When digital meets acrylic painting
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When digital meets acrylic painting
My love for hybrid art continues.
I have read articles and comments by some people who are convinced that any art created digitally is somehow cheating. I don’t believe that … although I have the same concerns as most people when I see how AI has been able to create art in the absence of a human artist.
I create many of artworks in a digital format – from the initial sketch to the finished piece it is all digital. But I also create pieces that start as acrylic painting and then become something more when I finish them digitally.
Is it cheating? I really don’t think so. It is me who makes the digital choices to finish the painting as much as it was me who used the paintbrush on the initial painting. In any case, I like the finished pieces and I hope you do too …
A cat, a crow and a penguin, oh my!
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A cat, a crow and a penguin, oh my!
Ok, I admit it. I love painting animals. Most recently, I have been trying to focus on animals other than dogs – not always easy though. I love the character and energy that dogs bring to a painting.
Still, I am pleased to have recently finished paintings of a cat, a penguin and a crow.
The penguin just demanded to be painted – I had no say in that one 😉
The crow was a gift to our office Moira (for all the Schitt’s Creek fans that will make sense).
The cat … ugh … like most cats this one had a mind of its own, not willing to come together until the time was just right. I may paint some more cats soon … but I may need to feel a bit braver first!
When is a landscape a landscape?
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When is a landscape a landscape?
When I hear people talk about painting landscapes I must admit I think about gum trees and ocean views. Beautiful subjects to paint. Gorgeous colours. I’ve enjoyed seeing my friends paint some amazing works of landscape art.
Recently I’ve been considering what landscape means to me. Is the built form that surrounds us? Is it the story being told? Is it simply a painting that is not about people? (Although I always think of people in the landscape whether they are seen or not!).
I’m still not sure if I can define completely what a landscape is for the purposes of what I create … and in the end it probably doesn’t matter. For me, it is all about colour, shape, the story. If the end result happens to be considered to be a landscape then it’s a landscape 🙂
And what exactly is "hybrid art"?
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And what exactly is "hybrid art"?
The world of art is always changing. The mediums we use to tell stories, to evoke emotions are many and varied. A “traditional” artist – uses oil paints, acrylic paints, pastels, coloured pencils – something to make a mark on a substrate. If I am creating traditionally I tend to use mostly acrylic paints – although mixed media (adding pencil marks, ink etc) holds a very definite appeal…
If I am working “digitally” I use my iPad and my Apple Pencil to make my marks and tell my story.
So, what is “hybrid art”? It’s my favourite way of working. I start with a drawing – something simple, pencil on paper. What story do I want to tell? From there I take that drawing and swapping between Photoshop and Fresco I refine my drawing; refine the story. Then I use photographs I have taken to add texture and depth to the drawing – moving it from a simple line drawing to a finished piece. It is amazing how a photograph of a paint splatter or a concrete driveway or a series of charcoal lines on paper can become trees, water, or simply texture.
What is awesome about the process then is the move back to more “traditional” work – when I send the picture to the printers. Quality printing on hahnemeule paper and the work is finished – ready for framing and hanging.
Can you tell that these are “hybrid” artworks?
Celebrating 100 hundred days!
Create something, learn something, be better at something for 100 days ... 100 day project challenge accepted. I am delighted to be able celebrate the completion of the challenge! 100 days done and dusted!
I started this project on January 31, 2021, setting myself the goal of drawing people for 100 days. Totally out of my comfort zone and with no idea of whether I would even complete the project, but I figured any drawing is better than no drawing.
I started with a simple sketch in an art journal ... probably the first time I had even thought about using a reference for a drawing. Incredibly obvious now ... but hey, I was 100 days less wise ;-)
Over the 100 days I experimented with pencil sketches, using coloured pencils, gouache, acrylic paints and eventually digital tools as well. The transition across to digital was actually a happy accident. I had been doing a sketch at a coffee shop and just couldn't get it to work. Came home, uploaded the sketch to Photoshop to see if I could do something with it and the fun began from there.
Creating digital drawings from initial hand drawn sketches is such fun. I can have a total "mixed media" moment and incorporate painted backgrounds or even drawings into each piece ... oh yep, sky is the limit!
I also got braver and had more fun with my painted people. It is a totally different approach when I paint instead of draw so that was fun.
Another benefit of the project was the push it gave me to explore drawing in ways I hadn't before. The timing of the project aligned beautifully with a life model drawing class that was being offered at BIA. And so, without no experience in drawing with charcoal and ink and absolutely no experience at all working with a model, I started the class. Wow. once again I was out of my comfort zone and once again I was all the better for the experience.
It took me about 2 more weeks longer than the actually 100 days to get the 100 days of drawing and painting complete (life just gets in the way sometimes) but I am so pleased to have stuck with the project. It was great fun and I think 100 days of deliberate practice has gone a long way towards making me more confident in drawing and painting people!
A kiwi and a kookaburra
I am definitely on a theme at the moment - my two newest paintings are both of birds! A bit of a departure from some of my other paintings - but still in keeping with the animal theme.
Like all my other paintings, I just paint what I "see" in the canvas. No plans to paint anything in particular. I just start painting and see what happens. The only aim I had with these two was to work with colours I don't normally use - heading over more into the greens than I normally do. I rather like the colour combinations - I think I'll do some more experimenting with this palette.
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Hello Kiwi -
Hello Kookaburra
Meet Monty and Montie
I have been struggling for a while to find my painting mojo. I have been looking for inspiration from some amazing artists but all I ended up doing was copying their art and making myself more frustrated. I felt a little like I was going in circles and ending up back where I started ... only a little less confident.
So ... I decided to embrace the way I like to paint and the paintings I like to paint. I like to start with colour and pattern and then "find" the painting wanting to be found.
And so I painted Monty and Montie :-)
I am not sure this is a painting for everyone but I am happy with it. These two were just begging to be painted. Serious men doing a serious job ;-)
A little bit of collage
I want to like collage. I really do. I see the collage art of some artists and feel totally inspired to incorporate collage into my art. Then I do ... and then I think "why did I add collage"? :-)
There is something about the texture of collage that inspires me and yet I don't like painting over texture. I love painting on boards - even in preference to canvas. The smooth surface of the board is inspiring - a truly blank space to create on. Still, I haven't given up on collage. I am participating in a year-long online class by Carla Sonheim. I love her collage work. She makes her art interesting and yet simple. Love.
So I will persist in creating some collage pieces - mostly in my art journal. I always happy to experiment in my journal. Maybe I will learn to love collage ...
Summer flowers
This painting is still a work-in-progress ... I am enjoying using bright, cheery summer colours. The days are warmer (ie hot!) and the sun is shining. I am inspired by the weather to go bright.
I still have plenty of detail to add and a few more layer of brights and darks to provide the depth I'm after but this was a fun way to end the semester of painting ... back to the flowers from the start of the semester but a bit freer and brighter.
Oh Christmas tree!
Ok - so it is probably a little too early to get in the festive spirit - but the Christmas trees just needed to be painted.
We haven't done too much decorating but the table at the entry to our house is always being updated to match the season. With the Halloween decorations put away the table looked a little bare ... so it must be time to move from orange and black to red, white and green!
A simple negative painting of Christmas trees - with some simple decorations - just enough to finish the space I think!
