I recently finished a new art piece, simply titled “Tyler”. It was first commissioned to me late last year after someone saw a drawing portrait I did, in charcoal, of my brother and my now sister-in-law, on Facebook. She knew, in general, that she wanted a portrait done of her fiancee’s dog. It was just a matter of choosing the right photo that would make the great painting. There was one with Tyler’s owner, sitting next to him near the water one day at their favorite beach. It was his favorite photo. The problem was the subjects were too far away from the camera for me to feel comfortable about using it as a painting piece. Then I saw a close up of Tyler that showed, I thought, his personality very well. Sure, there was a person right next to the dog, but I could take her out in the painting. So after we agreed to use that photo and what size it would be and such, I started the picture.
Believe it or not, the toughest part about painting this one was the water.. Maybe I did not have the right amount of various colors to choose from, or something.. But I seemed to have difficulty getting the right color. It was blue green, brownish, blue, grey… A mix! AAAHH! In the end, I think it turned out quite well. After working on the sky, the water, the sand (in that order), I worked on the main subject – Tyler! It was fun watching him come to life right before my eyes. One of the last things I painted before doing the finishing touch ups was his tongue. It literally started out as a purple tongue. It tickles me to think that. Maybe it’s the art geek inside me haha. I just love how it stands out from all the yellow, brown, and blue colors.
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“Tyler”
28 hours
Soft Pastel Chalk on pastel board size
18 x 24 inches
Completed 02/28/13
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Tyler Vs Tyler
Also I completely forgot to share this outside of Facebook but I did two other paintings last year. One was a homemade gift exchange with my sister for Christmas. She made me an afghan of my choice of colors, while I did a painting (of her choice in subject and size).
Sister wanted a willow tree in autumn, with certain favorite colors and certain favorite flowers (I chose to portray hydrangeas, which is perfect for fall/autumn). Time of day was up to me. And she liked streams. The rest was up to me to figure out on how to portray her “simple” criterias.
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The Willow Tree
About 20 hours in soft pastel chalk on board size 24 x 36 inches
Completed on the morning of Christmas Day 2012 (it was a challenging picture………).
The other piece was a personal painting that I needed to express myself with:
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“Morning Dance”
Soft Pastel Chalk on paper board about 15 by 12 inches
Completed 11/20/12
When I drew the fairy and came up with the concept, I was feeling down about stuff. I just felt like I just wanted to be free and dance… Dancing can be freeing.
So, she is dancing from the dark, into the light. Light as a feather (well, maybe almost hehe).
Arms stretched out behind her, wind blowing her away. It must be a freeing peaceful experience, full of color and life.
Sorry to all those who don’t follow me on Facebook! It just completely passed my mind heh. Well so now you can see two others I have done last year.
So I know I don’t exactly have a Portfolio spot on my website. You would have to sift through my blog in order to see the artwork I have done so far and I don’t think that makes it very enjoyable (unless you like doing a lot of reading…). One of these days I will redo my website (yesssss I want to redo again haha…) and have a straight up spot to showcase the art. I’ll probably still use the Blog, but it will be nice to have the artwork in one organized place, you know?
If you notice, on the right side of the website, there is a website called DeviantArt.com. Some of you may already know about it, but others, not so much. It’s mainly a place for artists, beginner or professional, to share, and sometimes sell, their artwork. If you want to comment on a picture you need an account (it’s free to sign up). It’s not quite necessary to sign up if you already follow me on Facebook, since I post the same things on there anyways. Just, for now, it’s more convenient to have a portfolio on there for my website. You can even see some very old pictures I’ve done when I was first dabbling in the world of digital art (uh, yeah, I’ve come a lonnnggg way haha). Just click on “Gallery” next to “Profile” to see my artwork (next to PetraRaain). And click on each picture for a bigger view and info, if I wrote anything on them.
Of course, you can still comment directly on here if you wanted to. Just to give you some options that’s all.
I don’t plan on updating or changing my website again, though, until I figure some things out in my life. I might be going through some major changes. But, I won’t know if it will actually happen until I take the big step in really finding out if it’s the right thing to do or not. I’m not quite sure if I am ready to share it with the entire world just yet…. I think I should wait until I have some solid answers first. Why bring it up if I don’t actually do anything about it? That’s what I think. It’s kinda a scary thought, but it will bug me for the rest of my life if I don’t try. Just so I can never say to myself “What if I tried?” as I get older. Some of you already know what I am talking about, as I’ve only shared it with a few close friends and family.
As far as future artwork is concerned: I am opened to do a commissioned piece. It does not have to be strictly animal. It can be people, or people and animals, or something fantasy or… Anything…. Until I get another commission, I will be working on other personal projects that I have in mind to paint. A lot of it is redoing old pieces (to make them better) or finishing concepts that have come from inside, whatever the reasons they are, or things or people who have inspired me to express myself in a certain way.
I hope the start of 2013 is going well for you all.
Til next time….
