Chalk Pastel Portrait + Developmental Sketches (6/100)

I'm back today with yet another canvas panel for my 100 Day Challenge, but this time with an entirely new direction. Essentially, I had every intention of creating a piece similar in style to the rest of the pieces I have done thus far, but when I went to block out the eye to do in a collage style I used chalk pastels.

Once I had started playing around with a new medium (they were actually Prismacolor NuPastels, which are water-soluble as well), I couldn't stop. Thus, this little partial portrait was born. If you would like to purchase this piece, you can find it here. 

• I think the tears depicted here were somewhat of a way of working through some issues I've been having recently. I've been reconsidering a lot of things - things that I once believed were set in stone when it comes to my future. I've been extremely emotional lately, and art just seems to be my way of coping with that.
• As you can see in the above photographs, the texture is a bit different from pure chalk pastel. This is because I actually started blending acrylic paints into the pastels with my fingers at some point, because I wanted to add some depth and variety (as well as texture) that I wasn't quite getting from the pure chalk pastels.

• The eye itself is another one of my favorite parts about this little piece. I love the coloring and shading that  was able to achieve (plus purple eyes are cool). The chalk pastels mixed with acrylics is definitely something I'm going to need to play with in the near future, no doubt about that.
• The amount of time I spend working on this piece was well worth the result. I love experimenting and playing with different techniques and things I've never done before (because you can only get better with practice!) so this was a very relaxing, soothing process for me. It helped me come to grips with a few things and I think it was good for me in the long run. 

The last thing I would like to share with you today is this little page of sketches, which I did in preparation for a new digital painting that I actually started working on today. I had the idea for this girl (her appearance and color scheme) in the back of my head for a few days now, and I decided to just take the plunge and do something about it.

I've also started messing around with a new way of organizing my storytelling/art ideas, and if it works out for me, then maybe I'll share it with all of you in the future!

Thank you all for visiting and leaving all of your amazing comments, I don't even know how to explain how good they make me feel, knowing that people actually like what I'm doing. Until next time, I wish you all the best!

Starting a New Project + A Major Announcement

Seeing as I have officially finished 29 Faces (though as I previously stated, I will continue to do faces on a more consistent basis, as I did enjoy it so much), I thought it was about time to start a new project. This has been an idea in the works since before this post, which was a bit of an experiment with a new medium and preparation.

For the next 100 days, I will be creating a 4"x4" canvas panel. 100 days is a big commitment, but I'm super excited to see where this will lead, and I think sharing what I create is a good way to motivate myself to keep up with it!

 As of right now, I think the majority of these panels will be mixed media, as that is the thing I am most comfortable doing, but sometimes it's good to push out of your comfort zone, so we'll see where it ends up!

At any rate, enough talking about the project and onto the actual panel itself! This is (1/100), and I absolutely adore the way that it turned out.

• The big doodled flower is a piece I've been saving for a good long while now, along with a whole other sheet I did. I just used a paintbrush dipped in India ink and painted shapes and designs in order to create a piece of paper that I absolutely adored. I've been hoarding this for a while, but I've been using it quite a bit recently - it seems like it's going to have to be something I continue doing, since I do enjoy it so much!

• In these photographs you can better see what is probably my favorite part about working on canvas in general - the texture! The way the paint catches in the nooks and crannies is just so beautiful, and it definitely makes me want to play with it more. 
• There were many layers of play on this little square (at one point I thought I had went a bit overboard, since I always have trouble knowing when to stop, but I managed to reel it back), from paint to collage to stamping and stenciling.
• I also played around with using a brayer a little bit on this square - it was the very first layer that I put down, in a neon pink color. I've been trying to work my art in stages, though a lot of it just has to do with me wanting to squeeze in a little bit of art before work. However, this morning I slept a bit later than I intended, and that one simple layer was all I was able to accomplish. I was thinking about it all day, and when I remembered I had this doodled flower, it all sort of fell into place.
• The word "magic" is also something that's been floating around in my brain recently, for no real reason in particular, and it will probably end up making its way onto an art journal page in the very near future.
• I'm linking to Paint Party Friday!

As I stated in the title of this post, I also have a major announcement to make, something that I'm extraordinarily excited about!

I have officially opened an Etsy shop! And in that Etsy shop, you will be able to purchase all of the pieces I create during this 100 day challenge I have started out on. You can find today's piece available here.

This is a big step for me, and something I'm extremely excited about. In the future, I plan to expand the shop, but for now all that will be listed is these canvas panels. Thank you all so much for visiting, and I hope you all enjoyed viewing today's piece. It really means a lot that you took the time to stop by!