Growing in the imperfection

I have been having a hard time giving value and recognizing my quick and experimental sketches as something important and worth showing. Just because they don't fit the mental image I have of how I wanted it, doesn't mean they are not good. Nor the fact that I was just experimenting and playing around and things didn't work out as I thought they would.

Warm ups for figure drawing

 

 

Every little sketch, word, musical note, sculpture that is created, regardless of our opinion on it been successful or not, is worth something. It mark a step closer to our goal, to the final product, to something maybe even better than the first image we have of it in our heads.

Hand studies

  

That is the reason why I decided to start counting the faces I am making or struggling to make as part of the 29 faces challenge, regardless of how much they represent or not my best skills and art. This is not easy, I feel raw, exposed and vulnerable. Why? Because I want to show you my best, I want my art to touch you in the best way possible. And it is with that thought in mind that I am showing you the not so perfect, because I want to inspire you to practice and keep moving forward regardless what your art is; I want to grow in this artistic endeavor with you.

Faces #16 & #17 (Distress and Tombow watercolor markers)

Face #18 (Inktense blocks on Stillman & Bin Beta Series Sketchbook)

Face #19 (art journal page in progress)

Face #20 (Study for future painting)

Not everything is perfect, we are not perfect, but there is beauty in the imperfect and the possibility to grow. Looking at how we progresses in our respective arts is very rewarding and fill us we pride and even more motivation to continue honing our skills and craft.

Face 9/29 faces

Here is a 10 minutes sketch in graphite pencil for my face #9 of the 29 Faces challenge. Again, I prepared the paper with Acrylic ground for pastel from Golden.

I am thinking about exploring drawing facial hair more in depth.

"Prayer": face 6 of 29 faces challenge

Here is my face #6, titled "Prayer". I prepared the paper with two thin coats of clear gesso. I was going to do it in color but then decided to go for a grey monochromatic color scheme. I think I worked great because the hearts from the paper stand out a bit and direct the eye to her. Plus the blueish undertone of the paint symbolized the "feeling blue" sentiment. When I feel blue I pray and then I am back to color.

Hands are always a challenge for me, and at first I wasn't sure to add it or not, but it was asking for it. It didn't feel finish nor did it conveyed the emotion and story I wanted. So I decided to add it. Not the best hand, but it does help to make the picture complete.

Face #5 29 Faces challenge

For this one I decided to try a set of CretacoloR oil based colored pencils. It is a very limited color set as you can see, but I have had it for a few years and never use it. So I decided to give it a try. 

They smudged a bit and stained my hand, specifically the black one. However I think they might be good to use with watercolors, because I will not loose my sketch lines and it might provide a nice look. I guess I will be experimenting with them again. 

I tried to see if the white would look white on top of the others but it mostly blended and lightened the other colors, so I don't have the lightest lights in this one. But I think that my witch came out okay. I am having fun trying to create different expressions and perspectives. It has been a good practice. 

Trying out some grounds

Hello there!! Hope you are trying out and experimenting with new things. Today I had some fun experimenting with fiber paste as a ground in order to prepare my page for my third face from the 29 Faces challenge.

This medium give the surface you apply it to nice texture, one similar to handmade papers. You can sand it a bit if you want, I did it bit, but then some of the nice texture was lost.

I think it is a medium worth playing with and trying it with different materials. For example, I used Prismacolor colored pencils, but I think it would be nice to pastels, charcoal, pencil and even paint. Anyway, here is my third face from the challenge. I decided to add more fiber paste over it to give it a different look.

As you can see, fiber paste doesn't have to be use just as a ground.

Patterned paper as inspiration

My new schetchbook/art journal for the 29 Faces 2016 challenge have prove to be a great idea. The patterned paper have been a source of inspiration at different stages of the drawing/painting process. Although this is only the second face, my sketchbook have provided me direction, inspiration and freedom.

Since I first saw the paper used for this face, I knew I wanted to draw a male. Because the paper is tick and textured, and was already stretched/glued to the chipboard page, I decided to dive right in with acrylic paint without preparing it with gesso. I did a light sketch of the face first, then I decided to use a limited number of colors as part of a challenge and experimenting process. The colors were, scarlet red, yellow ochre, ultramarine blue and unbleached titanium white. From there I mixed all my colors, adjusting with the unbleached titanium white.

In the middle of the process I realized that the paper was looking like the sea and no more like blue painted wood. That motivated me even more and filled me with excitement about this page. I only added a little blue around him to make it a bit darker and make him part of the page a little bit more naturally. 

Once again, I have tones of fun experimenting here. The paper hold up beautifully and I starting to feel motivated, inspired and fearless about experimenting again. 

What are you doing to keep yourself motivated and inspired? Are you been fearless in your art or craft?

And the journey starts!!! First face for 29 Faces challenge

Hello everyone, even though I woke up sick today I manage to make my first face for the Feabruary 2016 #29 Faces challenge.

 I used Polychromos and white gel pen. I am glad that I made my journal the way I did (check video below). It did work for me to be fearless and just start drawing. I did wanted to put some gesso on the paper but since I wasn't feeling well I just went straight to drawing. At first I was like, "oh this is going no where", "it is not nice" and all that blah blah blah. However, since I wasn't afraid of messing up the page I stuck at it and the final result, to me, is not that bad. However, the experience of the moment is well worth it. It showed me that if I keep moving forward I can accomplish something good. So I will keep pushing forward, and I know that not all of them are going to be successful, but I also know that I will learn something from the experience so at the end I will have success. Remember, it all depends on how you look at the half glass of water, do you see the empty space or the filled one?

Art journal page: Dragon's chivalry

Created on my altered journal, this page spread took a couple of days, just because I only had the girl sketched but did not know what else to do. Suddenly the other day I got the inspiration, and this lovely dragon came to life; my second dragon ever. 

For the dragon scales I used Distress crackle paint; then used soft pastels to color it. The girls was color with prismacolor pencils, spectrum noir alcohol markers, and Faber-Castell Pitt artist pens. For the suggested flower forest, I used Distress ink, acrylic paint and soft pastels.

Dragon's chivalry, as I have called this art journal  page, has given life to the idea of making a challenge for the month of July, based on fantasy creatures. I want to try to create a fantasy creature every day. Right now I'm off by one, but it is okay; I can't wait to see what other magical creatures will come to life.

Holly Mary Journal Page

by: L. Rios all copyright reserved 2012

A page from my Moleskine portrait journal, I loved and thoroughly enjoyed the process for this one. It took me more than one day but I don't regret it. This is the first time I used light modeling paste on any of my journals; I put it around the head and borders of the other page, to give texture and dimension. The modeling paste take some time to dry, so I just left it overnight to make sure it was dry before applying the blue paint. Also, added extra modeling paste after applying the acrylic paint and while it was wet. I did that, in order to create different tonalities. The face was made with Prismacolor pencils over a coat of clear gesso. Acrylic paint and ink were used on the rest of the pages; three-dimensional stickers complete the image. Writing on the right is a prayer to Jesus' mother, Mary.

The soft look of her eyes and the young and pure look of her face made me think of Virgin Mary, so I wrote down a beautiful prayer on the other page. This is one of my favorites pages; it is calming to look at her eyes, plus I can't stop touching all the textures on this pages.