more art

Saturday, November 8, 2008 @ 11:19 pm
Filed under Diving Art Journal, art

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I have done a few more spreads in my new art journal so I thought I would do some more show’n'tell. I have really been enjoying my art/collage class with Rebecca Vavic and have been having fun with my art.

{THIS} IS ME - a spread using my favourite photo of myself, and of course featuring my favourite colour, red. Lots of layers, including old sewing pattern tissue, photocopied photo, acrylics, paper, bubblewrap stamp and inks.

Bird in Book - this one started off with just the bird picture, ripped out of a vintage kid’s poetry book and sitting on my art table for months, waiting for the right project to use it in. I like the yellows and textures here. Acrylics, stamps paper, inks, sequin waste stencil.

Girls - Last week, Rebecca showed us step-by-step her technique of drawing/painting faces, including getting the eyes just right. My first attempt (in class) was terrible and I was very frustrated. Of course, I had skipped some of her suggestions and rushed through it, thinking it was going to be as easy as she made it look.

I tried to commit everything she said to memory and tried again at home in my art journal. I went slowly and remembered that I was a beginner and needed to use pencil first to plot out the placement of eyes in relation to head (halfway down) and all that, and I was really happy with how the girls turned out.

I first drew with pencil until I was happy, then went over the outline in waterproof fineliner and used a kneaded eraser to rub out the pencil lines. Then I used a mixture of watercolours and fluid acrylics to give them some colour.

Rebecca also showed us how to use watercolour pencils (then go over them with water) to give some shading to the face, but I haven’t done that in these two pieces. Partly because I was hesitant about it, but also because I quite like the flat-colour faces and slightly vapid expressions in their eyes. I like their large eyes and small mouths too, and their long elegant necks. I think Peter Pan collars is emerging as a theme - they’re so cute!