On A Journey - Coloured Pencil sketch

"On A Journey" - By Belinda Lindhardt, coloured pencil on A5 Arches paper

I have been watching the sky alot lately, we have been getting some magnificent sunsets and i am fascinated with capturing the light / colours of the sky. I have tried numerous times to paint the sky but none of them have been really successful.
Lately when i have been looking at the sky i have been taking mental notes on colours and how I could the clouds appear real. Yesterday i had a go at doing a sky again, i figure if i keep trying i will "get it"one of these days.

I started experimenting last week with washes of watercolour as i was hoping to "paint" the sky rather than "draw" but i just couldnt get the colours i was wanting with the watercolours so i switched to my cpencils. This is the first time i have really picked them up in a while. I was luckily able to start in the late afternoon and could look out the window at some clouds as the sun stared to set. This was a real luxury !!! i loved it (i had my mum here helping with the kids). Its amazing how quickly the light and the colours change!

What started being a bit of a "cloud study" turned into being quite a nice pic of a little journey. On the recent Artists Open Studio weekend i attended, i remember listening to one of the artists talk about how whenever she uses a road or a path its symbolic of going on a journey, i really really LOVED that idea and wanted to incorporate in something. Being on a bit of journey myself atm both personally and artistically i think it quite fitting :)

Materials: I used arches for this as i was originally intending it to be watercolour, it wasnt the best paper to use for coloured pencils but it highlighted that i really do best on paper or smooth surfaces as opposed to my recent attempts at pieces on board. Hoping to do another coloured pencil piece just have to find some inspiration, i am sure its lying around here somewhere!

Bubbles Take 2

"Bubbles" WIP - By Belinda Lindhardt CP on drafting film A3 42X29.7cm

So here i am again,

I think i mentioned in a previous post that my bubbles pic had hit the trash can :)
The main reason for this was the skin texture i just couldn't get a smooth clean feel to it i think the main reason for that was the black stonehenge, i think if i didn't have to have as many layers to get the colour i wanted it would have been right. (so next time try a different coloured paper)
Anyway, so here i go again, and here is my second attempt of this one this time on drafting film. Its going much better so far i haven't done any colour on the back so once i do that i think i will get it really to pop... i just want to cover all of the area first before i start on that :) Again i dont think i will do the background but on the i am not confident on how it will look if i leave it. I have an idea for covering most of the area, i will just have to see how that pans out.

Anyway, this pic has a deadline so as you can see i am churning through it and i have to finish this it in the next few weeks - why well i would tell you but its top secret ! :)

At Crossroads - which way to go?

Sometimes in our lives we come to crossroads and events that change the direction of where we are heading. I have reached that point in both art and life recently but now i am struggling which way to go?

As for life, well i wont go into that on my blog, that would be a story that would lean itself to a very typical soap opera which i don't want to embarrass you all with. *sigh* Lets just say its made me assess my life, my relationships, my strengths and how i am existing in the world its been a good step forward despite the angst and heartbreak of it all. And has made me realise i am a much stronger person than i give myself credit for and all i can do is do my best and that's an ok thing to live by :)

As for art, i feel like my style is changing my techniques are changing and what was once a satisfying subject is now not measuring up. Which don't get me all wrong is good, in fact its GREAT as i know its how I move forward but the pitfall is now that i am stuck ! not knowing where to turn what to tackle next, where to make that mark on the page, what materials to use?

I have ideas of what i want to paint in my head, but i cant finalise them, i start to sketch and i feel like my skills aren't strong enough or cant get down what i want so i move away to something else but ends up that being the same thing. I have been looking at many other artists websites and styles and i get discouraged as i have all this self doubt on being able to do anything remotely decent.

I feel like i have lost that freedom which comes with just creating something fun as i am always trying to make it look "real" or a certain way rather than just having fun (you know how expensive the materials get .. i don't want to waste them). I think i need to just let go rather than trying to "achieve" something everytime i do anything!

As i read through this all it sounds silly and i know this is something all creative people go through and its just a matter of working through it. So i am hoping just writing this post will help me do that and you know what i feel better already !!!! wooT

inspiration

I think i have an urge to give oils another whirl!!! I have been looking at a few artists work recently who just have such rich colours and textures i would just love to try to achieve which is i think alot harder to do in acrylic. The messiness has put me off as has the drying time especially with the two littlies running around. But i am thinking i am at the point where i want to experiment. I think first tho i am going to make myself finish off this piece i started at the beginning of the year .. its one of my goals is to finish works before moving to next ones so i have this and my pears to do before going further. So nag me to see it!!! Cause i need someone to make me do it!!

While we are on inspiration one of my favourite artists who i have admired for years is an Australian artist and photographer David Baxter - http://www.studiobaxter.com/

Last night i was revisiting his work and i just love it not only the way he captures textures and lighting but also his subjects are just so interesting. He just comes up with some fabulous things its just fabulous. I particularly love the way he does his skies something i really want to give a go working on as i cant seem to get them right with cp or acrylic. On his recent works page he has a "step by step exposé " of how he paints. Its very interesting to see how he works very similar to the old masters, well worth a look especially for oil painters but also for other artists as well.

One more thing i am excited about...BOOK -"Masterful Colour" by Arlene Steinberg

I have just seen this promotion for Arlene's new book which is due to come out in March 2008 which i will definitely be purchasing and so excited about...

Arlene is one of the people responsible for my love of CP's she first dazzled me with her wit and her CP techniques (through her tutorials on WetCanvas and then on SribbleTalk). She is an absolutely fabulous teacher and definitely knows her stuff so i am excited about this you can preorder the book via paypal or just go to see the front cover here. http://www.arlenesteinberg.com/MasterfulColorPage.htm