Puffy Face

I had a couple of teeth removed yesterday (not visible ones, thank goodness) and my face is all puffy and sore; also, this antibiotic they've put me on is of the devil!  It has my stomach feeling like it has been removed and I should have woken up in a tub of ice with "call 9-1-1" written on my arm.  Remember that urban legend about the kidney harvesting?  Gross, but that's how I feel.

Well I'm not letting it stop me from piling in a car with my mom, dad, uncle and four-year-old son for a weekend pilgrimage to Arts In the Heart of Augusta.  I can't wait! 

Here's a photo from last year (I hope THIS guy is there again this year):

I really like BIG art like his.

So, apparently you can blog with your mobile phone.  I'm going to try that feature out while I'm there tomorrow, so if you see any wonky-looking posts, I'll fix them when I get back.

The First Tutorial In My "Con Artist" Series

I have written my first tutorial.  I have ideas for more and have decided to name this the "Con Artist" series.  You can purchase the tutorial through my Etsy shop or just send me $16 via PayPal to melanie@conandkat.com.  Then, you'll be emailed the six-page PDF.

Here is the Etsy description:

This is a six-page tutorial that will teach you, in ten easy steps, how to use the photo of a loved one (or anyone, really) to paint a portrait that will amaze everyone!

The tutorial was written with the complete novice in mind, someone who feels there is no way they could do anything like this, but really wishes they could.

Is it cheating? No. Art, to me, is about you going through the creative process. It's therapy that should be available to all and not only those who were born with this wonderful ability.

I hope you enjoy this, the first in what I think I will call the "con art series." :)

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If you don't have a PayPal account, I accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. You may also mail a check or money order to LULU HATCH, PO BOX 1305, GRIFFIN GA 30224.

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After your payment has been received, you will receive an email with the PDF attached. It has been designed, so that it will print nicely on standard printer paper.

Two Angels, One Duck and One Little Hippie

My mother and I were in Hobby Lobby yesterday.  I was considering buying a block of watercolor paper, not because I needed a block, but because I'd seen Gritty Jane use it in one of her tutorials and I was intrigued.  A BLOCK of watercolor paper?  I think I remember her saying something along the lines of, "this is a block of watercolor paper... it's glued on all four sides instead of just at the top... you just carve it out when you're done."  CARVE it out?

A former art student, my mom should know about this, right?  She did not.  She even said it sounded stupid.

But more importantly, she said, "I thought you weren't going to take any instruction."  Ummmm... oops.

I can't even follow my own rules!  Well, that's just me.  I'm a rule breaker.  It's all I know, so I'm sorry about that.  Well, not really.  If I were not a rule breaker, I probably would have given up on this art thing a long time ago.

Anyway, I've been practicing what I learned in those tutorials, but I quit watching them because Gritty Jane hurt my feelings (you may have noticed I took down my post about her blog). 

The first face I tried (and didn't finish because my four-year-old said she looked like a duck... and he was right) was this one:

Never finished.  Connor said, "Ewwww... nooo... she looks like a duck."

Then, I tried again:

My first angel.  Better, but not quite.

I was happy with her.  She wasn't quite what I had in mind, but I thought she was the best I'd ever done.

Then, I tried this one:

My second angel. I like her... just not REAL excited about her.

 

 

And then something wonderful happened.  My aunt and cousin and two of my second cousins (or is it first cousins once removed?) came for a very brief visit.  Violet, who just turned four years old, I believe, decided to do her "silly dance."  I snapped a photo and, in my mind's eye, I saw a painting.

Here's the photo:

Violet doing her "silly dance."  Doesn't she look like she should be at Grateful Dead concert?

I painted her the very next day.

"Violet's Silly Dance" 11" x 15", Acrylic and Graphite on Watercolor Paper.

A Facebook friend said he was thinking about taking a watercolor class until he saw this and it humbled him so much that he was just going to forget it.  No, no, no!  I use techniques that anyone could use to create these same results.  I am going to put together a tutorial and you'll see what I mean.

In the meantime, here are some good books:

Acrylic Revolution: New Tricks and Techniques for Working with the World's Most Versatile Medium
Rethinking Acrylic: Radical Solutions For Exploiting The World's Most Versatile Medium

Oh and about that watercolor paper block.  I didn't get it because... that's just stupid.
Canson Montval Watercolor Paper Block 12 x 16 inch 140 lb CP 15 sheets