Monday, November 17, 2008

a week of women




one of the first things that i did last week was paint over a face that i'd torn out of a magazine. i'd read about the exercise in randi feuerhelm-watts' "wide open" and was anxious to start...



this is randi's example -- doesn't it just make you wanna give it a whirl?! the idea is to separate the face into sections of light and dark, painting the lighter areas first, paying attention to shades and shadows. right then. i marked the sections off with a permanent marker and had at it... not!! all i can say is that the process resembled (something like) patting my stomach and rubbing my head at the same time. i could NOT get it -- the model looked like she'd contracted a weird but very colorful skin disease. after a half hour or so i decided that i could either a.) paint the entire page white and do something else, or b.) forget about what i was supposed to be doing and intuitively pick up colors and paint. i went with 'b' and within seconds i couldn't stop painting -- i KNEW where i wanted everything to go.


i learned a lot about acrylics and layering doing this. it's hard to describe, but somehow it gave me a sense of how bottom layers peek through even though you don't intend it to happen when you're painting later layers. which sounds really elementary, but somehow doing this really made me get it.


then i went back to a page that i started in virginia but never finished. i gave it a couple of coats of paint and started over. yeah, she was wearing that hat and feather in the magazine "W" -- irresistible! i'm not quite happy with the page but not feeling like i want to hang around and fuss with it either.


then i painted the page opposite 'the dreamer'. half of this journal is made with st. armand watercolor paper, and half with arches 140# rough watercolor paper. this is a st. armand page... i can hardly resist painting with watercolors on this paper because it's a dream to paint on.


what? who's she and what's she doing here?!


it's ms. le reux... i have a feeling she was sent by virgo incorporated (or some such agency) to keep an eye on those crazy colorful women... what's that you say? lynne used colors with names like 'wine and roses', 'bolivian blue', and 'english lavender' for your skin alone? pfffft. you're not so virgo, ms. le reux...

about the paper ms. le reux is painted on... roxanne gave me two pieces of heavy beige watercolor paper that originally belonged to her mother. it was was pure joy to paint on and had the sweetest energy... thank you, roxanne!

15 comments:

  1. why is it that certain posts make me think of food - and I want to say "yummy"??? - well heck - I don't really know...
    but this is YUMMY for sure

    now - about that paper...

    xox - eb.

    ReplyDelete
  2. what an interesting idea - I've never heard of it before - I actually like the 'skin disease' painting - I really like the last one too - ms. leau something - I'd have to click back and the stupid computer hates when I do that and asks if I'm sure I want to leave this page, etc. so I just guess at her name - I like her and she has your eyes! - those eyes!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The pink skin chick has it going on! And ms Le Reux sounds definitively like a Taurus... all sensuous colors she has o her..

    ReplyDelete
  4. Matisse, eat your heart out!!!
    Lynne...love all your colours and patterns they are so bright and wild.
    I see so many "magazine faces" that absolutely need this 'paint treatment'...you have me thinking now...love it.
    Oh Miss Le Reax...:)too special...
    Yes Grrl a Taurus for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That watercolour paper from Roxanne is beautiful, perfect for ms. le reux.
    Love what you have done with the magazine images too. I love the colours (skin disease can be very becoming)...
    I did a class with Misty Mawn earlier this year and we used that technique - I still need to practice, practice, practice...but what fun!
    Love how you have snuck in that painting of yourself into the journal too.

    Jacky xox

    ReplyDelete
  6. The lady with the hat is scrumptious! I want to go to a good old fashioned tea with her. And ms. re leux is so beautiful with her glowing eyes. The paper looks to die for. Great Post! Such fun to come here.
    Leanne

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your pages look so deliciously layered with paint....they are making my left arm reach away from the keyboard a nd o fff to t h e pppainnts....

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great technique and how wonderful to see your experiments. Ms Le Reux
    is gorgeous and I love the dame with the hat.

    ReplyDelete
  9. hey eb, yummy's good... thank you!

    yeah, about that paper...

    lol, jeane! the 'skin disease' painting! i like her now too... it was the original disease i had a problem with. ; )

    yes, grrl, the pink skinned chick is definitely someone i'd like to have a conversation with. and i believe you're right. ms. le reux is a taurus. no doubt about it...

    jo, so many magazine faces could do with a 'paint treatment'. there's no shortage for projects like this! and thank you!

    hi jacky, thank you... i found the 'skin tone' exercise impossible when i tried to do it logically. once i left logic behind it was a different story. well of course painting in general is like this, but for some reason i just could not 'grok' this exercise logically.

    yes, roxanne's paper is really special. paper makes such a difference...

    hi leanne -- thank you! (let's meet for tea with this horned/hatted woman)

    hey julie! thank you! yeah, those paints, those layers... they cccall me all the ww while...

    thank you, kate.

    hi robyn, yes, so much fun to experiment and play. i've decided that my collage work is just going to be integrated into my regular painting stuff. at least until it's not. : )

    ReplyDelete
  10. Just came across you blog and really enjoyed reading it. I especially loved the quote by VanGogh and have added myself as a follower so I can read it again later and visit your blog again!

    Thanks for sharing!

    Leslie
    www.leslielovinlife.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lynne, I love the progression of this post from the beginning to the end. And to have you put into words your process... wow. The first pieces are really cool, and the lady with the wild hat amazing. Especially the symbols in the background. And there is you, a new you and the sweet little girl you. You are so brave... to venture out the way you do. I am so glad you like the paper... now we need to find more! Roxanne

    ReplyDelete
  12. hello, leslie! yeah, that quote... i had to photograph it even though there are hundreds of other pages with gorgeous art journal photos on them! thank you for stopping by!

    thank you, roxanne! yes, now we must see if we can find more of this paper!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Lynne,thank you for visiting my blog! You are always welcome :-)

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.