Reclining Female

Reclining Female

~ 6in

clay

  For Head and Figure Sculpture.  Based on Rodin's Danaide. Completed. Previous step.

This was easy to do.  My Mother-in-law said it looks like she has cramps :)

Posies and Peaches

  Posies and Peaches

 11 x 14

  watercolor on illustration board

  For Still Life 2.  Finished.  Previous step. I love the peaches.  The rose got a bit difficult.  I tried really hard not to get caught up in the details.  I think need to find some more flowers to use :)  Im thinking orchids. 

This is watercolor on illustration board.  Instead of using gesso this time like I did for Tea and Posies I used Daniel Smith Watercolor Ground. It has a different feel then the gesso more like watercolor paper but smoother.  I much prefer painting on the Daniel Smith Watercolor Ground over the gesso.  It layers nicely and I can still pull up lights if I need to. 

Still Life Quick Studies, Marry Me?

  Still Life Quick Studies-

  Melon and Nanners, Wine and Posies, 

Marry Me?,

  Afternoon Tea, Rose',

 Rosie Posie

   9 x 12

  acrylic on board

For Quick Studies.  All done in under an hour. All of these were done today.  Crazy I know.  It was quite a task to get all of these finished.  Im still doing these in acrylic in a limited palette and enjoying it very much. 

  Marry Me?

 11 x 14

  watercolor on gessoed illustration board

  For Still Life 2.  This was done from an old reference photo.  These are the roses my husband gave me when he asked me to marry him.  In this image they are dried and sitting on the bathroom counter.  I did a quick study using the same reference image above.

I dont really like working on the gesso as I cant really layer my colors very easily.  I find if I use too much water it pulls up the color from underneath.  The surface seems to respond best to thick applications of color.   

 

Quick Studies- Seal, Datsun, Summer Breeze, Jess

   Quick Studies-

 Seal, Datsun,

  Summer Breeze, Jess

   9 x 12

  acrylic on board

For Quick Studies.  All done in under an hour.   I added the rest of this weeks paintings.  Im more proud of some then others but I think they all turned out well.  I am enjoying doing these in acrylic.  I feel more graphic and bold with my strokes.  There is no time to blend. 

The other two quick studies for this week.

Quick Studies- Male Profile, Kettle Corn Cook

Male Profile &
Kettle Corn Cook

9x12

acrylic on board

Yes you read that right.  These were done in acrylic.  I have not done a painting in acrylic in years.  The smell of oil paints really bothers me so I decided to try my hand at acrylic.  It is definatly a new experience.  They really dry much much quicker and they also mix differently.  Not bad just different. 

I have been reading Kevin Macpherson's book Fill Your Oil Paintings With Light and Color and it helped to inspire these paintings.  In his book he talks about using a limited palette of Titanium White, Cadmium Yellow Light, Aliziran Crimson, and Ultramarine Blue so I used only those colors to create these paintings.  It was a challenge but it was also exciting.  Using a limited palette really challenges you to get creative in your color mixing.   I think I will probably be experimenting with acrylic in the future. 

Posies and Peaches

  Posies and Peaches WIP

 11 x 14

  watercolor on illustration board

  For Still Life 2.  The beginning lay in.  I need to work more on the values but I think it is coming along nicely.

This is watercolor on illustration board.  Instead of using gesso this time like I did for Tea and Posies I used Daniel Smith Watercolor Ground. It has a different feel then the gesso more like watercolor paper but smoother.  We'll see how it does when I add more layers.

Reclining Figure WIP

Reclining Female WIP

~ 6in

clay

  For Head and Figure Sculpture.  Based on Rodin's Danaide.  This is the basic block in.  Next week I will begin refining the forms.  

Tea and Posies, More Quick Figure Studies

Tea and Posies 

9x12

watercolor on gessoed illustration board

For Still Life Painting 2. Working on the illustration board was interesting.  It was nice because it was easy to lift out my whites but that also made it difficult to layer my colors.  Getting the background dark and even was very difficult.  I think the texture I ended up creating is nice though.   

 9 x 12

 oil on gessoed board

 For Quick Studies. 25 minute figure studies.  Still feeling rusty. I toned these in a horrible bright green that made it really hard to see the correct colors.  Lesson learned- tone in a neutral color. 

 9 x 12

 oil on gessoed board

Also for Quick Studies.  These are 40 minute studies.

AAU Expo

Today I went to the AAU LA Expo in Downtown.  I got to meet and chat with my teachers, alumni, and other students.  It was an amazing experience.  I love connecting with people.  

These were done during the figure drawing workshop with Craig Nelson.  Both are 25 min poses done in watercolor.  

These are the drawings I did almost a year ago at the last LA Expo. 

Doodles

Doodles 

8 x 5.5

ink on cardstock

Inspired by The Creative Edge by Mary Todd Beam. I didnt have a book to read at work today but I had paper and pen :) so I made some cool doodles.  I have just doodled in a long time.  It was a ton of fun and I think I should do it more often. 

Can you name all of the fruits in the second doodle? 

Viva Tequila, Figure Quick Studies, Mugz

Viva Tequila 

watercolor on paper

 12 x 9

For Still Life Painting.  Low-key subject. A tequila bottle and some money. I guess you could say it is a statement about alcohol. 

Here is the underpainting-

 oil on canvas

 For Quick Studies. 25 minute figure studies. I am a bit out of practice with oil but I still think these turned out well. 

 Also for Quick Studies.  These are 40 minute studies. 

 

Mugz

water based clay

For Head and Figure Sculpture. Our first assignment was to create a 1:1 mug.  Once with our own technique and one taught by the instructor. This is much harder then it looks. I redid my technique twice.  First I tried to create a coil and that didnt work.  I ended up making a cylinder and then hollowing out the center.  The instructor taught technique was much much easier. 

Never Forget

‎10 years ago I woke up to Fox 11 Morning News like I always did-
the first tower had been hit.
I ran up stairs to tell my mom.
She didnt believe me.
I watched as a plane flew into the second tower.
I watched as they fell.
I was 14.

Never Forget.

That day
the actions of those few men
shocked the world
changed the world
forever.

Mug 1 & Asparagus Avacado Soup

 Mug 1

clay

 ~ 4 inches

 For Head and Figure Sculpture. Our first assignment it to create 2 mugs- one of our own technique and one taught to us.  I did my own technique first so I would have have the influence of the other one.  This was much harder then it looks.  When you are creating additive sculpture you are usually adding clay to a mass.  With this there was a hollow area inside making it difficult to add clay.  I ended up creating a solid cylinder and the carving the center out.  Much easier then my first try (which I scrapped) that I tried to create using a coil method.  Hopefully the next one will go smoother.  

 

On a different note, I made the most delicious soup tonight.  While reading Prevention Magazine at work today I stumbled across a recipe for Asparagus Avocado Soup.  Soo soo yummy.  I used fresh locally grown produce and it turned out so well.  If you are interested here is the recipe-

 

Asparagus Avocado Soup
Cook 8oz asparagus. 

Add to blender with 1 chopped avocado, 1 1/4 cups cold water, 1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream, and 2 Tbsp each chopped cilantro and fresh lime juice. 

Puree until smooth. 

Season to taste. 

Ladel into 4 bowls and top each with 1 Tbsp sour cream. 

Makes 3 1/4 cups

I had a bunch of asparagus so I doubled the recipe. I also didnt have any sour cream so I subed cream cheese and milk. To season I used salt, garlic powder, a little bit of pepper and extra fresh lime.

Enjoy :)

Thank You Cards

Nail Polish from Terri

Bike Ribbons from the Kesslers

A Bike Basket, a Balloon, and a Creepy Purple Ape Pillow Pet from Mom and Joe

 Cute Earrings from Pam

$ from the Grandparents 

 watercolor and pen on cardstock

On 24 Aug I celebrated my 24th birthday.  My family and I went out to dinner at one of my favorite Italian place.  We ate, we drank, we laughed, and we opened presents :) 

For thank you cards I thought it would be fun to take the gifts they gave me and make them into art! These are not very big since they are cards but they were quite fun to do. I hope my family likes them :)