Thoroughbred….Finito

I left off around here from my last post in June. 



I procrastinated a lot because I really get scared when I know I have to paint hair.    Once I regained my focus, sat down and settled into " just keep it simple" .  Paint a strand at a time.  I was able to
get something down that resembled hair.



After the hurdle-of-the-hair…I could then get started on details!  Oh, how I love the details!  Because of that fact, I will probably never be able to paint a more flowy-moving watercolor abstract figure….but I can see myself trying.



It’s good to step back and take the whole picture in.  I wanted to get each piece (horse body, jockey, head, saddle) to the same level of completion as I went along.  Which is a little different for me, because I’ve been known to compartmentalize those sections.



I do like shadows, and I like folds!  As you can see, because the folds kept getting deeper.



After this picture was taken, I realized how little color the jockey has in his face.  I added more blush tones to his cheeks and lips.



If I were really good, I would do backgrounds with these beautiful animals….but I have zero confidence in my ability to paint decent backgrounds.  Hopefully I’ll level-up and do a background soon.



This is about as good as he’s gonna get…So  he’s off to the frame shop and the printer.  I’m going to see what this will look like printed out on watercolor poster paper.

Yoga Girl….Colorized

Posted this picture back in January with my Yoga Girl One post.



Brought in color.  I thought it would be cool to have a more batik looking outfit with a lot of color movement.    Watercolors can pull this off rather easily



I thought I’d balance the red in her outfit with the opposite color….Green.  But it did not turn out well.  Much too dark.



I pulled up a lot of that green with a brush and water.  A unique element of working in this medium.



I like the mat better here, a lighter shade of green.



I stalled on this project for about a month because it was hair time.  I tend to do that a lot.  But what I really need to remember….is to keep the crown of the head’s hair darker, by putting many more lines (strands) in.



Last thing to do before completion is this hand.  It’s not watercolored yet, just showing the w/c pencil stippling now.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to blend this better for a more realistic impression.



My kitchen table!!  Soon to be cleared off…. close to completion…..   

The making of a Diver…..Wrap Up

The making of a DIVER….drawing style.  This only took me one year to complete!  First post here back in Feb 2014.



I started out having the diver in a blue suit.



Then in March after my daughters college Swim & Dive championship….I decided to make the suit fit her team colors.  Wasn’t sure where I was going with that choice, but it seemed the right one at the time.



After putting the drawing aside for a few months….I’d pull it out for a day or two and darken the colors.



Then I’d forget about it for awhile.



I think I figured out why I slacked off so much…..I was only working with 2 colors….Skin-tone and Green.  And boredom set in.



I even pulled out my anthropologie swim glass to keep my motivation up!  It seemed to help



Since these babies can start taking over a room fast, at 22x30 inches.  I kept the framing simple.  Purchased a premade frame during the half off sale and framed it without the mat. She’s not my proudest piece…but I’m glad that she is done.  I must say, if I drew a diver that I knew then I’d feel differently about this piece.  But I gotta practice somewhere and my photography skills are a bit weak

Yoga Girl….One

After Christmas…..I was itching to draw again….to draw figures.  I’ve been doing a lot of marker work lately.



I found this yogi on instagram (KrisenPro)…..and I got started.
My goal is:

• To NOT pull out my colored pencils (until the very end)
• To ONLY use watercolors and w/c pencils.  Yikes!

I knew I needed to do a background….since that’s the next level.  I thought a mandala would work nicely. But I had one problem, my compass could only draw a 9” circle max.  Ugh!!  After a youtube search, I rigged my own compass.



I just made a bunch of concentric circles of varying widths.



After I took the compass point padding away, I lost my center for the mandala.  So, I had to re-establish it with the green dot.



This has been very fun to do….I get to combine two of my favorite drawing styles…..photo-realistic Figures and Marker Doodling



I started out coloring in the design with sharpies….but the ink in the sharpies looked dull.  I had to pull out my liquid India Ink and switch to Faber-Castell black markers since they have india ink in them.



Here is a reference for the size of the picture (22 x 30).  I’m kind of surprised I’m going big again, had initially wanted to only do half this size.



Detail work.



More detail work.



I had to complete the background first….now I can continue on with the figure.  That background has a huge influence on the colors used for the girl.

Ballerina Babe

I think referring to this piece as a Baby is appropriate.  She sure demanded a lot of me.  She’s over six months old now and just starting to gain some independence and show some of her own personality.  Thank Goodness! 



Roughed in the ballerina with a watercolor wash.  Things look pretty chunky here.



I stuck with watercolor and w/c pencils for the shoes.



I had to tone down the ladies orangey-ness.  (It seems she likes carrots!! Haha)



I didn’t touch this piece throughout February and most of March.  I finally realized I couldn’t avoid the hair any longer if I wanted this finished.  Studied up a bit on hair rendering.  Apparently, I need to pick at least 4 colors, one highlight, one low-light and the rest in between.  I am to make each strand go in the direction that it lays.  With the highlight areas, I just left the white alone.



Don’t judge me too hard, I still have lots to learn.  But at least it’s passable.  Meaning…..you know that it’s hair.



As is my habit, I brought in my fine-point microns to finish the job. When I go over the colored pencil, the tip of the markers take up some of that wax……time is spent squiggling that wax off as seen here.



With my skill level…this is as good as it’s going to get.  So I deemed her done.  Off to the frame shop. 


Couldn’t capture the same light cuz I wasn’t up early enough. (Pic on left from Dec, Pic on right from Today)



Lessons learned:

• Be careful with the amount of water used for the paper type.  I’ve since found some other sturdier w/c illustration board that I want to try next.
• It’s ok to pop your colors….I preferred the ballet slippers brighter, but realistically the first color was more accurate.  Yea, for creative license!!
• Bring in the colored pencils after the watercolor work is done. No one wants to go over colored pencils with watercolor…trust me!
• Don’t expect perfection.
• 
  

And the image that started this….found her on instagram.…check out user @infinitylove231