1980’s self portrait

Posted on July 30, 2020July 30, 2020 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged 1980's, Art, Blending, Fine Art course, Learning, Life, Oil on canvas, Oils versus acrylics, Painting, self portrait, Youth2 Comments

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Oil on canvas

Forty years ago I was at college learning how to paint. I had lots of fun and did some painting too! I used to paint in oils until I discovered how fast and clean acrylics were a decade or so later. I’m a fast painter but acrylics go off very fast so my style changed somewhat. Instead of mixing colours wet in wet on the canvas I ended up trying to get my colours right on the palette. I think I probably ended up with a more splodgy style until I learnt to blend layers on the canvas.

Plotting an idea

Posted on June 26, 2020June 26, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Drawing, Elements, Fun, ideas. 1980's, Illustration, lexicon, scan, self portrait, ShapesLeave a comment

EPSON MFP image

we have had to create our own lexicon of shapes to create an alphabet. But when we did it we didn’t know what letters we would be given for each challenge. in this case i just have 90 degree and obtuse angles, little squares and moon shapes. How do you fit them together to make a face? And as the subject was a self portrait I didn’t know whether to do something current or a piece based on previous work. In the end I based the final drawing in black and white ink pen, on my 1981 self portrait from when I was a fine art student. The resulting picture doesn’t really resemble the original (not publishing them here) but it was an interesting experiment.

One annoyance is that as I’m using sketchbooks the shadow where the paper does not make proper contact with the glass is really bugging me, I will have to either cut pages out or work out a way of supporting the sketchpad.

I am going to be busy in future so I may visit WordPress a bit less, but I like using this as a diary and sketchbook so I wont be far away.

Face mask

Posted on June 24, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged 1980's, Art, Colours, Cuneo print, Green mask, Oil on canvas, Painting, Red beret, self portrait, Yellow jumperLeave a comment

selfex

I think I painted this self portrait in the early 1980’s. It’s disconcerting seeing my younger self. I used to like to hide my face away sometimes and the green face mask was fun to paint, although I remember it cracking as I painted! I did two versions as a friend bought one of them from a little exhibition I held. The other one has red and white earrings if I remember.

I know this was painted in oils on a homemade canvas. I think it was probably about 1ft square. The background was the pink wall in our room. The picture behind me was of a train by Cuneo. (not sure of the spelling). It was a print my mother got my hubby as he loves trains. I think I wore the red beret and yellow jumper to create some contrast to the green mask.

Three counties open entry.

Posted on June 6, 2020June 6, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Blogging, Entry, Life, Painting, self portrait, Three counties open art exhibition, Virtual exhibitionLeave a comment

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I’ve entered this painting ‘self portrait as a green woman’ to try and get in the local three counties open art exhibition. The pictures will be chosen from submissions made before 27th June. I don’t know if I will get it in,but I am trying. The exhibition will be a virtual one as the pandemic makes it impossible to hold a physical one.

Acrylic on canvas. Wish me luck.

Changing pictures with filters

Posted on June 5, 2020June 5, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Change, Design, Digital art, Filters, Fun, Photo filters, Photodirector, Photoshop, Portrait drawing, self portraitLeave a comment

In this case I drew the image on the left in photoshop years ago it’s me in the style of an Escher drawing. Today it popped up in my memories in Facebook so I decided to see how it would look if I put it through the photodirector app. I used a tool called style. You have a choice of six options, and I think I used the second one for this.

I like the way it concentrates the lines in places and gives it a sharper look. But I do prefer the original… Substance over Style?

Digital selfie, feeling old.

Posted on May 22, 2020May 22, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Apps, Art, Digital art, Filters, Fun, Layout app, Old, Photodirector app, Poem, Poetry, self portrait, Selfie2 Comments

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Oh I do like playing,

Adding apps,

Changing filters,

Learning ways

To alter pictures

Making weird

Wonderful patterns,

Artistic fun.

Just one step more,

Another filter,

I’m twenty years older!

Well maybe…

Edit!

Day 33, what does quarantine mean to you?

Posted on May 21, 2020May 21, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Day 33, Drawing, Life, Quarantine, self portrait, Sketching, Usk challengeLeave a comment

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After several weeks, I’m a bit fed up, and my hair is the longest it’s ever been… But we are coping, I was going to draw my mostly empty fridge. I don’t have much veg….

I enjoy drawing with charcoal pencil. What you lose in definition you gain in character I think. I wasn’t trying for accuracy, but I wanted to depict my mood.

Five more days to go, then I may start doing something else.

Urban Sketchers, draw a selfie…

Posted on March 19, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged 30day challenge, Art, Challenge, Drawing, Fun, Life, Pencil sketch, self portrait, Selfie, Sketchbook, Sketching, Urban sketchers Stoke on trent, What to do while self isolatingLeave a comment

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Selfie’ portrait, including phone and the canvas of a kingfisher it’s propped up on. Old brushes and easle. Background on the phone is a painting I did in about 1982,of my imagined self, so a selfie of a self portrait? Happy to join the challenge. Why is the photo a mirror image to what was on the screen I was drawing?

Oh my double chins! How difficult it is to draw while trying to look over your glasses because I can’t see clearly. I need varifocals, but after spending loads on a pair a few years ago I hated them so much I never wore them again!

Sketching with urban sketchers means including the background and having the image in context. Why not do your own selfie?

Green Woman self portrait

Posted on February 29, 2020 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Design, Fun, Green woman, Leaves, Painting, Playing, self portraitLeave a comment

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Suddenly I’m painting again! I decided to do something with this picture. It was only roughly worked out. I decided I wanted to make a self portrait as a green woman. I used a photo of myself on my phone and overlaid leaves onto it. I don’t know if it’s finished but I liked trying to bring out the shaping and shadows on it.

Sitting in the living room, I should go down the studio, but my cold is worse. Anyway I will work on another partially painted picture.

Got to start painting again

Posted on February 19, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Design, Fun, Green woman, Humour, Imagination, Life, Painting, Portrait, self portrait, Work in progressLeave a comment

_20200219_130113 this is a self portrait I started last year, but haven’t finished. So where best to start when you have been a bit blocked, than to work on something like this.

I want to do a series of ‘green’ portraits. The idea being that I can make a different image that is striking and interesting. Although there is a basic structure done on this I may make a lot of changes. Its definitely a work in progress.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: self portrait