Oooo Some Pretty Stuffs!

HELLO EVERYONE!!! I’ve got some Brand New Myxies for sell on my Etsy Store. WHOOT! http://www.etsy.com/shop/MysticReflections?section_id=5357780 

I have at least two more that are completed and need to be sent to the Photographer, then I will post them on Etsy as well. Then I will be putting my art on the back burner until the end of June so I can finish moving into my new house. Hopefully in July I will be able to get back to work and have new pieces to show you all. Keep checking my Blog for updates, Thanks for reading!
~Caralyn

This ought to Cool things off...

It has gotten a bit chili here in the South. The weather is just tricking us though, I’m sure it will get back to the blazing heat of summer in no time. But the cool days got me in the mood to make a Cool Myxie. Clear Beads give an icy touch to her wings and the frost covering her body is a nice mixture of glitter (YAY, love me some glitter) and liquid Sculpey. I’ve been calling her Winter Slumber, I think it has a nice ring to it.

I have some really fun Myxies planned this month and I will keep posting photos as I finish them so keep checking my blog.

Thanks for reading!

~Caralyn

Love me Some Wolverine

My fiancé is a Comic Book junkie…yep, I’ve never been much for reading the stories even though, like most people I’m a fan of the Characters and I never past up a Super hero Movie :) I mean who doesn’t Love Hugh Jackman as Wolverine…Everybody loves him! But I digress..I do however love flipping through his books and checking out the art. Comic Book art is the best, dark, think lines, extreme colors. It’s my kind of illustrations. Recently I have found another wonderful use for his comic books…BACKING BOARDS! The little stiff cardboard that goes in the back of the bag. They are perfect for fun, quick pictures. A nice white thin canvas that water colors, markers, acrylics, you name it, glides on like a breeze. So to his dismay I’ve been snatching a few boards and letting my creative juices flow. I don’t even use a table, I just flop down on the couch infront of the TV and sketch my little heart out. It’s been nice. Lucky for my fiancé you can buy backing boards for cheap…he is gonna have to stock up now :P.
Okay so I told you all this because I have a few pictures that I have done on my new Comic Book size canvases. They are just some little things I doodled while watching Christmas movies. I’ve started painting them and I’m excited about how they are turning out.
I’ve run on too long on this blog but I just wanted to give you a heads up. I’m going to be posting them in the next couple of days. So Please keep checking my blog for updates.

Thanks for reading, now get back to thinking about Hugh Jackman….sigh :)
~Caralyn

Hassle Free Art

Hello Friends!
I have been working on a painting for the past few days and WHOOT I finished it! I extremely enjoyed painting this one because it was what I like to call a “hassle free” painting. I just grabbed a brush and a canvas and started adding color. I am someone who begins a picture by first deciding what I want to do, then drawing a rough draft, then expanding on the rough draft, then revising it and Then FINALLY inking it before painting or adding color. With this painting I skipped all my normal steps and just got right to it. I had no idea where I was going with it or what the outcome would be and I tell ya …it was invigorating. Yes I find spontaneous painting to be very exciting…I’m a simple kinda girl. But it turned out really good… surprisingly.
Anyhoo I’ve posted the it along with a few pictures of the process I took to get it there. With this one instead of painting the characters first as I usually do, I started with the background then added on top of that. I had to wait for each layer to dry before adding the next…I used oil so it took a while to dry so next time I think I’ll try watercolor.
So here it is, Let me know what you think.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1828666&imageID=32773618

Thanks for looking, I’ve started on a few other projects so keep checking my blog for updates.
~Caralyn

It's GO TIME!

Wow Dragon Con is only a few days away. It is going to be very exciting this year. I have a Ton of new stuff. I have done about 20 new pictures that will be for sale in the Art Gallery. They are all original paintings and scratch art. I also have brand new Myxies for the auction. Including a few “special” sculptures like a Centaur and Harpy. I’ve got some prints of my newest PhotoShop pictures that I have been blogging about, they will be at my table along with new dragon sculptures. I’m a little nervous this only being my second year in the Dragon Con art show but I’m really excited to see the turn out. I’ve been working really hard to get everything prepared and now It’s GO TIME :P
It would be super awesome if you all came by to check out my booth…or just to say HI, I will be there for 4 DAYS so you can stop by to see how I’m holding up :) Thanks to all of you who take the time to read my crazy blogs and I hope to see you all at the D-CON!!!
http://www.dragoncon.org/index.php

P.S. I’ll be out of town for about a week and before that I don’t think I’ll have much access to a computer so it’ll be a little while before you hear from me again…I know it’s heartbreaking :P but I will tell you all about it when I get back. Wish me Luck!

Have a great week Everyone!
~Caralyn

The Quest Begins

I’m FINISHED! I’m finally done with my Fantasy Painting. I filled in the hair and eyes of all the creatures and darkened the lines and shadowing. I used mostly acrylic paints and painting took me about sixteen hours. My goodness what a chore :) I have named it “The Quest Begins”…I know what you are thinking…that’s the best name ever...you don’t have to tell me :P
Well here it is, let me know what you think.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1828666&imageID=30074530

I am now going to get started on new Myxies, I will try and keep you updated on how it’s going and maybe post a few progress photos, so keep checking my blog.

Have a great day!
~Caralyn

Just About Done

Well I’m getting down to the last little details on my painting now. I have added a red coat of paint to the Dragon now and filled in the hooves and talons of most the creatures. On the bottom picture I added highlights and scales, also I painted the wrist band and axe of the Minotaur. As always when working on a picture I see things I want to change but with painting it’s a bit harder to erase but either way I am happy with how it’s turning out.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1828666&imageID=29990234

I will post one more blog once I finish so check my blog next week to see the completed piece.
Thank for looking.

~Caralyn

Moving Right Along

Okay so now I’ve started on the background. First I worked on the land, abundant with hills and a few bushes. At the bottom of the picture I used some browns to fade the green hills into a sort of dirt road. Next was the sky…I was going for a sunset so I used a couple different colors. Starting with a light blue and ending with orange just above the hills.
In the second picture I added detail, clouds in the sky and filled in the outline of the castle. Then I made the hills all grassy by painting small blades of grass…yes it took a long time. Also added a few cracks and stones at the bottom to make the “dirt road” appearance and highlights to the bushes. Now the background is complete it’s time to finish paintin dem critters!

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1828666&imageID=29934578

Just about done I have about two more blogs on my progress so keep checking for updates.

Thank you for looking!
~Caralyn

If the Back Ground Fits...

The painting is coming right along. I have added shadowing to just about every creature. I shaded most the creatures with different shades of brown and then softened them with a light color over the shading. After it is dry I will add highlights and details. But before adding details I will start on the background. I’m thinking I will do some rolling hills with a few trees and in the distance a castle…yes yes I know…very cliché but it’s a picture of a bunch of Fantasy Creatures running around together, so what other background would fit? I mean really.
Anyhoo here are a few pictures so you can see what I was talking about. Enjoy :)

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1828666&imageID=29708870

Have a few more pictures to post so keep checking my blog for updates.
Thanks for looking

~Caralyn

How It's Going so Far...

Hey Everyone,
As you probably know I have been working on a Large Fantasy Painting for Dragon Con. This is a picture that I have been drawing and redrawing since I was a child. In all I have done this picture 4 times, it started out a small picture on notebook paper, then redrawn on 8x10 printer paper. The last one was about 11x17 colored and laminated then given to my mother as a present, not sure if she kept it but no matter because I’m doing it again. This time It is about a 30x24 piece and is the 2nd largest painting I’ve ever done so I’m kinda nervous as to how it will turn out.
I told you all I would keep you up dated on my progress so I included a few pictures so you can see how it is coming along.
Okay first I started with sketching a few of the creatures I wanted to have on it. I arranged the sketches on the canvas and once I had them where I wanted them I drew them on the canvas its self. After tracing over the lines in ink I started to paint the largest part of the whole painting…the Dragon…Ooooooo. I’m using a dark oil/acrylic paint to shade the dragon but once the shading is done I will paint over it in red.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1828666&imageID=29568590

I have a few more pictures to post as I finish so keep checking my blog for updates.
Thanks for looking.

~Caralyn

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