"Brave" Painting Complete and On It's Way!

"Brave" oil on masonite 20 x 30 cm by Christina Lank

 I am so late again! Here is my completed portrait of Amy Lou entitled "Brave" - made with oils on a small piece of masonite. It is one of my first ever complete oil paintings - which has been exciting for me ^^
It feels like lately like finishing things keeps on being interrupted or delayed! I sent off that half complete collab this month, and I have a 60% complete Grimm painting and 3 small oil paintings just sitting around looking happy on my shelf asking me to finish them :P Blah!

But the experience of painting with oils has been a trying but exciting one ^^ I have gotten alot of great help from artists in my collective - the Red Sirens who have told me a thousand and half good tips coming to one conclusion: experimentation!

certificate of authenticity for "Brave"

But there's good news amidst my inability to sign and complete paintings! Brave has been sold to my beautiful model! Who has waited so patiently for the blacks to dry, for the varnish to go on, and for the bubble wrap to go in place!

the pretty part of the packaging!

I got to try out my gold wax seal today woot! It got sent off tonight in the middle of a artic feeling rain storm in Sweden while I wondered how all my friends and family in Maryland will be fairing with the Frankenstorm on it's way :P

So to all of you on the East Coast - keep safe and dry and batten down those hatches!! And thanks again Amy!

Painting of a Collab - Part 1!

work in progress of my oil and acrylic collab painting

Ah busy days and times. I found out about 2 weeks ago that Amy Minchew and I were chosen to be a part of the fabulous Modern Eden Gallery's collaboration show called "Allied Forces" - in which 2 artists needed to make a piece together.
The scary part has been that the painting needs to be there in San Fran by November 11th - and I needed to paint this and ship to Amy in Georgia in time for her to paint and ship it! Leaving very little room for error :P

progress shot from instagram while I painted the hair upside down :P

 I decided I would do a background of trees and a gradient as fast as I possible could in acrylics, and move onto oils later with massive amounts of Liquin to make sure it was dry and ready to ship in time!!

the final part of my half of the collab - with the certificate of authenticity!

Richard built the box frame for me, and I set out to work, even fighting through a virus to get this done :P The title is "Equinox" and was inspired by a friend of mine who once had a dream 10 years ago that I had a blossoming nipple and has never let me forget it hehehe.

Now shes off to Amy with lots of speed and no damage! We've got our fingers crossed!
Next up....Grimms Fairy Tale show in Las Vegas. And therell be some dark birds involved... ;)
Wish me luck!

Paintings come home and oils take over

my studio upstairs, littered with my oil painting adventures

Hello everyone! It is a rainy Saturday today, and September is coming to a rather quick close. But as it were my oil paintings continue on as I am determined to get these done SOON, at least most of them :P Before I run out of time!

I had many issues with her face, like her eyes, nose and mouth

but I have worked hard to make her look as true to life as possible

I have really enjoyed working on my portrait of Ulrika this week! She, herself, came over last weekend for a bit of a make over and photo shoot for many projects which I hope to work on ^^ I actually met her at the train station in the morning a few weeks back! She's going to art school herself and I was just struck by her beautiful features I had to ask her to let me use her for my paintings ^^
Me sounding ultra creepy aside - I am very happy she did as to me she has a very inspiring face.

As my instagram followers say: The Asian Pocahontas!

I am still working very slowly on Amy's portrait as well. I have actually changed it since I took this photo - more black hair, wider mouth, and fixed that wonky looking eye (I accidently painted over the glare giving her a cross eyed look -_- oops). But that peony has been consuming my time and my patience tbh. Only ever decide to paint a peony if you have vast amounts of energy and the ability to compartmentalize and memorize tiny nonsensical details. *Nods head*.

All my paintings up there, well some of them for a short amount of time

I got my paintings back from Malmö today! Though 4 of them have new owners, I hung up all the ones which either dont, or will be leaving within the next month up to make my walls feel very homey. I have never been able to hang any of these paintings in my house before so its nice to have them up here ^^ If you're interested in purchasing any of the paintings - nows a good time to jump on it! Just email me for details! contact@plantiebee.com

Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend ^^

Painting with Oils and Concepting Concepts

Oh how time flies, and I continue to neglect my blog. Well, I can tell you all the going ons right about now. My solo show opened beginning of this month - which was alot of fun and a wonderful experience!

me at the gallery, with Torn in the background!

Shortly after my mom flew over to Sweden to visit me and I celebrated my 25th birthday!! For a wonderful birthday present, my baby bought me a huge set of Schminke oils to try, as a transition away from acrylics ever so slowly...

lots of beautiful oil colors and new brushes to boot!

So, during this brief moment of rest I have been doing smaller pieces to see how they work and compare to my beloved Golden Open colors - which I have been a huge fanboy of ever since I started painting with them....

Painting my dear friend Amy Lou

My new amazing easel, with Amy's wolf companion painting on it!

My first ever oil painting around the half way mark, made from a sketch

I wish I could show you a few newer pictures of the paintings but my phone is misbehaving :P Heres what I think between the two: Golden Open Acrylics vs. Schminke Oils

• Covering Power: The very first noted difference I made was the smooth covering power of the oil paints. I usually have to paint several layers of an acrylic base to make it look that smooth - so it was a happy relief
• Drying Times: You need to be very careful with how much oil additive you use in oils :P I use safflower oil to lessen the yellowing effect on my light tones, and this takes twice as long to dry. It can be very handy to use ofc, using Liquin to speed up the drying can ALSO be very handy but its just about the situation. When using the safflower oil it can take nearly 2 days or more to dry. So have multiple projects ^^
• Ease of blending: I work very hard to blend acrylics to the best of my abilitiy, but it can never be completely stand still perfect. You can blend alot easier after fewer layers with oils - but I would say it is much more brush dependent!! You need just the right size of a very soft brush to make nice blending. I have also found it more difficult to add in the darker tones to skin and such. 
• Color tones: There is a marked difference between the tones of oils and the tones of acrylics. I love earthy tones myself, which in acrylics can be slightly harder to achieve as they are a very vibrant paint on their own. Oils are much more muted, at least from my experience so far (I have 16 colors of oils at the moment). Though I do miss alot of my cool Golden Open colors like Iridescent Pearl or other fun different tonal ranges which add umphf.

art trade envelopes are something I'd like to do more of in the future!

 Alot is coming up though and I have much to prepare for.
I will be in the Red Siren Art Collective's show EleMental at the 423West Gallery in Los Angeles on April 13th 2013! I have my concepts all in the works and models on their tasks - but its all very hush hush I am afraid so little photos...

I just got work I have been accepted to take part in a group show at the Auguste Clown Gallery in Melbourne, Australia!! More details on that soon I hope!

And I am also going to be in the October issue of Catapult Magazine! So keep your eyes peeled for that!! I am super excited!! :D

All in all, I am going to be very busy. So my play time with oils will be coming to an abrupt end very soon, replaced by real work. Tick tock ;)
Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!! :D