Here comes the Bride.......

Well, the day has finally come...almost, my sister is getting married tomorrow!!!!! I cannot wait, it's going to be a day to remember. As mentioned in an earlier post, I have been commissioned to paint two large canvases as an alternative to wedding flowers as a backdrop to them saying their vows...No pressure! Any way, I am pleased to report that they are finally finished! Phew. These have been a real learning curve for me and I have experimented with so many techniques. In particular, I loved the way in which the spray paint created a real glowy effect. It was so quick too. I would like to add that if you are going to use aerosols then think, 'safety first', I say this as I did ensure that I wore the correct type of mask, wore gloves......and then promptly sprayed myself directly in the eye.....whoops! Luckly I miraculously sustained no injuries. So, then I quickly searched out some protective glasses before continuing. I don't think eye-patches are normal bridesmaid attire. I haven't posted for a while, as I've been so busy lately but I have been regularly posting on my Instagram (see links) it's so quick and easy to do so I have taken lots of shots of the work in progess. It's also nice to get feedback off complete strangers from all over the world.

Still messing about...need to get on with real deal!

 I'm really enjoying working with the aerosols and the cool effects they create, I'm finding them really hard to control and so the results are very haphazard and unpredictable, It's a bit scary that lack of control and just working with whatever the outcome is. It's also really hard not to overdo it as the spray paint is so much faster/instant than my usual meticulous painting method. The work above is yet another practise piece. I used oil paint on the flowers in a very thin layer and did it pretty roughly and quickly. Hopefully I will have time to do the real things a bit more carefully however, again it is a fine line between looking loose or just rough and also an even finer line between looking well painted and detailed or just overworked! I put these photos on my instagram and my sister saw them, commenting that she liked the hearts and stars.....these I only did whilst messing around on this practise piece, but if she likes them then I may well add some into the final pieces. By the way, the spray paint colours are 'Frozen Raspberry' and 'Shock pink', I'm a sucker for paint colour names....I think twice about buying a paint if I don't like it's 'name'! I saw a paint the other day called 'cup of tea'=love! I digress!

Background before flowers etc, acrylics and aerosol

Alternative to wedding flowers..........

This is a post that I am very excited to blog about. My super stylish sister, Suzy, is getting married in approximately 4 weeks time....eekkk! The whole wedding is going to be a little alternative, with a rock and roll festival vibe. She has commissioned me to create two giant canvases with bouquets on them to have displayed in the hall where they are going to be married rather than having real flowers. This way the paintings will be a lasting memory of the day and give it a nice personal touch. They want it in a graffiti style. Sooooo, I've started experimenting today after receiving a big parcel of gorgeous spray paints in the post...yay! I have to admit I have never really used aerosols in my work before....gulp.....but that's what makes it so exciting! The actual canvases are about 100cm by 80cm, but this little canvas I am playing around on is about 30cm by 30cm.

The inspiration:
                                

 

First layer of paint on canvas, (acrylic) ....a little too blue for the final pieces, I think we were thinking more greeny grey.

Using the spray paint...This had to be done mega quickly as it was getting late and starting to get dark. It was really cool using it but I really need to buy a mask tomorrow as it stinks! Well, I kind of like the smell, but I know it's really bad for you and I could taste it afterwards....not good! Also you can see a very rough outline. I think I might have gone a bit overboard with the pink...what can I say, I love shocking pink!

First layer of paint to establish tonal areas:

And another photo using a different instagram filter:

Quite like how its developing, it has definitely been worth trying it out before starting the real ones! It only took a few hours to get it to this stage too which is a relief! (Suzanne if you see this blog.....this is the work at a very early stage and not how I envisage the final outcome!) It needs more drips and dribbles and obviously colour! The colours need to be a bit more pastel too, I think.

Doodles, doodles, I love doodles.......

Today I enjoyed myself doodling, inspired by my lighthearted paint splattering doodles yesterday. It's so therapeutic and addictive but I also think it is really helpful at seeing your work from a new direction. After doodling these birds, I'd quite like to study painting and drawing these in more detail by getting some reference material.

Face over stripes = like!

Hand sketched below was drawn in the car on the way to a soft play-centre. Hands are something I want to sketch more regularly as they are so difficult to draw, and as they say, practise makes perfect.....or better at least!

To-To's Dream, development

To-To's Dream (WIP)

I've worked on the face a bit in the last few days and also started to develop the background. Something that I have noticed is that by photographing my work and viewing it on screen, it is easier to make decisions about where to go next with it. The background definitely needs more work and so does the hairline and sides of the face.

To-To's Dream

To-To's Dream

A new WIP. Based again on Esme. This photo shows work in it's very early stages, the first wash has been applied, I worked loosely with this, using acrylic like watercolour. I also thought carefully about the colour palette I wanted to use. This piece explores ideas of children's imaginations. I wonder what Esme will think of all my paintings of her when she's older?

The Haunting

The Haunting

Experimenting with a more loose style. I am quite pleased with this study and particularly pleased that it only took a few hours to create. The left eye is a bit dodgy but I feel, for a quick experiment it's not bad. This was created by painting the face directly onto the background without any under drawing/tracing to follow so if I were to do a finished outcome I would need to find a way of mapping the main elements of the piece out. Esme (my personal art critic) said it looked spooky. It does a bit. I seem to be drawn to quite melancholic faces. I'm not too sure about the colours either but still, I'm trying not to over analysis my art or be too critical, just produce, explore, learn and move on. This way, hopefully I won't become disheartened and hopefully my work will continue to develop. Also did you notice, I've tried to think of a title. It's so hard, well I find it hard, and I think titles are really important. Hopefully my titles will improve too!

Too beautiful not to draw.....

A couple of days ago I took a photo of Esme and thought that it really captured just how perfect she is, (bias, I know). I think she would make a good Goldilocks, she certainly loves porridge! Anyway, this gave me further inspiration to do some more drawing, which proved tricky as she wanted to sit on my lap whilst I tried my best to see what I was doing. She also felt the need to add to my drawing which was a little frustrating!

Mixed media on paper

So, all in all, I quite like the result, I particularly like the fact it took only around an hour in total, if that. I've managed to keep it nice and loose in style.

The inspiration