New paintings and regular art updates.
I had my hair cut on Monday so I added a fringe to my self portrait then I tidied up the chin. Finally I finished the painting on the right side of the portrait. My hair is still long as I grew it out during covid. Now I just have it trimmed occasionally. It’s slightly different to my usual style. The acrylics I used were not as opaque as I normally use so I think it looks more like a watercolour.
I’m involved in the Penkhull Mystery Plays and we had a read through of the whole play yesterday. I just decided to doodle what I think the main baddie in the play could look like. Her hair is a tangle of flowers and weeds and twigs. Sharp faced, but without the beak of a nose and hooked chin of traditional depictions of witches. She’s more punk than ancient. I could imagine piercings and tattoos too.
I washed my hair earlier. My towel is a bit stiff because I don’t use softener in the machine, so when I wrapped it round my head it stuck out! I laughed when I saw myself in the mirror. I took a photo but I was in silhouette so I tried to lighten it and reduce the contrast. Then I put the picture through my photodirector app which can add texture…. This is the result.
What technology would you be better off without, why?
Expensive hair curlers that cost the Earth, but don’t do much better than cheaper ones. The cost and power they use must be excessive for people with low incomes. The fact that they often come in “exclusive” colours so they can charge more is ridiculous.
The amount of effort to make something use the Coanda effect to pull hair round onto a heated surface? Is it worth the effort? I wonder.
How would you describe yourself to someone who can’t see you?
It’s like me but not. My friend gave me glorious hair, a wry smile, intelligent eyes. I think I’ve been Vikingized!
In reality, I’m short fattish and hairy. Given to grumpy faces. My forehead is not wrinkled but I have a down turned mouth. And skin? I have enough blemishes such as moles, that I could qualify as a witch! I’d like to shrink further not vertically, but horizontally. My body let’s me down physically, shaking and twisting, uneven and unsteady.
But the outside doesn’t count, it’s what is in your mind that matters.
Mares tails over head
Flying out across the sky
Fluttering, fraying
Splitting and plaited
Spreading across the blue
Mares tails, mares manes,
Weather vanes
Foretelling Rain.
Argh! I started putting eyelets on the back of my paintings and the paint started to flake off! I don’t know why, but I think because it’s a different type of canvas. So I repainted the patches where it came off. Then I had the ‘brilliant’ idea to varnish it.
First get the top off the varnish bottle. It’s one of those push down and twist types. That took half an hour. Then paint it on. But one of my hairs fell on it! I tried to lift off the hair and the paint flaked again. So, a few more dabs of paint mixed in with the varnish. It was due in today. It might not get there! And I’m left with gummy hands.
I’m in another group of artists who come u with challenges to post to every week. The pictures don’t have to be recent (thankfully). This was for #safari, I painted it about four years ago and it went to the local ‘Lions’ club which is a local charity. What else can I say? It’s acrylic on canvas, about A4 size. I don’t paint every single hair or piece of fur, but I try and get an impression of how the animal looks. I generally do cat and dog portraits but am not too bad at most animals x
I need a haircut! It’s been two years since my last one and my hair is all split ends and straggly. It means that I shall have to have about four inches cut off because I like the length. Its taken me decades to get it this long! Plus I need a fringe cutting back in. These days I look like a dandelion. Very fluffy like an old English shepherd dog when it’s washed. I’m not showing my face, and I’ve added texture to my hair, it’s never been sleek and shiny, but as I get older it had got more like hay!
I experimented with a sunset sky and added texture to it. Then I added some flood fill colours on a low tolerance so they didn’t spread far. Finally I used a sketching app to add the face and hair. I called it atomic because it reminds me of cloud chamber patterns, the patterns of electrons and Cosmic rays make as they pass through cold wet air.
Mallaband-Brown