Painted Faces

Hello everyone,

The temperature has dropped a bit and we've had a good rain here in my part of the UK, but today it's blue skies and sunshine again, which is wonderful. I've been up since 3am, unable to sleep, so my chores are done and I have more time to play :o)

I'm still loving Art Journal Summer School, it's encouraging me to play in my art journal every day, even if only for a little time. This week my favourite page was this one, following a lession with Marieke Blokland, the host of AJSS, who showed us how she creates her "dolls" ...


Marieke also showed us how to add a fantastical fairytale background, inspired by a photo of a castle or other building we've seen on our travels. My background is drawn from the view I see from my window every day (we live in a cottage in the grounds of an old Hall). I stood in the kitchen doorway as it was getting dark one evening, and made a ten minute sketch, just to capture the feel of it.

These next two were inspired by a class with Andrea Gomoll, who encouraged us to "Go with the Flow". Andrea worked quickly and freely and I loved her painting - full of vibrant, transparent colours and lots of movement.

First, we added watercolour paint to wet paper and allowed it to do its thing, before drawing our picture over the top with water soluble pencil and activating it with a water brush to create shading. We added more colour here and there with water soluble crayons, and used fineliners and paint pens to add detail.


I wasn't happy with mine and couldn't leave it alone, kept twiddling and adding stuff and it just got all stiff and overworked. That was my second attempt, the first attempt I can hardly stand to look at, but I'll share it with you anyway, click here if you really want to see it ...



Ick, seriously makes me squirm. At one point, it was kinda ok, just a bit meh, so that's when I should have moved on. But no, I kept twiddling and adding and it just went from mediochre to bad to worse, until I gave up on it.

The only time I've had any kind of success with this kind of painting was after a gin and tonic (or three). I was watching a class with Jayne Davenport one evening and when I got up in the morning I found this painting which I didn't even remember doing ...


See, it's as if it was painted by someone else, isn't it?! I actually quite like this one.

As I always tell myself, it's not the results which matter, the important thing is to enjoy the process and learn something from it. This time I have learned that Gin + Tonic x 3 = slightly squiffy = loose and scribbly, which is a good thing :o)

Thanks for reading all the way to the end of this rambling post. Have a lovely creative weekend wherever you are in the world and I'll see you again soon.

Love Annie xxx

Comments

Helen Wallace said…
Up at 0300 eh! Sounds a bit like what happens in this house - although I never do the housework at that time! Good for you - making time to play. You are such a versatile artist Annie, and I like ALL the faces - not sure why you've taken a dislike to the one in the middle. TFS
These are fantastic, Annie! Funny how you can loosen up after a drink or too LOL! I can definitely see the original artists' influence in these, esp. the Davenport piece, but they've also got a lot of "Annie" in them! I haven't done any faces in ages - I may return to them or not - they're not really my forte, but then again, if I don't practice, I will never get better at them. Perhaps I should just practice behind the scenes LOL - but I have this urge to put everything I create on line: the good, the bad and the ugly! Just catching up after a few weeks break from blogging! Unlike me, you've been incredibly prolific this summer! xx
ps: you're crazy getting up at 3 am to do housework!