Andy Warhol: Torn-Paper Collage

And now, something totally different! This is a torn-paper collage of one of my all-time favorite artists, Andy Warhol. As an added twist, I only used torn pieces of my CitraSolv background pages. It is a little abstract (ok, a lot) but I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

This is the final week of class in Misty Mawn's Portrait Workshop. I hate to see it end :( The lesson this week is on self-portraits. I have managed to dig up an old photo of myself and will make a sketch based on that. I certainly don't want to sketch how I look now (maybe when I'm braver). ;)

Before tackling that assignment I thought I would complete another one I hadn't gotten to yet: collaged portraits. Andy Warhol painted a lot of portraits...so I thought it only fitting to make one of him. Here is the original sketch I used as a model for the collage:


I had a lot of fun doing this one. I wanted to keep the color palette pretty narrow; mainly lights and darks. The example that Misty made was just black and white, using only text from magazines. The highlights used the white background, black text and the shadows used black background, white text pieces. I would like to try something like that next time. And then maybe something using more color. I like the way the CitraSolv papers tear into strips. It's very easy to work with.

There is still the lesson using the black pencil/white paint on a portrait that I haven't gotten to work for me yet. I'm determined to get something decent from that technique. It will just take me a while to get the right combination of paint/water to mix with the pencil.

And I'm working on my second page for the digital altered book. I already like the "canvas" I have to work with: the top of the page has the heading: artist's studio. Sounds like a good starting point!

More Shiva Painting

I think I'll never put my Shiva Paintstiks away. I love them. This is my latest painting placed into a digital background with lots of layers and added textures. Here is the original painting:

After much adjusting and fussing, I finally had to stop. I want to learn more about how to blend the colors better; especially skin tones. First, I need to get more colors in the paintstiks. I'm pretty limited right now in my selection. Then, I just need to practice.

I am making progress in Misty Mawn's Portrait Class but there is one lesson that I just can not get and I really want to do it. We are to use only a black pencil and white acrylic paint on a portrait. I've thrown away about four or five attempts now. For the life of me, I can't get the paint and the pencil to blend right. I always end up with something right out of Night of the Living Dead when I'm finished. Yuk! Why is it that when instructors do something, it looks so natural and easy? ;)

So it's back to the drawing board or, in this case, the sketch book. We will have a new lesson up this week: self-portraits. Uh...hmmm. I may have to dig in my dusty archives for a decent photo of me. But that's a few days away. In the meantime, practice, practice, practice...

From One Comes Many

Yes, I'm still painting portraits in Misty Mawn's class. This first photo shows a painting where I combined three media: a base layer of Dr. Ph. Martin's inks, followed by a layer of acrylics and then finished off with Shiva Paintstiks. Who knew you could use all three together? Misty has some awesome results in her class. I am loving it more and more as I just dive in and play!

All of the different pieces I have on today's post came from this original graphite sketch:

After I finished that sketch, I loved it. I'll admit it. There was just something about this girl that I had to explore further. I wanted to put her in different colors and backgrounds and moods. I'm still not finished with her.

So, I started by painting her (top photo). Then I scanned her into Photoshop and decided to put her in some digital pieces. Here I scanned the painting and placed it onto a CitraSolv background. I call this one, "Sad Eyes". The CitraSolv background had a little area on it that looked like a tear when I placed the image onto it:

On this next piece I scanned the graphite sketch and placed it onto another CitraSolv background. This time, there was a faint face that remained on the paper after the CitraSolv treatment. I thought it looked like a spirit; maybe an angel. Then I started to think about the song, "She Talks To Angels" by The Black Crowes. It's a sad song but that's how I've been feeling lately while dealing with Isabella's sickness. So I muted the colors in the background, colored her eyes and lips very faintly and came up with my version of, "She Talks To Angels".

And for a completely different mood I used the same scan of the sketch and just placed it onto another CitraSolv background. This time with a more upbeat message. I call this one, "Dreamer of Dreams".

So out of one sketch, there came many different pieces. I love that! And I love all of the techniques I'm learning from Misty in her class.

And I want to thank all of you who have offered your well wishes for Isabella! She is improving every day. We are hopeful that she'll make a full recovery. She's home now and I think that my little talk with a few angels may have helped. ;)

Trying My Hand at Oil Paints

It's been a very stressful week filled with some drama. My little fur baby and faithful companion, Isabella, is very sick and fighting to get better. She's day to day...so I've been a little low key. As a way to occupy my mind I thought I would at least try the oil painting lesson from Misty Mawn's class this past week. We used Shiva Paintstiks to paint one of our sketches.

I had many bad attempts that I immediately tossed in the trash. It took me quite a while to understand how to blend with the stiks. I finally ended up with a painting that I was somewhat satisfied with. The top photo shows the painting that I used in a digital piece. I scanned another of my CitraSolv backgrounds, added her to it and then added some more layers in Photoshop. I wish I had the ability to do on paper what I can do in Photoshop!

Here is the original painting on watercolor paper:

I definitely want to work more with the Shiva's. After a while I began to understand where to put the dark colors before blending them; I still have a long way to go. I love the buttery softness of these paints. Most of the blending is done with your fingers and this really does help to achieve the color you want. This has been one of my favorite lessons so far. And for a little while it took my mind to a happier place.

Hopefully, Isabella will come through this sickness. Send her your good wishes!