"Shirin" - New Piece on Wood

This is a new piece I have been slowly putting together for a couple of weeks now. I first drew her in my sketch book and then used colored pencils for shading. I also drew the flowers behind her head. Then I used Matt Medium to glue everything down on the wood. I used acrylic paint to fill in her eyes, hair and lips and also to color the flowers. Then I dripped paint everywhere I could on the wood. I sanded the drips and it gave a really cool peeled paint look that I liked. I added molding paste over a sequin waste stencil and then crackle paste in various areas. Then I finished off the piece with more acrylics, Neocolor II and oil pastels. I might still add a little more blush to her face (I think she needs a little more color in those cheeks).

I was watching "Project Runway" and trying to decide what to name the piece, so I decided to name her "Shirin" after one of the designers. Shirin won this weeks challenge (just in case you missed the show).

Thanks for visiting...

Shonna

Trying New Techniqes and the Worries of a Woman!

NEW TECHNIQUES...

I have been wanting to try a few different techniques for awhile and decided to combine them in this piece. The wonderfully talented and beautiful Jane DesRosier of GrittyArts has been doing a lot of abstract art lately that I have been really enjoying. She recently posted a YouTube video showing how to collage with beeswax, so I gave it a shot. I love the texture this process creates...yummy! Her focal element was a collaged woman, but I decided to draw one of my girlies on a vintage book page instead. Drawing on a book page is the other technique I have been wanting to try. It seems that several mixed media artists are trying this right now, but there is something unique and interesting about it that I really love.

A WOMAN AND HER THOUGHTS...

This piece has a lot of meaning for me. There is so much worry and guilt associated with being a woman and a mother for me. I am always beating myself up about not being the best wife, mother, step-mother, homemaker, artist (and the list goes on). So many thoughts are jumbled up in my head that sometimes it is hard for me to breathe. I am constantly comparing myself to other women and worrying that I am screwing up the lives around me. Am I alone, do you ever feel like no matter what you do, it just isn't good enough... Why do we put such pressure on ourselves? Maybe I will never know the answer...

xoxo

Shonna

Work in Progress--Trio

Here are some paintings I am working on. I really love it when other artists show their process, so I thought I would share a little about mine.

First I sketch the girlie in my sketchbook so I can get a feel for what I want. Once I work out the details in my book, I sketch my image onto wood. For the most part I re-draw my girlie instead of using transfer paper, so the girlie in my sketchbook will often look a bit different from the final product.

In the case of this trio, I was so pleased with the way they came out in my sketchbook, that I did use transfer paper to transfer them all on the wood.

After I do the sketch on wood, I woodburn the image into the wood. This part is very therapeutic for me and I love the smell of the wood burning.

Then I use colored pencils for shading on the faces and for using a base on the hair and clothes. I haven't decided what colors I want for the two girlies on the left so I haven't colored their dresses yet.

This is where I am at this point. I will try to post more as I go.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend!!

Christmas Door Hanger!

Here is a new Christmas piece I just completed. It is painted on a wooden door hanger. I woodburned the girlie and used lots of demension on the piece. I just added her to my shop!! Also, stay tuned for another tutorial. The next one will be on using crackle...

Homework and Commission Piece

I added some more elements to the "Busy Bee" and finished it with hot beeswax. With "Stargazer" I added some gold leaf and will probably finish it with hot beeswax as well. The new piece is a watercolor sketch I posted earlier, but I painted it on 12X24 wood. A friend of mine wanted to know if I could paint her some mermaids, so I made them in the likeness of her two daughters. She wanted very pale pinks and blues, so I tried to keep it within that color scheme. I am almost finished with it unless my client wants me to add something else. All of the pieces will have holes drilled into them and a ribbon attached for hanging. I hope you enjoy looking at them.