I have totally loved Christy Tomlinson's She Art 3 Class. Here's a sneak peak at me working away. I had a blast working on backgrounds in week one, loved adding girls without faces in week 2 and then totally froze when it came to adding a face. I can't paint eyes and a nose!! I could maybe do a mouth, but that's it. Who am I kidding? These are going to look like a kindergardener did them!! It took me a while to get brave enough to add the faces on. Once I did it though it was so freeing. Now I feel like I can do anything!
Here are so girls in progress. Check out my creative journey below.
This is a background I created in my art journal. It felt more safe, trying these girls with faces in there. If I hated it, I could always cover it up. There are no mistakes in art journals. Art journals are for trying new things, playing, discovering, etc. So, I was trying some new things, new colors, new products, etc. This first one is way outside my comfort zone. I never use lime green!! But I love it. It's so fun and bright and the red just brings it all home. I love everything about this background. Do you see the playing card on the left?
Here are some close ups.
Then I added on the girl. I love her. She is edgy and beautiful. I love her red cheeks and cute trendy top. I love how I kept the word "fly." The playing card became part of her face. I love the blue sun burst in the background. Love her.
"Grateful for You"
This background was one that I had started a long time ago and had no idea what to do with. The red on the background is an alcohol ink so it was really hard to work over the top of it. I added some soft pinks and blues to soften it up.
I love my fun new wonky chevron stencil from crafter's workshop!
Here I added some modeling paste for lots of texture and dimension.
Then I added the girl on top and she did not turn out at all how I imaged her in my head. I think I wanted her to be more dainty. Now I was stuck, what in the world do I do now? Plus the girl covered up a lot of the red in the background (which I loved before) and now the background felt wrong now too.
One of the things Christy talks about in the class is being willing to cover up some of your background so the girl is the focus. So I held my breath and painted white all over the background and I felt like it helped her to pop out.
After that she sat for a little. I still wasn't sure how to fix her, plus faces are scary right? After watching lots of videos and practicing some eyes in my journal, I dove in and painted on the face. And now I really like her. I love how the soft blue became more of the focus of this piece. She's not perfect, but I like her that way. I love her bright blue eyes.
This girl was inspired by me. That's probably why she was so hard and I struggled with her the most. I didn't know what I wanted her to say. I feel like I can finally see some of myself in her. A desire to be strong, a girl who's kind of soft and quiet, relying on good friends. Yep, that's me right now.
"A Good Friend Can Make all the Difference"
So much fun. I really feel like I'm growing as an artist and learning new things. I have so much I want to work on and explore when it comes to my art. It's funny how doing something you never though you could do, like painting faces, is so freeing. I feel so much braver and wiling to try new things. If there is something holding you back, conquer it. Be brave. Work on something new you didn't think was possible. Chances are you can do it and you will feel so free when you do.
