After an arduous journey for my brother’s funeral, I’m back in the studio. It took some time to really feel like getting back to my art as I was emotionally exhausted. The studio kept calling and I finally immersed myself as best I could and found healing through art. I did get nearly finished with my next painting in the “Wine, Women, and Song” series. I call this one “Party Time.”
Party Time Painting
I started this painting with the goal of using the same process I have come to adopt for this series: acrylic washes, a charcoal sketch, stencils, collage, acrylic paints, and oils. I’m still trying to capture as all of the steps in the process, but sometimes get so caught up that I move to the next step without a photo. I made a video of how I collage that I will share.
Source Photo
I have been using Affinity Photo to create source photos and am feeling more comfortable with the program. Here’s the photo I created from two separate sources.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="569" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/party-lady-1-1024x569.jpg" alt="Reference Photo showing a senior lady smiling and holding a cup of tea against a backdrop of balloons and a bright sky. " class="wp-image-6892" style="width:600px" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/party-lady-1-1024x569.jpg 1024w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/party-lady-1-300x167.jpg 300w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/party-lady-1-768x427.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/party-lady-1-1536x853.jpg 1536w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/party-lady-1.jpg 1944w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
I wanted her to be holding a glass of wine, so I used my own hand for a reference.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2560" height="1920" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3236-scaled.jpg" alt="Photograph of the author's hand holding a wineglass" class="wp-image-6893" style="width:600px" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3236-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3236-300x225.jpg 300w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3236-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3236-768x576.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3236-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3236-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />
This is about three steps into the process where you can see I have the acrylic washes, charcoal sketch, stencils, and started laying down the underpainting.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2560" height="1920" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3239-scaled.jpg" alt="First draft painting of a happy senior woman holding a wineglass" class="wp-image-6894" style="width:600px" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3239-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3239-300x225.jpg 300w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3239-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3239-768x576.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3239-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3239-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />
This shows the collage for the hair and more acrylic layers using transparent paints. I wanted to keep some of stencils showing through.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2560" height="2012" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3253-scaled.jpg" alt="Painting of a happy senior lady smiling and holding a glass of wine against a backdrop of balloons." class="wp-image-6895" style="width:600px" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3253-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3253-300x236.jpg 300w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3253-1024x805.jpg 1024w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3253-768x603.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3253-1536x1207.jpg 1536w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3253-2048x1609.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />
I decided to use collage for her necklace as well. I originally was going to keep her without the black shirt showing in the reference, but received feedback from the Mastery Program coaches that adding color would help the composition. I decided to go with more stenciling effect using a piece of Halloween lace and water-based spray paint. Some of the members of my coaching group commented how it looks like tattoos! I laid in the basic cloud shapes as well.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2560" height="1920" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3259-scaled.jpg" alt="Painting of a happy senior lady smiling and holding a glass of wine against a backdrop of balloons. Her hair and necklaces are done in paper collage. " class="wp-image-6896" style="width:600px" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3259-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3259-300x225.jpg 300w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3259-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3259-768x576.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3259-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3259-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />
I added more to the cloud shapes and put some colorful hummingbirds in the background. I corrected the shape of her glasses and the size of the hand. This is now ready for a final layer of oil paint in selected areas.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2560" height="2059" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3308-scaled.jpg" alt="Painting of a happy senior lady smiling and holding a glass of wine against a backdrop of balloons. Her hair and necklaces are done in paper collage. " class="wp-image-6897" style="width:600px" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3308-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3308-300x241.jpg 300w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3308-1024x823.jpg 1024w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3308-768x618.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3308-1536x1235.jpg 1536w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_3308-2048x1647.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />
Collage How-to
I decided to go bold and film a video on my collage process. This is a little over 8 minutes long, but if you have the time, please watch, and provide feedback. I’d like your opinion and let me know if you’d like to see more videos of how I create.
Check out the hair!
Takeaways
Art has helped me heal. I get lost in the process and forget my worries. I was able to see most all my extended family at my brother’s funeral and it was bittersweet.
Thank you for being here with me.
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