Saturday, April 14, 2012

Spring is utterly late, so says I

Hey all, happy weeekend to you too ;)
I am so cold today - being out in the garden for the first time in ages. It is 50 degrees outside - which apparently I am told is spring temperatures but I feel like I am stuck in a never ending winter.
I cant wait for the earth to get off its bum and turn Sweden a little more towards the sun - I am tired of wearing a heavy jacket!!

my dark forest, with a wee bit of shine on the side
Anyway, I'll stop complaining and get on with it :P
I have been working in the evenings to try and get this background to shape up a bit! Its been a little bit wonky - as I said in my last post I was painting with my standard Galeria paints.
Then I added glazes in different areas, and switched to a few Golden Open colors for convenience...and its created a very odd effect.
The standard colors are very dull and matte. They only come back to life once varnished. However the glaze and the Golden colors go on very bright and shiny and stay that way. So I am having a dilemma of trying to see things clearly as certain parts of the painting just shine out as if they dont belong :P

less shine on this one, yes that grass was annoying
Since last night I have been working on creating dimension in the grass. This has meant using an old brush which has a habit of splitting into several points at the end to place in a grass effect...then go over bits and paint single pieces by hand.
I want to add more of the light colors from the background onto the grass...and so on. So all in all theres alot more work to be done on just that.

I know what youre thinking. What on earth is this going to be a painting of? Well I can tell you I drew inspiration from the book "Fragile Things" by Neil Gaiman which this collection is named after...and also something from up here in the north. Sweden is pretty much the most fantasy-ridden country I have been in. Despite theyre modern distain for all things magical - they do have some nice old folklore from way back when!

Stay tuned ^^
I have come up with concepts for all 10 paintings for the collection, and have to finish one every 2 weeks before Septembers show....so expect alot of stuff out of the woodwork over here :P

Have a great weekend everybody! :D

4 comments:

  1. WAAAH! I am just breathless. Bob Ross would be very VERY jealous of your grass. I always find that stuff such a pain to paint with acrylics and you've done it marvelously. Seriously, what are you going to do when your rich and famous? I am so friggin' looking forward to a calendar from you for next year. I hope you make one ^_^

    I have a question... what makes a collection.. a collection? How do you choose a theme for your collections? I'm thinking of doing some sort of themed collection too ^_^

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    1. Lol Bob Ross. Yeah thatd be good times :P
      Thanks so much Sasha, and thanks for reposting this onto facebook!! That does mean alot to me <3.
      I will try my hardest to make a calender by the end of the year I promise :P This collection will certainly be large enough, its just a matter of me shaping up now and painting faster *yikes*

      Good question, what does make it a collection...well, for me its a string between all of them. For the Bird Girls that was easy. A kindred spirit bird with a woman - many women different birds.
      For this one I drew upon the things I really like. You can read more about here in my Current Project tab: http://plantiebee.blogspot.se/p/current-project.html
      It came about from a discussion I was having with my boyfriend, who is the other half of my brain with all my projects. I had just finished reading the book Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman..and I drew inspiration from there.
      Actually the painting which inspired it all, I havent even begun. Shes next!
      So keep your eyes out I suppose :P
      I love collections as they keep you focused. I can get quite lost in terms of creativity and having a thousand ideas a minute, then having nothing inspiring at all. Theres also something about having a set of creations...like a continuous thought of art.
      Anyway, I would love to see a collection from you in the future miss!
      Hope youre well <3

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  2. When I saw how you did your trees (or maybe it's just that big fan brush) I thought of Bob Ross as well. At least, Bob Ross's Dark and Mysterious side! I think your colors are fabulous and the lighting on this painting is really nice. I HATE it when my paints are different finishes!!! It is very hard to see what your actually doing, and I find it to be a very relieving experience to finish it with a consistent varnish! :)

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    1. Haha, I am the new age Boss Ross ^^ Cant complain, he is afterall a household name – and fan brushes are pretty darn handy if you ask me :D Oh, I know – the different finishes are so so distracting, I agree. And whereas I would be happy to varnish it and have it all smoothed out – the painting is so dark that varnish will be make it an absolute nightmare (one of which I have consistently repeated throughout my latest paintings). If you know how to avoid glare, please let me know :D
      Thanks for stopping by my blog!! I have followed yours now too, look forward to your new pieces ^^ xox

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