☆ Life after the Winter Princess [Friday Art]

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 Week 32 - August 8th, 2014

I wasn't sure where to begin after I finished the Winter Princess last week. I have several ideas for a new painting, but nothing I can dive right into, and I wanted to do something quick and easy after such a long + sometimes frustrating process.

My quick and easy journal page. I had used the page to soak up excess inks from a Life Book project - and I adore how they stained her face - like freckles!

So what do you do after a big project? Do you dive into another one? Or do you go for something less involving? 

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☆ The Winter Princess [Final Reveal]

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Week 31: August 1st 2014

Well.... This winter princess has certainly made me work for the final painting. I realised today that in between Life Book projects + other bits + pieces, that this painting has taken almost the entire month.

But now she is done + I am a little sad, that I will no longer have her on my table. 

So I started late last week on her icicle crown 

Which is studded with odd shaped aquamarine gems...

Woo hoo! Crown finished. (And surprisingly her crown didn't give me too much grief!)

This is where I left the branches in her arms, but I hated these. (Oh + arn't we surprised by that??)

So I ignored them, yeah, yeah I was procrastinating, and finished the trim on her dress.

I realised I only had the sticks + her hands to finish of so I pulled on my big girl pants + tackled them next.

{Branches close up}

And here is a close up of her finished hands.

I mentioned in part one that she was inspired by a passage in a Kristen Ashley novel called 'Wildest Dreams' + I thought I would include  a little of the passage that set this whole painting in motion.

"My white-blonde hair was a mass of long, thick twists that were pulled off my forehead somehow but hung down my back, chest and shoulders. I had shimmering pink on my cheeks, a gloss of pink on my lips, an iridescent blue on my eyelids, a dark blue rimming my eyes and a sparkle of pearlescent white around my temples [...]

I was wearing a crown[...] And it looked like icicles shooting up and slightly out, crusted with glinting diamonds and sprinkled with glimmering aquamarines."

Kristen Ashley 'Wildest Dreams'

So the final, final reveal - The Winter Princess

The Winter Princess
acrylic on wood panel
30 x 40 cm

If you want to see the works in progress + all the trouble she gave me during this month here is part one, part two + part three.

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☆ Tea-Cup Pirate [part Deux]

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June 2014 - Week 25

So last week, I showed you some in progress shots of the 'Tea-cup Pirate' painting I am working on + asked for some advise here + over on face book about what colour hair to go for.

I had some awesome suggestions + am probably going to steal those ideas for other paintings, but a couple of people suggested red, and my instinct was all like 'absolutely red, red is perfect for her' so I decided to go for it.

I decided to do a water colour wash first, I decided that if my intuition was wrong, I could alway paint it black later....

But in the end I loved it so, I started with the acrylic. I used a mixture of Heritage Red (matisse brand), Jo Sonja's Titanuim White + Yellow Deep and Golden Fluid Acrylics Cobalt Turquoise. (that and goldens Teal are my favourite, FAVOURITE colours just now!) And some black paint - I am not sure which brand I used, but since I always use black you can be assured it was in there...

And this was where I left her on Saturday night, after my big painting session. I was surprised, that once I was in the zone, I spent about three hours doing her hair. 

Last night I picked up again, having mulled over the tea cup + back ground a bit...

And I have to say I didn't get very far...

Feral children a cold studio, general tiredness, and I packed up early instead of finishing it like I thought.

So I have another question for you all, the background - should I do a soft grey or match the colours with the cup?  I was just going for a soft grey, but now I am thinking other wise. 

What do you think?

Have a great week end 

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☆ The Tea-Cup Pirate [Work in Progress]

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Week 24 - June 13th 2014

It's been a while since I've shared a work in progress post, and if you have been following my instagram feed, you may have seen some of these photos.

This particular painting has been sitting in my to be painted pile since early february, and was inspired by, of all things, an Aldi catalogue. (Aldi is a supermarket like Europe's Lidl's)

So this was the start of the Tea-Cup Pirate, and at first she wasn't co-operating at all, the paint dried too quickly to blend properly, (being winter in Australia the heater in the studio is on constantly)

So I had to work quicker, which irritated me to no end.

But this always happens to me at this stage, I think I should call it the 'ugly phase' of my paintings.

 After a break + a glass of wine, she is coming together a bit better. But her left check bone is still giving me the heebies!

This part is my reward. My favourite. FAVOURITE, part of painting girls is their eyes. I can, and have! spent hours getting them just right! But for me this is where my painting becomes some else.

So now her nose isn't quite so sticky out, in a weird straight, no bumps way + the pirate patch is done.

A little more work on her hands

And I finished off this week, with her dress. 

I am unsure as to where I will go with her now. Her hair, in particular is frustrating me, I think I need to re think the style, or maybe it needs to be bigger? 

I am thinking this could be one of those times that I just need to be brave and leap with out thinking too hard about it.

What do you think?

Have a great weekend

[LINKING TO PAINT PARTY FRIDAY]

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☆ Paper Cut Princess [Friday Art]

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So last week I shared with you the work in progress shots from the Paper Cut Princess I had on my desk.

Last week she had me stumped. I wasn't sure of where she was going. Over the weekend, I painted the paper dolls. I didn't want them to be white, so I painted them grey.

But it didn't work.... I hated it.

So she sat for a couple of more days on my desk, until I decided it was time to forge on. 

Paper Cut Princess
mixed media acrylic painting
12 x 8"

I am so pleased I persevered. In the end, this colour worked a whole lot better. But I am still not sure of who she is or why she is the Paper Cut Princess. I just know she is.

And I love that sometimes, even my paintings aren't clear to me. 

What do you think? Who is my Paper Cut Princess? I would love to hear what you think.

By the way - did you know that I have a little give away happening this month? I need your help + by answering one little question you are in with the chance to win an original painting. Pop over here for more.

Have a fab weekend

[LINKING TO PAINT PARTY FRIDAY]

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☆ Work in Progress [an Unfinished Friday Art]

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I was hoping to have this one finished before today, but she has me a little stumped. 

I haven't painted a painting that will eventually end up in my shop for a while, but this one came to me during a morning yoga session. (I tell ya - they strike everywhere.)

So instead of a finished painting today, here are some of the work in progress shots.

I usually start with a back ground, but this time I wanted to do something different, however at this stage I wasn't sure what that was going to be, so I went with the face.

I love painting faces, but my absolute favourite place to paint is the eyes.

Once I have the eyes finished, I usually know where my painting is going. And, okay, I know this sounds a little... well...out there,They usually tell me who the girl is, what her story is.

Not this time however. I am sure we will get there in the end.

So I loved the water colour play I did last week + have been inspired by Carla Sonheim's Life Book Lesson so I wanted to try something new for the back ground.

So this is where I am at the moment. Slightly stymied, I am hoping that inspiration will strike over the weekend, I would love to share the final painting with you next week.

What do you do when you are not sure about the direction of your art work? Do you take time away from it, or do you push through? I would love to hear how you create!

Have a fabulous weekend.

[LINKING TO PAINT PARTY FRIDAY]

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☆ Trio of Calendar Girls [Friday Art]

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Each month in my Studio Snippets Love Letter, I offer my readers a downloadable desktop calendar, which features some of my art.

So this week, I was looking for a suitable image for March, and nothing caught my imagination. 

I was all Goldilocks + the Three Bears! It was too big or too small or not the right colour or not the right feel...

And so me being me, I decided to paint some thing especially for the calendar + as usual it was last minute. 

So it was something I had to do, a little bit of a chore, (but not really because painting + creating is never a chore) BUT what I loved was how it morphed into something I had heaps of fun with.

I started with a sketch, and dumped heaps of water on the page and allowed the water colours to guide me. I ended up with so much paint on their faces, I had to use some gesso to cover it up.  And then I just doodled. 

You can see how where the water colours settled ended up being a guide for their hair + clothes/ tail. I think my fav is the red head. I love her dress and how her hair just worked!

And it has been such a long time since I have just played. With so much stuff I have been sorting through lately, I realised how much I missed this + how much I need to incorporate play in my creative schedule.

So how long has it been since you've played? Maybe it's time to let go a little. I would love to hear your stories be free to share below.

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☆ The One Where I Realise Less is More [Friday Art]

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Remember my painting from last week? 

The one where I thought it wasn't finished + that I thought I needed to add more to the page?

Here is the story behind this page.

So, I have these scrapbooking elements that are like Polaroid frames - kinda cool, + I thought that I would paint an Alice-esque face or two in the frames + attach them to the page. 

As I was painting the faces, I wasn't sure if they would add to the page, and once they were finished + I was playing with the placement I realised that they definitely wouldn't work.

Wasn't it Coco Chanel who famously said something along the lines of once you are dressed take off the last accessory you added to avoid looking over dressed? [I am being lazy, and can't be bothered to google it…]

Well I applied that theory to my painting and decided to leave them off. 

I was surprised when I read + answered the lovely comments about last weeks painting, that some  loved the idea of her being anonymous + that she could be any one of us.

And it was then that my instinct was validated with a big red tick.

And I wondered how you all know when it is time to stop. In our business, it is really difficult to take the last layer off, so do you walk away, does your instinct just guide you? I would love it if you shared with us. 

By the Way, February's 'Snippets from my Studio' is almost finished + to send out tomorrow. It is the only way you can access the 'Gratitude Angel' download for free, the monthly give aways, as well as the downloadable desktop calendar which features new art every month. Register here

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