29 Faces #27-#29 - The End!

I have mixed feelings about 29 Faces being over - it's been such a great experience, I've learned a lot and found some wonderful blogs.  And it's been a good discipline habit for me too, we'll see how well I keep it up.  It'll be a relief too, for my husband as well who's feeling a little like a 29 faces widow!

 

#27

 

This one is my second attempt at painting with oils - I posted this drawing earlier in the week and it was done on a canvas board instead of paper, which made it a completely different experience because the paint stayed wet. I really enjoyed it, although I had pictured something with lots of distinct brush strokes, a little more abstract, but I found myself blending away.  I'm not sure I'm capable of not blending...

 

 

 

#28 & #29

 

The painting above took me two nights so I'm just out of time for my last two.  This is a drawing from one of my favorite photos that I did last year, of me holding my nephew Jake about 10 years ago. It seemed like a good way to end things.

 

THANK YOU Ayala Art, for hosting this wonderful event!

 

 

29 Faces #26

This face is done on a piece of a page from my beloved 1917 prescription book.  The paper is so thick and wonderful, and I love the text, all the different handwriting from the different doctors. This is going into my fabric art journal.  I drew it, and then colored it with primarily Tim Holtz distress stain.  This was just plain fun, because I was just totally relaxed about it.

 

#26

29 Faces #25

This is done in my fabric art journal, a project from a class I took from Kate Thompson at The Trodden Path.  I didn't feel like doing a full-on face like the ones I worked on over the weekend, but even though her face is tiny I spent so much time on it that I think it counts!  I was going for a look of total peace, hopefully I achieved something close.

 

#25

 

 

 

29 Faces #22 thru #24

This weekend I've been playing with painting techniques, experimenting, on previous drawings. This is definitely an area I need to work on, painting.

 

#22

 

The two sides done differently - made a bit of a mess.

 

#23

 

This is actually oil paint, I bought a cheap starter set to play.  But I did it on paper, and like an idiot didn't buy anything to clean my brush with when I needed to change color - it was frustrating and doesn't even look like oil, but was a good learning experiment.  Being patient while I try to learn new things is something I struggle with!

 

 

 

#24

 

I drew this to experiment with painting it later in the week

29 Faces #21

I decided I needed a night off from my art desk, so tonight was a sketch in front of the TV night (caught up on the most recent episode of "Justified" - so good!).  I enjoy doing this, watching TV and sketching at the same time - whenever I look back down I see something new to work on, or an area that's off that I didn't notice before, and it keeps me pretty relaxed about it. Although I did plan for her to be much looser and more sketchy, not sure what happened, I guess since it didn't have my full focus I just did what came naturally.  

 

#21

 

 

29 Faces #20

This was an experiment that I would call semi-successful, although definitely labor intensive.  It felt like hundreds of pieces of rusty metal I cut, then poked into her head.  And the other part of the experiment was that I covered her face in encaustic wax, always a tricky proposition on something round.  I once covered a globe in wax, that was an adventure.  I'm not sure what she'll eventually end up as the head of, but it was fun.  I couldn't get good light to take a picture tonight, but wanted to get it posted so this will have to do!

 

#20

29 Faces #19, and my Fabric Journal

I've completed my first fabric journal, covers and all, so I thought I'd post it today, since the cover has a face on it.  I posted a picture of the cover a few weeks ago, but now it's all put together, very fun!  I have another fabric journal put together with a different, and very cool, binding technique, but no covers yet.

 

I worked last night on sculpting a paper clay face, but it needed to dry and be painted, so I couldn't post it yet... I was experimenting with something, so we'll see if I even do!

 

 

#19

 

 

29 Faces #14 thu #18

I'm getting ready to go out of town, so just did a sketch tonight. It's from a picture of Jennifer Connelly, but I don't think it looks that much like her.  My scanner always leaves that dark shadow in the lower left, it's a mystery to me.

 

#14

 

 

 

Speaking of going out of town, I'll be gone for 4 days, with no access to the internet or time for art, so ONLY for that reason I'm going to post 4 previously posted faces to keep me caught up.  It feels like cheating, but I just have no illusions that I'll able to catch up on the missed 4, I'll be lucky to catch up on the extra one for the 29th!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

29 Faces #13

Another exercise where I drew out the planes of the face, and then painted, but this time I used acrylics rather than watercolors, plus gesso and alcohol inks.  A little more difficult than the watercolor, but still really fun.  I could have kept working and working on this, and had a flower planned for her hair, but that's the nature of this challenge - I had to quit and go to bed eventually and today will be a new face...

 

#13

 

 

29 Faces #12

I felt like drawing tonight, and decided to challenge myself with a funky angle and perspective (not to mention a hand - is there anything harder than hands?). It was indeed a challenge, and I'm not done with it, but I'm done for tonight!

 

#12

 

 

 

29 Faces #11

This is a painting I did on paper, then glued down into my fabric book and incorporated it with the plaster. It's based on one by Peter Mitchev, I think it's fun to work in someone else's style sometimes. Ink, gesso, charcoal and paint.

 

Now off to watch the Westminster Dog show and check out some other 29 Faces blogs...

 

#11

 

 

29 Faces #9 & #10

I decided to change things up a little and sculpt a face out of paper clay.  I enjoy doing this occasionally, and I find it fun to paint them too. And then I couldn't just photograph the face, so I had to add the hat and feathers and put it on this candlestick I've been saving for something. I actually like it this way I think, so it may become permanent.

 

#9

 

 

This next one is just an exercise I was making myself do to try and loosen my grip on control. I just used a pen (gasp! no erasing!) and did a few quick swooshes.  I need to practice this kind of thing more, although I doubt I'll be posting much of it!

 

 

#10

 

 

29 Faces #8

This is an image transfer of the drawing I did for the last post. My plan was that once I got it into my fabric journal, I was going to paint it completely differently than I did the original. But once I got it transferred, I liked it so much the way it was, the aged softness of it, that I just couldn't get myself to paint it.  So I did some collage and soft color around it to bring out the cracked plaster.

 

#8

 

 

 

 

 

 

29 Faces #7

I made it through a week of a face a day - yeah!  This one is a sketch, that I then colored with pan pastels.  I think I like the sketch better before I colored it, as I tend to, but as I said when I started this, that's my comfort zone and I need to push myself.

 

#7

 

 

 

 

29 Faces #6

This drawing is an exercise from an online class I'm taking from Kate Thompson at the The Trodden Path, where you draw the actual planes of the face.  It's done in my fabric journal (also a Kate Thompson class), on a page that's covered in plaster and distressed.

 

#6

 

 

And here it is painted with watercolor, gesso and alcohol inks. Really fun and a nice, much more loose and abstract change of pace from my last painted face.

 

 

29 Faces #5

This is yesterday's drawing, painted.  I definitely need to work on being more relaxed with my painting, but then trying to paint over such a detailed drawing probably didn't help.

 

#5

 

 

29 Faces #4

This face has been something I've worked on sporadically, I'd come back to it and try to fine tune some area or other, but tonight I worked on it til I decided it was done.  I'm guessing some of you will be able to relate to this - I've spent hours staring directly at her, and not til I was looking at a scanned copy on the computer that I realized that her eyes are just off - looking in different directions, one a little bigger than the other, one open more - it made me laugh.  And it's okay, perfection is boring, and I'm going to paint her anyway, so I'll have a chance to make changes then.

 

 

#4

 

 

29 Faces - #2 & #3

Squeezing some time in, post Superbowl and pre Downton Abbey.  I did this drawing based on a picture of an actual art doll that I was intrigued by, I thought her face was so interesting.

 

#2

 

 

 

I then re-drew her in my fabric art book, which I just got bound yesterday. I used paint, inks, graphite and charcoal. Her face turned out very differently, but I'm okay with it.  I'm going to rework areas, everything below her collar was done very quickly, but at a pace of a face a day, I figure that will have to be later!

 

#3

I hear Downton Abbey calling!!

29 Faces

After looking from the sidelines at the previous 29 Faces challenges, I've decided to commit to participating in 29 Faces this time around. I've never participated in a daily type of challenge before, but I'm hoping it's okay if I don't post every day, as long as I do post 29 faces.  I'm really wanting to focus on faces right now, so the timing is perfect and I can always use a good motivational push.

I need to get out of my comfort zone, which is definitely drawing faces in pencil.  I like the control and the detail and subtle shading I can get with pencil, but I struggle when it comes to painting them, giving up that control and trying to create subtlety and depth with paint.

This first one is a pencil sketch (of course), but I'll definitely be stretching myself throughout the month!  Thank you Martha for hosting this wonderful event!

#1