How I Created One Face Painting

This video short consolidates several process photos of the last piece posted on this blog. At the point before the trees were added, I felt stuck. Some of the questions that were arising were:

Is the face over-painted?
If so, does that mean the piece is complete?
Why does the overall piece feel so bare?
How do I keep the central image 'popping' if background work is added (to prevent eye distraction)?
What kind of background would complete it?

I had one idea, not fully formed, of adding in the background--shadowy trees in the style of Eyvind Earle. So, I had to go back and research his work, because I knew I wanted the dark trees and to add depth (e.g. with trees in foreground and in a distance). It was a week or two before I started the background...still unsure if that was what would really complement the image. Well it seems to work.

In the Earle paintings I reviewed, it was clear that his tree work evolved over the years to an incredible level. I see mine as beginner trees that could also evolve in drama and detail, if I work on them more.

Phases of Painting One Face from Cay Denise on Vimeo.

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Introducing 'Kaleidoclown'

For fun, I've drawn one of my own photos (yes, I was dressed in a clown outfit) and added a wild and crazy background to accompany it for today's practice effort. As part of sketching the piece, it was split into four sections with two opposing diagonal lines. In terms of color choices, I've worked with color gradations for some shape sections. Can you believe, there are five major shapes in this effort? There really are -- circles, squares, trapezoids, triangles and spirals. I think the substrate is Biengfang Watercolor Paper (140 lb.). The materials used were Ohuhu markers, Micron 01 pigment ink pen, some red Stickles glitter glue for the nose, and a white Posca pen (for white dots on the face and to highlight eyes) and a yellow one (for yellow dots in the center of the flowers on the hat). There was no intention in working on this piece other than to have fun...and based on how it looks, I'd say well done!. One thing I learned is that blending with the Ohuhus i

New Project in Progress

I'm working on a new project with multiple layers and shapes of different colored organzas. It is an interpretation of lighting on an ice rink...from a show I recently saw. There is a lot more stitching to do, but I like how its coming along. I'm learning organzas are not easy to work with especially when you layer them and have overlaid edges. The fabric also tends to ravel easily. This post also linked to http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com .

A New Sharpie Drawing/Painting

This effort was done starting with a 5-minute sketch while process photos were taken along the way. My intention was to work on color selections and to complete the jewelry/dangles to stand out without overtaking the female image (and maybe even getting a sense of dimension with their use). This is the second project in which a straight line across the page has been added to interrupt the wavy/curved lines -- and to show that using subtle color adjustments on each side of the line. (The first project that incorporates a line can be seen in the August 23rd post,) I'm pleased with how this came out. There are a few areas where the decoration looks sparse, but I notice it seems restful to my eye, since the balance of the Sharpie-painted areas are much busier. What is your experience looking at it? What draws your attention first?

Cay Denise

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