29 Faces - Complete

29 Faces

A Face a Day for the Month of September

 

I began to wonder where September went.  All I have to do is look at the mosaic above to realize how I spent the month.  A painting a day is a challenge - a painting of a face a day is even more of a challenge.  I'm pretty proud of where 29 Faces took me.  I do admit that I worked ahead of the game.  I had to - otherwise I know I would never have made it to the end.  I know that my art made an exponential leap over the month of September, which without this challenge would have never happened.  Without the thoughtful comments and support of all of you - I wouldn't have made it either.  So here I say thank you to all of you who followed along and spent your September with me.  I appreciate every one of you, every comment and every thumbs up on Face Book.  Your inspiration is what fuels me to keep going.  Thank you again.  Also, a very special and heartfelt thank you to Martha at Ayala Art for hosting the challenge.

29 Faces: 28 & 29 - Complete

Twenty- Nine

me
encaustic 8 x 8

 

Twenty-Eight

encaustic 6 x 9

Done

19-29

Tenacity, Rewards and 29 Faces: 26 & 27

Twenty- Seven

encaustic 8 x 8

Most people will tell you that tenacity is a great quality to have, especially if you're trying something challenging that takes a while to complete.

Odds are, the people you admire have shown real tenacity in achieving their goals. Anything really worth doing takes persistence, perseverance, and stubborn determination. Being a great baseball player requires real gifts, no doubt, but even the most gifted player won't make it to the big leagues without the tenacity required to make the long, hard journey up from the minors. Tenacity is the quality displayed by someone who just won't quit — who keeps trying until they reach their goal.

-vocabulary.com



One of the perks of being tenacious is the reward after the long haul.  I look at where I started this journey and the paintings I was creating on September 1 - and I now look at the paintings I am creating on September 27 and to me - the transformation is remarkable and I'm pretty hard to please.  I'm faster, stronger and more confident.  I'm starting to "get it" - the subtleties of the face, the curves, the colors - but its taken 29 to get there and not to mention the ones that didn't make the cut.  So, my advice?  Grab on, be tenacious - the rewards can be grand - but it takes time and work and stubborn determination - go for it!

 

Twenty-Six

encaustic 8 x 8

 

29 Faces: 24 & 25

Twenty-Five

Jocelyn
encaustic 8 x8

I'm on the home stretch - only 4 more to go.  

Twenty-Four



29 Faces: 21 - 23


Twenty-Three

Bliss
encaustic 8 x 8


Twenty-Two

Summer
encaustic 3 x 5

Twenty-One


Orange
encaustic 8 x 8

Painting 29 Faces Big and Small - 19 & 20

Twenty



Fly
encaustic 16 x 16

The bigger the better.   I've been experimenting with size.  Painting faces in wax is hard - I'm not going to say it any differently.  Bigger is easier because it allows for detail.  Smaller is harder, because all the detail melts.  Smaller is easier because detail is tougher, so things stay looser and fresher.  Bigger is harder because it requires more detail because its bigger. 
I haven't painted really small faces for a long time because in my estimation, they are much more difficult.  However, I've been trying the little ones again - like Ice below.  Really its been in an effort to keep up with this challenge.  The bigger - the longer they take.  The smaller - they go a little quicker.  I'm learning to paint a little faster which is good because I'm not dwelling on things so long.  I'll be interested to see in the end where the painting of 29 faces leads me.  Yesterday - I kinda hit the wall and had to take a break today from painting.  But, I'll be back at it again tomorrow - just a few more to go :)

Nineteen

Ice
encaustic 5x5



29 Faces: 17 & 18

 

So Far

 Eighteen

Wonder
encaustic 8 x 10

I'm painting like crazy to try and keep up with the challenge.  So far, I'm really pleased with how things are looking.  In fact, I'm pretty excited to keep at it.  Eleven more to go - wish me luck :)

 

Seventeen

Seventeen
encaustic 9x12

29 Faces: 14-16

Sixteen

Jade
encaustic and paper 6 x 6

Fifteen 

Beauty is Skin Deep
encaustic 6 x 6

 

Fourteen

 

Who's That Girl
acrylic on canvas board 6x8

 

 Half way - more than half way to 29.  Its fun this time.  The faces are definitely getting better.  I find learning with acrylic then taking what I learn back to encaustic is really helping.  Blending, color and honestly - just starting with a good drawing is really helpful.  The more I paint, the better I get - love that!

 

 





29 Faces: Ten and Eleven

Eleven

The Guardian
encaustic 12 x 18

We all find inspiration in different places.  This painting, The Guardian, was inspired by Mama.  If you follow this blog, you may remember that Mama was part of our lives in the spring of this year.  Unfortunately, her little family met with an unexpected tragedy.  So, I painted Mama a Guardian for her next nest.

Ten

acrylic 5 x 7



I came across a story about a mother and a daughter that do collaborative art.  The artwork they are creating as a team is really fun - which is what art is meant to be - FUN.  I found this story to be a really interesting read because it highlights some of the fears that weigh artists down.  Yet, as an artist and a Mom, she had to overcome.

She realized that together, they were creating something that was unique and beautiful and together the end product was way more than the parts alone.  Here's the story

New, Magic Nuggets and Processing Information

encaustic on birch 16 x 16

Sometimes, it takes a while to process information.  I"m there, I'm in the moment, I hear, I see, yet... it takes a while to internalize something and have it actually take hold.  Have you ever experienced that?
That's how I felt in my Faces in Wax class from Charlie Levin.  I was there, I totally participated.  There was information that I knew, stuff I had figured out on my own, stuff that was new and stuff that was not new.  I actually feel that we all hear and take away the one magic nugget of information that we need - the key to something that unlocks a whole new way/direction/method.  Or maybe, if we are lucky -  there are more than one magic nuggets that spur us on.  Yet, sometimes we don't process that information until a day, a week or even more... later.  It just sits there waiting for us to remember that we know.. all the information that we need is inside and waiting to be tapped.  The light bulb goes on.
My weekend class in California was awesome.  The information coming in was a lot to process and there are still things that are just coming out from my workshop weekend.  New ways to do things, new/old tools to use.  New artists to inspire. 
I have to stress to all artists - we all need to do workshops.  Get out and put yourself out there.  Meet others that share the same love.  Get fresh new ideas, new inspirations, new... just new.  Don't question it, don't hesitate - sign up for that class or that workshop or that project - whatever, just do it.  Its important as artists that we learn from others - in all kinds of ways.

29 Faces: 25-27

A Face a Day for 29 Days

Face #25
oil on paper



Face #26
oil on paper

Face #27
oil on paper

A Face a Day for 29 Days

 

 Two more to go - Come back on Friday :)



Fab 5, Blanks and Getting Things Done

Fab 5
encaustic on birch 4 x 6
29 Faces:  Faces 20-24

I'm drawing a blank when it comes to new painting ideas.  So, new starts are on hold for today.  Some days are like that.  I actually believe they are meant to be days of rest.  I believe we actually have gotten ourselves so wired that we just need to have a day (or two) that is blank.  The brain and the body get in together and rise up and call for a blank day.
On these blank days, I tend to do mundane, routine things.  I still show up in the studio, because sometimes blanks turn into blossoms.. and other times - no, just blank.  I put wires on the backs of paintings, paint the edges of the cradled panels, and prep and tape new panels.  I make wax medium in the garage.  These tasks are ones that I put off... ones I hate taking the time to do.  Yet, there is a peacefulness in doing something that requires motion and no real thought.  I've come to enjoy blank days.  And with all the tasks complete, I feel ready for when the spark returns. 

In my blankness, I've discovered some new good things:

I've found a new Pandora station that I love - Fun. radio.  Fun. as in the band that won best new artist of the year.

I've signed up for Deepak Chopra's upcoming 21 Day Meditation Challenge.  I've loved these in the past - and even though it takes 21 days for a habit to form.. I don't seem to hang on to meditation.  But, the challenges are great and free and you can sign up here.

I've also signed up to be part of Kat Sloma's Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap again this year.  The Swap is open now, so sign up here.

 

29 Faces: 16-19

The first two are from my imagination.  The second two, I used photos for reference.  This time, I think I did better on the ones I dreamed up.

I think she's pretty cute. 

Face #16

This one, a bit Asian

Face #17

She looks a bit cheeky

Face #18

I think this last one looks like Scotty McCreery.   Only... it wasn't supposed to :)

Face #19

29 Faces 9-12, Mugs and the Work of Karin Jurik

Here's to the mugs in the world.

Face #9

 One of my favorite artists - Karin Jurik, uses mug shots to practice painting faces.  She has a blog dedicated to her mug shot faces called BUST-ED as well as her 100 faces project on her website here.   I have to agree with her that it is a better way to learn.  These people have not been photoshopped, altered, prettied, make-upped or anything.  They are a face - plain and simple in its natural way with all the lines and creases and uneven color.

Face #10

Face #11

Face #12

Want to see more of Karin Jurik's great mug shot faces?  Here's a video of her work.

Clutter, Tidy Up, and 29 Faces

 

I love flat surfaces.  They can hold so many things.

 

Maybe its the time of year - or maybe its something else.  It seems like I have the need to clean up my act.  I cleaned up my studio - and I can use the entire top of my work tables now.  I had let clutter accumulate along the edges - photos, paper, books, and all kinds of inspiration that once used was just moved aside rather than put away.  It crept inward and higher - all this inspiration.  Soon, moved aside stuff, meant that my work space had diminished down to just a small area by my palette.  My work tables are big too - I have 4'x8' of space - that's 24 square feet of space to work on and I was down to about 2 foot square space that I could call my own.  Remarkable really - to think that much stuff had accumulated on the remaining 20 square feet.  In all fairness, the fans and palettes occupy some of that - so really its not all clutter inspiration.  I've always worked this way - I like to have all of my inspiration all around me, close at hand.  It looks like clutter to anyone else but to me - its everything that I need and its all within reach and available.  I have a system.  I have my "go to" items right there ready at a reach.  Being that I use a torch to fuse my wax, I have things that will catch on fire a little farther out than those that don't flame up.  I pile like things together.  Yet, its a hard way to work too - because I often can't find what I need because it is buried under other things.   I had reached system breakdown and it was time to clean up.   Now, with my tidy up - a clean table top is such a pleasure - so much space - so much space to pile new inspiration :)

 

I've been tidying up this blog space too.  There is more to come - a gallery and I'm even going to start a FB page.  They're in the works.

 



More faces for 29 Faces:

Face #6



Face #7

Face #8

Happy Friday, everyone! 

29 Faces: two thru five

On the way to 29 Faces for the month of February. 



Face #2

Face #3

Face #4

Face #5