Saturday, October 31, 2015

The Clown - Part 3

My little guy turned seventeen today. I think that this actually means that this is his 18th Halloween. And I can see that he's transitioning into an adult because this is the first Halloween that he hasn't dressed up and gone trick-or-treating. But don't worry too much, he did dress up as an astronaut yesterday at school.

Happy Birthday, little guy! It's an honor, a privilege, and such an incredible joy to be your mom!!!


I continued working on this painting just a bit in between all the busyness that this day has held.

I repainted half of her face a different flesh tone.
I also painted the big white stripe on her shirt
and the smaller white bits on her hat.

I started doing some of the line work on her face
and hat. It's really bringing her to life!
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Friday, October 30, 2015

The Clown - Part 2


We took the little guy out for dinner tonight. Tomorrow he turns seventeen. I think it must be awesome to have a birthday on Halloween. And perfect for the occasion, our waiter was dressed as a zombie. I'm not sure a zombie is the most appetizing thing to have serving you food, but we sure dug it!


I continued working on this painting. It's such a fun piece! I'm loving all the colors and shapes.

I painted the left side of her face as well as
her eyes and some more of her hair.

Ah, now she's coming alive! I love what painting
the eyes will do. I also painted her eyelids,
more of her hair, and a bit more of her hat.
I'm loving making her asymmetrical!

Next her eyebrows, upper lip,
and the beginning of her collar.
I also decided I didn't want the clown collar.

I painted her lower lip and continued
working on her striped outfit.
She personifies fun and whimsy!

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Thursday, October 29, 2015

The Clown - Part 1

I know you've been just sitting on the edge of your seats waiting for the next episode of "How the Hen House Turns". Don't even bother denying it. Well, yours truly was the one who ended up looking under the shed. Did I go and get all dirty? While I'm not opposed to getting dirty, I did not. I went out in the back yard with one of our funky blankets, lay it on the ground by the shed, got on top of it, and shined my flashlight under the shed. All this while a construction workers a house away had me in clear view.

Yes, I'm the crazy lady who lays on a blanket in her back yard.

And...no eggs. Not a single one. I officially tag Dave as "it" for the next egg quest.


I started a new painting. It's going to be Picasso-esque. I decided to paint a clown as it would lend itself to whimsy. So, here goes!

I sketched my design on a canvas.

I started adding some color.
Note that fun Picasso-esque face emerging.
Excited to do more tomorrow and over the weekend.
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Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Sylvette, Six Decades Later - Part 3

It's an episode of "How the Hen House Turns"....

My big guy discovered that part of the fencing that keeps our chickens in their part of the back yard had fallen down. And sure enough, our chickens were where they weren't supposed to be. Those rascally girls have had a bad habit of going under our shed and laying eggs way out of our reach. Not cool, ladies. And Dave and I have definitely noticed an egg shortage lately. So now we have to decide how badly we want to get those eggs if they're under the shed, if they're even edible after having been outside for several days, who is going to take one for the team and get all dirty for the retrieval, and, most importantly, if it's even worth it to avoid the likely stank that will ensue come the warm months if they're left as is.

Stay tuned.....


And I completed this painting. This was so much fun! When I first looked at it I thought it'd be "easier" than painting a realistic face. Well, it had it own level of trickiness, too. The thing is, everything is just made up of shapes. And if you break them down by individual shapes it's much more approachable. The shapes with this one were extra fun and, well, super "shape"ly!

"Sylvette, Six Decades Later"

I had done the criss cross marks on the "chair"
but then I decided that I didn't like the color
of green I'd mixed so I redid it.

I added a lot of details to her face
and a bit to her jacket.

I added a lot of highlighting marks throughout.

I added additional strokes to her ponytail.
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Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Sylvette, Six Decades Later - Part 2

I'm feeling very clever. At our house there's always a battle to get to the cold fizzy waters in the fridge first. Everyone wants to drink them, but no one wants to put new ones in when we're running low. No one except for me, that is. Well I love a fizzy water as much as everyone else, and I've come up with a fabulous solution. There are a couple of "odd" flavors that the rest of the family simply don't like (they're lemon or lime purists). So if I stock some flavors such as "peach pear" or "mango" I'm always sure to have a fizzy water available. Yup, feeling mighty clever...and hydrated!


I continued working on this painting. I'm loving the geometric nature of this piece.


I added a tint to the background. I also painted
the chair green. Now I'd never have known that
it was a "chair" so I'm super glad that was part
of the lesson. 

I realized that I should have left her hair white.
Part of Picasso's painting is scratching through
black/gray paint in order to reveal the white
underneath. So I painted over her hair so
I'd have that color underneath to work with.

I used a fingernail tool to scratch into the black
I'd painted over the white. This was FUN!
I also began darkening parts of the background.

I continued darkening the background and
added some yellow splotches as well.

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Monday, October 26, 2015

Sylvette, Six Decades Later - Part 1

It's a funny thing finding myself basically copying the works of masters. I love doing it because I'm learning so, so, so much. And it's definitely improving my own skills. But I found myself worrying about it just a bit. Until I was shown this quote, that is.

From an excerpt from "Copying Masterpieces" by Jose M. Parramon.

"And in just about every gallery and museum one comes across artists, both amateur and professional, who copy masterpieces in order to become better artists themselves. There is nothing new or strange about this. Raphael studied by copying the works of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Rubens was fascinated by Caravaggio's dramatic use of light and shade, and copied his "Burial of Christ". Degas was a frequent visitor at the Louvre. He copied the work of Velazquez, whom he greatly admired, and of Rembrandt, Giotto, Titian, Bellini, and especially Poussin. Manet had heard so much about Velazquez and Goya that he traveled to Spain, to Madrid's Prado Museum, for the sole purpose of acquainting himself with the way those artists handled figures and heads."

Well, my skill level certainly doesn't match any of them, but I do feel that I'm in good company. Right now I'm continuing to study Picasso. This is my version of something he painted in 1954.


I sketched the picture on canvas with a pencil.

I started by adding some basic colors.
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Sunday, October 25, 2015

I Picassoed Myself

I got carded this morning. Not for alcohol or anything like that. I haven't had a drink in many, many years. No, it was for cough drops. What on earth are people making out of cough drops these days? I'm so blissfully ignorant. But back to me being carded. Hooray! Being carded at forty-eight can only be a good thing (and it was purely for my age as they did not document my ID in any way other than confirming my date of birth). So, again, I say, "Hooray!"

I worked on a "warm-up" project for a course I'm taking. We're just starting to study Picasso. And gosh, is "Picassoed" even a word? If it wasn't, it is now.

I printed an old photo of myself...check out that hair!
I cut it in a Picasso like profile, found other paper
out of a book I have, and created a collage.

I glued all the pieces down and realized that I
needed something to represent my hair, so
I added a couple more pieces from the book.

I used a black marker to outline the parts of
the figure (me). I also added a little color to
the cheek and the mouth. I likely shouldn't
have used a toothy grin shot. Ah, well.
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Saturday, October 24, 2015

The Many Layers of Frida - Part 4

It's been a lovely rainy morning in Austin, Texas. I opened the windows, made some tea (over and over), and painted to my heart's delight. Just outside the window by my easel, a sweet little squirrel was on a mission. He ran to right below the window sill, grabbed something, an then dashed out in the rain to a bush. He did it over and over and over. I suspect that precious little guy is fully stocked up for winter by now. Hope he remembers where he buried his goodies when the time comes.


I was able to finish this painting this morning. I think I finally found the whimsy I was looking for when I started this project. It dove into a deeper level than I'd expected, but this morning I found myself returning to the bright colors and fantastical land that I find so appealing. And having completed this wonderful taster for the year-long class I was considering, I've decided that I will definitely be signing up for it. I'm so excited to start in January!

Here is the finished painting and below are a number of stages leading up to it.

"The Many Layers of Frida"

I painted the hanging ornaments and added
white accents to the thorns.

I added a reflection to the ornaments, darkened
the canvas on the left of her cape, and added
some whimsical dots to the side of her neck and head.

This shows the dots, the writing on her chest/neck
and that she is, in fact, smiling. When I look at the
photos of the painting as a whole it's hard for me
to see that expression on her face...but there it is!

I added more whimsical dots and some flowers
at the bottom of her cape. The flowers and dots
are reminiscent of my early art work. Fun!
I also added more yellow here and there.

I outlined the flowers and leaves with white.

I added stars. I kept staring at this piece knowing
it was missing something and the stars were it!
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Friday, October 23, 2015

The Many Layers of Frida - Part 3

Our silly big cat, Pug, has been unfaithful. Yes, he's been seeing other neighbors. Not in his usual way where he walks up to people strolling down the street and begs to be petted. Nope. He's been sleeping on a neighbor's porch and begging for their love, attention, and food.

Lucky for us they're friends of ours and they came over to make sure all was well here and let us know about our sweet big boy. My theory? Pug is mad at us because we've been keeping him and Tommy locked in at night to protect them from the roaming coyotes. Can't exactly explain that to Pug, so he's made himself comfortable elsewhere. "That'll show 'em!"

Tonight I had my little guy go retrieve Pug from our neighbor's porch and when they arrived I gave Pug canned cat food. Yes, my plan is to spoil him rotten to compensate for the nightly lock-ins. And maybe, just maybe, he'll get back to his old faithful self.


I continued working on my Frida collage. My goodness this is thought provoking and wonderful! I love that it's got a self portrait vibe with a fabulous Frida twist.

I added white to parts of the canvas and
then I spread it thin with the edge of
a small piece of watercolor paper.

I decided I wanted her neck thinner. Frida
portrayed herself with a long thin neck
and I wanted to emulate that. I also added
a crown of flowers in her hair and added
white accents to her hair.

After I'd taken some of the brightness away
with the white I decided I wanted some
brightness back. I also embellished the cape
with a heart as I thought when it's exposed
on the outside it shows vulnerability.
I gave her buttons connected by cord
that echoed Frida's spine.

The thorned vines are both protection
and clear boundaries. They show an exterior
that is hard to penetrate, but it is decorated
perhaps to show a softening of the edges,
perhaps to honor the purpose of the vines.

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Thursday, October 22, 2015

The Many Layers of Frida - Part 2

I had a bit of time to continue working on this painting tonight. I'm loving how she's still Frida, but a new version. Part of this project is working through some feelings. My own, not Frida's, though she's a part of it as well. I don't know this for sure, but I think of Frida as being someone who was alone a lot (I should research this). She certainly explored her feelings and conveyed them through her art and she also explored her physical being and laid that down on canvas as well. As I was working on her face and thinking of this piece I thought of my own feelings, too. My introvertedness that dictates so much of my life, my passion for alone time to recharge, and my challenges when faced with things and events out of my comfort zone. Painting is my solace as I imagine it was hers. I think this is my favorite quote of hers.

“I used to think I was the strangest person in the world but then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do. I would imagine her, and imagine that she must be out there thinking of me too. Well, I hope that if you are out there and read this and know that, yes, it's true I'm here, and I'm just as strange as you.”


Yup!

I started with her face and hair. I sketched out
how I wanted her face to be (different than the
original photograph). I wanted her eyes perhaps
a bit brighter and her smile a bit upturned. I
absolutely wanted to keep her intensity.

I added splashes of color to the background and
began defining what will be her dress or
whatever she will be wearing.

I added some writing. A quote of Frida's and
some of my own thoughts.

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Wednesday, October 21, 2015

The Many Layers of Frida - Part 1

I received a tutorial in my email a couple of days ago. It was a taste of a year-long class I'm strongly considering taking next year. The tutorial is for a collage and painting piece. After doing my Van Gogh and Kahlo paintings I felt I was up for a bit of a break. But what did I end up deciding to use as my focus? Yup, Frida Kahlo. As I was going through images I found flowers that reminded me of her. I found a fence that made me think of her spine. Even the flowers in some of Van Gogh's paintings reminded me of her as she wore them so beautifully in her hair. So, Frida it is. I hope to make this more of a whimsical piece than my last one. I understand that Frida had a wicked sense of humor and loved to laugh. That's what I want to portray. I'm super excited!


Here's my start. I got the collaging done and I'm hopeful that the next thing on the tutorial is painting...we'll see!

Note: I'm using other artists and photographers' work, but it is only for inspiration as I will be painting over all of it.

A canvas I'd dripped with leftover paint from a
previous painting called out to me. Yes, it said,
"Pick me! Pick me! Paint me! Paint me!"
I found a number of pieces to compose my
collage. Some from the web and some from a
1963 plant encyclopedia I'd gotten several years
ago to use for just such projects.

I lay the pieces out on the canvas. I love the
gathering of Van Gogh, Kahlo, Matisse, and
lovely garden photos.

I used matte medium to stick it to a canvas.
It's on my easel and ready for the next step!!!
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Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Stepping into Frida's Mind...Beauty, Strength, Pain, and Joy - Part 4

It was an incredible experience painting this. Part of the painting process was learning about Frida's life both before and after her accident. I think that with more than any other painting I've done I felt compelled to do her justice. To show her beauty, strength, pain, and joy. During the process of painting her I noticed that she started as a young Frida and with layer upon layer I embedded her life experiences. Makes me think of the lines and shadows on my own face and the stories they contain within them. I looked at my reflection this evening and honored my own experiences...the beauty, strength, pain, and joy.


Here is my finished piece. And, yes, I added to the name of this painting. It's a painter's prerogative.

"Stepping into Frida's Mind...Beauty, Strength, Pain, and Joy"

And here are the last few stages.

I decided that her lips needed a redo. They
were too close to her nose. I also did
some work on her right eye.

I redid her lips, added yellow to her dress,
and began working on the details of her ear.

I painted in the circle on her forehead. It's
a scene with a skull. Frida's painting is titled
"Thinking about Death".

I worked on the tones of her face
and lowered her chin.
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Monday, October 19, 2015

Stepping into Frida's Mind - Part 3

I was sooooooo excited yesterday. I got a set of steak knives for FREE from a grocery story I shop at. (Ironic, I know, since I don't eat meat.) I've been collecting stamps every time I make a purchase and I finally had enough stamps in my booklet to trade them in for the knives. It reminded me of being in charge of sticking all those Green Stamps in the booklets when I was a kid. I think my parents were onto something making their kid lick all that nasty gum on the back of the stamps and making me feel ever so special at the same time.

Well, what I realized after I got home with my FREE knives is that said knives actually cost me $700 in groceries. I seriously earned those knives! And you know what? I'm already saving stickers again because I totally want some kitchen shears. And they'll only cost me $300 in groceries!

...ah, the sweet anticipation.....


I continued working on my Frida painting. To me she's looking like a young Frida. I need to work on her a bit to allow the truth of her pain and life experience to shine through. That will be an emotional process and I'm looking forward to it.

I painted her hair black and worked
 on her eyes and eyebrows. I also
darkened the shadow by her dress
and outlined her neck and shoulders.

I added a layer of skin color which lightened
the shadow by her shirt. I also gave her
eyes a bit of sparkle.

More darkening of her skin.

I did the first layer of paintin the leaves.
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Sunday, October 18, 2015

Stepping into Frida's Mind - Part 2

I've had new glasses for a couple of weeks now. And get this...not one person has noticed. I guess they're a lot like my old ones. When I was choosing them I suppose change must've seemed scary. Anyway, I took them in today to get them adjusted. They weren't being very kind to the top of my ears. The very nice glasses lady took them, sat down to work with them, and SNAP! Yup, they broke.


Me: "No problem. I can go all dork style and wear them with tape holding them together."


She didn't let me do that, of course, though the prospect had my inner geek a little excited, I must admit. She found another pair that my lenses fit in pretty well and off I went...more hip than dorky, unfortunately.


I continued working on this painting. I'm really enjoying the process with this one.

I started working on some flesh tones. The
original painting seems to have a yellowish
tint to her skin so I'm leaning that direction,
but perhaps I went a bit too yellow. It's just the
first layer. I decided I didn't like her right eye
so I got rid of it. 

After reworking the right eye I decided that I
didn't like either eye. Off they went!

I redid the eyes and I think I'm getting closer,
though don't be surprised if they go again. I
worked a bit on her face,a shadow by her
shirt, the hairline behind her ear, and her eyebrows.
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