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I bought more memory for my pc and now I can scan and work with the images in a few minutes where it took sometimes an 1hr. I need large files because I'm printing them and sometimes working with them crashed my pc. Well, no more. Which is why I'm posting my before pix - it's easy.
And these are all 6x8 not exactly a wall mural but baby steps toward the old 8x10 goal.
Walter is dedicated to my friend dbd's brother - whose name is Walter of course. An really nice guy. And Walter is also the name of a character in my favorite Dicken's novel - Dombey and Son. Walter goes on a sea journey and is lost but finally finds his way.
And in answer to Laura's comment on when I use the background stamps - I always pick the stamp last so it will go with the drawing, even the name comes before the stamp..
This is Coco M. and these are the stages of her existence. Most people think these are watercolor but you know better right? This first one is where I put down the first layer of a light skin tone. And then a shade darker with some lilac.
And then the start on the hair, again with a lighter shade.
And then I darken the hair.
.And then the clothing and more colors in the skin.
And then some background colors
And then more background and a stamp background for the final Coco.
I use mostly Copic Markers and all markers bleed. I use card stock because ... well it's cheap. Bleedproof paper costs alot more. And I actually like the bleed. I really don't like perfect. And I think it was C'est Chic who commented on someone else's blog about the beauty of imperfection.
Say hello to Evangeline. She's 14 and a very young sister but not the youngest. I'm working my way to the baby of the family.
On a different topic - I showed some drawings to someone at work (will I never learn). And of course they said " you don't know how to draw breasts" and "why is the skin that color?". So of course that got me thinking about what kind of drawings I want to do. A part of me really would like to be able to draw from real life, to draw people that look real and bottles that were right in front of me instead of in my head. But I realized my talent doesn't go in that direction. I know I could practice and acquire that skill but then it would be skill and not talent. And really there are alot more talented people out there who can do that far better then I ever could.
So what do I want to draw? I like the drawing part - I really love lines squiggly and straight. It's color though that drives me. I remember watching TV as a kid and wondering at the intensity of the colors. I thought that grass was never that perfectly green and the sky that blue and intense - at least not in my world. But I wished they were. I wanted to live in that color. Did you ever see Little Man Tate? It's a wonderful movie about a child genius with Jody Foster as the mother (and director). There's a scene where the boy is looking at Van Gogh drawing of flowers in a field. He said sometimes he dreams and wakes up in that picture. I instantly knew what he felt like.
I'm never going to draw as well as most of the people in my links to the right. But I know how to use color so when I look at it I smile. And if I practice maybe I to get that response from other people. It's like having a nice, quiet conversation with the world.
Jeanne is named for Modigliani's fiance who committed suicide the day after he died. She was 24 and pregnant with their 2nd child. Sad life. This is the colored version of the Lady without a Name below.
Been so busy with work and getting postcards in the mail didn't draw anything last night or tonight (ooooh). Except this sketch. Hopefully I'll color it tomorrow. Since she has no color, she has no name yet.
"Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in". C'est chic has some quotes from American Beauty on her blog and of course the name is from there as well.
This is Coriandre. She and her sisters are now in my shop as a set. You can purchase them individually or as a set of 4 at a discount (my little attempt at marketing).
These ladies are really family so I'm reposting them together. I'd like to do one more and have them as a set in the shop - Rose, Lovely Cynthia and Eden.
