BF 2013 Faces

I've started drawing faces again....I created quite a few in 2012 when I did LifeBook 2012

This one is based on Tamara Laporte's (aka Willowing) Fabulous Faces class.

These I did quite quickly and are based on Kat McBride's tutorials from her blog....

I don't like them though the nose is better...I need more practice....Looking at a few videos and tutorials I see that everyone has a different idea about proportion and whether to place the eyes on the half way line or above it....so I'll keep playing around until I get a face I like.

Article Published

A year ago I answered a Call For Articles on Facebook from Gail Stiffe at Women's Art Register - a small art magazine published in Victoria, Australia and wrote an article on Building an Artistic Community and Connections and it was published.

I chose the paintings which had meaning to my community realtions.

The ButterFlyGirl was created for the Summer 2011 Flying Lessons Group - my Fly Tribe - the group of women I met online whilst doing the Kelly Rae Roberts Flying Lessons e-course.

This was also used for the bloghop...

This is a photo of me in front of one of the paintings I created at the Flora Bowley workshop - workshops are a great way of meeting other creative people.

(I hate that pic - I think I look kinda weird - it's my eyes or something...)

And this painting was one that sold at a local community art festival.

Here's the article I wrote a year ago, my husband and son just read it for the first time on Thursday and they are like What?  What's this?  after reading the first sentence.  I based the article on my experiences and was also thinking of Kelly Rae Roberts and Flora Bowley too.


BUILDING AN ARTISTIC COMMUNITY AND CONNECTIONS


Family unsupportive of your artistic journey?  Friends don’t understand your passion for painting and creating?  It is important to find and connect with other artists who ‘get’ you so you can share your excitement with them.  There are two main ways of building your artistic community - by meeting people in real life and online through art communities and blogging.

My artistic journey started in January 2009 when I went to drawing classes at the local art shop.  I went to learn how to draw not realising that it was the beginning of building an artistic community.  It was at this first class that I met Sandra, the more classes we took together, the more art I created - pastels, watercolour, acrylics, mixed media and collage - the more we clicked with shared creative ideas.

When I first started to draw and paint I joined an online art community to upload my art to show family and friends overseas.  That community had different groups you could join so I did to show off my art.  Members in those groups provided praise and encouragement to me and I found inspiration and friendship too.

You can meet other artists at art classes and workshops as well as local community and learning centres.  Sandra asked me to be take over her group co-ordinator role at the local learning centre.  I met some wonderful people who I was able to teach, mentor and even inspire.  Are you able to organise an art class or invite an artist you admire to teach at a workshop?  Is there a community centre near you where you could invite other artists to meet and work on their art together?

There are many online art communities, I even belong to a couple on Facebook.  Joining an online art community is like going to a party.  First of all you get dressed up - most communities give you your own page where you can upload an avatar of yourself or your art to represent you, you can change the background theme and script as well as add photos of your art and write a little bit about yourself.  Then find the forum and introduce yourself - there is usually an introduction thread.  Listen to others by reading their threads and looking at their galleries.  Participate in the conversation by replying to questions, giving sincere praise and encouragement, compliments and offer helpful positive advice when asked.  Start new threads and post questions too.  Before long people will be responding to your comments and friending you.

Blogging is another way to build your artistic community and connect with others who share your interests.  A blog is a website where you can write about your art, your life - not too personal but enough so people can relate to you,  and add photos too.  Your blog can provide inspiration to others, share some of your techniques, guest writers and interviews with other artists too.  To build your community visit other people’s blogs, become one of their followers, leave positive and sincere comments of praise, encouragement and congratulations.  Read their list of blogs they read and then go visit the blogs that sound interesting to you. People will start to visit your blog, become your follower, leave comments, connect with you and may even buy your art.

This may sound like a lot work but the more you put into building your artistic community the more you will get out of it.  I personally know artists whose careers have expanded from painting and blogging to selling books, providing online courses, sold out workshops - in minutes, products - calendars, bags, statues, frames, mirrors and crockery, online shops with over 300 sales in 24 hours on Cyber Monday.

I started blogging in March 2011 and it wasn’t until a few months later when I took an online creative business course that I consciously started building my artistic community.  Looking back I’ve found that the  benefits of using the above ways to connect with like-minded people include: making new friends, receiving and giving praise, encouragement, inspiration, support and positive and helpful criticism, teaching and mentoring,  information about books, classes and workshops, confidence in myself and my art and a group of people to hold an exhibition with. 

You may have to research and shop around for the community that suits you best and remember that this will take time.  Building your artistic community will help you build your artistic career.  Looking forward to seeing you there.

Online art communities:

http://www.deviantart.com/  US based
http://community.how-to-draw-and-paint.com/  - UK based great for watercolour artists
http://thecompleteartist.ning.com/  - NZ based - great for oil painters.
http://willowing.ning.com/  -  UK based - great for learning how to draw and paint faces, mixed-media art
http://www.facebook.com/groups/171673892903764/  Magically Mixed Art Community

Different types of blog hosting websites:

http://www.blogger.com/  - this is the one I use - simple and easy http://wordpress.com/
http://www.typepad.com/

http://blogchicks.com.au/  - You will find a list of arts and crafts blogs at the Australian Women Bloggers Directory


How to find me:

http://www.shellsinthebush.com/
http://shellsinthebush.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/ShellsintheBush
http://aussiesheila.deviantart.com/
http://willowing.ning.com/profile/MichelleReynolds

Life Book Portrait Wk 1

I have completed my 3/4 portrait and inner qualities project.  Phew, I'm exhausted - it's tiring trying to sort out all the little things that go wrong, such as the printer printing lines across my photo - so that will have to wait and the paper buckled which I sort of expected as it is watercolour paper - next time I'll tape it down to a board while working on it but for now I'll pop it under some heavy books...

Here it is....mainly acrylic paint on watercolour paper with watercolour pencil and paint pen.

I really enjoyed doing it just don't have the energy or the time to really bling it up.  I used some of my stamping tools and have just realised that the hair parting should look differently on an angle - oh well, she's imperfect like me.....

Here is my box:

Painting Evolution of Heart Girl

'She Wears Her Heart on Her Sleeve' began when this large 30" x 30" canvas was given to me by my BF and AB (best friend and art buddy) Sandra after my dog died as she knows how important art as therapy can be.

I began with my regular layers then when it came to stamping I just used the one stamp - a heart made out of kitchen sponge - to stamp all over in a pattern onto the canvas.

Then I sketched out one of the large faces I had been learning at Tam's Fabulous Faces at Willowing.  This is the first large face I have ever painted  - much easier than some of the small faces I've painted - and I think I've done ok, though still lots to learn and lots of practice.  I just want to mention that Tam uses watersoluble crayons and white acrylic paint to paint her faces on paper and this is all acrylic paint on canvas so there was some guess work as to how to make it look right.  One of the hardest things is blending in the paint on the face, I did use retarder to slow the drying process but when you come back the next day to add  it's hard not to over paint it too much and muck it up.

The hair - yes, I wanted large hair and would love to do another portrait, front facing, with curly blonde hair and stars in the background....hmmm Marilyn Monroe comes to mind.  I painted the hair by blocking in the darkest colour first, then gradually adding lighter colours and then some highlights with some bling colours - dark umber, burnt sienna, red ochre, copper and gold.

I feel that there is too much space to the right of her face and when I can think of what to paint there then I will, maybe flowers....

 

Different cropped versions of her...

I will upload her to redbubble where prints and cards of her will be available.

Painting My Box

This afternoon I did some more work on my Life Book 2012 box after I went to the gym, shopping, baked a cake and cleaned the house this morning.  Work before art play.

I added some paint using the brayer roller, after it dried I stamped on some bling colours using bubble wrap and rubber mat then used letter and number stamps to write on the words life book 2012.

Is it finished???  I'm not sure - what do you think?

Have you registered for Life Book 2012???  Let me know - it's going to be awesome.

Time for some chocolate cake and coffee.  :D

Create Something Wild & Wonderful & Amazing

I did a little art therapy today - collage, sketching and 'painting'.

I started collaging the box I bought for Life book 2012 with some left over scraps of scrapbooking paper.  I found some with great words on them.

Inspire.  Create something wild & wonderful & amazing.

So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then seem improbable and then, when we summon the will, they soon seem inevitable. - Christopher Reeve

I've also started the Fabulous Faces with the profile faces instead of facing portrait in week 1.  They look a lot like Tam's so I'll have to practice a little more and stylise her a bit more.

My BF and art buddy, Sandra, gave me a canvas as I haven't been able to get any and I put the first layer onto it today....

Any ideas of what I should do with this canvas???  Oh you're not thinking what I'm thinking are you?  A face???   Noooo...this canvas is big 30" x 30" or 76cm x 76cm.... we'll see....  ;)