Showing posts with label Artwork In Progress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Artwork In Progress. Show all posts

Project LOVE

Project LOVE Begins




Project LOVE is a personal deep dive study/exploration into God's love for mankind by examining His works and character and then expressing them, as best as I can, through the written word and the visual symbolism. A special page has been created for Project LOVE and I will be adding content to as this spiritual art journey unfolds.


I've also started a podcast that I'm planning to do once a week....click HERE to listen to the first one.








** All images on this website are © by Michelle McSpadden, and may not be copied, transferred, duplicated or used in any way without expressed written permission **

ideas & prep-work



This week I ordered some oil bars and they should be arriving soon.  I have worked in acrylics for the past 20+ years, so I’m looking forward to dabbling in oil paints again.  The plan is to use a few of the larger canvases I have in my inventory for large scale heart paintings…I’m thinking they will be more along the lines of abstractions when completed, but that may change. 

The oil bars are a little different than using traditional oil paint in that the paint isn’t as fluid/soft as it is coming out of a tube and they can be used for drawing applications very easily OR they can be applied traditionally with a brush.  Here is a link to oil bars if you want to get a visual of them: http://www.winsornewton.com/na/shop/oil-colour/oilbar

I originally started off using oil paints in high school, but stopped after 6 years for two specific reasons: 1)  Paint thinners & additives started making me very nauseous and loopy when I used them and  2)  Acrylics seemed to fit the way I painted better, which at that time was in very thin layers.  I’m intending to use the oil bars more like markers and forego additives if I can.  There are “odorless” paint thinners and mediums on the market, but just because you can’t smell the fumes, doesn’t mean they aren’t there. 

This weekend I will be starting to get ready for Christmas by priming crosses that I will paint as gifts for friends and family.  (If they turn out ok.)   I should be able to post pics of the process as I go along.  It’s hard to believe how quickly the year has flown by, huh?

The Heart Series is still in motion, but no pics or videos are ready right now.  I was working on heart word/theme associations yesterday….here’s the list so far: hope, hopeful, hungry, thirsty, satisfied, calm, peaceful, tranquil, nervous, anxious, perplexed, doubtful, hard, gentle, kind, loving, love, soft, bold, brave, sour, bitter, sweet, rough, diseased, fast, slow, lost, courageous, smart, dumb, foolish, silly, beautiful, ugly, plain, exotic, humble, sad, happy, joyful, proud, evil, deceitful, bland, trustful, trusting, true,  cold, cool, caloused, torn, twisted, bound, wounded, hurt, hurting, healed, energized, loving, young, old, sympathetic, expressive, musical, purposeful, honorable, holy, perfect, light, brilliant, pure...

A Funny Realization

I hung out with my aunt over the weekend and as we were scanning chanels for something to watch we came across a Heart concert on MTV.  Without a doubt Heart has been one of my favorite bands for a very long time.  I remember listening to their albums my aunt and uncle had back in the early 80s when I was a little kid.  Several of their songs could easily go along with The Heart Series…as a soundtrack if you will. Hmmm…I may have to explore that more and look into copyright stuff for using their music.     ???

Paintings In Progress.....

Here are a few pics of the Colorbook paintings that were started on 11/05:





More Colorbook Paintings...

Here's a new group of colorbook style paintings that were started this week.  Over the next 2 weeks, I'll be doing the color washes.  Once they are completed, I'll post them on here. 



Beginnings...

A few weeks ago, I started a new group of paintings consisting of 8x10s and 9x12s.  After I photographed the underpaintings, I forgot to download them from my camera.  Whoops!!    


I was able to get a lot of work done today and completed several little paintings.   (minus their 2 final clear coats that make them SHINE)   The 5 x 7 paintings are a part of a new Colorbook series that are for upcoming shows.  They will be $25.00 each.  There are 6 new NuArt Minis as well.  (they are 3.5in x 5.5in)





Colorbook series - 5 x 7




Colorbook series - 5 x 7



The NuArt Minis have a Gold base coat...  They don't photograph very well, but look great in person!
 




These are still in progress...

Here are 3 paintings that I was hoping to finish up this weekend.... Guess I have my work cut out for me next weekend.  : )



Here are some paintings in progress...  I've been trying to get to the next level with compositions/concept development...sometimes it can be a difficult process, but I'm continuing to push forward.    : )




Colorbook Series


Colorbook Series

I got my new computer last Wednesday and absolutely LOVE it!!   I'm still learning my way around and today I focused on the Corel Paintshop Photo Pro software that I got to help me with my painting pics.  I still have a lot to learn, but here are two photos that I worked on:


I finally got some painting time in today; yay!!   The past two weeks have been hectic, so I'm looking forward to having more time to get work done.   : )

Here are my 5x7 sketches that I have attached to the easel on a piece of foamboard.



Here are some paintings...the backgrounds are still being blocked in:





Christmas is sneaking up on me...

So I'm busy trying to finish up the "minis" to give as gifts to friends and family.  All these little guys need are the color washes and clear coats, then they'll need to dry for at least 4-5 days before I can wrap them and put them into gift bags.  I should be completely done with this batch by Sunday evening, so I'll take my final pics then and post them.


Transition.....

After several years of focusing on abstract works, I finally got back into my desertscapes in 2010.  The last major desertscape I finished was "Perserverence" back in 2007.  This year, I started working on some "studies" for a new desertscape series and the process has been very interesting.  I've found that it's similar to learning how to ride a bike again....I'm having to refresh myself on spacial/aerial perspective, composition and color combos and it's weird for me, because I remember it being much easier.    Hmmm...     Anyways, as I'm pushing forward, I'm noticing some other things too.  In the past week, I've been working to abstract the land a little bit more and it's exciting to see the development.  I'm planning to stay in this "desertscape" mode for a while and develop it further.    Here are the latest pics of the paintings in progress:


3 New Paintings started...

It was a busy Labor Day weekend for me.    : )   Here are few newbies I'm working on:


And The Painting Continues...

Well, I’ve been slacking off on posts here lately, but I’ve been busy painting.  There are several 8 x 10 and 9 x 12 in progress right now, but I only put two pics below.   I wish I could complete a painting a day, but since I work in multiple layers, it takes quite a bit of time to build up the desertscapes.  Thankfully, I enjoy the process and every now and then can improve on the technique to help speed up the painting process.    : )




 

Painting Session 8/13

These are a few of the small paintings I have going right now.  I'm enjoying the journey and loving the process.  : )

8/10 Painting Session

Tonight I did more painting on my little "Peaceful Mesa" study.  I think I'll do a few studies on this particular theme/image to experiment with different color combos, but we'll see how things go with this one in the next few days.      I just got my new light tent yesterday to help me take better pics of the art.  The light tent works by diffusing the light and evenly distributing it so that glares and shadows are reduced.    I LOVE IT!!   (See the pics below)    If you're an artist and are looking for a good buy, I got my 24 x 24 in. Cowboy Studio light tent through Amazon at a pretty good low price.   :)




Painting Session 8/05

I'm back in the saddle again...Just started another desertscape series this week, so I'll be journaling my progress here a few times during the week. 
 

The Sketching Continues...

I'm still working on the desertscape sketches and for the first time in a long time, I'm enjoying this part of the creative process.  Sometimes, it's so tempting for me to rush into a new a painting or series without slowing down long enough savor this crucial stage....I'm so very thankful for this particular season in my art career; Jesus is certainly teaching me a lot.    : )



More sketches coming in a couple of days.....