Category Archives: Acrylics

Edwin, A Curious Fellow Built with Acrylics

Edwin, Day One & Day Two
5″ x 7″ Acrylics

Spending more time on a painting almost always improves it . I know this is not true for everyone! But so far it is true for me, and my novice attempts at acrylics!

In this case, I almost stopped after the first day, mainly because I am trying to finish 30 Paintings in 30 Days, but also because I wasn’t sure this was going anywhere and I thought I’d try something else. [As for 30 Paintings, I am totally considering this two paintings (9 & 10). I do not believe I will be fined for this offense – much less prosecuted. Wait. Who is in charge of this jurisdiction?]

Edwin here could stand a bit of evening of the eye ridges, but as the only one of his kind, one could hardly tell him his eye ridges aren’t properly aligned. Perhaps there is a very good reason for him to look precisely how he looks!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy January! Hello to Paint Party Friday!

[portfolio_slideshow size=”large”]

Struggles With Acrylics Yield an Orange Rabbit Beast

Rabbit Beast, 5″ x 7″ Acrylics
Painting 8 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days

I have encountered some obstacles in my return to acrylics for 30 Paintings in 30 Days! I started late, the bitter (Chicago area) cold is sapping my will to art, no internet for multiple days TWICE in two weeks (now fixed! <knock wood>), and very busy at my regular job.

It is now Day 11 and I am going to claim 8 Paintings! (Even though some aren’t quite complete.) My favorite so far, which I would prefer to work on more but can’t because it’s only #8, is the silly creature above, made in a promise to Ann D’Angelo that I would try something odd and whimsical today.

I am trying to appreciate this challenge for getting me to paint a lot, even though I mostly feel these paintings are unfinished as I race on to the next one. But that’s ok!

Alpaca, Camel, Sheep
Each 5″ x 7″ Acrylics

The previous paintings were a series of ungulates in blue on red. I ended up trashing the camel (in the middle) after becoming very frustrated with it. Which is bound to happen if you don’t paint for 10+ months! The sheep (right side) has some nice qualities. But I am moving on.

I hope your January is going nicely! I hope mine ends more nicely than it started!

[portfolio_slideshow size=”large”]

Three Series of Bird, a Return to Acrylics

Three Series of Bird, 1-3 of 30 Paintings January 2015
Each 6″ x 8″, Acrylics

Yikes, I hate to be late. I was unable to start painting until today, January 5th, for the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. In order to catch up, I thought I’d try a series of three, painted at the same time and in the same colors.

These are very rough! (I think the middle one is the best one) I could certainly work on them more. But it was an interesting exercise and I suppose I must move on tomorrow!

Thanks for dropping in! Some progress pics below.

[portfolio_slideshow size=”large”]

 

Here and Back Again, Acrylics 2.0.

Hey, it’s a Hobbit reference. And I have not seen one of those films. Despite being slightly fanatical about the Lord of the Rings, both the books and the movies, (less than Colbert, more than your average fan).

I am embarking on a project which I thought I would chronicle here, at the art blog. I was asked about a year ago to do some Day of the Dead type faces on Patrón (tequila) corks. How we arrived at this request is probably not as interesting, but suffice it to say I agreed to this thing with the caveat that I would probably take my own sweet time. Which I have.

But I am going to be seeing this person in about a week so I thought, since I finally cleared a space to do acrylics again – for Thirty Paintings in 30 Days, in January – I decided now was the time. Here is the beginning.

Patrón Corks Project, Step One!

At the bottom left you will see an unaltered Patrón  cork. In the middle, two corks with gesso. The third thing is some other cork that looks like a doorknob, also gessoed. Stay tuned for further developments!

I also wanted to post, in advance of January’s marathon, my favorite acrylic paintings from last January (and some from February). I stopped painting after that. I think because my job got busier but I hope to continue this year.

Various Acrylics, Jan-Feb 2014

Left to rightt:  Danielle and Sinbad (6″x6″), Flower Girl (5″x7″), Josie Fuchsia (5″x7″), The Harvest Oracle (6″ x 8″). Loads of process pics for The Harvest Oracle here.

And below, Rocco and Harmony (12″ x 12″), which hung for several months at my local Dick Blick’s! Here you can see what they looked like at the end of the first day, and then the finished painting with one more day. Amazing how much difference the extra day made!

Rocco and Harmony, 12″ x 12″ Acrylics on canvas

Lots of progress pics for this one here. Thanks so much for dropping in! Hello to Paint Party Friday – and I sure hope some of you are doing 30 Paintings!

Merry Christmas and Happy all the other holidays, too!

Further Adventures in Spirit Masks, Inked

Fire Beetle Clan and Spirit of the Forest
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copic markers, ink, gel pen

I am having a lot of fun with these shaman-type masks, made for a “Spirit Masks” swap at illustratedatcs.com. Also, I felt bad about skimping on the progress pics last time, so these have more than average. Hooray!

I stepped away from ink for a while to do some painting (and hope to do more soon), but tiny pens are still my favorite. Here’s the whole group of the Spirit Masks so far (as previously posted). I suspect there will be more!

Six Spirit Masks
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, gel pen

Finally, I’ve been trying to decide on some kind of portfolio page, and one idea was to put my swap sets together, so I started a Portfolio of Swap Sets.  So far I’ve got about a dozen swaps up.

Thanks for dropping in!

[portfolio_slideshow size=”large”]

The Harvest Oracle, Acrylics

Face 25 of 29 Faces! Hooray, back to painting after a week or so of ink and markers.

The Harvest Oracle
8″ x 6″ Acrylics on Canvas Board

You’ll see in the progress pics below that I whited out the eyes at one point. I thought maybe instead of standard eyes I’d try some more spooky ones. The other thing I thought about doing was a ghostly figure behind her. Or some other kind of floating spirit. I ended up with a greenish sun in an alien sky. Which happily works for the topic “Space” at Illustration Friday.

Thanks for dropping in!

[portfolio_slideshow size=”large”]

Another Girl and Her Dog, Acrylics

The Slumbering Herd post number 250 is Face #14! And it is Valentine’s Day. AND, also Paint Party Friday!

She Lost Him in the Divorce
6″ x 6″ Acrylics on canvas board

Sarah Trumpp and I briefly discussed whether this cross-posting, double-duty business was wrong. I believe we decided in the end not to worry about it too much. :)

I have a feeling I should try some things without the black outlines all the time. With this one, I went back to sketching and I like the result. Sometimes a sketch is nice way to go about it.

I had to stop last night at about the 9th frame, below. I haven’t been getting enough sleep and that makes for a rough workday. However, I think it benefited from drying completely before I took another run at it. More patience I must learn. Pffft.

Thanks for stopping in!

[portfolio_slideshow size=”large”]

Sheila Green Eyes, Acrylics on Black Canvas

Sheila Green Eyes
4″ x 4″ Acrylics on black canvas board

Face #13 omg! Working on lips. I think she’s pretty cute.

She is also Maiden Number 159. Which seems crazy! But it started as 100 Maidens in July 2012. And then a whole bunch of time just went whoooooshing past.

Finally started using my Masterson’s Sta-Wet palette, partly due to encouragement from AnnD, who also recently got a Sta-Wet palette. (And yes, I think we both agree that sounds dirtier than maybe it ought.)

[portfolio_slideshow size=”large”]

One Painting and One Pixie for 29 Faces

Two more faces for the 29 Faces Challenge.

Josie Fuchsia Face #11
5″ x 7″ Acrylics on canvas board

I watched some painting and process videos this week, including this one on painting eyes, by Michael Lewis Art. So I spent more time on the eyes. BUT, I really need more help with noses and mouths. Like I keep saying. Dangit! More ugly (almost abandoned) middle stages below!

Here’s another fairy folk (similar features to my little flower troll) for a swap I need to finish. Like the last one, she may re-appear in color.  (Though maybe not until after the end of 29 Faces!)

Moll the Pixie, Face #12
2.5″ x 3.5″ pencil, brown Micron

Someone asked about the slideshow. It’s a plugin called Portfolio Slideshow that I added to my WordPress blog. Thanks for dropping in!

[portfolio_slideshow size=”large”]

 

Little Flower Troll, Face Number Ten

The Little Flower Troll
5″ x 7″ Acrylics on canvas board

It’s Face Number 10. I probably should have given the eyes a bit more time but it is midnight on a work night once again! I was worried my faces were looking too similar so I turned the canvas sideways. I think she is pretty cute.

Maybe an exaggerated nose or mouth next time because they are giving me lots of trouble. Arrgh!

[portfolio_slideshow size=”large”]