Attempt #2: Why I Love My Six Year Old...

He can look at my second attempt at painting a pastel portrait of him and lovingly say "I like how you made me purple, Mummy!". 

Give me an "F"

Give me an "L"

Give me an "O"

Give me a "P"

What does it spell???

Back to the drawing board...

[Sigh!]

Thanks for stopping by, see you around soon!

Kate
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PS:  In case you are curious, you can read about the back story by clicking here...

Trying Mr Chuckles (Part 3)

More work on Mr Chuckles.  (You can read the back-story by clicking here.) Today's effort is working on his hair and narrowing his face.  (Can you tell I'm scared of trying to paint his ear?!)

Sadly, I think I've overworked the painting now.  Sigh!  Oh well, at least I learnt something I suppose (you can't put ten layers of pastel on the paper without turning it to mud).

Thanks for stopping by, Mr Chuckles and I will see you soon.

Kate
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Trying Mr Chuckles (Part 2)

Hola!

Well, good news.  Mr Chuckles is out of his bedroom and is back to being his angelic self after being sent to time out yesterday for throwing the mother of all tanty's. (You can read the back-story by clicking here.)  The peace and tranquillity (for the time being) has enabled me to spend a little more time working on his portrait.  Here's where I'm up to now:

Still a way to go on his hair, ear and toning down the background.  I'm not happy with his purple neck either.  I'm thinking I may go for more of an olive green...  Crossing my fingers I don't muck it up!

Stay tuned for the next nail-biting update over the next day or two...

Kate
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Boho Girl - Finished!

Why hello there, stranger!

Sorry it has taken me so very long to post an update.  Life has been chaotic these past few weeks.  Trust me, we don't want to go there...

Despite my busyness, I have had a chance to finish Boho Girl.  Here she is in all her hippy glory:

Overall, I'm quite pleased with her.  I think I'm definitely improving.  This is all I ever aim for.

Anyway, thanks so much for stopping by and seeing what I've been up to.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Kate
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Smile!

Today's post is a frown-free zone.

Introducing Cranky Pants Man - Kate's artistic smile enforcer.

Have a great weekend. See you around soon with more artistic endeavours!

Kate 
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PS: For those who are interested, Cranky Pants Man was drawn completely freehand using pastels and chalk pencils on black paper at art class last night. It was a fun and relaxing way to create and doubled as an excellent exercise in exploring values.

Introducing Liquid Graphite Girl

Oh goodness, I simply cannot begin to tell you how much I adore exploring the use of different artistic mediums.

I think it's because I enjoy the anticipation and adventure of finding out whether the new medium and I will 'connect' together artistically (ie. my beloved pastels) or become arch enemies (ie. my nemesis, watercolour).

With this in mind, it was with great pleasure that I had the opportunity to have a play with using a product called liquid graphite in art class last night. The product is literally what you think it is. Graphite. Liquid. Cool, huh?!

After thinking about it for a little while, I decided to attempt a portrait using strong line work. (I must confess this style of art scares me, because there is nowhere to hide. Eek!) After twenty or so minutes worth of work, I ended up with this little study (what you see on screen is pretty close to actual size):

Not bad. Perhaps looking a little like a Disney princess, but at least she's looking relatively human. I think she almost looks like a super-hero girl in disguise (hence the title of this post). I wonder what her super-powers would be? Able to correct misplet misspelt words with a single blink perhaps?

By now I'm sure you are wondering what I thought of liquid graphite (if not, I'm going to tell you anyway). Welllllll.....

I *loved* it!  I found the consistency to be a little thicker than watercolour paint (good) and that I was able to actually control the product with reasonable ease (even better). Honestly, it made it an absolute pleasure to use and I'm going to put this right up the top of my art supply wish list (take note, hubby!).

Liquid Graphite Girl and I will finish up by saying thanks ever so much for stopping by, I'll see you around soon!

Kate
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Char-char-char (coal) Girl - Part 1

Do you ever feel like trying something different? Bust a few moves and shake things up a little from your boring regular routine? I did at art class last night. I mean, I love my pastels, but a girl like me has to try something different from time to time.

Not feeling sure of what to create, I asked my fabulous teacher, the incredibly talented Ms Kathy, what she thought would be fun for me to try.  Ms Kathy thought about it a moment (she's very clever, on minute is all it takes for her to come up with something inspiring. Me, I would have been stumped for hours!). She then suggested I use charcoal and create a giant portrait. Ms Kathy then magically produced a large A2 sized piece of paper and handed me a box of compressed charcoal and burnt willow sticks (or whatever they're called) and told me to start. I didn't need to be told twice and feverishly set to work.

I worked on char-char-char (coal) girl for an hour and a half and got as far as starting on her freckles, but not as far as working on her hair. Ms Kathy told me she was loving my "boldness" with this work. Bold? Who Me? Never! ;-)

Here she is so far...

Not bad. Plenty of scope to turn her into a masterpiece. Or a disaster.

It will be interesting to see what happens with her in art class next week (I asked Ms Kathy to look after her for me while I was still working on her as I feared she'd get smudged or scrunched at my house.)

Cross your fingers for me that she works out OK. Have a great weekend, I'll see you around soon!

Kate
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Painting Mr Chuckles

Hi There!

Hope you had a super-dooper relaxing weekend. My latest artistic exploit has been to try and paint a portrait of Mr Chuckles, my eldest child. Funnily enough, Mr Chuckles isn't his real name (I know, you're shocked!), but rather a pet name that was first used when, as a baby, he had the world's loudest screaming cry. Seriously, on a decibel reading rating scale, it would go Mr Chuckles-then jack-hammer-then jet plane (and I don't mean one of those super quiet stealth ones either). Mr Chuckles was *so* loud that I still have trouble hearing out of my left ear. Sorry, did you just say something?

Mr Chuckles pet name started one morning when he was around two months old on a day when he just Wouldn't. Stop. Screaming. I was starting to feel like screaming myself, until I spontaneously and desperately uttered "It's OK, Mr Chuckles. Don't cry Mr Chuckles. Everything's going to be fine Mr Chuckles." He didn't stop crying, but I can tell you that I found the name to be so ironic and so hilarious to my sleep deprived mind, that I instantly felt better. Imagine if someone had have walked into the room in that moment - screaming child, mother howling with laughter. Might have required a little explaining.

The name was so perfect that the only possible downside I can think of is that I now wonder from time to time if it could be the reason why Mr Chuckles never quite took to Mr Men. Hmmmmmm.

Anyway, enough about Mr Chuckles.

After trying for a good hour or so to create a perfect smooth skin-like texture, I gave up. Yep. I've decided that sometimes quitting can be a good thing. Instead, I decided to go for a cross-hatching look.  Here's what I created...

Mr Chuckles, chuckling.

In case you are wondering, yes, I admit, I did go a tad crazy with my colour palette on this artwork.  If you found yourself singing"Red and yellow and pink and green. Purple and orange and blue...." you would be absolutely correct.

I actually don't mind this portrait, although I keep alternating between thinking I've created a really fantastic artsy painting that'll make me famous someday, or have just created a scribble that could be done by any old Mr Chuckles.

Oh well. At least it's been fun.

Anyway, I'll finish up now and thank you for stopping by. I look forward to seeing you around again here soon!

Kate
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My (Hopefully) International RAOK - Finished!

Hi There

Well after a lot of posting about her, here she is - the finished pastel painting of a lady from Mozambique:

The only issue I'm having now is that I worry she isn't up to standard.  Not only that, I don't think she looks like my model.  See:

I *so* want to say a filthy word right now.  But I shall try my best to control myself. (*$!#&@#)

The idea of creating a painting of someone and then anonymously sending it to them is indeed a wonderful and noble Random Act of Kindness gesture.  However, I'm a tad worried that this isn't good enough and may well have the opposite effect and inadvertently impede world peace if I was to send this painting to Mozambique.  I'm thinking that maybe this is a good first attempt and to try again?

Sooooo.....In order to determine what I should do with this painting, I am going to conduct a wee poll.

You'll be able to vote if you look over to the side of the screen.  Voting closes Saturday, so be sure to have your say.  It's a simple case of majority winning!

Thanks for stopping by.  Talk to you soon!

Kate
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POST EDIT:  The poll results were 80% in favour of sending the lady to Mozambique.  This shall happen over the next week or two - I'll provide you with an update if there ever is one.  Thanks so much for participating with my little poll!

My (Hopefully) International RAOK - Part 3

Hello There Beautiful People of the World!

Today's foray into 'Kate's Crazy Art World' (I so should copyright that phrase!) brings Part 3 of my quest to do something nice for someone I don't know. (For anyone who is not aware of the background story, click  here to read about my incredibly noble intentions.) I'm sad to say that whilst I still think this is a great idea, I'm starting to lose confidence that it is actually going to work.  Boo! Don't you just hate it when that happens?

The big thing is - I think the actual painting looks kinda OK so far.  The problem is more that I'm concerned my painting doesn't actually look like the lady I'm trying to render.  Here, have a look so you can see what I mean. Just here is my lady, to the stage where I've nearly finished her face (still a bit of hair and earring/ear rendering to go):

And here is the reference photo:

Botheration and <Sigh>!   Looking on the bright side, at least her eyes are looking a little more balanced than my earlier posts about this painting.  Surely that outweighs any "likeness" issues, right? ;-)

There's quite a way to go yet before I can call her finished, but I have to be honest with you all and say that much to my dismay, I'm not sure this one is gonna make it to the final grand post-office send off...  Still, I'm won't give up just yet, I'll see what a bit more pastel and hopefully a lot more inspiration can achieve.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Stay tuned for an update over the next few days where I hope to unveil the finished picture.  I think I may put it out to vote whether she flies across the ocean or flies across the room into the garbage bin.  Whatcha think?

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!)

Baby Ballerina: Part 1

Hello!

No, I haven't been hiding a secret baby from you all.  This pastel portrait is of a little girl who I discovered in the Wet Canvas Reference Library.  I love that website!  Go and have a look if you are into anything and everything art.  One of the great things about its library is that whilst  I'm not allowed to reproduce the photo, I do have permission to use the image to create artworks.  I'd even have permission to sell them if I wanted to without impinging on any copyright issues.  Isn't that cool?

So far I'm relatively happy with baby ballerina.  I still have a long way to go to be able to call her finished, but I thought you may like to see a progress shot.

I have a feeling that this may very well take me ages to finish - I've posted this after four or five hours worth of work.  You can probably notice that there are barely any parts of the painting I would consider finished at this point.  Oh well.  Sometimes creating can be taken at a slightly slower and more relaxed pace.

I just hope I don't stuff it up.  That's the dark side of art.

Stay tuned over the next little while to see progress shots of baby ballerina.  Cross your fingers that she works!

Have a fabulous weekend,

Kate
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Finished! Little Girl Green (The Insomnia Edition)

Have you ever had the annoying experience where sometimes late at night, you feel really tired, but your brain just keeps on whirling and swirling?  And that because of all the mental "gymnastics" going on inside of your head, you simply can't fall sleep?

Oui?

Well, have you ever realised that the reason you can't fall asleep is because right before bed-time, you noticed something "funny" going on with your "Little Girl's" nose and chin painting that you'd posted on here earlier that same evening?

Well that's what happened to me last night.

After lying in bed with twitchy fingers, by midnight, I just couldn't take it any more.  I climbed out of bed, crept quietly down stairs so as not to wake anyone, pulled out my pastels and set about measuring, erasing, smudging and trying to fix the error of my ways.  (Yes, sadly, I think I did have one of my not-so-famous moments of "artistic beer goggle-itis" in Part 1 of this artistic adventure!)

After an hour or so, I posted her on Wet Canvas for feedback and then finally felt like I was able to go back to bed and sleep properly knowing that my little girl's "nose job" really changed her appearance for the better.

Goodness me.  Honestly, of all the reasons in the world to have insomnia...  I tell you, if I'm tempting you to go ahead and try a little "artistic exploration", you'd better watch out - this artistic caper can not only get under your skin, but cause sleep disturbances if you aren't careful!  Perhaps I could propose that all art books should come with some sort of warning?

Thanks very much for stopping by. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Kate

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Part 1: Little Girl Green (& Purple & Orange...)

Hello!

I hope this finds you well and happy.  Today's post features my latest pastel painting of a little girl from WetCanvas' Reference Library.  For those not in the know, Wet Canvas is this amazing website that is inspirational and educational.  Best of all, you get to learn heaps and heaps for *free* (you should all know by now that I do love a bargain!).

I've decided to brave my pastel sticks and take part in June's spotlight challenge.  It is an opportunity for Wet Canvas members to come together and explore and learn about a different topic each month relating to all things art.  This month, the focus is on all things edges.  Hard edges, soft edges, disappearing edges, I have no idea what I'm doing edges...  (Can you guess where I'm at?)

I'm feeling a bit scared to consider putting myself 'out there' by posting my work on a website frequented by professional artists, but I decided to suck it up, be a big girl and ask for feedback.  It's in my best interests for future growth and development, right?  I mean, you do agree, it IS a good idea, right?  Right? RIGHT?!  (Oh gosh, what am I getting myself into?!)

As you can see, "Little Girl" isn't finished yet.  As you can see by her clothes.  And her hair.  I'm not sure about her face yet.  I wrote that comment about her face because the thing I've learnt about art is, to be honest, that I'm looking at her face today and thinking she's looking reasonably good, but I'm not sure I'm going to look at her and be horrified tomorrow.  For this reason I thought I'd better post her while the artistic equivalent of "beer goggles" are firmly in place.

She's formally titled "Little Girl Green (& Purple & Orange)" because if you look closely, you'll see her skin is actually comprised of all these colours.  You can see on her arm, for instance (or her hair where I haven't finished yet, that she is currently purple and green as well as that terribly politically incorrect "skin" colour pastel.  Although I'm actually yet to meet anyone with skin that colour.  Kinda like I'm yet to meet a person who has "Bandaid" skin colour.  Sorry, I digress.. 

Oh and by the way, this painting is my attempt to recreate a photo posted by Jocelynsart.  I have to reference the source when I use it in order to be a good girl and not break copy right law.  Sadly, I can't show you the original reference photo due to copyright reasons, but if you click on the Wetcanvas "Spotlight Link" I provided above, you can see it there.  So a big thanks from me, Jocelyn!  (If that is your real name....  Sorry,  am planning a 'Spy Party' at the moment for one of my children - everything has suddenly become incredibly suspicious...)

Stay tuned for my final painting over the next couple of days.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!


Kate
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Feeling Exposed

Oh. My. Goodness.

Can I just say that today's post would have to be one of the most scary artistic endeavours I think I have EVER attempted?  I'm sure it was good for me, just like eating my vegetables, but by-jimminy, I'm not sure how long it will be before I'll try that again.

In case you aren't sure, today's post is meant to be a drawing of a little boy.

I'm sure you're wondering, Kate, pretty simply line drawing, so why the dramatic title?

Well, it's like this.

By using pen I am putting it all on the line (pun intended) to see if I can draw a child that actually looks semi-human.  That's scary.

And then imagine upping the stress levels by drawing away knowing that there is no "Mister Rubber" to remove any slip of the pen and the use of "Miss White out" would be well and truly cheating.

And then finally consider that you decided to make life even harder on yourself by not using a ruler to measure the distances between spaces. So you are not sure whether your child is actually going to end up looking like a gorilla.  Or a goldfish.

Honestly, after all that, is it any wonder I'm now thinking I need someone to come and peel me some grapes, pour me a glass of wine and gently rub my shoulders (which are up around my ears).

And finally, can someone please tell me how to get that song "Barenaked" by Jennifer Love Hewitt out of my head.  It is really starting to annoy...

See you soon!

Kate
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Introducing Twinkle Eyes

I'd like you all to meet my latest little pastel study, Twinkle Eyes (Twinkle for short):

I'm most certainly not being biased (well, OK, maybe I am being just a tad), when I say Twinkle has the twinkliest eyes you have ever seen.  And those twinkly eyes are coupled with the cheekiest little elfin smile which I'm sure gives you just a teeny-tiny hint of the mischief he is capable of.

Trust me, I'm sure even Twinkle would agree that whilst he's a lovely little boy, he sometimes knows no bounds when it comes to twinkly deeds of frolicsomeness.

[Yes, as an aside, you read the word "frolicsomeness" correctly.  It does exist - I looked up the thesaurus because I didn't want to use the word mischief twice in a row. As soon as I saw the word, I knew I had to use it.  I love this word so much, I think it is destined to become part of my everyday vocabulary.  I can picture it now, Hubby (upon his return home from work):  "How was your day today darling?" Kate: "Why thank you for asking, dear hubby. It's been full of fun and frolicsomeness."  See!  Perfect.]

Twinkle was drawn using a combo of Conte pastels, pastel pencils and Art-spectrum pastels on Canson pastel paper and took me around two hours to complete.

I'm thinking I may go back and tweak Twinkle in a couple of days as errors become more apparent.  It's really true about the idea of putting your pictures away for a couple of days in order to see your work with "fresh" eyes.

When I analyse this picture I realise that whilst I'm not as good as I want to be (and goodness knows if that will ever happen!), I can see that I have made progress this past year.  Click on this link here to see for yourself.  You have my permission to giggle or scream out in horror (either reaction is permissible.  Personally I like to alternate between the two for greatest effect.).

Anyway, thanks so much for stopping by.  Be sure to come back and visit and partake in some more frolicsomeness in the near future!

Kate
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Self Portrait #6: It's Me Again.... In Colour!

Following my last post where I completed a little pencil sketch of moi, I decided I wanted to try drawing myself yet again, but with an added colourful twist.

No, in case you are wondering, I am not obsessed with me.  It's just that royalty and embarrassment free models are currently few and far between.   Heck, even the cat won't sit still for a photo.

Ultimately, I concluded that drawing myself would be the best option, because if I stuff myself up, no-one else will be subjected to looking completed picture thinking to themselves "Boy oh boy, I never knew that I looked like such a freak. I never before realised my nostrils were so big, my eyes so lopsided and that my hair is actually blue.  I'll never be able to go out in public again!". No Siree, this whole artistic caper is not about creating insecurities in others, that's for sure.

I decided to draw me on some Canson Mi Tientes textured paper I had lying around and once again used the (in)famous "not quite married and still young and pretty" photo files from many moons ago.  I used my cheap and cheerful Monte Marte pastel pencils, a few of my Conte pastels, and my Faber Castell coloured pencils to try and recreate me.  This is what I ended up with:

I have to be totally honest with you and say I've decided I absolutely HATE using this type of pastel paper.  It does grip the pastels somewhat upon initial application, but it doesn't take long for the "tooth" of the paper to be filled making it harder to add many layers of pastel.  I also have decided I prefer the look of a smoother surface.  This makes me look like I'm in dire need of an exfoliant.

When I reflect on today's artwork, I'm pleased to feel like I have at least I have learnt something new, regardless of how the final product turned out.  I guess it ultimately means that even if in some ways I'm a little dodgy, in other respects I am a winner.  Just like life, I can live with that.

Thanks for seeing what I've been up to - enjoy your weekend!

Kate
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How To Define Frustration In One Easy Step

It's easy.  Just look at this picture:

This little poppet defines frustration because despite my best efforts, I cannot get her to look like a little girl, instead of some sort of weird "anime" version of a little girl .  I mean, who in life looks like this?  No-one I know.  You?

I'm so frustrated that I am really trying not to throw a pastellic tantrum right now. Think, Kate, think.  What is it you say to your children to soothe them, when they are about to blow a fuse?

Hmmmmmmmm

Got it.   I'm sure I'd say something like:

Breathe darling.

It's OK that things don't always go to plan.

What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.

Don't put that in your mouth, you don't know where it's been.

Close that door!  Were you born in a barn?

(Sorry, in case you weren't already aware, I'm one of those mothers that sometimes goes off on a tangent. Now where was I...? Oh, yes. That's right.  I'm finishing off this post.)

I hope perhaps this little artwork also manages to bring a smile to your face, even if it is at the expense of my pastels.  (Never at the expense of me - I prefer to blame inanimate objects!)

Have a great day, I'll see you around soon (hopefully in a zen-like state of mind as I'm just about to go to a yoga class).


Kate
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The Embarrassment is Complete!

Hi There!

Thanks ever so much for stopping by and seeing what I've been up to.  I am really pleased to announce after a few posts worth of work (and a lot of accompanying grumbling), my painting of a nudie-rudie lady is complete!  Here, have a look at the finished product:

Ta-da.  It's titled "Don't hate me 'cause I'm perfect."

The only issue I now have to address is where I should put her up for display in my house.  Seriously - consider the following:

If I hang her in the lounge-room you'd think "Why Kate, that's a bit forward of you isn't it?!" (followed by quick aversion of eyes and talk of the weather);  If you saw her hanging on the wall in the bathroom, you'd startle and say "Why, thanks ever so much Kate - now all I can think of is how perfect her bazoombas are in comparison to mine!" (and you'd suddenly feel compelled to walk around holding your arms crossed up and over the top of your head); or if you saw her on display in the bedroom you'd think "Why Kate, having a few issues are we?  Needing a bit of extra  help?" (and you'd never look at me the same way again).    

See what I mean?  I just can't win!

The thing is, I really like her and want to have her up on display.  Hmmmmmm, there *must* be a perfect place for her somewhere to hang in my house.

Thinking.

Hard.

Very Hard..

Even Harder...

Ding!  (Light-bulb moment)

I'll hang her in the laundry.

It's the perfect place.

Why?

Because this is the room in my house where all things dirty go to get clean. See? Agree? Perfect!

Anyway, hope you like her, I hope to see you 'round soon!

Kate
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