Life Book Week 6 Spray Inks

This weeks lesson was by Tam and focused on using spray inks such as Dylusions. I decided to make my own inks using pigment ink crystals and water and they seem to have given me a similar result. I wanted to create hair with stars and while Tam used a stencil for her flowery hair, I decided to use stamps that I'd made. I tried to graduate the colour from the vivid ink to a muted softer shade using chalks. I wanted my face to look skywards and spent some time thinking about feature placement and the angle of the neck. I do seem to be getting better at this...

As usual the camera doesnt do justice to the colours or pick up the glimmers of the mica paint I used in the hair.

Note to self.... Seal chalk with fixative before drawing over as managed to smudge lead and chalk all over the face!








Tam gave us a composition warm up to get use to the ink qualities and to learn about the rule of thirds and hot spots for placing key features. Especially loved the Autumnal colours as they reminded me of beautiful leaves.

Life Book Week 5 Candy Diva Marieks Blokland.

This was such a fun project! The features of the basic head were exaggerated and completely none proportional. I went for a liquorice wheel hair do with a Candy floss top knot. The background was particularly inspiring with many layeers of medium and paint. This was my first experience with black gesso and I loved the almost chalkboard texture that it gave me to begin with. She is simply funky...

My Candy Diva

Life Book Week 4 Kelly Hoernig

                                                                For Life Book's week 4 , we had to create a multi layered journal page using three of our favourite things; I chose driftwood, shells and a mermaid. I especially liked using scrim like a net under the faux wood, which was made by distressing a piece of thick textured paper. The shells came from Portugal and I dotted the piece with pearl beads. The larger quote was by Anais Nin. Everyone who did this exercise, couldnt believe how much 'stuff' was got out and the mess we made.

Week 4 Ocean

Prismacolour pencil crayons with Suzi Blu

This is my first attempt at a Suzi Blu face, shaded using Prismacolour. The exercise is from Mixed Media Alchemy, Workshop1 Gypsy Girl. The crayons are quite waxy and unlike anything I've worked with before in that they blend using colourless or the white crayon. The head is created on photocopier paper and then cut out and stuck to a canvas board background, before the hair and backdrop are created with paint and spray inks.

Shading finished.

Shading begins....

Lulu Art Experimenting with Promarkers

Background created with stamps and promarkers; the latter blended with an alcohol pen. Graphics from the Graphics fairy, printed and then coloured. Watermarks made with hand sanitizer. Wasn't sure but photographs quite well. Now can appreciate the contrast between the modern background and the vintage lady. I am going to work hard at masterring my pens.

Off at a Tangent (Again)

In Life Book Cafe, noticed a series of weekly free tutorials called Wildly Inspired by Effy Wild and thought I would have a go. I especially love the use of vintage photos and the old style drama and glamour, There is a dark almost gothic feel...  I used lace tape for the border and

Bohemian

antiqued with metallic gold Liberon. What a brilliant dancing outfit. Believe she was a Parisian showgirl.

The second exercise was titled ' Staying Wild'  I used my own photo as the Isadora Duncan one used by Effy was very blurred. Made a mess of my first attempt by using Sakura glaze pen which was very runny and bled. Loved the drippy background to this and the fine silver flecks.

Wild Heart

                   

Life Book Week 3 Carla Sonheim

I have previously completed Carla's Faces class and am familiar with her creativity exercises. Drawing blind, wronghanded and doodling around blobs just doesnt do it for me! But... I did enjoy the found poetry exercise - rearranging a paragraph of prose and the collage and doodled flowers. Making the storage envelope was fun. A layer of chalk pastel, an impasto layer of gesso and then a watercolour wash over the top. As Alexander threw himself into the textured wet gesso I had to include him! Can you spot him peeping out from the shrubbery?

This is a piece created after a Jodi Ohl 'Let's Face It' class. I began by drawing in the basic features using Payne's grey and a large brush. It took me right out of my comfort zone but taught me to give everything a go. Lots and lots of layers later I was pleased with the almost spectral effect. Quote from Peter Pan.

Life Book Week 2 with Micki Wilde

The exercise for this week was to create an Affirmation page using a grey background and neon acrylic. Lots of lifebookers felt uninspired by the colour choices but I'd worked with grey before in a Jodi Ohl class and felt unafraid. I love the moment when sunlight hits water and explodes into shimmering spangles. As we had to think up alternative job titles (and I could think of a few!) I decided on this as a metaphor for bottling up happiness and joy; to be kept for dark days. I so enjoyed using my white Posca pen which REALLY does write over everything, my glitter from Cathy which I keep stroking (30 shades YUM!) and perfect pearls paint. This was such fun!

And point your toes....

My mum.....

I began to think about how much my mum would have loved Life Book. I forget how arty she was and have very early memories of her sitting and painting with me or making toys and dolls clothes.
I decided to dig out an old photo and have a go at a portrait. I always seem to picture her getting ready for parties in floaty 60's trapeze dresses in peach or sugar pink. She had lots of hair pieces and always looked glamorous. And oh how she loved to dance. There was always music in our house....
I had to include 5,6,7,8 as she counted us in and her favourite groan 'point your toes!' I had all the grace of a baby elephant.

Life Book Week 1 Guardian Angel

During my meditation which I managed on the third attempt, (The silence was twice interrupted -once by the cat scratching to come in and once by the cough monster, but I found my fairy lights and a glass of Baileys) my word HOPE came very quickly. There are those close to me who are ill and I want them to get better more than anything.... I find it easy to visualize and the path lead to a hall with a vaulted ceiling painted with angels as in one of my favourite pictures, Night with her Train of Stars. This is a huge piece which I always look at when in Birmingham. It is simply beautiful.

My angel had an aura of irridescent jade like the sea in St Ives on a sunny day. Her eyes were closed in contemplation as she prayed and looked heavenward.
I can not begin to describe how much I loved drawing and painting her. I can see how much I've learnt since I started drawing faces again. Still masses to learn and refine but my confidence is growing.

Julie this one is literally for you. I could feel your inspiration as I painted it.

I am so excited to have joined Tamara Laporte's Lifebook 2014 this year and hope to chronicle my progress here. Thank you Tom and Cathy for such a wonderful Christmas gift. Alexander has purple paws already!
First exercise was a warm up using neocolours, acrylic and metallic oil pastels Yet again I was drawn to my palette of bubble colours..... I was pleased with the effect but disappointed that the shimmer of pearlescent  acrylics and my new glitter doesnt show up on the photograph.

Really need to work on my writing. I want it to look spidery and artistic but it still looks like teacher print!