Fun with Sharpies and Painting Work

This post shows two pieces done over the weekend. One piece was inspired by a painting of Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun and the other inspired by a painting of Auguste von Harrach by Gaetano Bellei.

Both pieces were done on Bienfang watercolor paper (140 lb.). The first was done with Sharpie markers directly applied to the paper. The other had a single coat of Liquitex Basics white gesso followed by one coat of Liquitex Matte Medium. Trying the Sharpies directly on the coated paper didn't work. So, Folk Art Matte Acrylics were used on that one instead (except for two Golden Fluid Acrylic yellows). With the Folk Art paints, they again didn't fully cover the paper with one application (most of the colors, that is).

I also had to go over the black lines on the painted version because it is too difficult to stay within the lines when painting, especially when the substrate is small (6"x8" or less). That is because on mine, I had to start and stop along the way, compared with the initial drawing when all the lines were freely drawn one after the other with limited stopping.

What I like in each painting is the gradation of like colors used for light and darker areas. In the first one, I especially like the use of grey that I normally never touch. I've been using it more lately mainly as a mixing color to create the gradations.

In looking at these finished pieces, I like the feel of the watercolor paper and the Sharpies one best. In it, the art is seamless with the paper and seems more professional. In contrast, the coated paper leaves a raised surface/skin on top of the paper that the paint covers. This is easily seen if a border of the paper has been left around the image.

In my exploration of substrate and medium, I've found the paper products by Bienfang are not my cup of tea, and I don't like the Folk Art brand paints for my work--though I do like their matte finish.

On with my exploration...

Comments

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 .

Announcing new book - The Soliloquies of A Wayfaring Trio!

I'm so delighted with my new book -- that I designed, wrote and illustrated, and is now in print thanks to Blurb! 'The Soliloquies of A Wayfaring Trio' was a months-long effort this year. I had no plan to create a book when I started reading unpacked journals from years ago. Those journals -- started in 1979 -- was at a time when life was about to serve-up some dramatic changes including a solo move from the Midwest to the Pacific Coast. I wasn't writing poetry then. In fact, I had never written poetry before, and it was only through those journals that I started writing creatively. In 1981, that creative writing began with prose (one to four sentences in length). While taking a 10-month journey to Europe (1982-3), poetry in free verse form started showing up. An edited version of one of the poems written during that trip appears in the latest book and is titled 'A Day at Nea Kameni' (a location in Greece). Thereafter, and in looking back, new poems s

Cay Denise

Search This Blog