"Together we are a force for Nature"

Continuing from yesterdays post....

I decided on a family portrait, but didn't want to get hung up on "likenesses". It was more about the feeling of us being a family unit.

I drew 4 outlines representing each of us, and dulled the background with white acrylic.

Next I emphasised the figures with soft brown acrylic... (working with the 4 colours from the had prints)

and slapped some more colour over the background with a glue spreader(I wanted to keep the work loose)

I blocked the figures using the colours of each personality (as discussed in yesterdays post), representing the 4 elements...and highlighted the "Heart" that appeared from my sons hand print :D

I thought the white showing through was too harsh, so I used a weak brown glaze to blend the background...

and add depth to the figures.

I am very pleased with this piece, it went from an uptight piece about me, to the flowing piece about us :D

I would like to thank, Tee Thompson, Virginia and Rita for their inspiration :D

Enjoy :D XXX

Big Canvas, Phase 2

So...haven't arted properly all week, and now I have a whole weekend to do as I please. Grab BIG canvas and carry on.

This is where I left it last, and looking at it now it felt a bit..."twee" and "Contrived" and "disjointed"...in fact, it still felt like a blank canvas....:S

It was supposed to be a piece to hang in the family room, about family, but it was only about me.

My 13 year old was proudly showing his dad a pile of maths papers he had brought home from school(he loves math). So, remembering how Tee Thompson had used her kids homework for a base layer in her art, I scrounged some(it was a big pile, the rest is now safely stored/stashed in his room)

...and I covered "me" up with "him", including his revised timetable... 

and one piece showing how he writes his name on the back of every sheet, usually accompanied by a doodle of some sort(angry face)

Next I went back to the original inspiration for making a BIG canvas, Virginia

She had started he canvas by getting her family to write on it with her, then cover it with handprints :D

There are 4 of us(3 of them, 1 of me), and a few years ago Zac drew a picture of us all in different colours. He said we each represented a different element(he's into stuff like Last Airbender and Naruto). He found this helped him cope with our different personalities.

Yellow = air = thinker = big brother

Green(I substituted brown) = earth = worker = dad

Blue = water = healer = mum

Red = fire = uncontrolled energy = him

So I got them to make the handprints in their colours, and surprisingly we all have very similar sized hands (though the thinker is away at uni still, so I did his :D)

While I was drying the paint I noticed several heart-shaped prints, made by my hubbies hand (the pad at the base of thumb)

So this is my 14th heart for my 31 Hearts for July collection :D

Paint should be dry now so I is off to play some more!

Enjoy :D XXX

Returning Dawn

Face no.13 of my 29 Faces for May

DAWN- A -GLOWING

Today I have revisited the oil painting to add more layers, and try and get the effect of light shining on/from her face :D XXX

"My soul, it soars enchanted"

Face no.6 of my 29 Faces for May

DAWN

This is another sneak peek at that BIG canvas I am working on. The latest layer was added with water-mixable oil paints...I know, I thought I'd misread it too. So I have had to leave it to dry for a few days :D

Enjoy :D XXX

Hiding in the flowers

Just a quick post and sneaky peek at a Work in Progress.

Just realised that I haven't posted anything for this weeks Butterfly Effect, who's theme is FLOWERS, which I chose.....BAAAAAAD Gina!!!

I haven't posted because I've been playing on a 3 ft x 2ft canvas, which meant I didn't have room to play with anything else lol.

This is the bottom left hand corner( about 12x10 inches) on which I am creating a cascade of flowers.

Why not link up at The Butterfly Effect this week and show them all the pretty flowers you've been creating :D

Enjoy :D XXX