Friday 28 February 2014

29 faces day 28


Last day of the challenge, and a special face.
I have just finished my newest canvas and thought you might like a little peep at how it was made.




Started off collaging newsprint, bookpapers, found and handmade papers and gesso. This is quite a large canvas as you can see, I like this long format and use it quite often



Splattered acrylics over the top of the collaged paper and built up layers of modelling paste.


The little thistles are machine embroidered silk which I made on my sewing machine a couple of weeks ago.



There is also gold leaf and gold embossing powder, as you know I love my metallics ;)


The sky texture was built up with Gesso and then the raindrop effect was created with cosmic shimmer spray ink.


A huGe thank you to all who have left such fabulous comments and followed me along the challenge.
xxx

Linking to 29 faces
and paint party friday

Thursday 27 February 2014

29 faces 27



Nearly at the end of the 29 face challenge and today something different. 
I had some handmade leaf paper which I bought and then hadn't got round to using.


 I used it as a base for my collaged painting and then digitally put a filter over it to make it look  like old parchment.

Linking to he 29 faces challenge

Wednesday 26 February 2014

29 faces 26



This is a project I stared in the summer, but as many things I didn't finish it so it has remained half done until now. I decides to get a move on so I could complete it as one of my 29 faces.


I found in a charity shop this little wooden heart, it was just plain with a pale blue outer rim. I collaged some napkin daisies onto the rim. I think they look like little pressed daisies. ( I used to love pressing flowers when I was young )


I thought It needed a sweet innocent face. so here is Daisy. This was as far as I got in the summer.
So after a bit of acrylic paint she is finally done!


I added some sparkly jewel centres to the daisies.


Linking to the 29 face challenge
And WOYWW

Tuesday 25 February 2014

29 faces 25


I got my bit of inspiration  for todays face from a friend of mine who is also doing the 29 face challenge. Swirlygirl painted a lovely Matisse lady last week and as I love Matisse I thought I would have a go.
As you can see I gave her a new hairstyle! Although I love Matisse his strong dark lines are not something I normally use, during the challenge I am trying to vary my usual approaches to representing faces and perhaps learn something new along the way!
For the mirror I added a bit of collaged kitchen foil. The original piece is called the Inattentive reader, which I think is a fabulous title for a painting, I wonder what's on her mind?


Linking to 29 faces
Henri Matisse, ‘The Inattentive Reader’ 1919
The original by Matisse 'the Inattentive Reader'


Monday 24 February 2014

29 faces 24


Today something different, a piece inspired by photograph I found of a beautiful Peruvian mask. I love the combination of bright turquoise and red. i found some textured paper and painted direct onto it and then I then wiped the surface and so some of the pattern showed through.

Linking to the 29 face challenge


Sunday 23 February 2014

29 faces 23


A page from my sketchbook, I am working on a large canvas at the moment of a stag and I have been drawing stags recently to help me with the finished canvas. I love the combination of gold and deep red and decided this would work well on a bigger scale.

Linking to 29 faces


Saturday 22 February 2014

29 faces 22


There is music in the air.
A page from my sketchbook, collaged sheet music, gesso and stencilled paint.

Thursday 20 February 2014

29 faces 20/21

graphite, watercolour on paper

Today, two faces ( I am having a break tomorrow )
It is a year now since I wisited Florence and I was looking back at some of my photographs. This painting is inspired by a beautiful fountain in the Boboli gardens of the Pitti palace. I am not sure who the figures made of marble are, the gardens were filled with so many beautiful sculptures I didn't note down all the information, but they look rather sad and wistful.

The original sculpture



I sketched in pencil first and then added a watercolour wash.

detail
I used to paint in watercolour often, I had forgotten how much I love it!

For those who missed my faces this week here is a brief catch up



Linking up to the 29 faces and paint party Friday

Wednesday 19 February 2014

29 faces 19


Today on my workbench another tiny face,


This one is very small, her face is around the size of my little fingernail, but it is a face so she joins my 29 face collection!



I made the mermaid out of airdrying clay a few weeks ago. I painted her in acrylics and stuck her to a plain wooden box which I had painted  cerulean blue.


I put more modelling paste on the box lid and sides, scratching through. The little mirror was bought in a set
from a craftstore



The pack contains several shapes so I have lots left for future projects.


Her hair was made with ranger liquid pearls


Linking to 29 faces
and WOYWW ( what's on your workdesk Wednesday)

Tuesday 18 February 2014

29 faces 18


A personal Challenge thrown into today's face.

I rarely work in monotone, and I really don't like having a white page to work on. I think I find the white rather  frightening and I usually spend a lot  of time on the backgrounds of my pieces, but today's subject suited the monotone look, so I put my colours away and worked only in black and sepia ink.


This little fellow sits on my mantlepiece and is very special to me.
He belonged to my grandmother, or 'Nana' as I called her.
As a child I remember looking into his wise eyes and wondering what he was thinking. I think he is made of some type of earthenware and is probably very old. However all that matters to me is that he is special.


It is strange that we can feel such a strong connection to little objects. Objects that years later still evoke such strong memories.
Do you have your own' little owl' which you too treasure?

linking to the 29 faces

Monday 17 February 2014

29 faces 17

Helen 

Face number 17  and today I used tea bag paper to paint this little face.
I opened up the tea-bag emptied the tea out and stuck it to some watercolour paper.

The teabag absorbed the paint and gives her a very soft look. As the challenge is all about faces I think the face that launched a thousand ships must have been worth celebrating!
The ship was a bit of an afterthought, a napkin which I collaged onto the page, and yes I know it is more like Spanish Armada than Trojan war but it this challenge doesn't allow much time for historical details! :)

Linking to the 29 faces challenge

Sunday 16 February 2014

Saturday 15 February 2014

29 faces 15


Acrylic, pencil, gesso and ink
I initially sketched just in pencil but couldn't resist adding the colour,  :)
Linking to the 29 faces

Friday 14 February 2014

29 faces 14


After finishing and posting two mermaids on Wednesday had a break from posting a face yesterday, but back to the challenge of creating 29 faces in 29 days.

Remember my little cat painting which I posted for day 8 of the challenge?
Well here she is finished.


I used the painting as a base for my collage.


Her name is Misty.


The background has many layers of splattered paint.


The flowers are stencilled with modelling paste and then sprayed with cosmic shimmer spray inks.


I have had a busy week of experiments using lots of different materials to make my faces. Everything from  tea-bags to kitchen foil and clay.
Here they are....



If you want to see how they were made click HERE and scroll down

Linking to 29 faces
And Paint party friday

Wednesday 12 February 2014

29 faces 12/13


I'm doing a double link up today, firstly to the 29 face challenge and secondly to woyww  (whats on your workdesk wednesday)
.
You may remember my mermaid post a couple of weeks ago I introduced the sweet Co-co mermaid collaged onto a plate. Today let me introduce the Slate sisters!


I found these slate plaques a while back in a large craftstore and have been wondering what to do with them.
They are pre-drilled with two holes so they can be easily hung on the wall.


 I attached the mermaids which I made from air drying clay with thick moulding paste and painted them with Acrylics. The shells are real.


This gives you an Idea of scale.


Although their faces are small they hopefully count towards the challenge where I am creating 29 faces in 29 days!

Linking to 29 faces
and WOYWW