Moving Forward

The time out worked, and I was finally able to finish this piece:

"By the Light" 18x12, watercolor & acrylic on 140lbs hot-pressed paper

It's a big piece, and I realize that I should have probably done it on a canvas. But, it had originally been intended as an all watercolor piece. I think I'm more of a canvas worker. Or really, a board one too - I'm keen to try those. I've ordered them, I just haven't done anything on them yet.

I do have a lot in the works though. My next project is to complete several ACEO's for an online auction on Monday, I have three paintings I need to do for an upcoming issue of Thrice Fiction Magazine that the art editor requested - one of which dovetails a bit with another one I was toying with, I'm going to see if I can't kill two birds with one stone on that, and I need to get back to my queen of hearts. Tons to do, and I realize I miss working on my larger pieces. I need to stop focusing on the little stuff so much, and really focus on the bigger pieces that make me feel more fulfilled.

It's hard to focus on much of anything when you feel complete pulled in 100 different directions though. My daily art just hasn't happened. I've been trying to just keep my head above water with everything happening. For example, last night we got one more green light on our potential move. We're now waiting for the last one, and if we get that? It's game on. Full speed, trying to sell our house and move states in under three months. Crazy. That's what that is!

Back To My Roots

As I did last month, I am participating in an online auction on Facebook and this month's prompt was "Mad Queen". Of course, being that I am working on my Queen of Hearts, that seems to slide right into that nicely, but that isn't actually the case. My Queen of Hearts is for my Alice series, and it's also a large canvas (meaning it's going to take a while.) Instead, I had several ideas, and I thought to play them out in watercolor.

I had her all sketched out (after I added in some mushrooms to balance out the composition), and I decided to mask her (good decision) and then used my old bottle of masking instead of my new one (really bad decision.) I ended up with a background just the way I wanted, with a nice red glow around my queen:

Unfortunately, it stripped my paper. If you haven't done watercolor on professional paper before, there is a sort of surface that helps the paint glide along. If you "scrub" you can ruin this and get a rough surface that basically turns your paper into a sponge in all the wrong places. Well, my old masking did that to every surface it was on.

*head*desk*

The thing was, even though it had stripped that thin surface, the paper itself was still fine. It didn't rip, or even thin out the paper. No, I just ruined my surface. But I didn't want to start over, because I liked where I was going with this. That's when I decided to work it like an acrylic painting instead of a watercolor (watercolor is like painting in reverse of acrylic.) I wasn't sure what I thought when I had the features down:

I was thinking... maybe.

Then I started laying in more, and put in iridescent paint highlights as I worked (I know, you're all shocked), which are lit up in the next photo, but it doesn't look like that all the time, and I added a snake after someone suggested it:

Then the question became all about the dress, as all women know. What color? I went for black, after all this was supposed to be a bit twisted, sad, and sinister... a bit mad.

Of course, as any girl knows you need to coordinate, and it turned out that much of any color on the mushrooms gave the whole composition the wrong feel. I knew red was too cheerful, so I tried green tops, and realized it was all wrong, and finally settled on black for that too:

Finally, I was in the last push and I finished her:

"Cracked" 9x12 inches, Acrylic (and watercolor) on 140lbs hot-pressed 100% cotton paper

I debated calling her cursed, because she kind of is, and went with Cracked instead. Her crown (which is golden and lights up) is a nest with a cracked egg in it. It seems fitting that my "mad queen" would then be "Cracked". She's a bit twisted, and wrong... which is exactly how I wanted her! I ended up loving her, and to think I almost tossed her instead!

The most interesting thing about this piece is that it's a sort of hybrid of my more traditional abstract style with my fairy tale style. I almost feel like this sort of hybrid painting is the missing link between the two. This is important because I have had to split my business with the two styles so I can continue to do both, but I'm wondering if the hybrid isn't more intriguing than either on their own.

Anyway, it's an avenue for me to explore. Something that satisfied both sides is a rare thing for me, and not something I'm willing to let go of. I've been absolutely flooded with ideas. More paintings I want to do, along this line but not. I've always been obsessed with the stars and the moon, but also the ocean. So, I imagine I'm coming into another theme I must follow, all the while working to finish my Alice series and exploring more fairytales as well.

I feel like I'm on a new adventure!

Making Up

Last night, we had family movie night. We don't really enjoy going to the theaters any more because of many things (people are exceptionally rude to the point that it causes simmering anger just to sit there, the seats are uncomfortable, it's a long drive to get there, it's seriously over priced, etc.) Luckily, my husband loves his toys and we have a large screen with surround sound, a fluffy couch, comfortable PJ's and more. We had a make your own pizza night, my parents came over, and we were all finally able to see The Hobbit!

Well, I should say "most of it" because both my husband, my daughter and I fell asleep at different parts. Now, this wasn't because of the movie. No, our dozing episodes had a great deal more to do with the time when the movie finally got started and some very full bellies while snuggled down all warm and comfy together. We're going to watch it again later today. My son, who didn't fall asleep, LOVED it, and wants to watch it more than once today (which is overkill, once should be plenty!)

After murdering that painting a couple days ago, I started that other one quickly to make up for it - and I finished it:

"Malvina" 9x12" watercolor on paper

It's fascinating how a face and body takes so little time compared to hair. Good grief, there are only about 3-4 layers on the body, but well into the double digits on the hair! Another thing I find fascinating is that I remember hearing that pretty much everyone in real life has every color of hair on their head, and that their hair color is determined by which one shows up in a dominate amount. I'm finding that to be a true statement when it comes to painting hair. In order to give it depth, no matter which color you choose, you're going to end up using all of them and just leaning heavily on one in particular to make the overall color.

I used iridescent paints again (I just don't think I'll ever be able to stop) on the hair and the dragon. The best thing about this painting is the dragon, because I had a little breakthrough of sorts: I started painting the body like I did the peacock's feathers from My Steed.

I started thinking to myself how short feathers and scales don't look remarkably different, and I think I actually heard the "click!"  I really feel like I improved my dragon so considerably that I am planning on doing a full sized one today (sketching it out anyhow!) Now all I have to decide is how I want him to be, exactly. I also have thought since this technique is rougher, perhaps that paper that let me down and killed my painting from before would actually work for this? I don't want to kill another painting though! Hmm....

My Precious

I finished one of my watercolors I had been working on, and I decided to call it "My Precious". This may, or may not have been influenced by the fact that I had Lord of the Rings going on in the background. *ahem*

"My Precious" 9x12 watercolor on paper

I really love how she turned out. I think she's my favorite so far!

I still have my elf with her fancy dress to finish and then I'll have two for the week! I think it's doable! And then, maybe, I'll give the kitchen table back to the family. Maybe.

Friday

I used to just love Fridays! Working hard all week, Friday was the signal that the party (and sleeping in) was about to start! Now it's a signal that my workspace will be invaded and focus will be impossible until Monday.

I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I think Mondays are becoming my new Friday? They still have that "Monday Stigma" that lurks around the edges, though. So, maybe not. Perhaps having a career doing what you love means defining a new way of looking at the week altogether. I'll have to think on that a bit more.

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! I had much chocolate cake. Much. As in, I'll be running marathons for the rest of my life to work off what I ate, and I already needed to lose 50lbs so I didn't do myself any favors, much. But it was really good.

Well, it's March. And it's muddy. Muddy March. Blecht. It's bad enough, that I'm starting to contemplate mud as a possible medium to work in. I mean, if it's going to be everywhere, there's got to be something I can do with it! I have a potter's wheel somewhere...

I finished my latest fairy painting:

"Alina" 9x12" watercolor on hotpressed paper.

I really love how she came out. Her wings went a little wrong at first because the blue didn't seem right, but then I layered in the shadows and the blue has this deep undertone in it that I just love, and it suddenly worked!

And now I'm working hard on some pieces for Thrice Magazine, (which they may or may not use, and are not illustrative, but inspired by the stories I am given for the upcoming issue) and are in the abstract or surreal realm of my art. It's a jarring switch from fairies to fractured, and because of that I'm trying to get them all done at once... I don't have much time anyway, so that's probably a good thing.

I finished the first little one yesterday:

"Feather" 4x6" acrylic on canvas panel

I have three more (two small, one larger) to go.

I'm struggling a little bit though, because I really want to continue on with my fairies (and have deadlines involving them as well.) I have a fairy and dragon all planned out that I'm going to switch to either oils or acrylics on a 16x20" stretched canvas for, and I really want to get going on it. But while I work in different styles, I can't switch back and forth between the two at the same time. It's too hard, for some reason.

Well, anyway. I'm down to my last "to-do" for today because it's the start of March. I need to get my calendar all laid out with my map for the month structured in it, so I know what the heck I am working on! You wouldn't believe it, but it really helped push me last month to stay on target with my goals for my work. So, here's hoping March doesn't look insane once I plug it all in! *crossing fingers*

Monday, Monday

Hello all! I've done another vlog for my Video Monday, and I've got a slew of stuff cookin' today!

First, let me clarify this after the video: you try to cover it with your thumb, and then whichever one shows the object covered when you close the other is the dominate eye.

Moving on, here is my finished Caterpillar painting:

"Cool Cat" 9x12" acrylic on stretched canvas

I like him! He's very laid back, something I'm not. I always wish that I could be more Zen about stuff, but I'm a lot more like the white rabbit than the caterpillar.

Today, minus working on the video and getting my caterpillar all squared away, I'm working on those watercolors I showed in the video. This is an earlier in progress sketch:

A friend mentioned she'd be interested in just a sketch some time, that she prefers the medium. I, once upon a time, was afraid of color and ONLY did black and white sketches (I clearly have gone whole hog on the color now, though. It's an addiction at this point. Color, and the shiny color. Shiny!) So, I'm contemplating making a nice sketch. You know, all back to my roots and all! I may try that a bit down the road when I don't have so many deadlines on me!

Have a fabulous Monday!

Not Subtle

"My Steed" 9x12,Acrylic Watercolor on hot-pressed watercolor paper

Well, I managed to finish my fairy today! I'm actually impressed, since school was called off last night in honor of the oncoming blizzard. With a house full of snow-day kids, I would have thought that finishing a piece was the last thing that would happen.

However, I woke up and immediately wanted to paint. So, I tied back my hair and just dug in. Still in my pajamas. Classy, I know. Apparently my painting was so boring, both my kids went back to bed (as they're 12 and 14, I figured they could entertain themselves and if they wanted a nap, so be it) and I had a quiet morning that ended in being productive after all!

I really like the way she turned out. I wanted an image like one you'd see with a girl and her horse, and so the peacock is my fairy's steed. I contemplated a harness or collar of some type for the peacock, but I preferred the idea that the peacock was free to roam, and just loved being with her instead.

On the paint side of things it has come to my attention, however, that I am not a "gentle painter" when it comes to watercolors. I realize that in the strictest terms, this isn't watercolor, but rather diluted acrylics applied like watercolors, but regardless, I seem to develop a heavy hand with the paint. I'm just... addicted to the "pop!" I need the drama, the contrast, the over the top colors! If a work I have before me doesn't have them, then it's just not finished.

I remember taking a watercolors class with my mom when I was about 10 years old, and the teacher trying to get it into my head that watercolors are a subtle art, a gentle art, a quiet art. It was all about the "suggestion" of shadows and curves and lines (and whatever else there was of the hokey philosophy she felt the need to impart on a 10 year old who just wanted to get on with painting the rose in the glass in front of her.)

I guess I just don't do "subtle". It just doesn't make me happy. It's not that there isn't a place for it, it's just that in my world if I can't make it practically glow in the dark, where's the fun in that?

If you're getting snowed in like me (although I hear the bulk will be missing us, we're just due to get up to 16 inches of snow), I hope you stay safe and warm! Hot chocolate, anyone?

Diving In

So, I finally sucked it up and took on my peacock fairy. I finally rationalized that even if I screw this up, I can just make another one. Why am I so invested in this one, as if I'm unable to allow myself the room to fail? Silly me, sheesh.

So, here's where I started:

I popped in the background with watercolors before I realized that the reactivation and absorption was a problem:

Then I switched to diluted acrylics and started in on her first, because I felt like if I screwed up her face, then I'd know the project was over early and be able to move on without wasting my time (I know, I'm such an optimist. *ahem* I really don't understand why this piece is so far under my skin!)

And it ended up not being ruined, so I started layering in her hair. I had intended to go a coppery red with her (and I still might), but I'm kind of diggin' the blonde, so I'm not sure now. I'm leaning towards keeping her blonde.

I stopped working on her for a little while when I realized she was doing fairly (*giggle*, sorry, couldn't help myself) well, and switched to the peacock.

And that's where I ended up stopping for the night on Tuesday, because I was starting to get grumpy with the process. It's important to know when to stop. I figure that was a lot of progress for just one day (not counting the background) though, so it was a good day!

Today, I have done less. I've been in a sort of tired, grumpy mood and the drive to paint just wasn't there the same way it had been yesterday. Still, I layered in a lot more of the peacock and used some of my diluted iridescent paints over the top of the feathery marks, which created a nice (yet flashy) effect here in person. So, my peacock is nowhere near done, but at least I've gotten a little further in the process with it!

I think the painting is coming out well, although I'm still on the fence about the hair color. We'll see how it shakes out! I'm hoping to make some real progress on Thursday!

I've also realized that I do love painting these, but that I need to work bigger. I think I've been working too small. This one could have easily been on a 12x18 instead of a 9x12, and it would have made it a bit easier. Good to know! I'm also thinking about backgrounds and what sort I'd want to drop in, or do I keep them rather uncomplicated right now, given that my subjects end up very detailed. 

Lots to think about, at least! I hope everyone is doing well!

I Believe in Fairies!

Happy Friday everyone!

I spent Thursday watching my power fluctuate in and out, and working on my first of (at least) 12 in my new fairy.... series? direction? genre? Hmmm. Well, anyway, I love drawing them, and the response to them in the short amount of time I posted little online updates of my drawings (I post them on my FB art page, and I'm trying to remember to post them on my Google+ - which I accidentally deleted and then recreated, but I'm still trying to figure that out) was all good. It feels like I'm on the right track.

I was itching to start this painting since December! I received the commission for the peacock, fairy and a key, and my brain came up with two paintings. The first, I went with for the piece, Flight. The second I bashed about in my brain, thinking of how I wanted it to look. I knew I wanted a fairy and her faithful steed sort of image, and I had envisioned a sort of moonlit garden... but then I realized I was over complicating things.

I just needed to sketch out my fairy and take it from there. Then, suddenly, I found I was extremely nervous to do just that. You see, I had finally gotten her right in my mind after all this time... sometimes it doesn't reflect that when it takes physical form on paper.

After talking with a friend who asked how my sketch-booking was coming, I realized when I told her I had accomplished nothing that it was because I do it in my head. I was always that kid who did math in her head and got in trouble in class for not "writing the problem out with all the steps" because I could see it all so clearly in my head. It seems that I have carried on that tradition (for which many an hour in detention was spent, while I argued "But if it's correct, why do you care?!?")

I'm pleased to say she mostly looks like I wanted her to. This is where I stopped at mid-day and went for a run (inside, so I didn't get blown away to Oz):

Her hand was bugging me, it just never looked right. So, after I sketched in her feathered friend, Mr. Peacock, I reworked her hand. Again, and again. Argh! Hands aren't usually such a bother for me, but they were on this piece! Looking at the two pictures I might even like her hand positioning better in the first one (even if in person the second hand looks better.) I may rework it once more before I paint, but I have to be careful; the paper is only going to take so much.

All sketched out and ready to get painted!

I was also contemplating a harness on the peacock, but I rather like the idea of him being free, so I think I'll leave that out. Now it's a process about background, which I'm also mulling over, as well as color choices. I had thought about doing her hair in blue or purple, but her wings are going to reflect the peacock strongly, and purple might be weird. She may end up a redhead. (heh)

Anyhow, I plan on posting in progress updates daily, when I can (and likely shorter than this one. I'm very chatty today, I'm not sure why!)

Anyone have big plans for the weekend?

On the Path

January is coming to a close today, and I feel like it's the beginning of a huge kick-off for me. Likely, I would have felt this way if I had gotten my act together and sketched out my goals and broken them down in December like I was supposed to!

With February starting tomorrow, that brings with it the need to complete two abstract works, one Alice series work, and two paintings for my calendar I am planning to release for 2014. After thinking it over, and my recent leanings towards fairies, I think I am going to combine my 6-8 fairy painting goal with my calendar and do 12 fairies instead for it. It actually reduces the painting goal I set for me to produce this year, but I think it may very well lead to more.

I've been drawn (pun intended) to fairy and fantasy work since I was in high school, but I always sort of played with it in the background. After doing some research, I realize that there is interest in this sort of thing, and since I enjoy it, I'm going to allow myself to play with the idea of doing a lot more with the fantasy realm in general. I am still a series worker, but I'm already committed (happily) to doing the fairytale series, and preferably only one per year. Last year got muddled and Alice ended up extending over this year as well, but I believe I'll be able to finish it out and then keep it to one fairytale per year in a complete series for that aspect of my work.

The fairies and mermaids and such are just fun right now. But they're fun with possibly a point, and I'm going to explore that now! As a matter of fact, today my goal it to sketch out a new, larger watercolor of a fairy and her peacock that I wanted to do since I started on that commission from my last post. I'm very excited to finally be getting to it, and if it turns out, it will be one of the pages in my calendar! I'm hoping to have the sketch to share with you tomorrow, and I'm actually going to start sharing in  progress pictures too.

It's a dark, rainy, windy day here and I fully intent to spend it with my pencils and watercolors!

In other news, I finished the contest winner's little 5x7 custom painting:

Little Path, 5x7 Acrylic on canvas panel

The request was a red headed boy from behind (approximately seven years old) running into an enchanted forest. I admit, I had to think that one over for a while, because my head just couldn't come up with anything. Finally, I just sketched out the boy running, and laid in whatever came to mind after that. I was worried that the effect was jumbled (owed to the lack of planning on my part and just randomly putting things in) but I think it works. I was a little worried it was too "girly" but hopefully it turned out OK. It's missing my swirls, but they just didn't seem to fit anywhere in the painting. Maybe boys just don't have swirls, and that would have put it way into girl-territory?

Of A Feather

I finished my commission piece, and I have to say that while I started out rather ambivalent about it, by the end I was happy with it!

"Flight" Acrylic, 8x10 on stretched canvas. Original sold, prints available here.

The fairy took a great deal less time than I thought. I really was surprised at how quickly it went, once the bird was painted. It was all those feathers that got me initially. Sometimes I get a little too caught in the details and trying to put in fine lines in a smaller piece like this one, when I need to let go and let there be a suggestion of the lines. They don't have to exist, if the brain will fill it in for us.

Also, it took a while to reconcile the wings. Peacocks are just incredibly lovely birds with the most amazing tail-feathers in probably all of the animal kingdom... who knew their wings were UGLY!? I went through photo after photo completely shocked that this sapphire gem of a bird is hiding these rather dowdy feathers. No wonder they don't fly very often! It must really prick their egos to know they aren't perfect all over! I spiced them up with iridescent bronze, copper, and gold. It helped. Now it's not so dowdy.

I was happy with the mood too. I was going for, sort of an urgent, they're going somewhere, sort of thing. Maybe even running, and that's why she's looking behind her. It just sort of fell that way, I didn't plan it, but it's what I have been feeling lately on a personal level, so it makes sense that it would show up in my sketch I suppose!

I believe this year will have several fairies in it. I want them to be a bit bigger and more the focus though, and I'll likely explore that in watercolors to start with as well. But that will have to wait, because I have the contest winner's painting up next, as well as starting in on the Caterpillar for my Alice in Wonderland Series. February is going to be a big month with lots of paintings!