Unicorn and Fairy WIP

6/28/12:

I've started a new artwork, and here is the sketch! It features a dark unicorn and fairy. I've only ever drawn a couple unicorns, so I was overdue to do another one. Of my others, one was a commission and the other is a really old drawing that I don't even have on my website.

Last month sometime, I was watching the movie "The Grey" with Liam Neeson and was inspired by all the wintery landscape. And for some reason a unicorn came to mind. I can't explain how these things happen since I don't even know myself. lol That's just how it came to me. And I decided to pair it with a pretty fairy, since I haven't painted any fairies in a while. My Fairies Gallery is lagging behind, without a single painting from this year added to it. It's time to rectify that. ;)

When I sketched this I didn't really leave enough room for the background I had in mind. So I'm going to paint it a little larger than I originally planned to add some extra space for the snow and trees.  I took the scanned sketch into Photoshop and made a mock-up of the coloring I'm thinking of using for this. I don't do this for every painting, but sometimes for ones I'm not entirely sure about or are a little more complex.

As I mentioned before, I want this to be a wintery piece, which considering it is about 100 degrees out today, sounds pretty great to me! Okay, so it doesn't have to be winter, but I would definitely be happy with some nice Fall-like weather right now. And some RAIN too! We're having a bit of a drought here in Michigan. Everything is so brown and ugly.  ANYWAY... the mock-up I did in PS is basically the direction I'd like to go with this. The colors with real paint will of course vary from this some, but it's gives me a good idea how to proceed.  Hmm... I tend to work in blue a lot, don't I? :)

I have no idea what I'm going to name this painting yet. I'll give it some though as I work. Meanwhile, I welcome any suggestions.

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7/10/12:

I wish that I was further along with this painting, but I just couldn't gather the energy to work on it much during our 2 week heat wave. I think my brain quit functioning for that period of time!  lol It was just way too hot. I have air conditioning, but it is old and just doesn't do a good enough job when it gets to be over 95 degrees. It's better than nothing, I'm sure, but it was still pretty miserable during the day.

Anyway, the heat finally broke this week and it has been a beautiful low to mid 80s. So time to get back to work. I made one disastrous attempt at this painting. The background turned out all wrong. So I'm trying a different approach.

I've actually managed to go this long as a watercolor artist without ever stretching my paper. I often work small enough that the paper buckling isn't a problem, and when I have done larger paintings I've gotten lucky enough that any warping of the paper didn't effect how the painting turned out. But this is the second time this year, where I've had a wash turn out awful due to the paper buckling and have had to trash the painting. So I'm finally caving and am going to stretch the paper for the first time with this painting. This was kind of a spur of the moment decision, so after soaking the paper in water, I stapled it to foam board. In the future, I will get something more substantial to attach it to. I have some hardboard panels, but I they're too thin to put staples through and they'd be really hard to remove. So hopefully the foam board will do for now. I've read that gator board is a good choice so I think I'll try that next time.

Once the paper is completely dry, then I'll transfer the sketch onto it. I'm also going to put some masking tape around the edges for a clean line, though I know I'm going to trim off at least some of the border. In the future, I will leave a larger border too. This one is cut a little close. Oh well.  :)

I just may update this tread with some more progress of this painting, so check back if you want to see it!


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7/11/12:

Well, I've learned that foam board is NOT a good surface to attach this to. It seemed like it was going to go well, but then I get up this morning and see that it curved the whole board as shown in the photo. I knew that it might absorb the water since the foam board surface is just paper, but I hoped maybe it would still stay flat because of the foam. No such luck.

So, I've started a new method. The thing is that I have to use materials that I already have right now. The craft stores I have around me (Michaels, Hobby Lobby) are pretty worthless for a lot of art supplies. They don't have any kind of board that would be good for stretching and don't even have gummed tape, which would be nice to try instead of staples. I usually order a lot of my art supplies online, but I don't want to have to wait for them to arrive. I'll get them for future use, but I want to get started on this painting now!

This time around, I'm going to try using a piece of hardboard that I have. The main reason I didn't try this in the first place is that I would have to use heavy duty staples, which will be harder to remove, and that the board is only 1/8" thick and my shortest staples are 1/4".

I've solved the thickness problem by taping a layer of foam board to the back of the panel. This gave just enough extra thickness that the staples didn't poke through the back.

After cutting the paper to the size I want it, I get a container of water and dip the paper in it for a few minutes. Then I lay it flat on the board and smooth it out with a paper towel, pushing all the excess water off of the paper. Once I'm sure that it's flat and ready, I start stapling it down.

So, now I have it stapled down and am currently waiting for it to dry completely. Fingers crossed that it will work out this time!









7/11 Part 2:

SUCCESS!!

Ready to move on to painting!

...finally

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7/12/12:

Yesterday, I laid down the first washes of the painting. It seems as if it is going to work really well with the paper stretched! Pictured to the right is an example of the new wash/s beside my first attempt on unstretched paper. That is the version I threw away and started over. In some cases, I don't mind some texture to the washes of paint, but in this case I don't want anything like that. 

So far it seems to be going well. I've built up the color so it is darker in the background behind them, leaving a lighter area where the moonlight will be shining through the trees a little.

Next I'm working on the trees in the background, starting with some of the more distant ones since they'll be lighter.

I know that much of the foreground elements are going to be dark colors or black so I'm not concerned about painting over them now. Except for her skin, which has had masking fluid applied to it to protect it.

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7/17/12:

I pretty much have the background done now. I added the nearest, darkest trees. I made the branches a little denser than in the sketch. I also shaded the snow and defined the fairy and unicorn so that they're easier to see when it come time to paint them in. I may think that the background needs more work once I get the foreground figures painted, but for now it looks pretty good.

Now it is time for the fun part... painting the fairy and unicorn! I know I'm going to start her skin next. I'm not sure if I will finish her completely before moving on the the unicorn or work on them both at the same time.

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7/19/12:

I did quite a bit of work on the fairy! I hope to get this done in the next couple of days. I'm pretty happy with how it's coming along so far. :)

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*UPDATE* 7/22/12:

Finally Finished!
I'm happy to say that I finished this painting last night and am really happy with how it turned out. It could be my favorite that I've done this year! :)

After finishing the painting, I had to remove it from the board. Since this was my first time stretching my watercolor paper and I had to use heavy duty staples, I wasn't sure how this would go. I just knew that I had to proceed very carefully! The first step was to remove the masking tape. That went well and left a nice clean border around the painting. My main concern was getting the staples out without hurting the painting.

The staples came out easier than I thought they would. I used a pair of needle-nose pliers and gently pried them each out. As long as I could get the pliers under the the staple, they wiggled out pretty easily. A couple of them gave me problems, and I was a little nervous about my hand slipping and accidentally gouging the paper. Luckily it was a success in the end and I got them all out. Next time, I'm definitely going to try a different method of securing the paper down, but the paper turned out so smooth that it is worth the trouble of stretching! The final thing that I did was to trim off the edges that had the staple holes, leaving about a 1/4" or so border.

So here is the finished "Midnight Travelers" (thanks to fellow artist, Wendy Fowler, for suggesting the title!)

8.5 x 12" Watercolor and white goauche. Prints available on my website HERE

Details:

Black Tiara -- New Art!

"Black Tiara" -- my newest gothic fairy!  I'm really happy with how she turned out; I hope you like her too!  :)

7.5 x 5.5" watercolor and white gouache.

Prints and the original are available on my website.

Details:

February news...

I need to try update my blog more regularly. This is pretty much all of February's news in one post. lol  If you want to make sure to get all my updates quickly, please follow my Facebook fanpage or subscribe to my newsletter (more about this further down).

This is my latest painting finished 1-2 weeks ago, "Absinthe" featuring, of course, the green fairy.  :)  I've wanted to do my own version of the absinthe fairy for a while.  I hope that yo like her!  Please check out the detail view on my website for a close view of her face.

The original painting has sold, but prints are available on my website.  Larger 13 x 19" prints are available in my ebay store.  I keep meaning to get those up on my website for most of my paintings, but that will be a large task and I haven't gotten a chance yet.  Feel free to contact me if you're ever interested in a print at that size and don't want to use Ebay or you don't see the image you want there.  It shouldn't be a problem for most of my artwork except for ACEOs or odd shaped ones like square paintings.  They're $29.95 each.

She's also available as a tube through Dreamscape Imaging for the taggers out there!

About my newsletter... I've recently switched mailing list providers.  I used Bravenet before, but I didn't like the ads in the emails I sent out, at least for the free service.  I also think they went to people's spam too easily.  So I found a better service with MailChimp.  For those who already subscribed to my newsletter, you've already been switched over.  For anyone else, if you'd like to join my mailing list to get my most important updates then feel free to sign up at the link in the first paragraph or at my website.  I promise I won't spam your inbox or anything.  I just alert you to newest art, special auctions, sales, products... things like that.  ;)

 I have some new bookmarks for sale!  This is a new type of bookmark for me.  These are laminated and don't come in the big vinyl sleeves.  Though the vinyl ones are still available, these aren't quite as bulky.  They're really beautiful, and available in my ebay store HERE.  Right now I just have one of each listed available. I will be continuously adding new ones as I make them, but eventually they will become a regular item of mine.  :)  I may phase the vinyl ones out and replace them with these, but for now you can get both.

Heaven and Earth Designs recently released a couple of my paintings as quick stitch cross stitch charts. Amaryllis and Sweet Pea!

JEWELRY
Though these were made in December/January I just realized that I never mentioned them in my blog.
All of these are for sale HERE

New chainmaille bracelet and necklace set (sold separately) done in the full persian weave.

A gothic necklace and earrings set (also sold separately)

And a beaded kumihimo braided bracelet!








I believe that is pretty much it for the moment.  I'm going to have a new ACEO painting done soon.  I really should have it done already, but I've been a slacker.  lol  I have it sketched and ready to go.  I just have to add color.  :)

I think that I will feel more productive once the weather gets a little nicer!  I'm so tired of winter and snow and cold... bleh!

On a more positive note... I have cute kitties to cheer me up!  They're just over 4 months old now.  :)

Pretty Storm

Winter Magic! A new Painting

"Winter Magic"

This is my newest painting that I finished last night!  A magical goddess of winter whipping up some snowy weather.  :)

I love how she turned out!  She's definitely a favorite that I've done in a while.  The tree actually took the longest to do, but in the end it was worth it to add the snow on the branches.  I'd contemplated just leaving them bare, but it really gave it some extra depth.

It's 11 x 14" Watercolor and white gouache.  Prints and the original painting are available on my website HERE

And also an update on my kittens! They are 9 weeks old now and crazy and adorable!!  We've decided to keep all of them.  We've gotten way too attached to them to give them away!  :)  Here are a few more recent pics:

Storm hiding in my hoodie

Bear, named for her large polydactyl paws

Loki

And a very content Mama!

New Painting and Jewelery

"Midnight Masquerade" -- This is my newest painting that I just finished Wednesday night!  She was done for the Enchanted Visions Project, and my first contribution to it!  :)  I'm really happy with how she turned out.  This is the first full-size painting I've done all Summer!

I still have 4 more of the Garden Series ACEOs left to do, but I needed a break to do something else.  I don't know if I'll do another bigger painting next or another ACEO.

Watercolor, white goauche and colored pencil.  8.5 x 11"  Check out the detail view!  Prints and the Original painting are available on my website!

New Dog Tag Necklaces!!
I made a new batch of dog tag necklaces recently!  These new ones feature the ladies of my Garden Series!  The dog tag necklaces are my favorites that I've made!  I think they showcase the artwork the best!  :)  These and more are available in my Etsy Shop for only  $12 each.  You can visit it by clicking the picture below!

Chainmaille!
I've recently tried out making chainmaille jewelry for the first time!  It's really addicting, so I can see making some more things in the future.  I already have a couple in mind!  :)

This was my first attempt... the Dragonscale weave.  It's kind of an ambitious weave for a first time, but I saw a bracelet like it, so I had my mind set on making one.  lol

My next creations were a matching necklace and bracelet!  I only intended on making the necklace, but had enough supplies for a bracelet too!  This was done in the Full Persian weave, with bright aluminum rings and large Jet Swarovski crystal beads!  I love them and was tempted to keep them for myself!  lol  But I put them up for sale on Etsy.  (might have to make a set for myself sometime ;) )  They are for sale separately in my shop.  Click the picture below to see them.

The Secret Door -- large version!

This is a commissioned, larger version of the original ACEO painting. It was ironic that I was contacted about doing a larger version of this since I was considering doing one anyway. I don't usually like to redo artwork, but this one seemed like it should be big. :)

Watercolor and white goauche. 8 x 12"

Limited Edition 8.5 x 11" prints available HERE
This edition is 100 prints.

Details:

Also Now Available!
If you liked my beaded "Twisted Heart" bracelet and necklace, I made a new bracelet (the original I kept for myself ;) ) so they are both now available in my etsy shop! They are sold separately. Click the picture below to see them both!



I got my new trial pair of contacts, and... one had a tear in it. So since it was the astigmatism one, they didn't have a new one available there and had to order a new one... so I have to wait another week for that. I'm getting rather sick of the whole thing. And I still need to get my glasses fixed with a new prescription for the astigmatism, which the doctor was going to write when I came back for the follow up with the new contacts. but because of the tear, that will have to wait longer too. *sighs* The new contacts seemed like they would have been the right prescription too, but the tear made things from the corner of my eye look blurry/distorted, mainly when light hit it. So pretty much nothing has been solved there yet. Fortunately, I haven't been getting so many headaches. I must be getting somewhat used to squinting. lol

The Secret Door - ACEO

This is an ACEO trade I did with ScarletGothica. You can see the beautiful one she did for me HERE.

Watercolor and white goauche. 2.5 x 3.5"

Limited Edition ACEO prints available on my website HERE.

Rose Garden Charm Bracelet

I've been trying out some beading lately, and this is something that I made. I really like it! I'm not going to sell this one. My mom liked it so much, I'm going to give it to her. But maybe I can consider it a prototype for some that I might make in the future.

These would be a little more special than my necklaces because the whole thing is hand-beaded. So I'd probably only be able to do one every now and then. :)

The beading became surprisingly quick once I got the hang of it. I made a keychain too yesterday. Maybe I'll post a picture of that later. It was actually intended to be a bracelet too, sort of like above, but I thought it was a little too clunky for that (I like my jewelry a little more delicate), so I turned it into a keychain. ;)

So I'm having some fun with some beading! I hope to have some new artwork soon! I have to finish a commission first, but I'm working on a couple things in between.

Almost Ready....

I got my first copy of my art book and it is gorgeous!! But there were some things that printed a little too dark, so I had to lighten them up and resubmit it. Now I just have to see how the changes turn out. Other than that it looks perfect, and if the dark pages print like I hope this time, I will be sooo happy! I'm excited for when I get to show everyone, because I'm really proud of this collection! :)

I'm working on an ACEO now. I haven't done one of those little paintings in a while. But I'm going to do some now, continuing both my animal and dragon series. So look out for some ebay ACEO auctions and the pre-orders for my book! :)

Rose Garden WIP

Here is a little preview of the painting I'm working on. I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to do with it at first, that's why the roses aren't in the sketch. I got the inspiration for those after I transferred the sketch and then drew them in. I had originally had more of a golden color scheme in mind, but since I also want her to be a bit gothy, I wasn't entirely sure how to make that work with the golden colors I had in mind. So I'll save that color scheme for another time. I also thought about making it a sort of sunset/blues color scheme, but decided against it since I've done a lot of blue colors lately. Now I've decided on some more rosy colors, but a bit muted. I like them so far. :)

Wild Vines

This one came together pretty quickly. I really like how it turned out. I knew when I started it that it was going to be green, but I didn't really plan to make it entirely monochromatic. That just sort of happened and I'm really glad that it did. It gives it a sort of soft, dreamy look. :)

Watercolor and a little white goauche. 5 x 7"

Original for Auction HERE!!

New Sketch!

This is a sketch that I've been working on for the past couple of days. I'm going to paint her next and then maybe get back to doing the third storm sketch so that I can start painting those. I haven't decided on a pose for that one yet.

This one was partially inspired by Laurell K. Hamilton's last Merry Gentry book. There was a scene in it where a vine grew into one of the guys and became a tattoo. I thought that was cool and wanted to paint something with it at some point. At first I was planning on making it a guy fairy, but I started sketching this and ended up using the idea. Oh well. :) I have to paint another male fairy soon. I haven't done that in a while... though I do still have my rat master elf guy to paint. ;) If you remember that sketch from a couple of years ago, I'm still hoping to paint him one of these days!

Store Sale!!

I'm having a sale in my Ebay store for the next week!!

Get 20% off all prints and 10% off jewelry! And if you spend at least $20 you'll get a free 5 x 7" "Thinking of You" print! Which is my newest Valentine's Day painting.

Visit my Store HERE!

Some One-Of-A-Kind Auctions!!

There is one last chance to own a print of the sold out ACEO, "Black Rose Immortal!" I have created a special, One-of-A-Kind hand-embellished 5 x 7" print of it. It comes matted too and will fit into any standard 8 x 10" frame! It is really beautiful and the only way to own a print of that image. Click the picture below to view the auction.

Also, I have some One-Of-A-Kind hand-Embellished ACEO prints of some of my art!! There will only be one of each of these, and I will be doing some more of other work soon. See those auctions HERE!