June 23, 2008
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Work In Progress (almost finished)
11:00 AM
Ok, here we go. I'll be updating this entry, every 15-30 minutes or so, as I add more and more to may new painting. Right now it's a large, intimidatingly BLANK canvas just chillin' on my easel. But i work fast so it shouldn't take too long.
First i need a few things, which i took the liberty of photographing earlier:
The Canvas, of course.
Lots of Paint. I ain't picky. I buy the 50 cent stuff at AC Moore, heh.
Paintbrushes (while i'm cheap on paint, i will spend major dineros on these. I'll also use whatever's at the hardware store, though, haha.)
Clean water. Two jars, because i'm lazy and i hate getting up to get clean water.
I wash & save all my styrofoam trays, they make handy paint palettes : )
Some serious moxie, and a large brush, haha
11:30 AM
Let's start with some teal paint....
Squirt some right on there.....
Get the brush wet:
spread it around.....
New color!
Working fast now.... i haven't even rinsed off my brush.
Interesting.
12:00 PM
Canvas is all covered. I have conquered the white!
because i work fast, it's still wet, though, so if i want to add anything else the paint will turn to mud.
I am impatient, so i got out my hairdryer.
The rabbit wants to know what all the ruckus is about.
Then i threw on some bright green.
What do you think so far?
12:40 PM I feel like making a mess.
Here's a trick: get the brush REALLY WET:
Then glop the water all over some fresh paint, and let it run down the canvas.
Mmm, drippy.
1:10 PM But it still needs something.....
How about a bronze border?
And then some blue paint, for a little punch....
And then i added some purple. Here's the finished underpainting.
1:50 PM
Time for spraypaint! whee!
Let's not spazz out on paint fumes TOO MUCH, k?
Golden microcosms.
Goldfinger!
Splatterpainty! like supernovas and stardust.
Told you i work fast!
2:30 PMThis is going a little slower than usual, because have to stop and take photos and edit/ upload them. But i'm enjoying documenting my process, so.
Anyways. Time to draw something.
These remind me of nerve endings. I like scientific / organic forms.
And a figure begins to emerge......
3:20 PM
Kept you in suspense, huh? i started fleshing out some details.
I had a moment of inspiration right here.... what to do with the other arm....? I like to make my stuff a little edgy, but not too serious. At first i thought it would be an angel, but that's wicked cheesy.
I thought maybe it would be interesting to have the figure holding some balloons. That lead to ->Helium-> Molecules. And then my brain went all haywire, and the concept came together. Just like that. Just now.
An expression takes shape.
firming up some linework:
4:20 PMTime for black paint, and a fine brush:
Painting in the linework
There she is.
the linework is finished....
I started filling up the balloons : )
5:10 PMCan't let the girl go nekkid, now can we?
All smiles....
Painting in some flesh tones:
And some vivid hair!
It's getting there.....
Hey, remember when this was WHITE?? hehe.
6:15 PM look what a mess i made. yeesh.
Girl can't go out without her makeup.
Check out the copper & gold highlights.
Touching up the lines i smudged....
Adding some details:
Ready for her closeup....
Almost finished!
I'm going to add a few details here and there, along the molecule/ helium theme. Maybe some diagrams drawn in the background.
Now that i look at her, she eerily resembles a girl i worked with at the gallery, which is kind of funny.
So, i'm kinda tired. I'm going to take a break for a bit and have some dinner, and later tonight i'll post the completed painting! Thank you so much to everybody who came by and cheered me on and put up with my gazillion pictures, hahaha. This was so much fun! You guys are awesome.
11:25 PMSo, WOW. I am tireder than i thought, and it's dark out so the light in the studio sucks, so I decided to hold off on adding more until tomorrow. I will be adding a few more details to the piece because it's nagging at me, it's not really finished. I mean, it could go on forever and ever, but there are still a few elements which I'd like to tweak.
Here's another photo of the piece; and a goofy one of me after i got all cleaned up to go out to dinner.
(Notice Matt's handpainted robot clocks in the background; we're both super artsy, hahaha.... clockzilla.etsy.com! )Aside from that, I can't even tell you how fantastic it is to get all this wonderful feedback from you guys, plus all the discourse about art and creativity that's been happening. So! Awesome!
Next monday is also an art day, so if you guys want to see more of me painting in my studio, I'm all for it. Be there or be square! I'd really like to do this kind of thing regularly, and maybe throw in a few contests / giveaways/ tutorials in the future. I am totally open to ideas, so bring em on! : )
Comments (45)
Go Banani Go!!
@jessums - ohmigosh! it's so cool you're here. it's almost like having you two doors down again, hahaha <3
You are so stinkin' adorable.
I kinda do in a way, I'm prolly two towns over in Lynn. I have the day off, and am working on a painting too... so it's like we're working together in the studio hahaha.
I spend my money on good pigments and use cheapo brushes...
I think I need a hair dryer. Are all girls supposed to own hair dryers? People seem surprised when they find out I don't...
I just want to see what you put on that background.
@jessums - yay! paintings! take a picture of yours when you're done!!
@oceanstarr - yeah, i should probably be fussier about paint than brushes. I think it's because i'm an illustrator; you don't worry as much about preserving the original because it's mostly just going to be reproduced in print.
Now little cheapo brush hairs stuck in my paint? And yucky brush strokes? That makes me batshit insane.
I use my hair dryer for all kinds of stuff, and i'm not even that girly. Mostly for drying paint and chasing the rabbit around with, though.
me likey!
@moontree_studios - lol... I really LOVE good pigments... I agree with you about the illustrator point of view. That's what actually popped in my head when I saw all your paints (photographed very nicely I might add).
I thought about you the other day... I was at the WalMart and I saw a pack of Sharpies that must have had 20 colors! I didn't have time to drool too long, but I was really surprised that they had a pack that big. Yeah... putting that on my birthday list. I guess Sharpies are now an art tool and not just markers LOL.
I have some nice brushes for certain purposes, but they wear out so fast that I still buy the cheaper ones... You know... there are the REALLY cheap ones (which I don't use often because the hairs fall out too much) and then there are the cheap ones that work ok, but aren't super incredible. I get the middle quality type.
I love cheap brushes and awesome liquitex acrylic paint. I also use a hairdryer, as I am also impatient. No heat, just air. Big fans are good too. I get the cheap pack o brushes on sale at Michaels all the time. I don't feel as bad cutting those to angles and sizes I want... instead of buying $30 brushes that I will inevitably leave in the water overnight and ruin. I paint till I'm falling asleep, then everything stays where it is... same with scrapbooking. Markers, forget it, glue sticks... forget it. They live with me for about a day and then they are left open and dry the next day.
"I...Art?!"
@oceanstarr - yeah. like Edward Gorey? you should see his stuff in person. It's a freaking mess, it's all patched up and cut and pasted. but you'd never know from his published works.
Sharpie love love love <3 I just got a set of the double-tipped colored ones, lust!
@jessums - Dude, you should so totally see my art stash. We could have such fun, it's ridonkulous.
Ya, I dunno how i feel about liquitex. Sometimes it's too slippery, and then once i had this goddamned tube of purple that had zilch for pigment, and wouldn't cover anything. i like Golden acrylics, tho. And I do have nice paint, which i throw in as necessary..... but not when i'm working BIG.
Plus i'm a lazy ass! hahaha.
dood are you really gonna do this every monday? because it's totally worth getting out of bed for. i love your stuff, and watching it happen is rad.
@CrapeDiem - Thanks! That is so awesome to hear. I'm having fun, even though it's taking a long-ass time.
I'm thinking i need a video camera, then i can do a live feed video of me painting every monday or something.
That would probably mean having to get out of my pajamas though, bahaha.
This is exciting!!!
amazing.
go banani go go go!!!
I love love love where you're going with this!!! You're making me want to paint again dammit. I don't have time for painting today. That's not on my schedule! yar...
that's so beautiful! you work MUCH faster than I do. It's awesome to see your process
i love it!
Loveses! Is byootiful. Oh how I miss high school art classes...
@MuertaVida - thanks! I actually work even faster than this, but i kept stopping to take photos and organize/ upload them. I'm going on 7 1/2 hours; i'd prolly do this in about 4, normally : )
Ah, I love it!
Watching this process today, watching as this gorgeous picture unfolded, was truly amazing.
I adore the finished product. She has the sweetest face.
Thanks.
Wonderful!
I also love your smile!
That was a lot of fun
Thanks for going through all the effort to take us along for the ride!
fuck, i missed it. stupid work. this would be awesome if you did this every monday. you can totally paint in your pajamas, no one would mind.
spectacular!
floored.
this was such a treat thanks so much for sharing!
Fantastic! I love your colors. Very me. You know I still have that silly flying monkey you drew me back in the day. Love it:) Thanks banani! That was such a good idea! Very fun! I love seeing your process, I don't think I ever saw anything of yours until it was completely finished! xo
amy's right. and if you painted out of your pajamas, you'd make featured content, besides. win-win!
i'm just so jealous of the fact that you can do this. i get these great ideas sometimes, but my artistic talent is on the same level as my house-cleaning talent - which if you've ever seen the condition of my house, you'll know is non-existent.
really really really, do this every week. it was awesome, and so is the painting.
Dang I wish I hadn't missed the frequent updates. It's just amazing, you rule.
This is AMAZING!
man, I came upon this really late--but this is pretty fucking awesome, as others have said.
You make me want to copy you--but it'd be boring as fuck. OR would it?
@Mudban & @CrapeDiem - Monday it is!
And Rache, srsly, pfft. You have mad bee skillz, so it's all good.
@Fodon - Hey, whatever gets the creativity going.
this really has been one of the coolest blogs i've seen in a long time (not here, but anywhere)...i love the concept...and i'm always interested in how things are done...especially creative ones, that i have zero idea how to do (but wish i did)...so thanks for that! i'd say it was a roaring success!
Job well done!
Thanks for posting and sharing. Wow. I wish I had that kind of talent...
I'd so pay you to paint or draw my doggy!
That is beautiful.. I totally want it!!!!!
I think it's interesting how similar the face on the painting looks to yours. I have always been interested in how we (all artists) seem to paint our own faces by default. I really like the painting!
I really like scientific/organic forms too. This is inspiring! Thanks for letting us into your world. I'm sure it was fun and tedious for you, too. We'd love to see you do this once a week!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA - tee hee, yay !!!!!
i love the progression of pictures showing your process. it looks great.
and i also love your rabbit.
Beautiful, interesting and fun to watch! Thanks for posting such an original entry! And thanks for your visit, comment and sub! Cheers!
I love your work! You're awesome!
Want to paint a rollergirl?
@eFairy - you know, that's kind of a groovy idea : )
Dear you,
This post is terrific and charming, and your finished work lovely. I adore her slightly curled up smile.
Nice to (virtually) meet you. I am Angelo, and I dig your artistry.