29 Faces - #9-14

Well...not the most successful attempt at completing the 29 Faces challenge, but not quite in the category of an epic fail either.  I may continue to do a few more over the next week or so.

I did a few pencil sketches this past week on kraft paper...and then I decided to do some finger-painting on two of them. 

I'll start with the painted ones first...very primitive...but I like the way the first one turned out.

 

and these are the sketches...

 

 

 This one was actually done using just shading and very little outlining

 



 



29 Faces - Face #8

Saturday night was spent at The Art House Studio taking a Watercolor Whimsy class with Donna Downey!  I really wanted to take all of her classes...but decided on this one because she was showing us how to do a gel medium transfer as well as using Gelatos...two things I really wanted to try.

I chose to use the copy of one of Donna's stamps.  After spreading a thin layer of gel medium (Golden Gel Matte) onto the canvas, I laid the ink jet printed copy face down onto the gel medium and burnished it for a few minutes.  Carefully lifted the paper to reveal the print...easy peasy!  If I'd known it was that easy I would have tried it ages ago!

We then added gelatos to the face...then the hair.  Donna used my canvas to demonstrate the hair and the drippage...love drippage!  We then did the background, finished the face, added texture to the hair, and added stamps to the background.  I love it!  Will definitely try more with both techniques. 

Thanks Donna! Great class!!!

29 Faces - Face #7

I could watch Vivian Keh (Contandina K) http://contadinak.wordpress.com/ create all day long.  Her work is so inspiring.  I decided to try my hand at some of her techniques.  While not nearly close to Vivian's level I am pretty pleased with the result. I gessoed a sheet of watercolour paper, then used a feather stencil and modeling paste to add texture to the page. I then sketched in the face. I also used a small circle stencil to add additional texture.  I then used a variety of spray inks to add colour, allowing it to drip over the page and modeling paste.  I added some details to the face with a paintbrush dipped in spray inks.

29 Faces - Face #6

This face came out of nowhere!  I was prepping another page to do something I had planned out in my head and found I had a bit of extra gesso on the card I was using to spread it with.  I flipped open my journal and it landed on a page...a really ugly page covered in streaky Payne's grey.  I set it aside to dry as I worked on my "planned" page.  While the planned page was drying I returned to the ugly page...and was totally amazed to see parts of a face...an eye...jawline...shape of a head.  I quickly sketched out what I saw, filling in the details.  Then I grabbed my long neglected Pan Pastels to add some shading. 

I love that some of the streakiness of the original ugly page is still visible through the gesso and Pan Pastels.  For some reason, this is one of my favourite faces I've ever done.

Now I guess I'd better get to work on the "planned" page!

Sept 2013 29 Faces Challenge - Faces 1-5

A bit slow out of the starting block for the September 2013 29 Faces Challenge, but at least I have started.  First I did a few pencil sketches...practicing different views. 

 

 

Then I took one of these and copied it over onto a journal page that had some "mop up" paint on.  I wanted it to be 'rough', done quickly with minimum paint strokes and colours.  I actually quite like how it turned out. 

 

 



Finally! Face #29

My final face in the 29 Faces Challenge!  This is a sketch done on tissue paper with a Sharpie paint marker.  I then adhered it over a Gelli print.  I like the shading the underlying print gives to the face and, although not visible in the pic, I like the added texture provided by the tissue paper.  This will become a journal page for sure and I will continue to add to this page.

More Faces...#25-28

Well it took longer than I expected, but I was really committed to finishing the 29 Faces Challenge.

Here are four more faces completed over the past week.  Just one more to go.

This is another Gelli print.  I've always loved looking at the clouds to see what shapes I can see there so I was very excited when I was looking through my pages for the umpteenth time for pages that would fit on my mini-album and I saw a face in this one that I hadn't seen before.  I love it when that happens...

This one I initially wanted to do a grey scale watercolour wash on it...ended up with a Smurfette LOL...I actually don't mind the blue shading...next challenge...work on lips...

Two more sketches...the first with charcoal...kind of spooky...but there are parts of it that I like.  The second one...a bit "wonky"...LOL

Face #24 on a Gelli Print

I spent the afternoon with my good friend Sandy showing her how easy it was to use a Gelli Plate...and yes, just like the rest of us, she's addicted.  Maybe not quite as much as me...yet...but it's only a matter of time.  I left my spare Gelli Plate with her and know that it will sit on her table calling out to her until she sits back down and starts to think of patterns she could create. 

I did this print this afternnon and tonight had a bit of time to finally add a face.  #24 in the 29 Faces Challenge.  I was doing really well keeping caught up until #22 LOL...but think for my first time participating in this challenge I didn't do too bad.  I will finish the last 5 faces over the next week or so.

In the meantime...I kind of like this.  I love the faces that Dina Wakely and Julie Balzer do so this is definitely influenced by them.

Face #23

Still a couple of faces / days behind, but almost there.  This is one of my personal favourites so far...as it sat on the mantel last night for me to look at it the thought "nailed it!" popped into my head LOL.  I think it is the best technically in terms of the features, especially the eyes which I haven't been happy with to date.  I like the pink lips in an otherwise neutral tone, and they really pop surrounded by the pink background.  I did this as a pencil sketch and then PanPastels.  I am still building my PanPastel colours...most are neutrals and I have now started to add more vibrant colours to my collection. 

Face #22 and Art Journal Page

FACE #22 - MEDITATION
This face was done using PanPasteld over a last pull of a Gelli Plate.  The Gelli print really only picked up the "dregs" left from the print used on the art journal page below.  I decided to do her with eyes closed and when finished she looked like she was meditating.

RAINING
This art journal page started with a Gelli Plate print that I ripped in half and adhered to each page.  I then added more acrylic paints with my fingers through various stencils.  I used some hole-y drywall tape to add some small dots and then stuck the painted tape to the page as well.  Some doodling and stamping to finish the page. I tried to leave a little white space on the page, as that is something a bit difficult for me.  Despite the title of "raining" the colours of this page make me happy.

Faces #20 (Sad) & #21 (Tears)

Another quick sketch with watercolour crayons...I finished it and looked at it propped up across from me for a while...and then got out the Gelli Plate and added some tear drops.  I had decided that Face #20 looked sad...so Face #21 needed tears. 

Face #21

 

 

 

Face #20

 



Face #19 - Scribbles

I scribbled on the page with watercolour crayons and then just filled in some details to make a face.  No sketching first, minimal details...free and easy. I kind of like it...she's growing on me LOL.  What do you think?

Faces #17 & #18 - Exotic

Two more faces completed for the 29 Faces Challenge.  These started as just a couple of pencil sketches that I ended up adding some watercolour crayons to in order to provide colour to the headpiece.  I recently saw some beautiful fabrics and was reminded of these gorgeous headwraps worn by African women, so this was the inspiration for these two faces.  The first one I started on a page that I had stamped a couple of sample stampings (the pattern on the bottom of a child's flip flop sandal) as it was just meant to be a scribble page...soon became a full face and I kind of liked the stamping on it. I've also been watching Carolyn Dube's (A Colourful Journey) videos on Use Your Words so I used a stencil and more watercolour crayons to add the word Exotic.

The second one was my practice for a face in profile.  I like the colours of this one.

Face #16 - In Thought

I am now officially 2 faces behind on the 29 Faces Challenge....not sure where the time has gone this long weekend.  This is just a quick sketch done on a scrap piece of paper (about 4"x5") with a regular pencil...nothing fancy...just more practice.

Faces #14 & 15

I saw Julie Fei-Fan Balzer do this in one of her Gelli Plate videos and thought it was cool, so decided to try a version of it. First, I painted a face onto my Gelli Plate. I then took a print of the face which lifted most of the paint (bottom picture). This page already had a light Gelli print on it. Then I took a 2nd print onto another Gelli print that had a bolder and more defined pattern on it (middle picture). Finally, I covered the rest of the paint on the Gelli Plate with a thin layer of paint and took a print of it. Not only did it pick up the rest of the face outline, but it also picked up the stencil design below that. The third one is the only one that I've added more details to with additional acrylic paint (top picture). I really like the second one as it is and will probably just add more details with the Gelli Plate and stamps around the edges. The bottom one...definitely needs more added to it. So for now...Faces 14 and 15 are the top and middle pics (I won't count the bottom one for now LOL).

 

 

Sketches - Face #12 & 13

I have been practicing sketching faces...just small pieces of paper that are handy...trying to get the eyes right...the chin...the nose...the lips...the angle. The lower one of these sketches...I'm happy with the jaw line and angle... The top of the two sketches...I like the nose and the lips...still not sure about the eyes... I'm enjoying the 29 Faces Challenge...it is definitely challenging. I've never considered myself a technically good artist...I love colours and more abstract types of art rather than more detailed art. This is pushing me into uncharted waters...

An Accidental Face #11

OK...a little bit of a cheat for my face today. I was doing some prints with my Gelli Plate on the weekend and had a happy accident...there is a really cool face in one of the prints. I've shown the whole print below as well as a close up of the face. Part of me wants to add to it...paint around it or something... but I'm so afraid I might ruin it. So for the time being I am going to leave it as is.

Face #10

Face #10 for the 29 Faces Challenge. Not sure how I feel about it yet...chin not quite right...nose and lips not quite right...not sure about the eye either LOL

Moody Blues - Faces #8 & #9

Last night was my art journal group and it seemed like the blue paint was permanently in my hand. I started doing some Gelli prints and when I had covered my allotted space (and some of the space beside me) with prints I stopped and moved on to trying a new face. I wasn't feeling too inspired at first, so I picked up a 4x6 card that I had done a Gelli print on last week and started doodling on it. I wasn't too pleased with it so moved on to a clean page in my journal. I smeared some fleshtone paint across my page and waited for it to dry...and for inspiration to hit. The paint dried and still no inspiration...so back to my doodle. I smeared two shades of blue and some magenta on the page with a credit card and waited for it to dry. Then I doodled curls / wavy hair on the page. I then glued my 4x6 card onto the page...the colours were the same but the pattern different. I'm not thrilled with it...but I don't hate it LOL. Back to the fleshtone page...I sketched out a face...it turned out to be a man (didn't see that coming as I don't think I've drawn a man for 30 years). I used PanPastels to shade the face...decided he was going to be a bald man as I wasn't sure about doing a man's hair and the white at the top of his head where the fleshtone ended look a bit like a shiny pate :). And before I knew it the blue paint was back in my hand and being smeared across the page (I guess I was also in a smearing mood). I decided I was done...but as my bald blue man kept looking back at me from the tabletop I suddenly grabbed some light blue and green, put a couple of dabs on my scrap paper, rolled my brayer into to paint, rolled most of it off again and then rolled the brayer over his face...a few times LOL, all the while my friend was saying "what are you doing?" and "are you sure?". And then I kind of liked it...although my daughter asked me to turn the page when I put it up on the mantel last night (I always do that to look to see if a page is really finished)...she thought he was creepy LOL. I guess I had it in my head that I would get progressively better at drawing faces while participaing in this challenge...I've decided that is not the case LOL and it's just about trying different things and having fun. So now I'm a day ahead of myself in the 29 faces challenge...only 20 more to go!

Face #7

I tried something a little different with this face. I started off with a paper that I had cleaned my brayer on while doing Gelli prints. It had a little pink, green and blue on it. Then I sprayed some Dylusions ink sprays on it using some chipboard flourishes as masks. I then lightly sketched in the face...painted with acrylics and filled in the flourishes with magenta before outlining in a black paint pen. Something a bit different for me..but I like it...and I felt happy that another face is finished. I can hardly believe I'm keeping up daily with this challenge LOL.