Girls with Attitude!

I am slowly catching up with my 29 Faces, yesterday was a conveyor belt and they ended up looking similar, oh well….  Anyway today I have done a series of teenage girls doing what they best do, pushing the boundaries!

Face 9

This is Sally, she is sulking because she hasn’t got what she wants, as her Mum would not let her hang out with her friends until she had cleaned her room. So she is sitting on her bed thinking dire thoughts.  ( I remember doing that and then shoving everything under the bed and my wardrobe, I never fooled my parents, as the family joked about the danger of opening my wardrobe and the likelihood  of being bombarded with junk!)

Face 10

This Linda, you would think she would be happy, she has sneaked out and is at the party her Mum forbade her to go to.  Perhaps, a guilty conscience is consuming her?  I wouldn't surprised if she leaves the party and goes home.  Or maybe I am wrong she has just seen her boyfriend with someone else! (Both would have been true of me!  I know once when I sneaked out to a party I was so worried that I didn't enjoy it at all and snuck back home!)

Face 11

This is Maggie, she is so proud of herself, she has just brought some new clothes with her first pay check, she just can’t stop looking in the mirror and grinning!  (oh I remember that feeling so well, do you?)

Linking with Alexandra at Sunday sketches (I don’t think I have been there for over a year!) as well as 29 faces.

This week......

Been busy as….. Painting a storm for 29 faces, AJJ – living beings and Mix it Monthly - trees!

Face 7

This is Sara; she is a beauty, loves to dress up, wears flowers and ribbons, and goes out on the town frequently.  However, despite being so-called ‘popular’ she is very lonely, if you look hard enough you can see into her soul through her eyes and see the sadness.  I think she has been hurt a lot.  I used gouache and acrylics; it took me all week to get her how I wanted.

Face 8

This is me a child!  I grew up on a dairy farm and after school had to go down to the milk shed to help with the milking.  To get there, I had to pass the hen run.  In the hen run was a bad tempered rooster, he used to sit up in the tree and fly over the fence making a racket and trying to peck us kids.  I was petrified of him!  I used to climb the fence and cross the paddock to the boundary and take a rather steep path to the shed.  To this day I am very nervous of birds, I desperately want to have hen for eggs but the thought of having to touch them sends shivers up my spine!!!  While I am at it, I will also admit that I was afraid of the cows too!  Perhaps next week I will do a picture telling a hilarious episode of me and a cow!  Shame on a good ole Taranaki farm gal! (Taranaki is the province where I grew up and is primarily a dairy farming area)

This picture I did for 29 Faces and AJJ – Living Beings.  If you want to see the faces I posted during the week go here.

Some more stuff for AJJ - Living Beings and Mix it Monthly - Trees

They are about my cat Bro.

This first one is his relationship with dogs.  He has a love hate relationship.  He keeps his distance as he has had one or two run in with them.  But I have caught him terrorizing or perhaps tantalizing the neighbour’s dog.  They have a one of those yappy terriers, and it is often in the front window when they go out.  Bro likes to sit in the middle of the lawn staring at it while it goes berserk, yapping jumping at the window.  I swear he is laughing!

Bro pretends to hate birds.  Proof of this was witnessed by the one legged blackbird that frequents my back garden looking for worms.  It disappeared for a while and I thought it hadn't survived the winter.  However looking out the window I saw the bird on the foot path to the washing line.  Around the corner came Bro.  He sat down as the bird continued to hop about.  They were only a foot apart!  He stayed there till it flew off.  He got a great big hug from me.

I used acrylics in both pictures.  For the trees they are wearing their spring outfits as it is spring here.  (It has arrived at long last!)  I haven't used the colour scheme provided by Connie but will for next Tree picture that I am working on.

Bro taking his early morning stroll in the garden!  Below Bro guarding the property on the carport roof!  Oops it needs painting!!!

Well if you got this far thanks for visiting and have a wonderful creative week.

Linking to

 Paint Party Friday hosted by Eva and Kirstin,

Art Journal Journey hosted by Valerie and Susi

and Mix it Monthly hosted by Connie.
also
Feline Cat Friday hosted by Kitty Par-tay

Faces 3 to 6

For 29 Faces this time around I have decided to give my faces a name and make up a little about them, it makes them real.  It is a mixed bag of styles today.

Face 3

This is Debbie; she is in a rush, flying through her day with a million things on her mind.  For this ‘lovely’ I used some pastel paper that has ridges.  Ha, in the end I did not use pastel!  I used watercolour and acrylics and crumpled up tissue to stamp textures.

I have discovered a neat new home-made stamp – toile. I had some left over from a toy – a crochet ballet rabbit I was making for grand-niece.  I couldn't help myself and dipped in some wet paint and laid it on the paper.  I am in love with it!  So much so, that I used it in the next Face.

Face 4

This is Suzy, she is lost, she does not know where to find herself, and she is looking everywhere but not within.  It’s sad; she does not know how wonderful she is.  I drew her with a black fine sharpie and then used watercolour with lots and lots of water.  I went a bit mad with the net here!

Face 5

This is Eliza, she has just lost someone close to her, she is trying so hard not to cry and doesn't realise that if she let go she might feel so much better. However I do think that the tears are about to gush out!   For Eliza I used acrylic and pastel, and of course some of the net for stamping.

Face 6

We seem to have had a bit of a sad time so will have to end on a happy note, this is Lily, and she is a happy little soul.  Looking forward to all the treats that life is offering her, she is confident that she is loved and cherished (as all children should be).  I used acrylic and a bit of gouache.  I managed to keep my hand away from the net!

As you can see I am on a roll! 4 faces in 2 days.

I will see you again on Friday when I hope to have a few more faces to show.  Do go and see all the other lovely artists taking part in 29 Faces (link is on sidebar)

Challenges

It is ages since I have taken part in challenges seriously and as I have got into the blogging mode again I thought I would take part in the 29 Faces September 2014 challenge  hosted by Ayala Art. 

Above is Face 1 and I realised that after I had added the butterfly and birdies that this lovely would fit in with Susi and Valeries September theme of Living Beings at Art Journal Journey.  After all my lovely is completely bemused by these lovely fluttering beings.

Face 2 is a ‘lovely’ wearing a gorgeous hat.  I am thinking that I might make hats a theme for 29 Faces, we will see!

Have a wonderful week and hope to post some more faces in a couple of days!

Splashing Around!

This week I have been splashing around with paint and using chalk pastels.  I just love the textures you get when acrylics and pastels are combined.  Today I have another lady for PPF and a still life.

I have to say that I am really into doing colourful ladies at the moment.  I am drawn to strong ladies, eccentric ladies, in your face ladies, and even perhaps sad ladies.  The lady above I feel is saying “Yeah, so….. I know I have a giant flower tucked into my waist band!”  Or maybe she is saying or thinking, “What are you looking at!”  There is certain defiance about her.

The still life is imaginary; the colours were next to each other on the palettes so I played.  I quite like it.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and thanks for visiting.

Linking as usual to Paint Party Friday hosted by Kirstin and Eva, thank you ladies for the opportunity to show our work with other great artists.

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple….

Wow posting two days in a row!  I was going to do just the Frida Kahlo post for PPF, as I didn't think I would be able to get any painting done today.  But as you see I did even if it is still wet!.  I really wanted to finish it as I think it would be great for Connie’s  Mix It Monthly which ends in a couple of days.

Last week while reading one of my favourite blogs that had a post on aging, one of the comments referred to this poem so I googled it.  It is a poem by Jenny Joseph from “Warning”. Written in 1961.  It really, really appeals to me.  However, I promise not to spit!

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people’s gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

What will you do when you are old that you could start doing now?

I think I will wear orange and pink with stripes and dots, and fall asleep while boring people are talking!

Have a wonderful creative week and I hope to visit you all during the weekend.

Linking to Paint Party Friday

and

Mix it Monthly

Frida

I have been procrastinating whether to take part in the Frida Kahlo challenge at Art Journal Journeys hosted by Susi.

I have to admit (and I can hear all the boos from every corner of the world!) that I was not really into her art.   I went to her exhibition in Wellington when I was an art student and we had to write an essay about her.  Maybe that dampened my thoughts on her work.  I found her life story fascinating, but…….

So a couple of days ago I googled her, and I am afraid I feel the same, but I do so admire her as a person.  She epitomizes her era and the difficulties of a woman trying to follow her star

.

I was going to do a whimsical picture of her, but in the end felt she deserved a decent picture showing her immense strength throughout her tragic life.

I only used a part of the quote in the picture as it is rather long, but of all her quotes this is the one that resonates with me!

 “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 flawed and bizarre 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, know that, yes, it’s true I’m here, and I’m just as strange as you.” 
― Frida Kahlo

Also linking to

Paint Party Friday

Dresses - Cute and Crazy

Hi you all,  I have decided to come back to Art Inspires as I never felt comfortable at Zana’s Journey.  I did a test post during the week and the troll seems to have gone.  But I will use comment moderation just in case she resurfaces. (Just have to remember to check my emails regularly!!)

Today I have 3 journal pages that I have done for Mix It Monthly.  The theme this month is crazy dresses with the colours below.  I haven't stuck strictly to the theme, as the muse takes me off on tangents!

The first picture is of me looking forward to the summer (hehehe).  I did mange to stick to the colours here.

The picture below is of how we keep one eye on what others are wearing and often turn green with envy not realising that we are just as cute!

The one below is of a lady who has dresses herself with trash or found objects!  I actually saw one not long ago and she looked awesome.  To help with the trash look I layered the page with tissue paper and glued string to the page.  Then used stencils and thins layers of watercolour and pastels.  She is my favourite!

  

Have a great creative week

Linking to MixIt Monthly and PaintParty Friday

Listen

Hi Ya! Long-time no see!

This is a test post to see if the Troll is still around.  I hope that they have found new pastures.  I am afraid I will have to use comment moderation in case they are still lurking.

The above print was done on MDF and I used black ink and used water colour for the colours as I thought it a bit too stark in Black and white.

I hope to see you soon.

Sharon

29 Faces and PPF

Unexpectedly I was away from home for 2 weeks.  I have had no internet access and no paints!  Gosh did I miss them.  However I did have my coloured pencils and a large sketch pad.  Today, I will show you two drawings for a long overdue commission and as they have faces I will count them in the 29 faces challenge!  I have some more and I will post them in the next couple of days as I am short of time today, lots to catch up on!

Faces 6, 7, 8

This is about Sarah and her joy at the arrival of Isaac S, she was in her 90’s! (Gen 21) with Ishmael looking on.

 

Face 9

Eve of course! Here is the nasty serpent trying to tempt her.  As you might have guessed the commission is for a series on Woman of the Bible for children.  The blank spaces afre for the text.

Have a good weekend.  Hopefully I will be back to normal production from now.

Linking to Paint Party Friday do go and visit all the other wonderful artists!