March 2013

Mar

12

tuckered out and tucked in.

creative process / the dorm room  Posted by / 11 comments

tuckedin 580x580 tuckered out and tucked in.

i am all about learning new things, trying stuff out and just digging into the creative possibilities.

most of the time. except when i am worn out and totally past overstimulated. and i was and still am. in an uncool, big way.

thanks to my friend, Christy Tomlinson and her amazing creative spirit (and her love of sharing all of her creative goodness), i have been sketching again. she loves painting girls and has gotten so brave about painting (gasp) faces.

sketching on the train, in airports, on the plane, and even on the couch watching tv. just to distract me from me.

i can do everything but the eyes. frickin’ eyes. they bring out the worst in me. i always get caught between my vision (hahahaha.) of what I would like my eyes to look like on paper and making them look real.

they always cross the line. and make me frustrated. i study hers. i study pinterest. i copy. i trace. i fail.

my eyes. DO NOT LIKE. my eyes.

so i had the weekend to do a bit of painting and i thought it was time for me to recreate a sketch into a mixed-media painting. i got fancy and enlarged it then cut it into traceable sections. it worked. i loved the piece without a face. and I wish i would have gotten over seeing it through. because I really LOVED that blank face. it was stunning.

  • cheeks
  • hair
  • lips
  • ears
  • neck
  • nose

i saved the eyes for last. (not sure that is the best choice in this situation)

my husband asked why i painted medusa.

 

i really wanted to like it. (and please don’t tell me i should have given the above photo. it took about a dozen instagram photos to get an angle that made it look good. TRUST ME)

so i thought i would start over and paint the face white. so i did. then the background i loved was ruined. and i was mad.

so i took it to the bathroom sink and scrubbed the shit out of it. and part of my background withstood the torture. and i walked away.

the next day. with new eyes (bhahahahaha.) i started over. sticking to my tried and true to remind myself that I am pretty frickin good. 

and that i have it in me to change it up. just not right now.

Mar

04

she is a lucky girl.

creative kits / creative process / the dorm room  Posted by / 7 comments
PicMonkey Collage 580x580 she is a lucky girl.

she is a lucky girl (copyright-2013 danielle donaldson)

she is a lucky girl is a small but mighty mixed media piece that was inspired by clovers and bingo. my first offering in a series (hopefully) of mixed media kits with online insights into my creative process.

the learning curve was steep given that i had some serious doubts that i could even set up the tripod to capture it. that i couldn’t figure out how to get rid of my hand shadows. that i don’t like waiting for my one-and-only camera battery to recharge.

but here it is. i decided to create a fast-motion video to be sure that 1)you didn’t fall asleep half way through and 2) i could give you a taste-test of my creative ways.  (and it was almost two-hours of video).

and a suggestion. the music is corny. not a good way around it. i strongly suggest that you mute it and turn on your fave pandora station. i played my Madness station while creating it. that will really give you insight.

it includes the whole thing. good and bad. it is really important to me that i share not only the pretty parts but the ugly too. i screw up all the time. and sometimes my screw-ups totally mess with my head. and i work through it. or over it. or around it. we all have a picture in our head going in. just remember no one can match the picture in their head of what they want on the other end. no one can copy what i do exactly. that, my friends is what makes the creative process so frickin AWESOME.

you work through it and get better. and happier. and more confident in your ability to live creative. (and. BONUS POINTS here. it spills into your everyday. you are more open to sharing. learning. letting go of perfect. eyes wide open for brilliant little flashes of GOOD that surround you)

if you decide to play after watching the video – i have 2 kits left. i promise to send them out today – i am only making a dozen for each kit at this time to be sure that they have the love and care that I want to give them. so hurry! you can purchase one HERE.

a quick list of supplies that are MUST-HAVES in my world.

  • liquitex clear gesso
  • liquitex heavy body acrylic (titanium white and buff)
  • golden liquid acrylic (titanium white)
  • golden acrylic glazing liquied (satin)
  • general’s graphite pencils (sketch and wash & layout)

i use all of these in almost every single painting i create. the remainder of the supplies can be found in my clovers and bingo kit.

after watching you will have questions. please feel free to send me a note and i will do my very best to give some additional direction if i can. and be sure to share your art with me. it makes me ok with spending a whole weekend on making this thing.