Carla Number Two

Here is a second portrait I've done of my dear friend Carla. I've been using some amazing photos of her, and I have been enjoying working with some new mediums. Hopefully I'll get started on the third and final of Carla after the new year begins. I have some special projects to work on before then.

New Direction

I have taken a little bit of a new direction in my paintings as of late. I'm using charcoal and pastel rather than graphite. I'm also using less acrylic, and exploring more oil based and metallic paints. I've also decided to incorporate the dozens of line drawings I've collected, and create more organic backgrounds to the portraits.

So, here is my latest piece. The photo quality is terrible (I took it in a hurry with my phone). I'll get a better version up soon. It's titled "Departure".

"Witness"

Number three of eight. I'm trying to complete these within small amounts of time, such as an afternoon. I see these more as practice work than anything else - especially since using charcoal on the wood was rather unfamiliar territory. I still think I need to sand the wood down more.

Back in Business

Finished this one last night. She is one of eight I'm doing in charcoal & white pencil on birch.

"Behind Her Eyes She Whispers"

In Progress

Just thought I'd take a little break from working on this. This one is number uno of a series of six I am going to do. It is pencil & acrylic on Birch. She's nearly 50% done. I need to finish the yellow around her then I've got a couple other things to paint on. The goal is to be done by the end of the week....

Unfinished #1

I have about 5 unfinished drawings. When I start a drawing, I give myself around a week to finish it - otherwise I usually loose interest & I never revisit the piece. This however is not the case with Miss Fiona below. I don't know why but I am compelled to finish her. Maybe it's her taunting eyes ...



Subject: Fiona
Medium: Pencil

Tori x Three

This was another MIAD Project. We used Black Gouache to create 3 pieces. One just black & white, one with b&w and 2 grey tones, and the third with b&w and 4 grey tones. I really like how this piece turned out - mostly because it is one of my favorite pictures of Tori Amos.





Subject: Tori Amos
Medium: Gouache

Lady India

I don't remember who she is. But she is a model and this photo was from a shoot in Interview Magazine. This was done in pencil, and was for a project I did at MIAD.



Subject: Indian Model
Medium: Pencil

Imogen!

I just adore Ms. Imogen Heap. I made yet another (failed) design for Threadless.com. This one however, will be made into a shirt - when I have the time & cash.

Geisha Lips

When I read "Memoirs of a Geisha" many years ago I completely fell in love with the culture. I threw myself into the history of it, checking out endless books at the library, and even purchasing documentaries from A&E. I still have a deep admiration for those women, and their lifestyle. They are a beautiful art. This was done with many many layers of colored pencil.



Subject: Geisha
Medium: Colored Pencil

Water-Colored Win

This piece I created with water color. When I made it, I worked on this cheap sketch paper and I was just messing around, never expecting to get a finished product. Well, what you see is actually what bled through the paper, so it's the reverse of what I painted. This was actually a winner at my towns Student Art Exhibition, and was in a gallery for a period of time.



Subject: Sarah
Medium: Water Color

The Ladies II

Just a couple more from my series of women. There are more that went along with this theme, but are in color, or such a different medium that I'm going to upload them separately. The portrait of Lauryn Hill did not scan in very well. It is taken from a slide because the original was stolen from me. I just don't like how fuzzy and blotched the scan is.



Subject: Fiona
Medium: Ink



Subject: Lauryn
Medium: Pencil



Subject: Sarah
Medium: White Pencil on Black

The Ladies

So in High school for AP Art we had to create a unified portfolio. All the pieces, despite the medium had to have a common theme. Mine was portraiture, more specifically female portraits. I've uploaded some of my slides. There are a number of drawings I did for friends, that I never even got a scan of. I need to track them down sometime.

Subject: Claire Danes
Medium: Pencil

Subject: Fiona Apple
Medium: Pencil

Subject: Jewel
Medium: Pencil