Skip to main content

Practice

Last night's effort is the first in my new hand-book journal.  It is a different size than I've been working in since January.  It is 8/25" x 8.25" plus the paper weight is different.  This one has 95 lb.. sheets.  The last journal had thin paper.

This piece is based on a painting titled 'La Vierge a la rose' by Lorenzo Veneziano dated 1372.  It is a Madonna and Child painting, but I elected to do only the Madonna portion.  

The image was sketched with mechanical pencil (HB core) and painted with Japanese watercolors and gold acrylic paint.  Additional embellishments having been added with white Uni-Ball Signo pen and a black Pentel PointLiner pen (0.3mm).

I'm liking the head tilt (that is accurate) and the facial features except for one thing.  There is an area that could be corrected... on the right side and below the ear at the neck bend.  It needs more hair to cover that junction in order to look like the source image.  Other than that, I also like the way the face has been painted in with watercolors.  This is a first for doing an entire face in watercolor, and it works.  

As for the halo, there is a problem in continuity at the bottom around the neck.  In looking at the reference photo, that was also a problem for the artist at his time.  He didn't carry the halo outline around the face fully (including the neck).  The reference image has been added for comparison.  

There is more embellishment that could be added, but I'm calling this effort done for now.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Visiting The Hague and Amsterdam (Netherlands), and Paris!

Since late March, I've been planning an international solo trip that included meeting up with friends.   The planning is what makes a trip an adventure, and it was definitely fabulous -- now that it is in the rearview mirror -- so to speak.   During my two weeks abroad, the sights visited included the: Mauritshuis, a lovely art museum (The Hague, Netherlands) Binnenhof (The Hague, Netherlands) Delft (Netherlands) Kasteel de Haar, a castle (Haarzuilens, Netherlands) Museum Speelklok (Utrecht, Netherlands) Walking Tour of Amsterdam (Netherlands) Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Dutch Resistance Museum (Amsterdam, Netherlands) De Oude and Nieuwe Kerks aka old and new churches (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Anne Frank House (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Sainte Chapelle/Conciergerie (Paris, France) Giverny - Monet's residence at one time (outside Paris) Versailles (outside Paris) Musee d'Orsay/VR Event titled 1874 Impressionists First Exhibition

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 .

Concertina Dazzle Days

If you don't know what a Concertina Sketchbook is, it is folded paper (back and forth) that looks like the bellows of an accordion when done.  Concertinas can be home-made or purchased, and they are fun to work in.     The photos above are of three continuous two-page spreads from my own Concertina (the one on the right - the latest). The mark-making was done with Sharpie markers, Posca pens, Micron pens and Sakura PenTouch markers.   All the shapes and color choices in the images above were spontaneous as well as the details.  There was no plan.  What I like about these is that each two-page spread collaborates with the next one and so on (as the designs spill over from one spread to the next). As new ones are created, they  add to the wonderful visual feast. One of the things I love doing with these also -- is to crop sections and digitally mirror them to form symmetrical designs. The results are occasionally delightful.  In fact, this one was made from such a process and has a n