Little Owl WIP

I started working on another acrylic painting this week.

I've had this idea swimming around in my head for a bit now and got a chance to try and paint it out. The image in my head plays out like an old storybook; a little owl loosely tied up in string surrounded by a few friendly (or are they?) rats checking out the scene.

I've still got a lot more work to do but I am pleased with the direction it is heading. Based on the outcome, this painting will hopefully be heading up north for an animal-based show in the spring... more info to follow :)

Have a spectacular weekend everyone!

Something New

I've been sketching a lot of rats recently.
'Home' is a quick little painting I worked on this week, but it isn't quite finished. Almost, but not there yet. I left my watercolors alone for this one and turned to an old friend; my acrylics.







Hope everyone had a fantastic Valentines Day! Onto the weekend!

Self Portrait - step by step

I finally packed and sent off my submission for the Self-Portrait Exhibition in NYC!
It had been awhile since I've even considered a doing a self-portrait so this was an interesting experience. As I was slightly out of my comfort-zone with the subject, I decided to stick with materials that I was confident with and used only pen and acrylic. The canvas itself is 4 x 4, so working with pen also allowed me to add smaller lines and finer details.

This is the photo I started with, I wanted to work from a mirror instead, but as the project spanned several days it was easier to just use a picture.

This was my initial sketch -- holy disney batman!

After the pen was applied (Micron pigment ink) I had some trouble with smearing. A coat of fixative addressed the problem, but made the canvas impervious to my attempts at watered-down acrylic. I coated the whole canvas with a thin thin layer of buff white, which allowed me to use the watery acrylic I love so much.

Pen has been mostly covered by the paint.

I reapplied the pen in a few areas and painted in the eyes. After another coat of fixative, I think it's pretty much finished.

The show is August 14th and I am going to see if I can journey to New York to go see it. Until then, I will eagerly await the next ArtHouse project :)

An Inky Elephant

I cleaned out the area behind my art-desk this week.
After finding 3 secret-caches of ferret food, a rubber mouse and many nerf gun darts, I also found an old blank canvas. *Yay!*

I had been wanting to make an elephant of some sort, so this was perfect timing.

I used Pitt Artist pens for the black lining, and watery acrylics for the elephant. The background is a mix of acrylics and glossy gel medium, which I liked at first but I am not so sure about it now. It has a subtle sheen, but as it's a bit sticky I'm afraid it's going to suck up the circulating dust and get grimy. Another reason to experiment with epoxy-resin I suppose.