portraits

May 14, 2013 by Tara 5 Comments

Still no full size paintings to report {not for lack of going up to the studio and staring at all the canvases}, but I’m keeping up a fairly steady stream of sketchbook activity. Really enjoyable for short bursts of creativity; I especially like to draw in the evenings, maybe watching something on Netflix…

If you follow me on Instagram you may’ve seen some of these. Sorry about that.

This is a drawing from a photo of my friend Ames. Looks not one bit like her but I am happy for my reference images to be just that ~ reference. If I tied myself into accurate copying I’d go mad because quite frankly I can’t do it.

This is Kristen Scott Thomas’s eye. But you knew that because it’s such a good likeness. This was the joyful day that I discovered a new love: the blending stick. I can’t tell you why but I find it deeply satisfying to use.

Gesso over crayons. The bird was just to get a shape down so i could play with the mediums. {media?} I scratched the stars in with a screw; muy satisfying.

I love how making art while watching or listening to something can remind you of that thing every time you look at the art afterwards. This one was done while watching Hope Springs, which I don’t recommend really.

A quick charcoal on a watercolour background. I’m sure it should be illegal to be able to make something that pleases your eye in about ten minutes.

I drew this feather while on the beach {love it when i remember my pens down there}. I’ve made several more since. It’s very therapeutic, drawing on stones. I also like to hunt for the stones. You turn up all sorts of treasures.

Filed Under: sketchbook, sketches Tagged With: drawing on stones, drawings, feather, portraits, sketchbook, sketchbook pages

October 23, 2012 by Tara 2 Comments

Today, in what may or may not become a new feature, depending on my whim and what I find that inspires me to try a technique or idea, I am sharing some drawings I did after being inspired by another artist. In this case, Rebecca McFarland.

After seeing Rebecca’s one line drawings, I thought, YEAH, I could definitely do more little things like this to keep my creativity ticking over. Since I don’t feel like engaging in an obstacle course every time I want to paint in my studio, {still full of boxes while I wait to move}, I have been setting up art camp on the coffee table some evenings.

Sometimes I just doodle or colour in, but sometimes I want something at least a bit more challenging and focused to get my teeth into. These one line drawings are perfect for when you don’t really know what to do but want to make marks and use colours.

Well my efforts do not seem to be the elegant and enigmatic portraits that Rebecca has produced. Mine all look either like they had a worrying accident or like a child with access to only very bright colours did them. Actually I hate them {although the dog’s quite cute}. The faces seem crude and sinister to me.

BUT, I enjoyed the process of doing them, and I can definitely use the one line drawing technique in future paintings.

{crappy lighting alert. better get used to this for the next however many months.

especially since my most artistic time is night time.}

Filed Under: art development, creativity, drawing, portraits, sketchbook Tagged With: dog, doodling, drawing, faces, flowers, one line drawings, portraits, quote, rebecca mcfarland, thoreau quote

April 5, 2012 by Tara

If you’re a regular round here you’ll already know I love Canada based artist Maria Pace-Wynters‘ vibrant, beautiful paintings. I was recently so inspired by her style of portraiture that I was moved to create a painting of my own in a similar vein.

Like many of us, she has been making art since childhood, and also perhaps like many of us found that growing up led her away from the natural spontenaity and non judgement of childhood creating, that ‘life’ just sort of took over. Thankfully she didn’t let it stop her! She includes this quote on both her website and Etsy shop profile as a great reminder:

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.
Pablo Picasso

Apart from the glorious colours, I really admire how she has perfected the balance between loose lines and colour patches, and detailed focused areas.

Also her heavenly, voluptuous flowers and foliage, particularly poppies. There is something so luxurious and decadent about her paintings.

As a mother her daughters are clearly a source of inspiration to her ~ many of her paintings feature impish young faces. The circus is also a common theme.

She has plenty of options available in her Etsy shop, from originals to postcards and art print blocks.

Filed Under: art, artists, love it, portraits Tagged With: love it, maria pace wynters, mixed media artists, portraits

March 23, 2012 by Tara 7 Comments

I have a secret wish to paint faces. Good ones I mean. In my head I know exactly how they would come out, but outside my head they tend not to…

This video has me mesmerised, not just by the end result but by how the painting comes together apparently effortlessly, layer upon layer, light to dark. I love the combination of loose and drippy and tight and perfect. I tried something similar myself after watching it; suffice to say no human being will ever lay eyes on that one!