29 Faces-Day 29

Here it is the last day of the 29 Faces of May Challenge, a wonderful hostess Martha of Ayala Art, has really pushed us to draw, sketch, paint, mixed media or whatever we fancied and whatever face we wanted to do. A commitment of 29 days I was not sure of initially but there are really no hard fast rules to post every day although I found it hard some days but I know I was not the only one doing catch up posts.

I just finished this painting today on an 8x10 canvas board. Yesterday I helped serve a luncheon at my MIL's retirement home and we served 30 people. It was fun, busy and nice to spend time with my dear MIL. I was unable to commit to my face and was too tired last night but I managed to sketch the face and today I painted.

So here she is saying a fond farewell and thank you very much to all of you for visiting me daily or bopping about when you had time. 

Her name is Gracie, she told me what colours to use and she really wanted a flower in her hair. She thought I used a bit too much blush on her cheeks, she really doesn't like to go too bold with the makeup. She is an au natural kind of girl. She told me she was going to take a trip very soon to a far away land. I said oh....really, can I come? she said she didn't think so, that I would miss Rosie too much and I really don't like the cold,so, it would be best I stay home this time. She would write me a letter and tell me of her travels. I am not sure where she is going, she said she was tired and needed to have a nap. She washed the car today so I wouldn't have to do it while she was away. Hmmm what is up with that? 

And I have to thank a very very kind and wonderful blog friend, Jenny. Jenny inspired me to jump into this challenge and I have to say, I have really enjoyed it very much. I took away all negativity, I truly pushed myself and now I feel very comfortable with where I am at. I love doing whimsy, and, I enjoy the portraits and I even tried a couple animals. So I can see this going further as sketching is very relaxing and I feel quite free. Thank you Jenny.....

Now to take a bit of a blog break, tidy up some much needed things around the house, do a bit of purging and reorganizing. 

Thank you once again for dropping by.

♥

29Faces Days 27 and 28 and a completion

Hi everyone, the final days are here for the 29 faces challenge.

Wow what a great time and learning experience it has been and best of all you encouraging me to keep going and commenting and challenging me. Thank you everyone

 Remember day 25 I only showed you a portion of the mixed media doll I was doing for one of the prizes of my giveaway? Well here she is...complete and I did NOT do the beeswax....I destroyed 2 pieces today and after all the work I put into them I was miffed and the heat was getting to me, not to mention car trouble ...again... until I am adept at doing the beeswax or figuring what when wrong I am not going to add it for now. 

So either Gail or Wendy will be giving this lovely a new home, how very exciting for me to share this new media in my art adventure....

 This is Day 27, another prize for one of the girls who won my Giveaway. Oh to be Queen for a day......wouldn't it be nice???? I just love her orange hair and she had to have a sparkly crown.....

 Rosie was giving her approval as well. She just wouldn't stay out of the way, even tho she hates looking at the camera other body parts are OK....Click on the pic below to get a good look and see all the wonderful texture and layers of paint peeking out hither and yon. I had to redo the face today. I ruined it trying another method and well lets say I was not in a good mood but I redid this and I like this face much better than the original. I think the key to these faces are layers and layers of Prismacolour pencils and not be afraid to go too dark but you can't rub them hard you have to use a very light touch and hang out in the same place for a while as Suzi says. 

 And this was a real quick sketch on my prepped layered text and gessoed papers. I used acrylics on this and then I have some new Ditto sprays which have a lovely shimmer to them so I sprayed it on, let it drip then I took most of the colour off just to more or less stain the paper. This makes me happy.

Day 28

 And my artistic assistant, Rosie,  dare not look at the camera but is always on the table roaming around. Today she managed to step on my palette and get the purple from the above girl on her paws. Oh well what artist hasn't got paint or something on them....

And tomorrow is the last day of 29 Faces, I may not be able to post as I have a commitment most of the day helping my MIL so I have 2 days of grace to complete the challenge.

Thanks for dropping by.

♥

29 Faces-Day 26

Oh my, 3 days left to this challenge and I have learned so much and even have been challenged to do this kind of face. Well my friend Becky from Country Lane Folkart challenged me to do a cat's face. Becky did not say what kind of cat whether it be wild, domestic or big cat. I took the challenge and so here is my face for today.

Now I still have work to do on the mane. It is rather difficult to get the mane very thick so I am not showing all of the lion's head. Considering I just started sketching the beginning of the year I think I am coming along at a good pace. I love to sketch, each one is a challenge and I am learning perspective and symmetry which is really important in facial features....

So enough talk, please meet Kingsley....isn't he grand? I think a nice big crown on his head would look wonderful. 

Thank you Becky for encouraging me to do this.....you can't tell yourself you can't do it....just dive in and try. You may be surprised at what you can do.

Thanks for looking and see ya tomorrow.

♥

29Faces- Day 24 and 25

Hi everyone, I took a computer break yesterday and did not come on at all.

Here I want to show you a sketch and a mixed media piece WIP which you will be eligible to win if you comment on my Giveaway post. So if you haven't commented yet, got here to do so, I am giving away 2 mixed media pieces in my Giveaway one for each prize pack. 

So here is Day 24. I found a pic online and liked the hands on the face so I attempted it an a partly open mouth. I did a few things different but I am pleased considering this is my first actual piece done off of an actual photograph. The only thing that I must say didn't turn out very well is the girl was Japanese and her eyes could have used a bit more work. I had a very long nose and very narrow and when I looked at the face I knew something had to be done but after discussing this with my hubs, he said you need a larger nose and not so long. 

So here she is....Miss. Peace O. Work.....the hands were a challenge as well but I did the best I could considering I haven't really done other body parts. Everything is symmetry as I am learning. I have really enjoyed this challenge very much....I feel very content where I am, not trying to bring perfection the first time around since I am far from being perfect.....but.....I see great strides just in the 3 weeks I have been doing this challenge, and, thanks to all of you who have stopped by and left encouraging comments.

 And this is a WIP mixed media doll that you will be eligible to win as a thank you for following and leaving lovely comments during this challenge and before and after. As you can see I still have lots left to do but isn't it fun to get just a sneak peek?  My mixed media pieces with be sealed with beeswax after all the details are comple.. So don't forget to sign up for my giveaway with the links posted throughout this post

On another note....yesterday I finally went out to buy some much needed summer clothes. Hubs said go look for some things and a dress if you like and that would be his one gift for me for my birthday. I decided yesterday I would rather shop for art supplies or groceries. After about 4 hours of trying things on, I was exhausted not to mention a little disappointed not to find an appropriate dress for summer. They make dresses for very long legged twiggy people. Hard to find petite and length appropriate and not all gathered where you don't want gathers like right under your bosom. Good grief, I think I am going to bring out the sewing machine and make my own.

Take care everyone and til next time, stay inky, painty, crafty or just be YOU

♥

29Faces-Day 23 RU kidding me?

Wow I had to check to make sure I was typing this number of days in right. 23 already? Where did week 1 and 2 go? Well the time of year sure keeps one busy and I want to say a HUGE thank you to all who keep stopping by and checking my faces out. Some seem to be quite lame but some I am really seeing a difference. It is amazing how one can keep practising whether it be art or music or a certain skill how you do progress. Years ago if you asked me to draw a face I would have said RU kidding me? Well now I know I can at least make it look human, maybe not your face or mine but I do really enjoy seeing what emerges with pencil and paper and of course the eraser, which if not around I soon panic. LOL

So here is today"s sketch. I think I would like to paint this some day but I am not going to try to rush each day, rushing makes me antsy and not enjoy what I am doing. I seem to get a bit slower as I get older and more methodical about what I am doing. 

I attempted an Asian face, if you have traded ATC's with me you know I love Asian/Oriental themes. I saw this one artist who was featured in Suzi Blu's book and it caught my eye. Of course it was all painted up and beautifully done but I wanted to attempt the face and it is no where near what it looks like in the book, but ,I didn't want to copy it either, I just reached for some inspiration to draw from.

Excuse the graph paper but I seem to do a better job lining things up. Until I get a little more skilled at symmetry, this is one paper besides sketching paper I will continue to use.

Til next time, thanks for dropping by.

♥

29Faces-Day 20, 21, 22

Playing catch up here, I was busy painting and getting things caught up. We were supposed to get rain but it has been north and south of us. We happened to be in a banana belt where we miss a lot of weather so it did not rain but I took advantage of a cloud cover day.

So here is Face 20, it is on Watercolour paper and I am not very keen on it but I did used watercolour pencils and my new W/C crayons. I don't like her wings and her face could use more work but I had completed this yesterday and was torn whether I would post it but here it is. I am getting too far behind so thought it best to just use it for Day 20. The faces are not all pretty and the way I want them to be, after all it is a challenge. Not like I am entering a contest or anything.

The next 2 group of faces are my collaged and gessoed papers I did a bunch of to use for this challenge, so glad they were prepped for me ahead of time. I used acrylic paints for these one. This is my cat Rosie, she is orange and white and a little bit fat, she's my Rosiecats. (I say that to her and sing it too, she always answers back. I wonder what she says about being fat...LOL =^..^=)

Day 21a

 And here is the full page. Funny how the colours look so different with the closeup above and then the whole page in view. I didn't use a lot of gesso on top of my colours this time, I was going for the really bold look. Don't you love those polka dot stockings???? tee hee

21b

 Meet the Lou family, (22a)

Day 22b

 Mary Lou, Katy Lou and little Cindy Lou.....isn't she a doll? I love the bold yellow and all the lovely dots. I am really into dotty things lately. See those ridgy lines? I used a piece of corrugated cardboard, brushed paint on it then pressed it on the background. You have to work fast because acrylic dries quickly. 

So now I have another face with coloured pencils started, I worked on it last night before bed, so I hope to complete it tomorrow but I am still doing some planting of flowers so we will have to wait and see what happens.

Thanks for dropping by.

Don't forget to click on my banner on the sidebar to direct you to my Giveaway. I worked on getting more things added, the two piles are piling up and I even cut some neat die cuts for the winner to use in their artwork or cards etc.

29Faces Day 19

This face was a real challenge, I had to do twice. I wrecked the first one  when I applied it to the canvas. I was so mad. Anyways I think I did a better job with the pencil crayons on this one but I still need a lot of practise. I always thought when you used pencil crayons you pressed mediocre for light shades then pressed hard for darker shades, I had a lot to learn. I won colouring contests when I was a kid and boy have times changed. In Suzi's book. Mixed Media Girls, she has a DVD and she tells you if you think you are pressing lightly press even lighter. Well this is what it looks like, like I said, I still have a ways to go with practise but I cannot believe how many layers of colours and the wonderful and soft effects you get using a very light touch.

I made the dress out of scrap paper, I used Delta texture medium on the dress, I shaded a darker pink in paint on the dress as well as on the bodice. I used a paper flower for her hair band and the sweet collar  . The canvas itself is many layers of Turquoise, pink a tad bit of lime green gesso and stencilling. For some reason the pic looks very green here but it is the lighting I think because in my hands it it more gesso and blue tones with pinks popping out here and there. 

Gesso has become my best friend. How did I ever create without gesso? I am going to add some words along the side then beeswax the piece when I have decided what else I need to do. I am getting behind so I had better not waste another  day on this piece. I am quite pleased about it.

Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway. If I get time I may be included a mixed media girl in the prize packages so comment here to be eligible.

Thanks for stopping by.

♥

29Faces Day 18

So playing catch up once again here. I worked on yesterdays face for 2 days. I had to do it over but it is still a WIP. 

Here is Day 18...since looking over Suzi Blu's book she recommends using graph paper for starters to get features lined up. I usually use a ruler but I still end up with crooked lines. I think I have a crooked brain. Anyways I am really learning a lot and even tho some of my girls are whimsy it still is important to line facial features up. I also learned if the nose is close to the eyes that usually indicates the face is younger. I have looked at some of my past sketches and yes that is true. Even tho I am not taking formal drawing or sketching classes I am still learning so much by reading material and finding great vids on YouTube. 

Anyways enough blabber about my learning process here is my girl for Day 18, sorry the one pic is a bit blurry, I did lighten it up but it is too close and the camera or the operator didn't wait for the focus to kick in.....

And here  she is full facial features and a WIP. I do plan on doing this on a mixed media canvas but I have been too busy do paint all my sketches but this one will be done for sure. I just love those big eyes and those lush lips. Suzi  I am really enjoying your book and your teaching is wonderful. 

Day 19 coming right up.

♥

29faces-Day 17

So now I am on yesterday's face....I drew this the other night as I was thinking of my dear auntie over in England. She has been very ill and I was thinking of an angel to watch over her as she recovers from some recent surgery and her battle with Cancer. 

I really want to paint this angel on a canvas, after getting Suzi's newest book,  I know I can now  attempt those dreamy faces.

So here she is, Angelica...please watch over my Auntie, she is very dear to me.

♥

29 Faces-Day16

Well I am a little behind but I am trying to catch up here. 

I was out all afternoon and then had some things to do after supper so here I am.

Remember I told you in my last post I had something a little different for a face?

Well I got my inspiration from this bird that my Mum recently gave me.  I love it and have really been examining it quite a bit. I didn't realize til I had it a day or so that the wings and the tail of this bird are overlapping leaves. Well the bird is made of wood but the artist has really captured a very natural theme here. I just love this bird and it sits inside the house and I look at it a lot every day. Thanks Mum.....you gave me a gift that I love and I drew inspiration from it for this face, even tho it is a bird and not a human, but hey, Martha of Ayala Art said it didn't have to be a human ......

And here is my bird. Again I didn't have time to colour or paint it but I do plan on it in the future when I have more time. I think I would like to do it in watercolour for a soft and dreamy effect.

OK so it isn't exact but I sure enjoyed doing this bird. I think adding colour now that I see the sketch is a must do.

Thanks for dropping by and off to post yesterday's face. 

Egad zooks......I am falling behind....

♥

29 Faces-Day 15

Wow, now just over half way through the 29 Faces Challenge, I have had a lot of fun so far and have really enjoyed the different faces that I am sharing with you all.

Today's gal has just come from a party, her name is Bella. Bella loves the colour green and so she shopped for the prefect outfit to dress for the party. When she arrived everyone commented on the colour and the hat to match. No gal can go out to a function without a matching hat, just ask the Queen. 

Anyways Bella had a great time and now she is off to bed, too much excitement for one day she told me.

I painted Bella on W/C paper and used both W/C pencils and my new W/C crayons and some gesso and acrylic paint.  I left the background for now, not sure of what colour to use because I don't want to take away from the wonderful colours I have selected. I chose a nice acrylic Tangerine to go with the green, it just makes everything pop. 

We spent all day outside attending to the gardens, more planting, shuffling of some plants. We got the veggie garden tilled and planted potatoes. Black flies had a feast on me and now I am all itchy from the bites. I hate bugs but it just goes with the spring climate. I think it will be an early night to bed for me. My back is acting up from bending over so time to rest. 

My sketch tomorrow is quite a bit different from the usual. The rules of the challenge are you don't have to just do human faces so I sketched something I recently got as a gift so I will let you all sit and ponder what it might be.

Til tomorrow, take care and thanks for dropping by.

♥

29 Faces-Day 14

Today's sketch is one that I have been waiting to paint. It has been hiding in the back of my sketch book waiting for her time. Her name is Patience, unlike myself, I have very little of. I have had to learn to be patient and that is one thing I can truly say has been difficult at times, but like anything as you get older you do learn and mellow...

 I need to add words to my girls but I just really haven't had much time to think about it. 

Tomorrow's girl is already done, while the paint was out and all the colours I went to work and got her done as well. Can't wait to show you but you will have to be "Patient" and wait.

Have a super evening everyone and thanks for dropping by. I always love to hear from you.

And...I haven't forgotten to post the giveaway but I am a little busy right now, but maybe over the long weekend I can get some things organized...so stay tuned.

♥

29 Faces-Day 13

I hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day. We had a beautiful day to BBQ chicken for my MIL and her friend.

It is really getting busy around here with cleaning up the flower beds a bit and tilling the veggie garden, the deck to organize with flower pots etc. Never a dull moment around here.

This is yesterday's sketch, day 13 already, wow time is really whizzing by isn't it? I wanted to do a different expression than my normal looking straight on so I tried this and even tho it is not one of my better sketches, I think I captured it pretty good. Her nose is a bit too small and maybe even her mouth but by 11pm at night the sketches can depict my exhaustion of the day. Like I said it has been a busy couple weeks and trying to post everyday is something I am not used to, but, I am really enjoying the challenge and seeing all the participants work.

Thanks for dropping by and now off to post today's face.

♥

29 Faces-Day 12

Wow a busy week and the weekend is even busier.

This is a short post and I probably won't be able to post til Monday now because tomorrow is Mother's Day and we have things going on.

I did this little one last night and had a blast doing it. For the mixed media girls I have been doing for this challenge I am using a certain palette of colours. Very bright and cheery. I have found that even tho I am using these colours consistently some colours are stronger depending on how much of that colour I use or how much gesso I use. At any rate this is today's face 12 and I have to say I really enjoy these whimsy girls. They are really become a style for me.

 I still want to do other faces of course and I am patiently waiting for Suzi Blu's new book to arrive. I ordered it just after my birthday and can't wait to sit and absorb all the information and watch the DVD that comes with it. 

So, to all my friends out there who are Mother's, and, even if you are not, if you own a pet, you are a Mother, like myself. Pets count, we nurture them, love them, feed them, clean up after them, make sure they are safe etc

.....HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY.

♥

29faces Day11

Wow Day 11 already, the days are whipping by.  I no sooner post a pic and time to do another one. 

Well this sketch is a work in progress. You are probably wondering why does this sketch have a line across the top of it's head....well I need to do some research for a head scarf or some African head dress. My hubs thinks this person looks of African decent so I need to do a bit of research and then I will finalize it. So it may be a while before I edit this post but when I do I will let you know so you can take a final peek. It may evolve in a total different direction, who knows. 

Off to get some rest, I am having some back issues again so think I will take it easy. I had a nice lunch with my Mum today and we had some great conversation and a little shopping. The sun was shining and all is good.

Take care all and thanks for dropping by.

♥

29faces day 10

So sorry I am late posting day 10 but I have been a little busy the last couple days. Spring is happening and well there is lots to do inside and out.

Here is another sketch I did of a larger face. I really learn from each one I do and even tho mouths may be crooked or a pupil larger than the other, I still take it all in stride. No sense on stressing about it, I think it makes you remember we are not all even and straight, we all have our own characteristics so why should a sketch be any different.

Well thank you for dropping by, I am going to post today's face in the next post so stay tuned.

♥

29 Faces-Day9

I am so excited to show you this face today. I was inspired by a birthday card I received from my dear Mum. Of course I didn't want to copy the exact pose on the card and I changed a few things up.

 I also did not use watercolour paints or pencils but created very thin washes of acrylic paint to give the same effect. I had to work fast with blending however as the acrylics dry very quickly. I again used some heavy kraft paper I had collaged dictionary pages and music from a hymnal  then gessoed over it all. Then I sketched this and went to town painting it. I had a lot of fun.  

 My girl looks pregnant but she isn't so she told me. She just had a rather scrumptious lunch and she was bulging a bit, nothing like a good hot cup of tea and then picking flowers for a little exercise won't hurt.

She told me her name was Lucinda and she was going to take her crown in for some touch ups with more colour. Hmmm, I said to myself, looks good to me..cheeky little one I thought.

Til tomorrow, stay creative and thanks for dropping by. Always love to hear what you have to say.

Stay tuned for a little giveaway post. I just celebrated my 50th and I am 1 shy of 200 Followers.

TTFN

♥

29 Faces Day8

My goodness, day 8 already, oh how time flies.

Here are 2 girls I did and I really like how this turned out. I painted the faces this time with acrylics and I really like how they turned out. I have used the watercolours but didn't get quite the colouring I wanted to I might stick to my acrylics from here on. We will see.

Anyways I have wanted to try something like this for a while now and I am getting more adventurous with my drawing. I seem to be taking chances when I am really not that kind of personality. I like things I am sure of or know what the outcome will be, but, with sketching, it is changing some of that.

Well thanks again for dropping by and I hope I can get my larger piece done in time to post tomorrow. It is fun, whimsical and hopefully very colourful.

Have a super day. It is raining here so what a great day to be creative.

Oh and thank you everyone who has wished me a happy 50th. Wow what a milestone, it is still hard for me to say it.

♥

29 Faces Day7

OK this is happening again. I have to post 2 faces today. Last night I was too tired to be online much so here is Day 7. I decided to do another whimsy girl using mixed media . Someone on FB said the eyes look sad but when I tried to draw a mouth on some of these gals it didn't look right so I decided no mouths for now but a little bit of a nose. I am enjoying mixed media very much. I am painting with my fingers and moving the paint and gesso around, I added a piece of a doily that I screwed up the directions on, so it ended up crooked, so what better way to salvage it, I  cut the outer edge and made a nice lacey piece for her paper dress.

I loved the stripey socks so it might be something I carry over for these girls from time to time.

Well thanks for dropping by. Stay tuned for Day 8.

♥

29 Faces-Day 6

Well this is a sketch I drew a few days ago since I am celebrating a big one today...yes I am 50. It is actually a little hard to say it but that is what it is.

So I didn't dare draw 50 candles I wouldn't have room on this birthday cake hat but it symbolizes many things for me, too many to mention and some very personal. But turning 50 is a milestone and I have learned a lot along the way and hope to keep learning.

Thanks for dropping by and it is a wonderful day outside so I am out to enjoy it. BBQ chicken wings by hubs and maybe a ride on the Harley. Wooo hoooo...

PS thanks Mom and Thom!!!!! We love you!!!

♥