Challenge: 29 faces (Day 4, # 10,11,12,13)

Back to pencils. I think there is nothing that brings life to a face like the pencil's sign. Over and over again, when I ink my pencils, faces become stiff, less genuine. The softness of a smile is lost, sometimes the resemblance to the original subject vanishes. And it's not just because I make subtle changes/mistakes while inking. The faces I draw directly in pen- ink, although quite spontaneous, still lack that dynamic spark that pencils have. This is particularly true when working on small drawings like these. What's your experience?

#10 Windswept

# 11 Something on the horizon

#12 Is that so?

#13 Melissa (somehow her ear ended up floating away up her head...I did not realize it because...I've got distracted by the fact that Bella walked over the paper and made that lovely wrinkle right there in the middle of the head...:D)

29 Faces

Have a great afternoon!

Challenge: 29 Faces (Day 3, # 7,8,9)

Three more faces I did yesterday night. This time I took the plunge, let the safety net of penciling the faces first, and went directly to the inks. I just used a regular pen and went with the flow, without thinking too much of the outcome...3 pretty different individual came into being. What are their stories?

#7 Big neck, bad temper

#8 The grudge

#9 The prayer

29 Faces

 See you tomorrow!

Challenge: 29 Faces (Day 2: # 4,5,6)

Here come 3 more faces for the challenge (and I am so behind)!

They are simple sketches this time. Again, these are miniatures that could easily fit into a stamp.
One displays how little I know about how to use properly watercolor. Who knows, one day I might end up learning this charming technique!

#4 Blue woman

#5 Regina

#6 Elena the beautiful (a portrait of one of Marina Bychkova's dolls... I have a fixation with them....)

29 Faces

 Thanks for watching!

Challenge: 29 Faces (Day 1 = Setember 16!)

I have never participated to art challenges, but, perusing my friend's Tammie Lee's blog, I found this one that appeals to me and seemed fun. It's called 29 faces and it's been launched by Alaya Art.

I should have started at the beginning of the month, so I am entering the game late. I wonder if I'll be able to complete the challenge by the end of the month. I'll have to do a couple of faces per day to catch up...but that's fun and good practice, too.

Here my 3 mini faces for the day:

#1 Baby's got her wish.

#2 Student learning a new lab procedure

#3 Mermaid waiting for a pray

 29 faces

The originals are about 2-3 inches...the only way I have to make something quick!
Copics and random paper.

Many thanks to Ayala for this intriguing opportunity!

Ritratto di Bimba (Bella's Portrait) finished

It's done. And I think I sort of saved it.
Thank goodness for my husband's constructive criticisms and the mixed media approach that allowed me to correct at least partially my mistakes with pencils!

What did I change?
-Her eyes were/are not aligned. I used a dark brown pencil to redraw the lower and upper lids outlines to create the illusion of new boundaries.
-Her lips were vampire-like, way to red and dark, like if blood had congealed on them (yuk!). I used a white pastel pencil to tone down the redness.
-Her smile was sort of uncertain, so with a dark violet and brown pencils I pushed the corners of her mouth further sideways and upward.
-Then I used  dark and reddish brown pencils to define better her cheeks and the smile-puffiness under her eyes (what do you call those thigies?...8 month old kids cannot possibly have "bags" under their eyes!).
-After this, I darkened the left side of her face, because somehow it looked too broad before. This also, I think, helped giving a more 3-dimentional look to the face.
-I added wisps of hair here and there, to avoid the impression she was wearing a lopsided wig.
-Finally, I toned down the contour of her face and collar overlapping white pastel pencil to the too severe and bold multiliner sign.

I think that's about it.
I feel better about it, now...so I think I can safely hang it in Bella's room without making her cry in fear of creating an unpleasant "mommy thinks I am ugly" complex. ;)

Hope you guys are all happy and enjoying this beautiful September day. Hugs and kisses,
Astera and family!

Portrait of Bella in progress

Hei there! How are you guys? After my summer vacation, I came back to a ton of work, daycare-born weekly colds, and unavoidable evening exhaustion. The most stressful times are gone, though, so I have a measure of tranquility that allows me to draw again. In fact, I have picked up the portrait I started in June  and am finishing it.

Here is a glimpse to the work in progress:

I got stuck on the inks, because the lamp in the living room that I normally use to work broke and we needed to get a new one. That and the fact that after dinner I just wanted to curl up doze off while watching TV...

Once the inks were finished, the fun part began and coloring has been relatively fast.I enjoyed a lot coloring the dragon!

So, after coloring everything, I started working on the face, which is unusual. Usually, the face gets colored first, because I usually have a pretty clear idea of what I need to do and it's a lot of fun, plus I tell myself that if I make a mess I can start over by transferring everything and giving it another try without too much grief. Instead, this time I was so happy with the lineart that, modestly speaking, I had no doubt, the coloring of the face would be very easy. I started with the skin, with which I was pretty happy. Then I proceeded to the mouth and the eyes...which turned out way too dark...now she looked like a not-so-pretty vampire.  Plus, with colors, all the irregularities and symmetry issues that I could not see in the inks became very clear. Why do I always miss these flaws until the very last moment? Looking at it in the mirror (I know I should have done this ages ago!) showed all the problems even more obviously...how to fix them?

Back from Italy...

Oh my, it's so good to be on vacation!
This was my mantra for the past 3 weeks. Every single day was a new perfect gift to enjoy, every new and old sight a nourishing treat for the soul.

Yes, I am back now, but I am still basking in the exhilarating feeling of freedom and relax that we experienced in Italy. I have never appreciated my time off like this year. After the baby, we have had so little time for ourself and have been leaving in a survival mode for almost two years. This trip to Italy has reset us and replenished our energies.

My  mother in law took charge of Bella, leaving us free to go see friends, sleep a bit more in the mornings, and most definitely spend more quality time with each other, our families, and Bella too. I am so grateful for this! Bella in turn, flourished during this period: she has experienced lots of new things, met lots of people, befriended her cousin Pit (those two are unbelievable together), learned how to walk properly, and grown at least an inch.

How was June for you guys?