Tuesday, November 18, 2014

September 2014 - Phoebeliscious & Torination Portraits

It's time.  I'm going to grow up a little now and move from cards to a CANVAS. I have no idea if I can make something good enough for a canvas so I buy a few very inexpensive burlap canvases. This proves problematic later as they warp when I add layers of gesso and gel and paint, and I have to continually clamp them down to keep the canvas from curling. But as an experiment they are perfect.  I think I paid $1 each for these 12" x 16" canvases.

Over the summer I watched many a video on YouTube and came across time lapsed videos showing some really wonderful artists create fascinating works of art. Watching these tutorials helped me get over the fear of the blank canvas or page. These artists are incredibly unselfish and share their ideas, techniques, and places to buy elements. Here are some of my favorites ... click on their names to go to their websites/blogs, or click on the title of video on YouTube to start the video:



Finnabair really sparked my interest.  Her art can be steampunk or romantic, raw or beautiful, or all of the above.  She uses her own face as a base in some incredible projects, and I want to try this technique using my granddaughter's face.  I asked my granddaughter, Phoebe, to put her hair up in a bun and allow me to photograph some side views of her face.  From there, I created a huge headdress, totally inspired by the works of Finnabair.


My next target is my grandson, Torin.  Sometimes I try too hard to say everything I'm feeling in one project.  Torin just started college, so I wanted a bit of history on this canvas, like the plays he was in, his love of theater, childhood photos, and his wonderful mind.  I also wanted to use metal embellishments on this one, once again inspired by Finnabair's steam punk self portrait.  


Now the other grandkiddies want one, and I'm currently working on one for my sister's granddaughter.  Joyce had a lot of fun this weekend placing elements to form the headdress on the prepared substrate.  Her granddaughter will be really surprised ... now I have to glue, paint, and finish the piece but I'm waiting on a better quality photo from my niece.

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