Quote for the day

"Be who you are, and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." 
                                      ~Theodore Seuss Geisel aka Dr. Seuss

Another self portrait

On this one I actually used paint!!!  I printed a photo of myself onto watercolor paper, but I forgot to set the ink from the printer prior to painting....so had some smearing.  I let that dry, then went over everything with Shiva oil sticks. That step saved the day. Now after it's all dry, I'll go back in and do some shading, although without the smile and frown lines I look sooooooooo much younger.  You know what.........I'm gonna leave it like this.
It's who I am, not how I look........better yet, young is how I feel!!!!!

getting to know you (sing along, for those of you old enough to remember this tune, GREG)

 A self portrait...............self explanatory...........I hope.
Well understood by my artisan friends and family. All of whom are only too familiar, in the deepest sense, that creating opens up a wellspring of every emotion known to man ~ since the beginning of time.
Below you'll find my self portrait, along with a comment from such a friend, clearly expressing....my expression, even better than I can ;)

"i love this sketch, Gloria... we all have darkness and light inside of us... taken together this is what makes us whole... and the truth is... there IS angst, struggle, frustration, fear, and sadness right alongside the optimism, brightness, and joy... and at any one time we take a snapshot of ourselves in self portrait we have an opportunity to ...  get to know all those parts of ourselves and each other that much better... what a wonderful thing!... i welcome all those parts of you... this is beautifully done... i'm very glad to be getting to know more of you... :)"

Joanne...I hope you don't mind.  It's just that we relate so well, in words, and in pictures. Thank you for that.

I could say I've been super busy and hard at work, but that would, in part, be a fib.  I have been busy, but not with work  ;)

Art is not to do with the practical side of making a living.  It’s to have a fuller human life---Henry Moore

Well after many attempts at painting Mystic, I've put it aside.  Making my own flesh tone colors using the acrylic paints ends  up looking muddy.
So instead of giving up entirely,  I went on to complete another one of Misty's assignments. This one was to sketch and paint a portrait using only monochromatic tones.  I used raw umber, titanium white, and a tiny bit of paynes gray. This was great practice, because of the amount of shading involved, having to create the effect of light and dark, and reaching for 2dimensional features - with actual paint that dries sooooooooooooo quickly.  That's where I'm getting stuck. 

Pencil on paper now seems like a piece of cake.  Eraser in hand, and you can change anything.  Acrylic paints.....not so much.   hmph
Anywayssss, not a total loss.

Mystic Circle

That's the title I'm going to give this piece.  First off.......that's how I feel about this group of artisans that I'm taking this journey with.  There is so much energy, creativity, passion and goodwill going around... I can't quite put it into words, so I'll put it into heART work.
She is my interpretation of "The head of a young girl" by William Adolph Bouguereau.  I've taken the liberty of adding a halo...to represent the spirituality of speaking through art, and the unity and new friendships established in this circle of tremendous talent.
                                      Here is the sketch.  Tomorrow I'll paint.......using acrylics.

                                                   Mystic circle

Painted Lady

I SHIVAD at the thought of using the SHIVA oil sticks and all in all........it was a darn good time. My fellow classmates are creating amazing portraitures, but our site is private, so I can't share anyone else's work, or at least...I don't think I can.
Anywhoooo.........shout out to MISTY for bringing us all together.

new assignement

The photo, provided by Misty. The sketch, done by me. Tomorrow the finished painting...done using Shiva oil sticks.  I had more oil paint on my hands than on the canvas ;-)

Paper collage portrait

Thanks to Misty's incredible videos and art, Donna Goffs post featuring Derek Gores..it provided the final push I needed. Here is my collage. Just crudely hand torn pieces of paper, glued down, late into the night, filled with much emotion. There is... no painting and I'm leaving it as is, still requiring lots of work. Symbolic... how I've been feeling of late. Blue, dark, yet optimistic.
We hold THE key.

Mona Lisa

Let me first start by apologizing to DaVinci, and Mona Lisa, but then again, in my defense..........if I could truly capture her, we would have to declare it a miracle.  I've also sketched out my rendition of a John Waterhouse portrait titled Destiny.  The assignments this week are to create and paint our own versions of Mona Lisa, and another sketch.  Wish me luck.  A painter I'm not.

                                       Mona Lisa

                                                                                                     Destiny

fehKLIMPT

One of this weeks lessons was to paint a portrait using only a black Stabilo pencil, and white titanium paint.  The idea is to bring out the features by building up layers of gray and white over the black. This was much harder than I had anticipated.  As you can see...if you look closely, I reworked it so much that the paper became wavy, and it started peeling away on her lips :-O 
Regardless....I had a great time doing it, and I hope to make many more.  I love the simplicity of just the two colors. 

This is a scan of the painting I tried to follow, a Klimpt of course

It's Friday already!!! Is it me? Is it age? How can the hours in a day fly by so quickly??? One minute it's noon, and the next it's two days later. OK.....that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it often feels that way!
What to make of this?
Here's a quote that -for me- quickly put things into perspective...... 

Mary O'Connor: Philosophy Quotes
It's not so much how busy you are, but why you are busy. The bee is praised. The mosquito is swatted.

                                                                                

Sketching, sketching, and more sketching

I'm in portrait workshop heaven.  The talent in this class is mind boggling.  I could easily allow myself to feel intimidated, but instead I'm feeling totally inspired. I started sketching while I was quite young, but never learned the proper techniques, and, or about all the different types of pencils and papers. Well I'm learning that now, or shall I say.....trying!!!!
Misty has opened up a humongous vault of knowledge to us, and has presented quite the challenge as well. I can't thank her enough.
Who would have thought that shading and shadowing would pose such a query, but indeed it has for me. The right side of my brain wants to shut down every time I get my lighting just so.

Here are a few photo's of my feeble attempts.  I know, I know..... it looks as though she has some swelling over her right eye.

Now for my egg.............or should I say egg on my face?????  This is Egglands Best -  in the raw.

This is my attempt at sketching it

Lemons anyone??????

Workshop photo's

Today began Misty's online portraits workshop.  This weeks assignment is pencil sketching using graphite and charcoal.  I am beyond thrilled with this class so far, and it's just the beginning.

Here are photo's of my attempts at sketching a face using the grid method.  Then shading in according to how the light is reflected.

the fourth dimension

Time XXI by Khalil Gibran

And an astronomer said, "Master, what of Time?"
And he answered:
You would measure time the measureless and the immeasurable.
You would adjust your conduct and even direct the course of your spirit according to hours and seasons.
Of time you would make a stream upon whose bank you would sit and watch its flowing.
Yet the timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness,
And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream.
And that that which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space.

Who among you does not feel that his power to love is boundless?

And yet who does not feel that very love, though boundless, encompassed within the center of his being, and moving not from love thought to love thought, nor from love deeds to other love deeds?
And is not time even as love is, undivided and paceless?
But if in you thought you must measure time into seasons, let each season encircle all the other seasons,
And let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing.

To every living thing upon this earth....may your boundless love unabashedly express itself, always, in all ways . Peace, harmony, and good will, from my heART to yours.