Thursday, April 29, 2010

Quality Over Quantity?

"Beeches and Blackberries" Acrylic on Canvas, 18"x24"
So, I happen to be very proud of this painting. For one, I've never tried to paint trees. Mostly because my experience trying to draw trees has ended in serious frustration and a general feeling that all this art stuff is a waste of time, given the obvious lack of talent. But when I was going through my picture archives and I found this one of a bike path in Watershed Park (Redmond, WA) I had an idea of how I might paint the trees. And it worked! Probably it has something to do with Mom's recent tree painting class and her amazing paintings from said class. And I had Hazel's yelling at me for making the distant tree tunnel too dark. But I think I did darn good. And while I still see a couple of things I could improve upon, I feel redeemed.
The only other thing that I finished this week is the Pooh with Coffee:
Which I forgot to take a picture of before framing him. I got myself a new set of real watercolors, so it was easier to make him all nice and smooth looking. And I like the coloring. So here they are together in Coffee Corner:

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Art Machine

"Spring Box" 10"x10" Acrylic on Canvas
Played with more abstract above, and it really is like playing. It was a lot of fun to do and I got some intriguing flower techniques. I painted it on top of the tree picture.
"Seaside with Seagulls" 8"x10" Acrylic on Canvas
Hazel was giving me trouble for never doing landscapes, which isn't entirely true, but sometimes it's just easier to do what she says. And I needed a bit of change. I couldn't quite get the lighting right. It's supposed to be really bright on the waves and the wet sand, but I just couldn't get it there. I might work at it a little bit. If I got that part right then the seagulls wouldn't look so much like cheating.
"Parker" Graphite on Paper...didn't measure
Mom's got us doing assignments for Art Class, so here's lesson 1.
And then I decorated a couple of wood blocks for Project Etsy.
Purple with Envy 4"x4" Mixed Media on Wood Block
"Is There Something on My Head?" 4" diameter Mixed Media on Woodblock

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Things of the Week

"Beehive" 12"x24" Acrylic on Canvas
So I started a new dandy in class and got most of it done while I was there. I've been working on touchups throughout the week. Soon it will be time to add the bees!
I also went and took some pictures so I could practice working with textures and patterns. I decided to start with some clover, but when I got the shadows in...well it looked too cool to keep going, so I cleaned up the lines, blackened the shadows and voila:
"Patterns: Clover 1" 10"x10" Acrylic on Canvas
I decided that it was maybe an even better practice in patterns if not textures and I've decided to do more. Yesterday, in fact, I finished up another one with a lesser zoom. I think I like it bigger, so I think I'll do a third that's zoomed way in...
"Patterns: Clover 2" 1o" x 10" Acrylic on Canvas

And I did a quick little wood block:
"Blue Block" 4"x4"

Thursday, April 8, 2010

What I Made This Week

Clouds 12"x18" Watercolorish with Acrylic

So this week was rather less productive than last week. Which I expected, but of course was still disappointed in. I did a lot more sketching and layout work for possible future projects and put in some time on Giant Notre Dame Sketch. All of which leaves less to show for my work. But, it's all good. I'm keeping that nice journal with my things a day to show me that I wasn't a slacker. I also decided to play with some abstract -ness to loosen me up and have some fun:
Tree Picture 10" x 10"
I will probably paint over it.
And I spent a lot of time working on this painting, which is still not done yet:
School of Jacks 16" x 20" Acrylic
And I made this:
Margarita Sorbet!
Which may well be my contribution to the Johnstone Margarita Legacy.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Oops, Missed One

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo!

"Just Dandy, Thank You" 12" x 24" Mixed Media on Canvas

So I managed to get a lot done this last week. Most notably, I put the finishing touches on the red-haired girl above. Amazingly, changing her dress was all it took to get me unstuck. Nothing like a new dress I guess. I did a couple more Hawaii paintings:
"Jack" 8" x 10" Acrylic on Canvas

"Sunset at Black Rock" 16" x 20"

I managed to do both the Jack and the Sunset paintings in one sitting, which is pretty unusual for me since I like to pick at them. The Jack took about 3 hours and the Sunset took about 5. Not bad. And a couple more wood block girls:
A lot to live up to for next week...