Sunday 19 October 2008

yesterday's efforts- work in progress

last week, i gave up trying to paint after numerous attempts. every time i tried, distractions came in the form of visitors, phone calls, kids' needing attention.....but.....yesterday, i managed to get some painting done. YAY!

i have felt so inspired by kelly rae's book - see my review here - that i decided to have fun with layers....and it WAS fun! i haven't finished this one yet but i'm pleased with how it's coming along so far. i am using a pic of my daughter as my reference image and i've managed to achieve a likeness which i'm quite happy about considering i sketched her straight onto the canvas freehand....not to mention the fact that i don't do people well at all. still more to do to her though as well as adding a few other elements.
click on image to enlarge

after doing the quiz in the last post, and it saying that i needed more purple in my life, i decided to use purple in this painting. purple is one of my favourite colours and i surprised myself when the quiz drew my attention to the fact that i really don't have much purple in my life at all. i have actually been saying to the kids for months now that i've been thinking about changing the lounge room colour scheme to a blue/green/purple colour combo. i LOVE these colours together! so, maybe the lounge room will get some attention in the not too distant future.

i won't get any painting done today as mum and dad are coming for lunch and a games afternoon so i'll be busy cooking in the morning.

i hope the rest of you are enjoying a beautiful weekend!

13 comments:

  1. That is an absolutely beautiful portrait! I knew you would do something marvelous with the new techniques!! :)

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  2. I don't know what else you have in mind, but it looks beautiful as is. Awesome Serena. You could hang this in the lounge room, it has the colours you're after. I've ordered my copy of the book, so will be glad to have it, I've been looking at it for quite some time and have no idea why I waited to buy it.. ;o) Ro

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  3. This looks great, Serena. I love that color combination, too. Your mention of Kelly Rae's book caused me to order one, and I got it yesterday. I haven't had time to start yet, but I intend to do lots of collage work with her book as an inspiration. Thanks.

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  4. Thank you, Rita...I'm looking forward to getting it finished. :)

    Thanks, Ro...I'm sure you will enjoy the book. I'm planning on the painting having some words of wisdom and then will gift it to Michelle. She is facing some major changes, as a result of her injury, and I'm hoping it will remind her to be positive and embrace uncertainty. :)

    Deborah, I'm so glad you bought a copy of the book too. Isn't it wonderful?! I love everything about it....the pics, the colours, the words of wisdom, the smoothness of the pages and, of course, all the eye candy. I'm keen to try some of the collage work too. :)

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  5. That's an amazing likeness of your daughter, Serena! Love the purple & green combo! Can't wait to see the final painting . . . looking great!
    Hope you had a fabulous afternoon with your parents :-D

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  6. this look beautiful :) great colour scheme and the colours would look great in a lounge room.

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  7. Serene!!!!!!!!!! A winner for sure. I love the portrait, and you say you don't do people good! Oh...I disagree.

    The colors, the portrait, pattern, this is great!

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  8. p.s. I gotta say -

    those colors look great together. I need to try something using similar colors....You've totally inspired me.

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  9. Serena, it is lovely! You rock, girl! Love the colors, and the gorgeous image of your daughter. Has she seen it yet? I hope she appreciates what a great artist her mother is ;)

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  10. Beautiful work Serena...

    Love lavender and your purple post too...

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  11. Wow...this is a great face! Please show your final painting so we can see how you finsihed it up!

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  12. Thanks, Maria....I love the colour combo too. Yes, we had a lovely afternoon with Mum and Dad visiting ~ :)

    Thanks, Jennifer ~ :)

    Thanks, Sandy! I'm so happy that you are feeling inspired ~ :)

    Thanks, Linda. Yes, Michelle has seen the pic on my blog but not in person. She has a lot of artistic ability herself which I'm trying to encourage along as she's never really utilised it. I only wish I had her creative mind ~ :)

    Thanks, Gwen ~ :)

    Thanks, Julie. I hope to have a pic up tomorrow of more progress, or hopefully finished ~ :)

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  13. Freehand is very difficult but its looking great!

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