Wendy's Creativity >> November

[Wendy]

Hello :)

On a roll...so I don't want to stop now!

[DJ]

Yes, by all means, play with color...I can't wait to see the results!
The thing about digital is you can always revert and go in another direction...
Fun!

[Wendy]

5/November

I've shifted my attention toward the drawing the PBS interviewer asked me to paint in color. It's one of my favorite drawings - mostly because it has personal meaning to me :) I've saved the idea until my painting skills developed, but looks like the time to paint her is...now. For me, it will be pretty ambitious. Color is my nemesis :)

Also, this is in a completely different style than I usually draw. Was attempting something between realism and...not.

[jane]

my my - what a different scene greets me tonight... another whole range of talent shining forth. in real life how big is this drawing?

excited to see what happens next - is the next step the colour? x

[Wendy]

You make me smile, Jane :)

This drawing is about 9"x12" And...now that I've started painting it, I see that I'll probably want to keep both styles intact because they appear to be VERY different from one another.

My first step is to paint it all in grayscale. Later, I'll convert it into colors.

Decided to keep with yesterday's train of thought and use some DRAMATIC lighting, which is very new for me. I started painting last night - blocking out the lights and darks. The face/hair is still pretty blurry because I always start with the areas I like LEAST, so I have something to look forward to, lol.

Here is how she's shaping up...

[jane]

love the dramati lighting... and the girl is cutesie and scary at the same time... the bow in her hair is a great touch. you sure work fast wendy... and for something you dont like doing - think the hair looks great... kinda reminds me of your hair a little 8)

[Wendy]

Ooohhh, thank you Jane - you are making this so fun! I Do go fast, don't I? It's crazy. I tell everyone that I'm the s.l.o.w.e.s.t. artist in the world. It literally would have taken me 2-3 weeks to get to this point. But, instead of starting in color, I'm painting in back and white...apparently, I can do that fairly quickly - it's only the 3rd one I'm trying that way.

The hair is exactly like mine, lol. It was that length/size at the time I drew it. I just love the combination of scary/cutesy and beautiful/grotesque, stuff like that....it makes me so happy that you can see it in there!

After not looking at the painting for a few hours, I'm looking now and it looks pretty good with that lighting. Wow – I was so unsure doing it. It's really hard for me to visualize what is supposed to be in shadow and what isn't. I tried to look in a mirror last night, in a dark room, with a flashlight under my chin - to learn. The darn batteries ran out, lol!

I almost wonder if this might look good all in greyscale with maybe just parts of it in color. At the moment though, I have a fairly elaborate color-plan going on, lol. We'll have to see - keep your eye out for your thoughts on that...

[Wendy]

6.November

Have done a LOT of creative thinking over the last day and a half! I've been feeling sad that I seem to be at a standstill with my latest altered book - the one with the giant teeth and tongue, lol. In a desperate call for help I sent an email to a few intellectual friends, asking for some concept ideas. I was amazed at how quickly they responded and with such variety. I loved one idea, in particular because it sparked off an entire direction in my mind....just what I'd hoped would happen. So, I'm pretty excited about that now!

Worked on my voodoo girl painting, still trying to finish the greyscale version. I hoped to tighten up the face and hair. Got to the face but now I feel completely brain-dead, so the hair will have to wait. Busy weekend planned, so not sure how much I'll be doing in the next coupla days – plus, I want to work on my book, too :) Here she is so far (yesterday>>>today)...

[Susan Hosken]

Wendy, More spooky art. i am enjoying sharing your process.
lots of love from susan in australia

[Wendy]

Taking a look at this after a few hours away. She's lost her "cutesy". Oh, no!! Earlier today, she looked too pretty...not scary enough, so I changed her left eye (the bigger one). Now, I'm seeing that I need to redo that eye once more. She looks a lot older to me, too. Also, the black lines around her nose are looking too harsh. Drawing mouths at a three-quarter view is hard for me. Think I'll do a little looking in the mirror for a good reference.

Interesting how little things can change her expression a LOT.

I was just reading this digital painting tutorial that said in order to be a good painter, you can't be afraid of repainting portions that don't work. I'm gonna give it a try!

[jane]

hi wendy - expect things have changed again in the last few hours... but for now....

yes she is way less cutesy than before - her eyebrow above the bigger eye seems to have given her a more sinister look - and yes the expression around her nose and mouth also, i agree, makes her look older. But she looks more solid in terms of the shadows and her shape and i like that. Second thoughts - she looks as if she is further away in her thought patterns - looking at the viewer but her mind is a long way away....

I dont dislike the changes at all - i guess really its down to how you see this woman developing - and maybe the more sinister look goes with the theme...

the poor doll has seen a few too many punches in the face too!! lol... x

[Wendy]

:) Yes...she has seen some changes – now she's eyeless all together, lol! The changes is converting the line art to full shading is an interesting one in this case, because it was more cartoony than my usual style. Perhaps I will not paint her as thoroughly/realistically to try to retain that style? We shall see...

Yes, poor dolly. Looks like she's stuck him with many pins and nails before!

Hmmm...I think I might be ready to try a happier theme next time! She IS spooky!

[Wendy]

Okay...the past few days...

I've resuscitated my "mouthbook" piece. After feeling so frustrated about not feeling a concept for it, I sent out a creative SOS (with the book's picture) to some bizarre-minded-intellectual friends ;) asking for brainstorming prompts. Was amazed at how quickly and varied their responses were! I got one prompt that I seem to connect with a lot, so now I'm back in action!

Returned to painting my voodoo girl. Seems she recovered some of her cuteness...or at least pretty-ness from the last go around. I'm starting her hair now and feeling VERY anxious to move into the color stages. Below: left is where I was and right is where I am today...