I am very blessed but feel weighed down when I have to stop and think of all that still must be done. Again, blessed, because I have a focus and direction....and now....I true desire and passion for one of my, I believe, greatest pieces to date.
It all started with a beautiful sketch, which evolved from frustration and many sketches. Beauty truly blooms from trial.
I was looking and looking for the right face, and without much reference the Lord gave me this. Wow. I am so in love with her grace and movement! Now the scary part....moving her from an 11x14 drawing to a 20x28 piece of watercolor paper.
On a stormy night when my husband was out of town, she emerged in indigo.
I go in and add more pencil. I love making lines pop and giving strong definition to drawings. My first love will always be drawing.
With trembling hands and lots of deep breaths, I began paint. Tried to keep it simple and light, even though I was anxious to bring her to life.
Starting to punch out the colors and define the space within the background. My goal was to get the background up and the eyes finished as soon as possible. These help keep me focused once they're in place.
Background and eyes finished. Beginning on the hair. I had to change my studio set up, standing and bending over wasn't working (getting old!).
Where I am today.
And this is what I look like while painting. :P I typically paint mostly at night, and I am always in my pjs, no make up, hair...could care less.
My goal is to have her finished in time for the Iowa State Fair. Regardless of what happens in that aspect, I have fallen in love with painting this large. It's challenging, but for all of the right reasons. I don't know if this is a one time event, but I will definitely try more!
BTW - she's on arches cold press (you know I only work on hot press), and I'm using indigo as my shadow hue since it worked so well in the sketch. I adore it for the mermaid...and so glad I discovered it.
9 comments:
oh my gosh it is gorgeous!!!I just know it will turn out perfectly:) your work never stops to amaze me!
hi, congratulations your work is spectacular :)
what a beautiful piece! I love that you shared the stages of this piece and seeing you working on it really shows the large size of the painting. Again, beautiful!
she's gorgeous! I love seeing the process. it's amazing.
Hey, I saw this painting at the State Fair and thought it was great.
Your work is outstanding. Thanks for sharing your process!
This piece is utterly gorgeous Sara! I really enjoyed the peek into your artistic process, and am totally awed at your skill. Especially working on such an intricate piece, on such a giant piece of paper... and in freaking watercolours. I seriously want to try to make a giant painting one day, but am also nervous haha! :)
- Sasha
www.bohemianfaerie.com
Sara,
Me encantan tus trabajos son bellisimos yo soy una principiante de fantasia pero me encanta.
Falta que des más detalles como con que trabajas si es acrílico, acuarela que me parece, pero en fin lindos lindos por donde lo mires
Cariños de Chile
Te dejo mi blog para que puedas ver a esta principiante.
http://chilefantasy.blogspot.com/
Wow your work is beautiful and amazing! Your process sounds like poetry! Thank-you for sharing your process with us! I love seeing how artists arrive at the end result. I found you through pinterest, I am now a fan! Looking forward to seeing more of your work! I work in digital but I am always in awe of artists who work traditionally.
~Diane
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