27 December 2007
Fristelse
This year for christmas, B got me a crafting tool with a wood burning tip. He didn't even know I'd been wanting one for ages. So of course I had to try it out right away. Not bad for a first attempt, eh?
22 December 2007
More of the same, but different
Almost done! Added a few nibblybug holes in the leaves, still have some details to work out (mainly shadows on the face), but overall I'm pretty happy with the outcome...
passion, pre-decay...
14 December 2007
Wallowing in passion and decay
Ooh, two posts in one day! How'd you get so lucky?
Just thought I'd throw in my real 'lastest' piece.
(Yeah, I lied in that last post)
It's probably about a quarter of the way done so far. Slightly Lord of the Flies, I think? (should that be 'Lady of the Flies'?) I was thinking of adding a couple bugs on the passionflower. Hmmm. I still might, if I can make it work. And maybe a few small holes eaten through the leaves. Raw passion as decay.
Because of the way the wood interacts with the coloured pencil, you can see more of the highlights at an angle. That's one reason I love the stuff. It changes as you move around it, you see new things, little details that you wouldn't see standing even a foot to one side or the other. The woodgrain plays with your head :) Doesn't necessarily translate that well into a photo though... Oh well. Who cares?
Just thought I'd throw in my real 'lastest' piece.
(Yeah, I lied in that last post)
It's probably about a quarter of the way done so far. Slightly Lord of the Flies, I think? (should that be 'Lady of the Flies'?) I was thinking of adding a couple bugs on the passionflower. Hmmm. I still might, if I can make it work. And maybe a few small holes eaten through the leaves. Raw passion as decay.
Because of the way the wood interacts with the coloured pencil, you can see more of the highlights at an angle. That's one reason I love the stuff. It changes as you move around it, you see new things, little details that you wouldn't see standing even a foot to one side or the other. The woodgrain plays with your head :) Doesn't necessarily translate that well into a photo though... Oh well. Who cares?
Embla on the First Day
Behold, my latest masterpiece.
I took the torso (shoulder blades to ankles) from a sketch I did in figure drawing. (Need to go back there, haven't been since before Turkey day). And I've had this picture for years, of an old drawing or print of branches, that I've been wanting to use. And they somehow just fit together. I had to make a lot of it up, good reference pics are hard to find, especialy when you're looking for something specific, not just topic but style as well.
"In Norse Mythology, Ask and Embla were the first two humans created by the gods. Odin and his brothers, Ve and Vili, took two pieces of driftwood from a beach and gave them human shapes. Odin then gave them the breath of life, Vili gave them wit and emotions, and Ve gave them senses and speech. These two people, Ask ("ash"), the male, and Embla ("elm"), became the progenitors of all humanity."
So basically, the Norse equivalent of Eve... With a bit of Daphne (sculpture by Bernini) and Pygmalion's statue thrown in...
It took several weeks to finish, the longest my attention span has lasted so far. I tend to prefer 12 hour marathon sessions, where I stay up all night hopped up on caffiend and good tunes and throw off my entire schedule for weeks afterwards. This time I tried something different, working on it for a few hours after work, all day on weekends, and actually encouraging a symbiotic relationship between my art life and my work life. Whoda thunk it? It actually works!
I took a picture of it half way through, when I had just the outlines done. That was the easy part. It just flowed, each part fitting perfectly with the next... She just wanted to be :)
Then I added colour.
Eeesh!! You'd think I'd have learned by now not to torture myself with such large pieces. Painting big is one thing, coloured pencil is horrendous. Just to get the richness and saturation I want I have to press so hard my hands ache for days afterwards, and my knuckles swell up and my thumb and two fingers go numb every time.
But I think it was worth it this time. I could have done it better, but at least it doesn't suck.
I took the torso (shoulder blades to ankles) from a sketch I did in figure drawing. (Need to go back there, haven't been since before Turkey day). And I've had this picture for years, of an old drawing or print of branches, that I've been wanting to use. And they somehow just fit together. I had to make a lot of it up, good reference pics are hard to find, especialy when you're looking for something specific, not just topic but style as well.
"In Norse Mythology, Ask and Embla were the first two humans created by the gods. Odin and his brothers, Ve and Vili, took two pieces of driftwood from a beach and gave them human shapes. Odin then gave them the breath of life, Vili gave them wit and emotions, and Ve gave them senses and speech. These two people, Ask ("ash"), the male, and Embla ("elm"), became the progenitors of all humanity."
So basically, the Norse equivalent of Eve... With a bit of Daphne (sculpture by Bernini) and Pygmalion's statue thrown in...
It took several weeks to finish, the longest my attention span has lasted so far. I tend to prefer 12 hour marathon sessions, where I stay up all night hopped up on caffiend and good tunes and throw off my entire schedule for weeks afterwards. This time I tried something different, working on it for a few hours after work, all day on weekends, and actually encouraging a symbiotic relationship between my art life and my work life. Whoda thunk it? It actually works!
I took a picture of it half way through, when I had just the outlines done. That was the easy part. It just flowed, each part fitting perfectly with the next... She just wanted to be :)
Then I added colour.
Eeesh!! You'd think I'd have learned by now not to torture myself with such large pieces. Painting big is one thing, coloured pencil is horrendous. Just to get the richness and saturation I want I have to press so hard my hands ache for days afterwards, and my knuckles swell up and my thumb and two fingers go numb every time.
But I think it was worth it this time. I could have done it better, but at least it doesn't suck.
13 December 2007
Over and done with
So, I'm fighting my severe aversion to all things blog. But I thought I'd try it out, put up pictures of what I'm working on, kind of have a record of what I'm doing...? I've only been putting finished work on my website, and need a bit of incentive to take pictures of the process... But I'm not putting pictures in this first one, because I don't have pictures of my latest yet..
The chaos of the last few weeks is finally over.
Everything kind of ganged up on me at once, work, play, preparing for the show. It's so nice to finally be able to relax. I have time, now that I have my place cleaned up again, to sit down and actually think about what to make instead of cranking out anything I could do quickly. I started a new piece last night though. I've had this picture sitting around for ages that I couldn't figure out how to use. I can't wait to see what it'll turn into.
That's all. Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time.
The chaos of the last few weeks is finally over.
Everything kind of ganged up on me at once, work, play, preparing for the show. It's so nice to finally be able to relax. I have time, now that I have my place cleaned up again, to sit down and actually think about what to make instead of cranking out anything I could do quickly. I started a new piece last night though. I've had this picture sitting around for ages that I couldn't figure out how to use. I can't wait to see what it'll turn into.
That's all. Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time.
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