My love is brilliant, my love is pure....
So I'm coming back into blogging. Why? Because I'm thinking about maybe putting my body of work "OUT THERE" more. Meaning...out for the public and the WORLD to view it. I tend to shy away from myself. While I can look at my artwork and think that maybe...it's not to bad, I still don't know if it's worth sharing with the world or not.
But I do think I am finding my own voice.
So let me tell you about this piece. I do a lot of my work while I'm...working. I know this probably isn't the BEST of ideas for my professional career, but that's when I often have time. There are no kids around, the house is quiet and I can drag out my paints without having to constantly interrupt myself with "NO! STOP THAT! DO NOT CLIMB UP THAT FIREPLACE!"
You know how it is right? Kids...
I work from home and a lot of my work is done telephonically. So oftentimes my hands are free to sketch, doodle and play around with some of my cleaner media. Lately though, I've been dragging out my Portfolio watersoluable oil pastels. I find myself starting a sketch with them, then layering on other colors, all to be blended with just the heat of my fingers...and maybe a water brush. With this piece though, I reached for my watercolor crayons.
Caran D'ache watercolor crayons are hands down MY FAVORITE "splurge" art supply. I love how easily they spread across the page, and yet you can go back in to make the color more opaque by using the crayon...as a crayon. I love having a huge range of colors at my fingertips (I splurged for the BIG set). I love how I can get in with them and add tiny details. I love how a little of them goes a LONG way. I love them.
So I started this cat sketching her out in an orange shade, then started layering in yellows, oranges and reds to create some dimension. I blended using my finger as well as a water brush, and I went back over that when it was dry with more crayon to darken further. For the back ground I rubbed crayon all over then watered it down, adding areas of gesso to soften the colors and create a sort of "haze" to everything. One of my other favorite techniques is to pounce a paper towel with a dab of gesso on it over and over to give a sort of cloudy blobby look. (Blobby is a very technical term...)
That being said, let me speak a moment on Gesso. My boyfriend/partner has us on a very strict budget. While I'm 100% on board with it, we need to pay off some bills and get some things squared away financially, it's cut back on my splurging BIG TIME. So I've been trying to A. use only what I have on hand. and B. find cheap and workable alternatives. I like golden gesso and I thought it was the be all and end all. But I've found something else....Martha Stewart.
I can hear the gasps of horror around the room. I can see people falling off their chairs.
Hear me out.
No, Martha Stewart's brand of "Primer/Gesso" is NOT a apples to apples replacement for golden brand gesso. But is IS a replacement. And a passable one for what I do with it. It comes in a tube of 5 ounces. It's priced around $5.99 but I got it on sale for $3 at some big-box craft store (I don't remember which). What I like about it is that I can squeeze out a little or I can glob out a lot. It's transparent so if you've going for coverage...you'll have to apply more than one layer. But I like that. It drys feeling slightly chalky and not at all plastic, which is something I DISLIKE about Golden. (Golden, to me, feels heavy on the page when dry and has a bit of a plastic feel, which I find tends to make my pages stick together).
The other gesso I like is liquitex. I like that it also comes in a bottle that is squeezable and you can find it in black, white and clear. The clear really leaves a gritty rough surface for you to work on, which is good...and bad...depending on the effect you're going for. Liquitex is also a bit more reasonably priced by comparison. But for now it's still out of my budget so I'll stick with the el cheapo brand.
I sometimes will gesso a page...sometimes not. I use all different kinds of journals. (My boyfriend teased me because I was working on three...at the same time). The cat is done in a hardbound sketchbook from Michael's: "artists loft" which I believe is their store brand. The paper in it is just your basic 60lb sketch paper, but with a light coating of the Martha Stewart gesso, I found it can take a licking. What I don't like about it is I'm only 1/4 of the way into it and the cover is starting to bow and warp. I know...it was cheap. But still, I'm not sure I can finish it at this rate:
I also am using a Stillman and Birns wirebound sketchbook . This was a christmas gift from my boyfriend and a bit of a splurge..but a real joy to work in! The paper is thick and lovely and the cover is nice and heavy.
No comments:
Post a Comment