Charcoal Values

Charcoal Value Sketch  © C. Eastwood, 2012

Do not attempt to adjust your screen...there's nothing wrong with it.  The picture is black and white and shades of grey (no...not that kind!).  I'm taking a second on-line class taught by another wonderful artist and teacher who goes by the name of "Gritty Jane" (J. DesRosier -- Portraits and Papers) to add some additional portrait skills and mixed media techniques.  Before we get to the paint and other fun stuff, I get to go back to drawing with charcoal.  I haven't done anything like this since high school, and I am NOT admitting how many years ago that was!  (Let's just say that if I count decades, I can still do it on one hand -- barely, yikes.)  Anyway, since I'm sharing this journey, I figured I'd go ahead and add this one to the batch.

I Love a Good Challenge!

"Layered Reality" (Mixed Media) © C. Eastwood, 2012

I saw a "Frida Kahlo Challenge" and decided it would be fun to try the new mixed media format for painting my own "Frida."  The quote is hers -- "I paint my own reality."  It was fun, and now it's definitely time to branch out into some new applications.  More to come!

Mixed Media Continues

"Unconstrained"  (Mixed Media),  © C. Eastwood, 2012

Here's the latest mixed media portrait in my journal.  I decided to try going a slightly different direction and paint a woman of color just to see if I could since the class didn't address doing anything like that.  At first I thought it was going to be a disaster and I was ready to toss it, but I kept adding layers and finally she started peeking through and the portrait emerged from the page.  I learned a lot.  I'm still kind of slow at this, but since it's not a race, that's okay.  The quote surrounding her is from Walt Whitman:  "Re-examine all you have been told -- dismiss what insults your soul."  That's pretty much what I'm doing with my art -- dismissing that part of the past which was hurtful and making my own reality.  Hope you enjoy this painting.