I’m no Van Gogh…I have both my ears :P

Greetings Friends,

I have a few projects I’m currently working on. The majority of them are paintings. I really haven’t done too much painting before. I prefer to color my work in photoshop…because there is an erase button…nah I’ve just used that for so long I’m the most comfortable with it. But as it is harder to create “large” pieces using photoshop, I don’t have much of an option but to do them on canvas. It’s not that I dislike painting, I just haven’t had as much practice.
Since I use acrylic paint for painting the features on my Myxies, I figured it would work the same for canvas. The only problem I have with acrylics is it dries a little too quickly, making it difficult to spread the paint as far as I need. Of course it works just fine for small detailed paintings because I don’t have to wait as long to add the next color. Lord I’m so impatient! Never the less I went searching for just the right paint for me. I have heard a lot about watercolors, in fact at shows many people ask if that is what I use to color my work…nope, that’s just good ol’ photoshop.
So I went to my favorite place…Michaels and picked up some water colors. But when I tried to use them, to my dismay, they didn’t work how I expected. The paint didn’t seem to soak into the canvas like other paints. It just sort of sat on the top and beaded up…Now that won’t work at all. Perhaps it was the type of canvas I use or maybe it could have been a cheap brand of watercolors but needless to say I was not impressed.
So until I found something that works for me, it looks like I will continue using acrylic. But since I am fairly new to the whole painting thing, I always appreciate any advise anyone can give me on what I should try. Thanks Friends!

Salutations!
~Caralyn

Just Some Random Nonsensical Jibber Jabber

Hiddy-ho friends,

As you all know (if you read my last blog) I went to Binders the other day. Well I got some scratch board while I was there. Scratch board if you don’t already know is this nifty white board that has a black cover that you scratch off to make a picture instead of drawing on it. I enjoy doing it, it’s a lot easier than I thought it would be when I first heard of it. Anyhoo, I picked up my usual 8x10 and 10x12 that I started using and have grown oh so fond of, but I also picked up a few 4x7s (because they were on sale…WHOOT). I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do with them but I figured if anything I could use them as practice, since there is no erasing when it comes to scratch board. I did a couple of doodles and then got to scratching. I chipped away at the black as sounds of the incredible Hulk echoed from the TV…Hulk is not my music of choice when arting it up, that’s just what was on at the time. By the time the movie was over I had finished with one of the 4x7s. I don’t normally work on small canvases or what not but I may have to start doing that more often. It was great I feel like I have found a new relaxation tool…No not the Hulk!
Okay well that was all I wanted to say. Don’t know why I felt the need to tell you this, it wasn’t grandiose or anything. Just bored I guess. Well thanks for reading it anyway.

Now back to work the lot of you :P
~Caralyn

Patience is a Virtue

Hiya!

So I went to Binders Saturday, Binders is this really great art store I like to go to. It’s sort of like Michaels only it has more “art” supplies and less crafts. That’s where I venture when I need to get a canvas or Scratch board.
While I was there I met a talented artist who was displaying some of his work there. He was also in the process of painting a large canvas. He was painting it for his son as a wedding present. The artist was copying a photo of the couple taken at their wedding. The bride was dressed in a long red sari, The vibrant color caught my eye as soon as I walked in the door. All along the edges was a beautiful white lace, the artist was working on that when I approached him. As I came closer I realized he did not have a brush in his hand but an x-acto knife. He must’ve seen the confusion on my face cause he told me what he was up to before I could even ask. He explained that he was afraid he would lose some of the detail if he just painted the lace with a brush, so instead he was chipping away the layers of oil paint to expose the canvas underneath. A tedious task no doubt but from how the painting was turning out well worth it. He then went on to say he achieved to bright red, not from mixing paint but from layering it…14 layers to be exact. He said it had already taken him over 140 hrs to get where it was and he still had a little ways to go before it was finished. Can you imagine? I don’t even have enough patience to paint my nails.
Each of his pieces had so much detail, you could tell he puts alot of time into his work. People always say, patience is a virtue well I say patience is an artist. But seeing his work inspired me, I think I may even start on a painting this week.

Later
~Caralyn