Preload Preload Preload Preload Preload Preload Preload Preload Preload Preload Preload
Watercolor: Eleanor

Posted on March 9, 2010 at 1:42 am, in Photography & Art

Sorry for my absence; about two weeks ago I hit a sort of “low” and due to severe insomnia/weight loss I deemed it best to focus on recovery (aka lots of mcflurries, crying, and Haruki Murakami) rather than blogging.

And in the end, I bring you a well-timed painting that I think adequately reflected my mood during the time in which it was painted. This time, I remembered to take photographs of my progress. As always, the painting is not quite finished, but it is definitely at a point worth posting.

1
The yellow is liquid resist, which is used to a) preserve extremely white highlights (since the paper will ALWAYS be the whitest highlight… even whiter than gouache), and sharp edges (in this case, for the gold clasps and the suspenders).
Workdesk includes: watercolor palette, coffee cup of water, pack of menstrual relief pills LOL, and more nonsense…

2
Peeled away some liquid resist to tackle first suspender, and laid down first wash of skirt. This is where I started freaking out – the black came out TOTALLY cloudy and definitely not what I had in mind. Realistically I should’ve expected this but I was somehow hoping for the sheer tulle of the skirt to automatically paint itself. Also added: darker skin shading

3

4

The current product, which is still not finished:

final

And for those interested, the photo reference:

la belle dame sans merci

Comments (6)

Tags: ,

 

 

 

Paintings: Jas, Julia

Posted on February 28, 2010 at 5:47 am, in Photography & Art

Jas
Jas

julia
Julia

Love Jas, but Julia did not turn out as planned. Hopefully my next one will be better!

Comments (13)

Tags:

 

 

 

In-Progress Watercolor, girl at chair

Posted on February 9, 2010 at 7:22 pm, in Photography & Art

In-Progress Watercolor

Piano

This painting is still a work-in-progress! When working with watercolors, I have such a difficult time pushing dark values because I fear putting down something that I can’t take off the paper. So I predict about ten additional layers of paint with this one, haha.

Comments (26)

Tags:

 

 

 

まぐろ (ma·gu·ro)

Posted on February 3, 2010 at 12:11 am, in Photography & Art

Sorry that I’ve been terrible about posting lately. Uni has resumed and of course I’m swamped with work and reading. Here’s a painting that I finished on Monday:

Maguro

Maguro
(Closeup)

It’s entitled 鮪, read “Maguro” (the Japanese word for “tuna”). It will be part of a series of at least ten paintings that I complete throughout the semester, related to women’s sensuality. I was kind of underwhelmed by this one, but you know, you win some you lose some. Hopefully my next painting will be better.

Comments (14)

Tags:

 

 

 

Recent Watercolor Paintings

Posted on December 8, 2009 at 8:13 pm, in Photography & Art

Here are some recent paintings I’ve done for my watercolor class. I received the highest marks on all of them, and even had a few of them on display for a while, but seeing them on my computer makes me so upset! So much is lost when a painting is photographed and edited for the web. Before I stick ‘em in my portfolio, I’ll be sure to photograph them during a brighter time of the day. BUT! Until then, here’s what I’ve been up to lately.

Diptych
Click to enlarge.

For a diptych assignment, I juxtaposed two photographs I’d taken, and decided to paint a light study. I don’t consider myself an impressionist; I prefer painting objects rather than just light. However, because watercolor is such a transparent media, I do enjoy giving a lot of attention to light and the way it plays off of surfaces and people. I was particularly upset with the way this photograph came out, because the colors are uneven (both images in real life have an identical color palette).

DiptychCloseup

At the moment, I’ll only offer a preview of this series, as the photos were just TOO dark. A few weeks ago, I had to paint three paintings (simultaneously) in a series. For this particular one, I chose my father’s old football helmet (circa the turn of the 20th century). Although these paintings were composed using a camera, I was able to reference the actual subject as I worked, which helped tremendously when I decided to bring in non-local colors and textures.

Football helmet

football helment
Closeup of my favorite from the series.

For my final project, which I’ve just proposed today, I’m doing a painting (scaled 90inx22in) in the style of an ancient Japanese ink painting. The Japanese are known for pioneering a method of painting perspective, known as “atmospheric perspective.” This particular style creates depth by employing washed out colors and blurred objects in the background, with more detail and contrast in the foreground. I’ve also written a short haiku in Japanese to match with it. I’m still working on placement of the text and composition, so any suggestions and criticisms are welcome!

Fox in the Snow
Click to enlarge.
雪の中
で狐、あいつ
嘘作る
fox in the snow, that rascal tells lies
Haiku is also a work in progress, but this is draft and the gist of the painting

Closeup

Comments (11)

Tags: , ,

 

 

 

Bundling Up

Posted on December 5, 2009 at 5:30 pm, in Fashion, Photography & Art

A few days ago, snowfall hit Dallas pretty unexpectedly, and although it melted just as quickly as it fell, the freezing (or just above) temperatures have persisted. Winter came, literally, overnight. I’ve actually had to start bundling up, which is something of a hassle.

winter sun
Faux fur coat, $19 from Patricia Field (last winter)

Fox in the Snow
A watercolor illustration-montage I’m working on, entitled Fox in the Snow (inspired by the Belle & Sebastian song)

Comments (12)

Tags: ,