I'm currently taking a few of Suzi Blu's online classes in order to better my face-drawing skills. I've taken her classes before and always been very impressed by the amount of information given for the low price.
In class, I'm working on not only drawing whimsical girls (and I'm planning on branching out into boys too), but also working on shading and encaustic. I'm relatively new to encaustic, (aka painting with beeswax) but, as you know, have always been attracted to it as a medium.
After a few experiments, I've decided that I don't particularly like to apply beeswax over my little girls. It makes those details too foggy for my liking. I also don't like how long it takes for oil paints to dry (forever and ever! Ack!). I know that I'm an impatient artist and that's why acrylic suits me.
On the other hand, I LOVE stamping into the wax with my metal stamps and I love adding extra bits like wire and bling using wax. Therefore, I'm going to experiment further with the things that I do like and keep my whimsical girls out of the beehive. And yet, the depth achieved using beeswax appeals to me...
When Lyssie, my 5 year old, saw that my girl (above) had purple hair, she was thrilled beyond belief. "Mom!" she squealed, "the purple hair gives her that something extra..."
"Yes, yes, it does, I replied."
Isn't that wire amazing? I used a new Purple Cows tool, a Wind It, to create it. I'm quite impressed by this fun new tool that I discovered at CHA this winter. If you like to add wire to your projects, you'll love this baby.
I stamped the "I Love You" into the beeswax using my new metal stamps from the Shoppe at Stampington. They must weigh about a pound each, but they are quite fun to use. If you have any of the Melody Ross Chip Art tools, I believe they would do the same thing. I filled in the image with water soluble oil paints. (Yes, there are such things! Amazing isn't it?)
I think that my encaustic applications will be moving in a different direction. I've got some awesome ideas that I can't wait to try...I'm thinking big and bold flowers...abstracts...and poetry...yes, poetry... Stay tuned.
In the meantime, I'm working on themed whimsical girls. Because my family is knee deep in softball right now, I created a sweet little softball player.
She's inspired me to branch out into more themed girls. Like a basketball girl (my personal sport of choice) or swimming. I'm also inspired to experiment with creating whimsical boys. (Those poor boys are hopelessly neglected in mixed-media art!)
I'm thinking my boys will be reminiscent of the style of St. Exupery's Le Petit Prince. If you aren't familiar with The Little Prince, it is a must read. It is short, and technically a children's book, but I love it dearly ever since we read it in my high-school French class with my beloved Mme. Irey.
Anyway, that's the type of thing I've been working on lately. At least in the studio.
In the community, I've been working like crazy to get a good schedule of art/music/dance/acro/puppetry classes available for children this summer. I think that I've succeeded. If you live in the SW Phoenix area and are looking for enriching classes for your 2-18 year old, make sure to check out my new website called Laveen Arts. On this site, you'll find detailed class descriptions, a downloadable class calendar, a newsletter sign-up, and teacher bios. All of the classes are taught at SMCC-Laveen campus on the corner of 51st ave and Dobbins. It may sound a little brag-gy, but I'm quite proud of my class line-up. I hope that you (and your young artists) find them as exciting as I do!
Here's to a creative week!
Until next Wednesday!
xoxo
Bethany
In class, I'm working on not only drawing whimsical girls (and I'm planning on branching out into boys too), but also working on shading and encaustic. I'm relatively new to encaustic, (aka painting with beeswax) but, as you know, have always been attracted to it as a medium.
After a few experiments, I've decided that I don't particularly like to apply beeswax over my little girls. It makes those details too foggy for my liking. I also don't like how long it takes for oil paints to dry (forever and ever! Ack!). I know that I'm an impatient artist and that's why acrylic suits me.
On the other hand, I LOVE stamping into the wax with my metal stamps and I love adding extra bits like wire and bling using wax. Therefore, I'm going to experiment further with the things that I do like and keep my whimsical girls out of the beehive. And yet, the depth achieved using beeswax appeals to me...
When Lyssie, my 5 year old, saw that my girl (above) had purple hair, she was thrilled beyond belief. "Mom!" she squealed, "the purple hair gives her that something extra..."
"Yes, yes, it does, I replied."
Isn't that wire amazing? I used a new Purple Cows tool, a Wind It, to create it. I'm quite impressed by this fun new tool that I discovered at CHA this winter. If you like to add wire to your projects, you'll love this baby.
I stamped the "I Love You" into the beeswax using my new metal stamps from the Shoppe at Stampington. They must weigh about a pound each, but they are quite fun to use. If you have any of the Melody Ross Chip Art tools, I believe they would do the same thing. I filled in the image with water soluble oil paints. (Yes, there are such things! Amazing isn't it?)
I think that my encaustic applications will be moving in a different direction. I've got some awesome ideas that I can't wait to try...I'm thinking big and bold flowers...abstracts...and poetry...yes, poetry... Stay tuned.
In the meantime, I'm working on themed whimsical girls. Because my family is knee deep in softball right now, I created a sweet little softball player.
She's inspired me to branch out into more themed girls. Like a basketball girl (my personal sport of choice) or swimming. I'm also inspired to experiment with creating whimsical boys. (Those poor boys are hopelessly neglected in mixed-media art!)
I'm thinking my boys will be reminiscent of the style of St. Exupery's Le Petit Prince. If you aren't familiar with The Little Prince, it is a must read. It is short, and technically a children's book, but I love it dearly ever since we read it in my high-school French class with my beloved Mme. Irey.
Anyway, that's the type of thing I've been working on lately. At least in the studio.
In the community, I've been working like crazy to get a good schedule of art/music/dance/acro/puppetry classes available for children this summer. I think that I've succeeded. If you live in the SW Phoenix area and are looking for enriching classes for your 2-18 year old, make sure to check out my new website called Laveen Arts. On this site, you'll find detailed class descriptions, a downloadable class calendar, a newsletter sign-up, and teacher bios. All of the classes are taught at SMCC-Laveen campus on the corner of 51st ave and Dobbins. It may sound a little brag-gy, but I'm quite proud of my class line-up. I hope that you (and your young artists) find them as exciting as I do!
Here's to a creative week!
Until next Wednesday!
xoxo
Bethany
3 comments:
These are fantastic...xxx
darling!
I love the encaustic work and the inclusion of the wire. Great job, tfs.
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