My first assignment piece, which is what Suzi calls a "pretty girl on wood," has kept me busy for the last week and she's not quite done yet. However, I thought this would be a fun place for me to take you through the step-by-step changes as they've happened. I went back yesterday to look through my first few pics and it felt like archeology - uncovering layers and going backward in time - and I realized I'm pleased with the process and the progress.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Because these are Suzi's techniques and she supports herself by teaching them, I'm not in a position to give any more details than I already am below. However, if you're already in the class, you can message me and I'll provide more info).
Wood Fairie - Mixed-Media with Suzi Blu "Les Petites Dolls"
Sketch on wood
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Using Suzi's techniques and a graphite pencil on birch plywood, we learned how to lay out a face, draw eyes & a mouth, and create body gestures. I thought about doing an angel, but she just sort of ended up being more fairie-like.
Wood burning!
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Pencil shading, layer 1
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Background, layer 1; glaze layer 1; pencil shading, layer 2
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Background layer 2, glazing layer 2 and collage layer 1
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More collage, layering, glazing and shading
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Wing details
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- I painted inside the wing margins with light gel medium and carefully placed a single layer of cheesecloth over the top.
- I folded the fabric in toward the middle a little, then used a tongue depressor to gently scrape off the excess medium.
- AFTER the gel medium dried (30 min), I used the hotknife attachment on my woodburner to cut away the excess cheesecloth.
- I brought out the texture with a black watercolor pencil, then glazed over the wings with Golden Artist Liquid "Interference Red (fine)" mixed with glazing medium.
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She's almost finished. The flowers and leaves need to be brought "down" a little with some matte glaze, I want to do some stenciling and stamping over the top, and the dress hasn't "spoken" to me just yet. It needs something, I am just waiting to discover what that is!
So here's my resistance to taking the class AKA my long-ass response to Krissi calling me out :)
ReplyDeleteWhile one of my goals for this year was to get over my fear of drawing, and I fully admit this does seem like a good, safe way to do it. I just started law school and am nervous about adding another project to my already busy life. I don't want to be one of those people who refuses to put themselves out there, to learn new skills, and to try new things; BUT I'm also trying not to overload myself the first month of law school. I think I'm going to have to wait for round two of the class.
Acceptable excuse?
This looks really great! You have me intrigued! Are you encouraged to stick with a certain style, or could I draw more cutesy pink things if I wanted? I bought some wooden plaques to paint on but they are sitting un-used...this class might be just the thing I need to motivate me! Now all I need is time...
ReplyDeleteKiff - yep, law school is a totally acceptable excuse! Oddly enough, I'm using my busy 'art' life as an excuse to NOT go to law school (I've wanted to since High School). Oh well!
ReplyDeleteAmy - YOU CAN PAINT ANYTHING YOU WANT! You start off doing stuff using her drawing style, but it really quickly moves to a techniques class and everyone's drawings start to look really individual. Do we have you?