Peekaboo, I See You! (Part 1)

Hi There!

I hope that you've all had a wonderful week full of fun, love and adventure. (Don't you just love it when I'm in an optimistic mood?  Must be because the kids are actually cooperating this morning as they get ready for school.  A miracle, perhaps?)

Today's offering is the start of a pastel painting I'm creating of a baby possum wrapped in a blanket:

I ask you, what is it about babies being wrapped in a wee little blanket?  It just makes them so adorable!  This little baby has been created using a mix of pastel pencils on Mi Tientes paper, with a violet/grey type hue.  It's taken me around two - three hours to get it to this point so far.  Time flies when you are having fun!

Wish me luck as I continue on with this little artwork.  The next part to tackle is the little knitted blankie that the possum is wrapped in (which is the outline you can see).  Given I've been known to drop the odd stitch or miss a row when I've tried knitting in the past, I have a feeling it might become a bit of a battle.

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Kate
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My (Hopefully) International RAOK - Part 2

Hi There

Well after starting my well intentioned attempt at a Random Act of Kindness (RAOK) artwork for a lady who lives on the other side of the world (you can read the background story here), I've managed to find a little time this afternoon to progress my painting of her a little more. Unfortunately, after today's effort, I'm now at the point where I'm starting to think that whilst the thought is incredibly noble and just, the reality....?

Don't you just hate it when that happens?!

Still, in the interests of accountability and being honest with you all as to how she is progressing, take a look at where I'm up to now...

What do you think?  At this point, I like her nose and lips but I'm feeling a little concerned about the placement of the eyes - I think I'll need to have another look at this tomorrow morning (or the next time I get to find time to create).  I hope that it is only a minor fix, or "eye" have a feeling eye'll be feeling pretty cantankerous.  (What I've discovered with pastels, is that unfortunately, that can happen really quickly if you aren't careful.  One moment you've got beautiful luminosity, the next - MUD.  For a newbie like me, it is a very fine line to tread.)  

Cross your fingers for me this doesn't end up in the bottom of the bin!

I suppose I'd better go now.  I've got to go and get ready for a dress up 1970's disco I'm going to tonight.   "Ah--hah-hah-hah-hah Stayin' Alive... Stayin' Alive....!"  :-)

See you around soon!

Groovily yours,

Kate
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Baby Ballerina: Part 2

Hey There!

Thanks so much for stopping by and seeing what I've been up to with Baby Ballerina.  I'm feeling quite pleased that despite a number of social engagements this past weekend, I've managed to find some time to pull out my pastels and complete some more work on this little cutie-pie.  (Put it this way, on Saturday alone I started talking at 8am at my children's game of football and I think I finally stopped talking around 11.30pm that night - you've gotta give me credit for social stamina or robust vocal chords I say!)  

I'm currently at the stage of the creative process where I find myself wondering "Does B-B look great, or does she look rubbish?"  and "Does she look human, or does she look like an alien?"  I'm really, honestly not sure.  The thing that frustrates me the most is that I'm aware that you, out there somewhere in blog-land, can more than likely look at Baby Ballerina and think to yourself "Eyes are off, nose is wonky, yada yada yada" and quite possibly wonder why I can't see it too.  Grrrrr to inexperience!

I'd be willing to bet that this is going to be one of those situations where I'll re-read this post about Baby Ballerina in a year's time and think to myself  "How could I have missed THAT?"  I guess that is the joy of learning and the benefit of fresh eyes, right?

Thanks for stopping by and seeing what I've been up to.  I hope to reveal my completed Baby Ballerina painting over the next few days.

See you soon!

Kate

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(PS: If at this point you realise that like me, you are incredibly nosey and that you missed reading my first post featuring Baby Ballerina, you can sate your curiosity by clicking here.  I know, I know, I'm just so incredibly giving!)

A Promising Start - Part 2 - FINISHED!

Come on.  Admit it!

You knew deep down that once I started painting Bubba yesterday, (my first ever pastel pencil wonder baby) that I wouldn't be able to stop until I had finished, didn't you? ;-)

I was a lucky woman, I tell you - hubby was so impressed by my initial work on Bubba, that he could completely understand why I felt so compelled to keep working on the baby, and has looked after our kidlets today in order to give me time to complete the painting. What a guy!

As you may recall, I was quite worried in yesterday's post that I'd muck Bubba up.  In the end this wasn't really an issue, as life threw me [up] a curve ball last night when my youngest child (known as Mister Cal-cal) came down with a spectacular bought of gastro at 3am in the morning.

Comfort and cleaning in the wee hours of the day has meant I've been feeling too exhausted to bother with being worried about the painting turning into a disaster.  Instead, I've only had enough energy to focus the small remainder of my consciousness and my bleary eyes on creating colour, intensity and line to try and due Bubba justice.

Disclaimer note! The next couple of paragraphs have been written specifically for those of you who are interested in the process I used to paint Bubba.  For those of you whose eyes glaze over at the mention of colour application and technique, please ignore the following italicised paragraphs and proceed to the bottom paragraph.  If you read on, don't say you haven't been warned... :-)

[Firstly I divided the painting into three distinct areas of work - initially the face; then the hat; and then the blanket.  I worked right way up (mostly) when painting in the face, although I occasionally turned the painting and source picture upside down in order to let me see more objectively whether I had captured the right placement, colour and tone for features.  I predominantly worked upside down when painting in the little hat, because I wanted to ensure the colour did not drop onto the face; and then I turned the painting right way round again, but made sure the painting was propped up on an angle when working on the green blanket, to ensure the pastel dust didn't drift upward toward the face.  In case you didn't guess, contamination is not my friend!  


In terms of the practical application of the pastels, I completed an under layer of the painting using solid "blocks" of bold colour. Yep, believe it or not, the painting is actually a combination of fluro purple, fuscia pink, electric blue, wake me up before you go-go green and neon yellow.  I used my Conte pastel sticks here, chosen because they are a harder pastel and are easier to layer over than a softer pastel.  I then gently blended the colour into the board using either a tissue (when I was being a goody-two shoes and health conscious) or my finger (when I was being lazy and couldn't be bothered worrying about the dust).     If you look closely at Bubba's skin, you may now be able to notice all these colours in action, as well as what you'd consider the traditional "skin colours". Sneaky, right?


After I completed the initial layer, I then went over the top using my pastel pencils, working slowly and carefully.  Finally, for the bright highlights that you can see on the painting, I used my super soft Art Spectrum pastels, as they had the ability to stand out from the smudged in lower layers.  I'd estimate all in all, that Bubba has taken me somewhere between eight and ten hours to complete.]   

I'm really thrilled with how Bubba looks.  My warm and fuzzy feelings were made made all the sweeter when Mr Cal-cal proclaimed from his sick sofa that "I love how your Bubba looks, Mummy!".

Thanks for stopping by and sharing my pleasure today, I hope to see you again sometime soon!

Kate
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A Promising Start - Part 1

Hi There

Today's post features the face of a gorgeous little baby I am creating using a combination of my brand *new* pastel pencils and a plethora of stick soft pastels on a Monte Marte Pastel board.  My art teacher, Ms Kathy, says that "Bubba" is my best pastel work yet.  Can I just say that I am loving using pastel pencils?  They are so wonderful for obtaining detail that I struggled to obtain using sticks.  (I hope I am not obtaining an irritating reaction from within you by my overly zealous use of the word obtain.  It seems it must be my word for the day - a result of all those years I've spent watching Sesame Street where I excitedly guessed what the mystery number and letter would be.)

I hope you don't think I'm being overly conceited by my admitting to you that I'm loving how my little baby is looking at the moment.  The only problem is that I'm now feeling the pinch to try and keep the rest of the painting up to the same standard.  Yes, I guess you could say I'm experiencing a form of performance anxiety.  If only there was a nasal spray to fix that!

In case you are thinking "Come on Kate, it can't be that bad..." click here to see a spectacular muck up of all proportions which proves to you what I am capable of.

Anyway, stay tuned over the next few days when I try my very best to do Bubba justice.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Kate
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