully getting better as I practice more. Today's painting session was very enjoyable. I opened up my container of little collage scraps and found some fun pieces to add for some additional interest and fun.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog! 

Face #10: Mixed Media Portrait

This is a mixed media portrait on a wood panel that I started recently. I'm experimenting with drawing and acrylic together in this piece. So far, I'm happy with the lines, collage, and colors, but less happy with her face. The nose is better than some I've done, but her eyes aren't matching so I want to go back in and work on them some more. 

Sketching Fun

This sketch for Face #9 almost counts as two faces, doesn't it? I was playing around in my sketchbook with line at first, then adding facial features at different angles along with a bit of shading. I might go back in and work on creating layers...or not. It is just a sketch, after all. But spending time practicing sketching individual features looks like something I should do more often.

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Gel plate + Gel pen = Face #8

This is my face #8 for the 29 Faces Challenge and I have to say that I really like it! I did this one last summer on an index card. I was playing around with my gel plate, paint and a spray bottle. The textures turned out great. After it dried, I saw a face, just waiting for a few simple lines to bring it to life. My white gel pen turned out to be just right over the darker background. 

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Twilight Smile -- mixed media portrait

Twilight Smile
mixed media on paper
9" x 12"

  

This is one of the faces I painted for the 29 faces challenge (Face 7).  My obsession in this painting was creating layers - layers of stenciling, collage, stamping, washes until I was ready to draw a face. I did use a reference as I drew this woman, but I didn't worry too much about getting an exact likeness. I've doodled faces for most of my life, but I find that sometimes looking at real faces when I draw really helps me with getting the details and expression right. This woman's crooked half smile really appealed to me!

I'm also sharing this with Paint Party Friday.  Check it out to see some wonderful art and join in the fun. Thanks so much for visiting!!!

29 Faces 2013 -- 4, 5, 6

I'm playing catch-up in the 29 Faces Challenge again with some faces I did earlier in the year, January to be exact. These two faces all started with a journal I decided to make for myself at the beginning of the year, following a quest theme.

Since quests were big in medieval times, I found this lovely portrait of Eleonora of Toledo done by the artist Italian artist Agnolo di Cosimo in 1545 for the cover. I kept looking at her face and decided to sketch using Carla Sonheim's version of a Klee Transfer painting. In this method, you put a piece of carbon paper down on your paper, and draw blindly. The goal isn't a realistic drawing, but hopefully an interesting drawing. After doing the first carbon drawing, I added some color. 

She certainly looks much different than the original! I like parts of this drawing, but I hate that her nose is so long and her chin so small. Still, it was fun to play. After this one, I decided to try another one on a prepared background in my journal. Here is what the blind carbon sketch looks like before painting.

It's actually quite interesting how similar this drawing is to my first one, and how they both are so different from the original reference. But I like the proportions better in this one. Noses are just so hard, but I will keep trying!

After this step, I added some paint and pencil.

And here she is, Eleonora for the new millennium -- older and wiser, still pensive and serious, with perhaps a bit of attitude.

Thanks for visiting!

29 Faces 2013 - 1,2,3

It's halfway through September, and I've decided to join in Ayala Art's 29 Faces challenge. I participated in this challenge last year, and really enjoyed it! Since I'm waaaaaaay behind, I'm cheating a bit by posting some faces here that I actually did last summer. These are small semi-abstract mixed media doodles done in ink and acrylic.

Thanks for stopping by! 

"In the Distance" a Wabi-Sabi Landscape

In the Distance
acrylic on 8" x 10" canvas

In 2011, I had the good fortune to take a workshop with Serena Barton in Portland which focused on her interpretation of the wabi-sabi concept in encaustic. I blogged about my experience that day in an earlier post. At the time, I was completely enthralled by the wax, and yet as time has passed, I find myself thinking about wabi-sabi again and again. I even have a journal I started after that workshop that I use specifically for contemplating wabi-sabi.

According to Serena, "Wabi-Sabi is an aesthetic, a state of mind, a mix of emotions, and a way of perceiving life. It embraces cycles of change, including life and death. Wabi-Sabi values the seasoned, well-worn, accidental, and imperfect. It includes the sorrow of change and loss, as well as the acceptance of these." Wabi-Sabi colors are muted and textures are rough. If you think of a flower as it is just beginning to turn brown at the edges, you can get a feel for Wabi-Sabi. To me, it includes beauty, longing, mystery, and depth -- all things that appeal to me in art and life, and that I hope to create in my work.

I did this painting after reading Serena's new book, Wabi Sabi Art Workshop. It was actually an unsuccessful painting I'd started earlier, so I decided to paint over, creating more layers and textures in the process.

I'm linking this to Paint Party Friday. Go check it out and see all of the wonderful art that's been created this week. Thanks so much for stopping by! I always appreciate your comments.