Face 9

A real quickie today, but appropriate.  Woke up bleary eyed, did not want to get going hence...

White Flowers and Angels

29 Faces – Face 8

This last week has been about people , their faces, as I am taking part in the 29 faces in September Challenge at Ayala's. I have been painting with acrylics and gouache. Only one face on the computer! The face for today is a quick sketch in oil. She is Julie a very determined friend. I now know what I am/have! While posting my post at Paint Party Friday, I read an interesting interview about Martha the lady behind Ayala. She said that she had suffered from “Too many tools” syndrome. That's me! Click on the label 29faces below if you would like to see the other 7 faces. 

 White Flowers and Angels

For some reason over the last few days I have wanted to experiment with white. Thus these anemones above using the pastel tools in Corel Painter. The white magnolia, I drew with coloured pencils.(I think I got the centre slightly wrong, a bit off centre?)

I have been thinking about angels lately and am convinced that I have angels looking over me. When I found this scripture it was like a light going on! God will put his angels in charge of you to protect you wherever you go. Psa 91:11 GNB

This scripture inspired this work, it was done from a drawing and painted in Photoshop.

Have a great week creating lovely work.

Linked with Sunday Sketches

Up the Creek and 29 Faces

Face 7

First, I taking part in the 29 Faces in September Challenge At Ayala's. If you want to see the other 6, just click on the label 29faces below.

I brought some gouache yesterday and couldn't wait to try them. I am not sure whether she is startled or the look is “In your face, Mate!' At the moment I am just calling her Little Missy.

Up the Creek – a story of restoration

I have finally started on Up the Creek, it has has taken me 10 years to get going. At long last.... The triptych is the story of those 10 years. I have never painted autobiographical work before, so it is a bit scary.

It started with me being involved in a serious car crash in my final year at art school. Walking was a problem let alone painting. (I was awarded my diploma as I had a large body of work – pays to be a workaholic! And I could finish my thesis in hospital) While I was in rehab I did a drawing called “up the creek”(in NZ slang it means in a right old mess!) – me in a boat clinging on for dear life while the boat was being tossed and turned. I would show it here, but I gave it to the nurses and I think it is still on the wall in their office (well, it was on my last visit). I have been in and out of hospital ever since. On one of other visits I did this work in watercolour pencils. 

The idea has been mulling around in my head for ages. I have been unable to paint very well because of being unable to lift my arm much higher than mid chest. That is why I turned to pencils and computer because I could rest my arm on a desk. Well last year a miracle happened and my shoulder improved so that now I can lift my arm to shoulder height and sometimes higher. People have different theories about how it is healing. My belief is that God healed it. I became a Christian 2 ½ years ago and have been praying regularly for healing. There is a lot more to heal but I am on the path – one day I will walk without crutches!

Well, all this means is that I can paint again! I was slow getting started because I had got into the rut of believing I couldn't do it. But thanks to this blog and the wonderful comments people have made with my Proverbs series I feel that I have the confidence to do it.

 

So basically the triptych is about restoration – my path of recovery.

So here is the drawing for the first painting. This week I tinted the canvas with Prussian blue and it is large 1 metre by 1 metre! The canvas has been sitting and waiting for 10 years! I haven't posted it as a plain blue canvas is boring. At this stage I am not sure whether to make the boat fill the canvas or to make it smaller to signify how small we are. Next week I will draw the large boat with chalk on the dry background to see whether it is right if not I can wipe it out and do it smaller. I will post as I go on this on PPF days.

Have a happy PPF day everybody and thanks for visiting.

Scripture for the triptych

Painting one - Up the Creek

But why, why this chronic pain, this ever worsening wound and no healing in sight? You're nothing, GOD, but a mirage, a lovely oasis in the distance--and then nothing! Jer 15:18 Msg

Painting two - The Waterfall

As for you, I'll come with healing, curing the incurable, Because they all gave up on you and dismissed you as hopeless-- that good-for-nothing Zion.' Jer 30:17

Painting three – Restoration (Still waters)

"But the river itself, on both banks, will grow fruit trees of all kinds. Their leaves won't wither, the fruit won't fail. Every month they'll bear fresh fruit because the river from the Sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing." Eze 47:12

Linked to Paint Party Friday

and Spiritual Sunday

Face 6

This is the acrylic version of yesterday's face. She is much more softer and looks as if she is in a romantic mood. Think I will call her Celtic Princess. Getting better at detail in acrylic, maybe because I brought some smaller brushes. While I was in the art supplies shop, I er hum brought some gouache paints like I need more paints right! Cant wait to try them.

Face 5

You can not keep the computer away from this girl for long! Today I have been painting a large canvas and need a break from paint. One of the reasons I entered this challenge was to find a way to bring colour into my illustration. I have got myself into a niche of black and white work and really would like to present some colour work for my next tear sheet for the publishers. But first of all I have got to find a medium and style that I can produce with reasonable fast turn around. Hence the acrylic experiments.

 I decided to draw a face and today paint it on my computer using the air brush tool in photoshop. Tomorrow, I will paint it in acrylics and see what we get.

For the background I decided not to do the wings. but felt she might be in a magical snow storm. I originally did a flat background and it was too dull. I wanted magic. I think she looks Celtic, so I am going to call her Celtic Tempest.

Face 4

This was originally a sketch of my neighbour's granddaughter enjoying the sun last summer. Brenda insisted that she was to wear the gardening hat. She finally did after she had stripped the band of all the plastic flowers Brenda had attached over the years! They laid strewn around the deck chair, needless to say her granddaughter had to attach them again before she went home.

For the hat and hair I let the original pencil lines show through the thin wash as I have not the confidence to do such detail in acrylic. On reflection, I think the pencil lines adds a depth? Of course this has to be called The Hat! Think I will give this painting to Brenda as she has been and is a wonderful neighbour.

To see other participants in Ayala's September Challenge of 29 Faces click on the button in the side bar. There is some amazing work there.

Face 3

In this picture I wanted to make more fluid than the last two, so I used heaps of water with the acrylics, however, when it dried it looked very harsh. By accident I had splattered some paint in one corner and I thought I wonder... so I flicked wet paint more or less all over and voila it was a lot softer. Amazing what you can learn from mistakes. So this lady is called “Splatter” or Raindrops keep falling on my head. Maybe because it is raining cats and dogs here!

To see other participants in Ayala's September Challenge of 29 Faces click on the button in the side bar. There is some amazing work there.

Face 2

I froze this morning, I stared at the paper and the acrylics and thought I can't do it, I hadn't a single idea in my head – for me that is unusual. So I sat down with my art journal and proceeded to draw 4 heads in 5 minutes! I was afraid of the acrylics. So taking my courage in my hands I picked a drawing, and found myself thinking of a haiku I had read yesterday at Art muse Dog and Carol's blog www.acreativeharbor.com. It was about the blue moon. So there you have it, Blue Moon Girl. Thank you Carol.

Please click on link in sidebar to view other participants in the September Challenge  at  Ayala's.

Flowers, People and Cats

This week I took up my watercolours for the first time in years. By my back door I have pot and pots of polyanthus It is time they were planted out in the garden as they are starting to look scrappy. I find that their colours inspire me in winter where there is just green and more green. I am quite pleased with the leaves, but the actual flowers themselves I am not so impressed. However, I really enjoyed painting them as they had given me much pleasure over the winter. Flowers are so inspiring.

I started to think about what inspires me the most and trawled through my files and came up with these images. It is interesting to look at your old work. Well nearly old they have been executed over the last year or so.

Things that give me inspiration

 

 butter wouldn't melt in their mouth boys and cute little girls

naughty children and harassed teachers

in your face teenage girls and sulky teenage boys

 beautiful young girls and elegant ladies

 tired husbands and exhausted wives

  eccentric old ladies and grumpy old men

fat cats and naughty cats

YES

I am inspired by all of these as we are all so different from each other:

Each of us is an original

Galatians 5:26 Msg

and

We must thank God at all times for you,

friends, you whom the Lord loves.

2Th 2:13 GNB

Have a wonderful week and happy creating.

Linked to Sunday Sketches

29 Faces in September

I cant resist it. 29 faces in September? I thought about it, and thought another commitment, right! But then I said to myself, Ha! You want to get to grips with acrylics, well here is your opportunity.

So folks I am undertaking the challenge at Ayala. Go her blog and check it out, it looks fun and you will meet lots of new people with new ideas and ways of creating.