I'm Dancing......Wheeeee!

edit: Forgot to link this for The Butterfly Effect "Wild at Heart" challenge from Guest Lisa Wright :D

A friend left a comment on a post I made about how I think the world sees me. She said that her vision of me was "dancing in colour and words". How gorgeous is that :D

So inspired by her words I journalled, and this is what I came up with :D

The little sprite is my inner self....
...and I am made up of layers(like an ogre, not an onion:D)...
...and I do like to dance amongst the flowers...
...I AM going to grow more flowers this year :D
So thanks, love and hugs to Magaly, and all my friends who make me want to keep dancing in colour :D

...And on the final day he rested!!!

Well folks, today is the last day of February and therefore the 29th of my 29 Faces for February.

I have REALLY enjoyed pushing myself to make these pieces, and hope you have enjoyed all the differing styles and techniques as much as I have. I would like to thank, once again Ayala for hosting this marvellously inspired challenge.

For my 29th face (was going to put last, but I doubt that very much lol) I decided to express how relaxed I now feel when attempting a portrait.

This is a loose 20 minute sketch(including deciding which pic to use) of my hubby relaxing in front of the tv.....not something he does very often :)

...building up sketch with soft coloured pencils...
...putting in shoulders so he isn't a head on a stick...
... literally scribbling colour onto the page, in a very free fashion...
...thought his head looked a bit skinny so added more hair lol...
...and the words...JUST CHILL...and have fun with your art :D

It doesn't matter that it isn't a perfect likeness...that's what photo's are for. What does matter is that you enjoy your art...if some one else likes it too, that's cool! :D

Tip: I found standing up to draw this meant I had to work loosely, and the soft graphite meant I couldn't make tight lines :D

The many faces of ME!

Being the 28th day of 29 Faces for February, I thought I might show lots of faces.

The Art Geeks prompt for this week was to make a journal page using scraps and collage to show how the world sees you and how you really are. Some people don't see this as "proper" art, but I find it rather enjoyable :D

I chose to use my STEve book, which I made with my most favourite K&Co Blossomwood papers, and collected 6 images that I felt represented versions of me...I arranged them on the pages and smooshed copper metalic acrylic around a bit :D( I like smooshing paint)
I then made labels for each representation...
and finally doodled and added expressions of how I am perceived.
So Face no 28 is "The many faces of ME!"

#1 How parents see me....angelic of course

#2 How friends see me .... some one to tell their troubles to

#3 How Society sees me....sat drinking tea all day(stay at home mum)

#4 How Hubby sees me...alluring, with a hint of danger, sexy(and grateful I am that he does:D)

#5 How I see me....Happy in my own space(wanting to be away with the faeries most of the time)

and finally

#6 How I really am in the world....constantly battling with the outside world(protecting friends and family, trying to keep them all safe and happy)

Hope you enjoyed this bit of fun :D XXX

Does this look like a happy child to you?

Face no 27 for 29 Faces for February (he might be 28 and 29 as well, in different mediums :D)

Genuine critique required folks!!! My nephew asked me to do a portrait of his 1 year old son(via hubby, who said of course I would?????!)

Why do people always send you photos for portraits of laughing babies? They are so hard to get the true likeness from. When we laugh our faces become distorted and twisted, and you can't see the eyes properly(but he is gorgeous :D, even if he did make me a Great-aunt)

So I really need you to tell me if you think I have caught his likeness...
I did a quick sketch then went for chalk pastels on textures paper...(no instructions for size or technique from parents:S)
I also chose to use a coloured paper to help with depth, using white rose pink and black pastels.
There isn't an awful lot of detail on a babies face, especially if his hair is still downy...
and I have "best guessed" for his eyes.
Decided to use a brown stabillo All pencil to neaten edges, as this blended with the chalk.
and a touch of black pencil in eyes and mouth(because the pastel was too fat lol)
I added his neck and a suggestion of his t-shirt, so that he wasn't just a floating head(that would have been a bit creepy I think)
and this is where I am at now. Don't feel like I want to do any more to this image. I like the softness of it.
Opinions required....please :D XXX

Eureka!!! I think she's got it :D

Decided to give gel transfering anther go...this time I did some experimenting first.

I'd printed a pic (ink jet printer) of a mariposa to use as inspiration for the postcard challenge. It was just lying on my desk, begging to be used, so I poured some matt medium on it and slapped it onto a piece of scrap card, hit it with the hairdyer and started rubbing off the paper....it worked???!!!
So I grabbed my "try it out" book and stuck another inkjet image and a photo onto a page already prepped with white Gesso...
went away to give it some drying time as I was realising I have been attacking them too quickly.
OMG the image transfered beautifully....
but the photo wouldn't stick. Next I thought, maybe I'd been struggling because I was working on top of acrylic paint....
NO!!! She was perfect!!! So time to try on a pre-painted collage page. I had already tried a transfer on this page before, but the image was difficult to see, so I added a patch of white acrylic first.
(could have given it longer to dry) Then stuck inkjet image on with loads of matt medium...
and "thar she blows!!!" Couldn't believe how well these worked, guess I just needed a little patience :D
Added another image overlapping the first...
and a bit of water colour ...and I am very pleased with this distressed collage effect. Face no 26 for 29 Faces for February.
All the inkjet images are from June at Dezinaworld (except the mariposa) :D XXX

Face no 25 revisited

Face no 25 for 29 Faces in February :D

Yesterday I took a photo of a face I could see in the bark of a tree...a humungous old tree :D

I have picked out the basic facial structure to keep the face clear, but you can go on forever adding hair and stuff using this method of inspiration...

A simple black outline(I think this is what is known as abstract art) Chose a few colours Green/Brown/Purple of graphite and went to work...

building up layers and patches of colour

then intensified the background colour a little to throw the face forward.

Is this the same face you saw?? If not, why not have a go and show your tree spirit?

When life get's in your way....

....take a photo :D

I have no intention of failing in my posting 29 faces for February, but sometimes life stops you "arting".

Got a call from distressed eldest at uni, who needed bringing home thursday night and sending to emergency dentist. Turned out his filling had dropped out + sinus infection that needed antibiotics. Then my friend came round to see if I wanted to go visit another friend....would have been rude not too! And today was already booked to babysit ...always a pleasure.

So the piece I was doing for today barely got started. But while we were playing at Clumber park(hide and seek with a 2 year old lol) this tree spirit came to my aid...

Can you see his face??? ....I will work on this image tomorrow to show his regal beauty more clearly.

Face no 25 ish :D XXX

Spirit of Air

Second post Friday. For The Further adventures of Lady Ophelia click HERE.

Face no 24 of 29 Faces in February...lots of pics, not a lot to see :D

Quick background, scribbled oil pastels onto textured paper, and smooshed.
Then "David" wanted to be drawn again....But he is see through...
...so I sealed the oils and sketch with clear gesso, and outlined him with silver acrylic paint :D
oooooow shiny.....
Now how do you shade a clear image????, because he does have substance...
I opted for a thin wash of white watercolour, and extra thin layers of soft blue around the features, and irises of his eyes.
The picture needed a bit of weight...so I scratched a grass effect along the bottom with pencil blocks...
and then added washes of green water colour....I like :D
I think it looks like he is blowing the grass :D

Close up of face...but the shading is still difficult to see, but then it would be wouldn't it? LOL