Update on my doings...

Been a while since I posted anything. I've been working on my larger-scale skull paintings. I've completed two of them... one I think accidentally includes some acrylic paint, not sure how that happened but I like the way it looked so I guess I'm going 'multi-media' instead of straight watercolor. It slightly twinges my purist sensibilities but I need to loosen up anyway :). All in all I'm having fun... I am pleased with the first two and impatient to get decent pictures of them so I can post them. Marc has become my muse... and a good one at that. I get locked into the 'art' of the painting and it closes me off to some good subject matter ideas... he doesn't have such problems. I'm so glad I have him around to help keep things fresh!

Beware what you ask for...

Well, a post or two back I was fantasizing about locking myself away for a week and just doing art. I got my wish... sort of. I threw my back out last Thurs. at work and have been in bed ever since. Aside from feeling guilty for not being at work, and not being able to just jump up to get more coffee, go to the bathroom... anything, I did get some artwork done sitting on my butt all day. I completed a larger scale version of the osprey skull I posted earlier and am so pleased with it! No, it's not a grand work of art... but I like it. That's a huge achievement for me. I've come across two new thoughts also... it's ok for art to look like art, instead of what  exactly what it's of, and art's not a competition. How often do artists look at a finished work and think of some other artist who could have done it better? I do all the time... it doesn't measure up to my idea of what someone else's standards are.... well, that's just stupid and it cripples me.... so in the process of repainting the osprey I kept thinking "do I like this? does it please me to look at it?" When I could answer 'yes' to those questions the painting was done and I find myself content about a piece I did. YAY!

now if only I could convince my best friend of all this....

Reworking previous skull paintings

I've been busy this week redrawing most of my previous skull paintings. I'll be doing them much bigger too... looking forward to cramming more detail into the bone structure. My fiance will be building some frames for me (as soon as I give him the exact dimensions) and hopefully I'll be spending the weekend stretching watercolor paper over them. yippee!

General Artist Dissatisfaction

In my never-ending quest to actually complete a cohesive body of work and my attention span of a gnat, I've decided to use my recent animal skull work as studies instead of the actual thing. I am generally dissatisfied with all of them for various reasons, but like them enough not to entirely abandon them. Most I'm planning on only changing a little, a few will be drastically different. Some of my dissatisfaction comes simply from the fact that I was so eager to try out a new medium that I didn't plan out how the finished work would look. Also I've been taking some time to view Georgia O'Keefe's skull work and feel that mine fails miserably in comparison lol. I like the simplicity of her work and have a problem with that in my own... if I keep it simple I think in the back of my head that 'there's not enough to that' when it's done.

I may never be able to fill a wall somewhere and say 'there, I did that', but I am having fun... I am constantly mulling over new ideas (quite possibly why I change direction so often)... always looking forward to a few hours here and there to work, and frequently frustrated that I don't have more time.

A thought occurred to me the other day... I could theoretically take a week off... rent a hotel room and barricade myself and my art supplies behind the door. I'm pretty sure I could get the time from work. I'm also sure that my man would be thoroughly understanding and supportive. Wouldn't that be a wonderful idea? An art vacation! And why have I not thrown the idea out there yet? Hmmmmmm

Cat Skull finished and a few thoughts...

Well, here it is.... 

I played with details, picked at small sections until I said that's enough! I know what it looks like in my head but I'm still learning how to translate it to paper... I think I learned a thing or two with this one so I'm anxious to start another and see if I can put into practice what I think I've figured out.... we shall see. 

Cat skull update and new 'support system'

I remembered that I'd once heard a watercolor artist mention that she stretched her paper over a frame like you would linen for an oil painting, so I googled it. Apparently this isn't as uncommon as I'd thought when I heard about it so I thought I'd try it. I now have 2 5x7 watercolor paper canvases... so far I like working on it alot, no warping, no having to tape it down, it's lovely. I'm doing the cat skull and I think it's coming along ok so far.... here's a work in progress shot...

Skull Sketches

Well, life has gotten in the way and I've not made much progress on my cat skull. I'm posting a sketch of the cat and also a macaw skull. I'm seriously jonesin' for some quiet time to devote to them.

That's all for now folks!