redheaded model

I am not showing the full painting that I have made because of the tender ages of some of my readers. Finishing these paintings in an hour or so is one of the hardest things I do all week.

Saturdays spent painting

I attend another Life drawing from the model group on Saturdays. (Actually, I am a volunteer co-ordinator). We have a long pose which has been an opportunity for me to really challenge myself to paint. I am learning a lot at these sessions and really pushing myself.

more from life

Today we worked on studying the muscles of the back. I still struggle with keeping all that back stuff, bumps and ridges straight. What is confusing is that it all changes completely when the model moves, twists, stands up, or reaches. Those scapular angles are always challenging.

The Epiphany Season and three batik banners

At my Anglican church we are in the Epiphany season. This is the time following the birth of Christ and looking at His life and the events. I am on a team of Visual Artists that serve the church with a variety of offerings. Mostly I have been involved with painting banners. I don't sew, or build the things, I just get involved with paint in on way or another.

This season I worked with my teammate Laura, a fine artist herself, and we used a technique that I had never tried before. We used batik wax resist to paint our design and then fabric dyes for paint. The results were really cool.
Here is my design sketch, I kept it pretty loose and stylized.  The subject is the Star of Bethlehem and three travelers/worshipers/or wise people from the east.

Here is one of the three banners on the table, soaking wet as we poured and splashed layers of fabric paint. I think this was one of the more joyful, creative, art experiences either one of us have had. We were playful, and free and it turned out even better than we thought.













And here is a photo taken just before the service began last Sunday.

I also made a chunky stylized marker sketch that was used as a logo in the church bulletin.

what have I been doing with my time

Time is hard to account for when so much is going on around me. I might be just sitting around doodling and rocking in my chair for all I know.

We have some construction going on in our house which makes it hard to concentrate!

Some big changes planned in our kitchen. And some more tearing out and building going on in the bathrooms too.












I learned how to make a hot wax batik painting this past month,(showing this tomorrow), and I've done a lot of Life drawing and painting too. Next up on the big projects ahead are ten large canvases for our church Easter Vigil. I am just working on the sketches and research for that now.

What I really feel like doing today? Taking a long nap.

right side drawing

I began drawing with a new group this week. We are starting with the basics which I am really enjoying because I need to review and refresh my knowledge and technique.
Today we did the beginner exercise called blind contour drawing. This method is meant to engage the right side of your brain and to tell the left side to go to sleep or shut up. You must use a marker or something that cannot be erased. And you must draw very slowly, looking at your subject and Never look down at your paper the whole time. I found it best if I did not lift my marker during the process and just made one continuous line.
I call it "drawing blind". Only you aren't blind, you are just blind to what is one the paper.
When you finally stop and look down, sometimes the result can be quite a pleasant surprise, and sometimes, it is just a mess of lines. The important thing is what is going on in your brain, not the drawing itself.
We had a model sitting in front of us, I started with the skeleton that was standing next to him.
There are two continuous line drawings shown here.
And then the next drawing can be executed with allowing yourself to occasionally glance at your paper, but to continue to draw very slowly with mostly one continuous line. This of course actually looks like the model but has a quality of life that a sketch usually doesn't achieve.

february fog

My brother-in-law's pose here is echoing my own mood.

Happy Chinese New Year of the Dragon

The Chinese images of dragons are so arresting, so magnificent! Here are some images from the book that I illustrated for Childrens' Press, "The Fourth Question". (Now it is out of print, but I can still find it on Amazon) (Someone please re-publish this, it is such a great story).

I used a lot of research for this River Dragon, from my own photos and trip to China, to museums, and a Chinese cookie tin that I keep because of the dragon on the top.

In this last illustration, do you see the dragon toy that the father is playing with to amuse his baby son? This is a traditional chinese toy,made of paper. I am going to make these with my art classes tomorrow, what fun and so colorful.

Janice Skivington Paints Flowers

News for the new year! I am launching another website for the purpose of marketing and showcasing my flower paintings. My primary website has illustration and my flower fine art and I think it will be less confusing to certain buyers if they can be directed to just the one subject. I thought about many titles and finally for the sake of web searches but not brevity, I decided to say it like it is.  Janice Skivington Paints Flowers. Here is your link www.janiceskivingtonpaintsflowers.com ,come visit!

 I have used Blogger to make up this site, after months of messing about with Wordpress. I  could not get Wordpress to do what I wanted and look the way I wanted and I am used to the easy way with Blogger. Maybe I'll still change it in the future, when I get smarter.

thankful

Quote:
"May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us." - Saint Therese of Lisieux


This variety is called a "Silver" rose. I found a bargain on a bunch of these very pale purple/lavender roses with the little color variations in the petals and the shadows they cast. 
I took the moment to study this one even though I am supposed to be getting the house ready and baking apple pies for tomorrow. I wish I could paint one of these sketches every day. Maybe this could be a future goal.