Alesoun's Anything Artwork;Can you see what it is yet?

[SMILEFACE]

dig your sb all the pics are great fav is the last paint posted cant wait to see some mo

[alesoun]

Thanks, Grandmassa Mr. Spect!

This is as finished as I'm going to get it, I think. Colours used, Titanium White, Burnt Sienna, Cerulean, Lemon Yellow, Mars Black and a touch of Scarlet

[hummdrumm]

LOVE the acrylic paintings!

about the drawing a few posts back: very well drawn, nice line quality. you might want to think about composition a little more. things on the right seem a little cramped and there is a lot of empty space on the left. look at the composition of the photo and then the drawing. you can also try pushing the values a bit more. some of the areas in the photo are almost black. try a softer pencil. anywho...keep up the good work

[alesoun]

Thanks,Hummdrumm, that's only the third acrylic painting I've ever done. I have two more as WIPs, but I hit problems with them, and tried this one to loosen up a bit.

Thanks for the comments on the fireplace sketch, too. I was in such a hurry to try drawing the texture on the bricks that I didn't take the time I should have to block it out properly. I'll probably do it again from a different angle to see if I can make a better composition some time in the future, and when I do, I'll try a softer pencil to really push the blacks.

Meantime, I was trying to come up with some ideas for Christmas cards tonight. I don't quite know how I ended up doing this nursery rhyme instead, but I really need to practise lettering.....

[Jazz]

Ohhhh, that painting looks splendid, alesoun!! You just keep improving in leaps and bounds!

What a freaky idea for a card! I see a problem of emphasizing "HORRID" after seeing the girl's picture, though. She already seems like a terror, so maybe her innocence should show first, with a mean, scary scowling person surprising us after! At least I THINK...I haven't done anything like that before. XD But I've seen a Where's Waldo gag website, so the innocent look first really does the trick. LOL!

[SMILEFACE]

the clothing really brought it to life its amazing

[Ellingsworth]

Awesome portrait of the young girl, your paintings are nice, I also like the still life furnace drawing, dude. Keep going, never give up! Also, thanks for the advice in my sketchbook, man! Just for advice maybe try to work a little on line quality and control? Not sure, maybe I'm wrong and it will just come with time, anyway later, man.

[alesoun]

Hey,Jazz! Thanks for looking! "Horrid" actually started as a cutesy angel on a Christmas card,- but she just wasn't having any of that, so I turned her into the nursery rhyme for fun. I still need to work on the Christmas cards (and on my lettering!)

Grandmassa Mr. Spect, thanks for dropping by. You're right,- it was a bit bleached out until I coloured her pinafore.

Ellingsworth, I'm always struggling for line quality and control; sometimes I manage better than others. Like you say, it'll probably improve with time. I'm currently trying a drawing with brush and ink, but it's not finished yet (I'm far too tentative sometimes.....)

Haven't posted for a few days, because I've been dealing with nettles in the garden, and for every five I pulled up that managed to sting my arms through my shirt and my hands through their gloves, another of their friends leaned over and gently kissed me on the cheek. Ain't nature wonderful? Still, I've stopped scratching now....

On the subject of gardens, I tried a couple of sketchy paint studies in acrylic. A branch of the apple tree in the garden, and a study of an apple and a leaf. The leaf didn't turn out so well; it kept curling up in the heat!




Never mind,- I'll be making apple crumble this weekend......

Urkle! The colour values of those leaves really suck! Sorry, guys......

[alesoun]

I've hurt my stupid wrist and have to wear a splint again; that means it hurts too much to make the twisting movements a pencil sharpener requires. Sooo, for the first time in years I'm using a propelling (mechanical) pencil.

Studies of "Studies of horses" by Leonardo da Vinci.

He makes it look so easy and simple..... IT'S NOT!!!!!

[alesoun]

....now known as Nanana Banana....

Kept this as sketchy because I'd really like to do it as a pastel, or maybe chalk..... if ever I get my hands on either!

[alesoun]

Some quick sketches I did by freezing a dvd of "All That Jazz" last night.....

[alesoun]

Nanana, another 3 years on (aged eight)

Could be a better likeness; seeing it scanned, the right jawline is slightly off. Funny how you look more objectively at your work when it's scanned or photographed. I wonder why that is........

[alesoun]

Four hours work so far, and I'm beginning to wonder why I ever tried this. I know; because I'm stubborn! I knew it would be difficult,- and the oddest thing is that it looks better scanned than it does in real life!

I'll finish it eventually, but I'm sick of the sight of it for now....

[arttorney]

I found the time today to go through your book. I think what OldNoobie says about pushing the values is true and will help you a lot for online images. I struggled with this for a while myself. You draw a picture and it looks pretty good to your eyes. Then when you image it and put it to the internet it doesn't look the same. Getting intense with the difference between the darks and the lights helps to compensate for this deficiency in how monitors display traditional works that have been imaged. You got this kind of wide difference in the dog at post #9 and I thought it was very effective. I like your skulls. I also like your hands for the most part, though I thought the one at post 38 could have the base of the thumb rounding out more to the left. I liked the pure lines of post 65. The old lady with the wagon at #67 shows me that you are beginning to lick whatever the problem was about the pencil details getting lost in graininess. Good show!

[arttorney]

I ran out of time on Saturday, but I wanted to say I like the attention to detail on the firebox drawing but it is a great example of the need to get heavy on those dark values. Look on your ref at the recess to the left of the stove. It is almost black. Compare that deep black to the grays of the pencil drawing you have made. I think you'll see what I mean but probably wonder what the heck you can do about it with pencils.

I'd say you might want to get some willow charcoal sticks for that stuff. It is even darker than black sharpie pen, but it is very easy to erase and blend. Many charcoal people prefer vine charcoal, but it is a lighter more gray kind of charcoal, and if you are buying some charcoal just to make punchier dark values in an otherwise pencil drawing I think you will like the willow.

[IvkeBG]

Hi alesoun, you've got a very nice sketchbook. It's always refreshing to see traditional media artwork, an you seem to have a good control of the painting process. Keep at it!

[alesoun]

Thanks, Arttorney. I haven't used charcoal in years and I keep meaning to again. The whole firebox drawing was done in HB pencil. Maybe I should dig out a 4B and see how dark I can take it. I see what you mean about pushing the values, though. I'm far too tentative.

IvkeBG, thanks for the compliment. I'm not new to painting, but I haven't done much acrylic up to now. I hated it at first, but I'm beginning to relax with it more.

Okay; the first of tonight's offerings. Darling daughter is in need of a portrait since I've done so many of her niece. I've promised her one by the end of the night. So far, I've laid down a background colour and blocked out her face (in white) and the shadows (in Burnt Sienna)

I'm in soooo much trouble if I don't make a reasonable job of this!!

[alesoun]

Well, I haven't managed to finish it yet, but I've got this far......

and this is what I've been working from (shown with her permission)

I'm finding working from a black and white ref. tough.

[alesoun]

I've been getting some advice over on sketches and works in progress on this one, and I think it's really helping......

It's still a long way from finished yet, though...... *sigh* I'm so sloooww!

[alesoun]

Woo hoo! See the difference criticism and advice made!

and some doodles to unwind with....

[alesoun]

Having a little trouble with Artrage just now; it crashes as soon as I lift my pen when I'm using the pencil tool. Sooooooo........

This was all done in one line, in a hurry, 'cos my fingers were slipping down the pen! I know it's not great, but I certainly had to concentrate!

[alesoun]

Think I might ink this one tomorrow.....

[alesoun]

Female friend of mine off to a fancy dress party in a costume 5 sizes too big. Widened her neck a little and gave her some five o'clock stubble to make her look a bit more masculine.

[Jazz]

Hee hee! Costume parties must be loads of fun! I've never been to one! I like how well you brought out the reds in there!

Your progress keeps making me happy, because I tend to feel that sometimes it's too much, too hard, and maybe it's too late to really improve. But when I see fellow artists just grow by leaps and bounds, I do have hope again!

Keep up the great progress, alesoun! You're getting better and better at the paintings. Proportions still make your pictures look different from say, photographs. But your accuracy is getting so much better!

[alesoun]

I'm constantly struggling with proportions, Jazz, and I probably always will; but I keep trying, even if it means redoing stuff.

Zoe made me laugh in that costume, though. The shoulderpads were sooo wide, and the sleeves were so long that it made her look as if she had two elbows on each arm!

Wish I could say that progression is constant, though. I worked on something all day today, and then ruined it with a stupid beginner's mistake. Didn't let ink dry properly before I drew over something...... oh, grrrrrr at my own stupidity!

[NicoRaven]

Seems fun to watch your projects some good some not some bad some sketches too. I appreciate you dropping me that line. But yeah I'm really not dead so look some updates soon as I get a proper scanner again.

Forget me not.

[alesoun]

Nico! Great to see you again!
Yes! I'm up and down, back and forward, in art as in life! Looking forward to your updates! My scanner's a Lexmark; they're really cheap over here....

[alesoun]

Some wips. Might develop them, or not.......

Sometimes hard work brings its own punishment......

Ah, well, there's always chocolate.....

[alesoun]

Oh, feckityboo (to quote Mr William Connolly)! It's a learning curve!

[alesoun]

Me in fancy dress. Bleh!