Tuesday 28 May 2013

Tall Poppy Digital Painting

I've just realised that I've made an error...Part of a new digital poppy painting has also made its way into my new Facebook banner and Google Plus header...before I'd had a chance to post it here.

So, to rectify that, and to celebrate the ever popular poppy, here's "Tall Poppy"-another digital oil pastel piece.

I'm going into hiding for a few days to work on some new projects-news as soon as I have it.

Update: "Tall Poppy" gifts are here.





Three Things They Don't Tell You About Doing A Self Portrait...

The moment had definitely come. This blog had been turning evermore into a digital painting place. And yet my mugshot, resolutely, remained a photo. And not a very flattering one, at that.

It was time to attempt a self portrait for my profile picture.

"You gotta do this, girl," I kept telling myself. "You gotta walk your talk".

And yet, I held back.Why?

First of all, it's incredibly frightening. For some reason, it just feels really exposing even to attempt this (or at least, it did to me).

Secondly, there's the question of what to put in and what to leave out. In other words: how honest should I really be when doing this? Firstly with myself. And second, with anyone looking at it.

I still don't know what the answer is here, but here are the decisions I made, in case they're any help to anyone attempting something similar:

Glasses or no glasses? 

My photo had kept these, taken when I was writing more than creating generally. It felt right to expose my inner geek in a photo. But I do sometimes wear contact lenses. So, in the same way that people have glamour photos taken and remove glasses, it felt OK to do that here. Ditto with showing myself in my favourite clothes, rather than just, "whatever I happen to have on".

Which bits to accentuate?

I decided that "big eyes, big mouth, small nose, mouth talking, messy hair (with white streaks), cheeks like a fat rodent, mischief-maker," was a reasonably honest way to depict myself...but that it's OK to show my hair as it looks for the 24 hours after it's just been cut and styled, rather than the messy hedge that prevails the rest of the time.

And hence the result was:






But the third and maybe most important thing "they" don't tell you about the whole process is this...

I'm not at all sure anyone would recognise me from this picture. Maybe this is lack of technique (as you'll know if you've read this blog at all, I don't often draw people at all.) Maybe, it's also that it's just impossible to know how our essence and energy actually comes across to anyone else.

In the final analysis perhaps a self-portrait just has more emphasis on self than on portrait. It's how I felt to myself, on a particularly good day. And so maybe on another day, it'll change it completely.

I can only apologise for the navel-gazing in this post. Perhaps it goes with the territory. But what I'd love to know is whether it's just me who's had this reaction to doing a self-portrait, or whether you felt like that too?

Or maybe you enjoyed the process more. And if you did...what's the secret, please?

Wednesday 22 May 2013

New Digital Painting: Among the Bluebells

There are carpets of bluebells in Oxleas Woods, south-east London at the moment...Hence this newest digital painting.

(I will post something other flowers soon: there are just so many birthdays and events for us in May that time is at a premium. But I hope you enjoy this in the meantime.)
And as ever, there are gifts bearing this design, like this one:

Tuesday 14 May 2013

New Digital Painting: Open Purple Tulip

digital painting of a pinky-purple tulip
This week's digital painting is an open pinky-purple tulip...based on another photos from our Bank Holiday day in the park. When  the sun was shining. (I'll now stop doing the British "weather obsession" thing).

Again, it's in Pixarra Twisted Brush's digital oil pastels...I'm having so much fun with those that these flowers might even turn into a series.Anyway, this one's now available to buy as a print or card here.

In the meantime, this is just a short post as there is is a lot going on-which I'll share with you as soon as I can. And there's lots of other great stuff to share from my travels round the web as well.

'Til then, have a good one.

Wednesday 8 May 2013

Days of Cake & Blossom...

Picture of deep pink blossom tree, St James' Park

 It's been a story of spring and street parties (well, party) cake and blossom here in the last few weeks. So here are a few pics to show what I mean....


For example, there is a riotous amount of blossom in London this week...at long, long last...
.

 This (below), on the other hand, is the first Smartie cake I've ever made...for our street party.

Photo of a Smartie cake, the top is decoprated with a flower and butterfly in a Smartie mosaic.



This flower was a first too (at the same street party). I can't take any credit for the wonderful bricks, but as a digital girl, it was interesting to have a go at something completely different...

And if all this seems a way away from digital painting, perhaps it isn't. After all everything that any of us produces needs to come from somewhere, to be inspired by something. And colour provides that inspiration for me, wherever it is..
Photo of a mauve and coral flower chalked onto a pavement





Photo of yellow/red, orange and pink tulips

Speaking of which,  I had to add in these tulips. They are outside, of all places, the *public toilets* in St James's Park. Can you believe it?

Colour has come back to London after a long, grey winter.. And it's wonderful.

Saturday 4 May 2013

New Digital Painting: Tulip Fever

Digital painting of a colourful orange, gold, purple and pink tulip

At last... a new digital painting. This image on the left is the low-resolution version of "Tulip Fever" but I hope you get the general idea.

This is another digital oil pastel painting from scratch with the marvellous Twisted Brush program.

And grateful thanks also go to phaewilk whose photo inspired this.

Happy weekend, everyone!


 Update 6/05/13: I've already had feedback from a couple of people that they love this item, so it's available on phone cases and similar gifts: