The Spring Show

If you haven't been out to the Academy of Art University 2012 Spring Show yet then what are you waiting for!? It's an awesome showcase of the ridiculous talent at the Academy from all the Art and Design departments. My shoes piece (which you've all seen before) is being shown there!

 

-Mel

Man in the Mirror

I started to work on another reflection piece but on a much smaller sized canvas that I've been becoming familiar with. This is the third painting that I've done on a 12"x40" and I'm absolutely loving this size! So much more interesting than the common canvas proportions, and I like the time the canvas allows for eyes to dance across the span of the surface. Here are some photos of my process. I don't have a picture of where this painting is currently at, but keep checking my website for updates on finished pieces! 

Take notice of the picture on top of my painting in the second photo. I manipulated the original image I took of the nail polishes in photoshop, and rearranged the bottles to work better on the 12"x40" canvas. In the last photo you can see that I have the original photo on top of my piece. After I sketched everything out I went back to this photo for color and detail information that was lost in the photo that was manipulated in photoshop.

As you will see in this painting and in all of my paintings, I make a lot of changes to the subject as I paint. Sometimes I change the color, the composition, leave things out, or put things in. In my reference photo I realized the cast shadows of the nail polishes were way too strong and busy. I wanted the focus of my painting to be on the glass reflection, so I decided to keep the cast shadows out.

What you should take away from this... Never be a slave to photo references!

Happy Painting!

Fallen Soldier

Unfortunately my lipstick reflection painting wasn't working out for me. It went through quite a few transitions, but after fighting with it for awhile, letting it sit, and fighting with it again... It's time to let this bad boy go. I'm not sad about. The size of this canvas was overwhelming for me (24"x48"). This may not seem big for many artists but I usually work much smaller, so I'm going to have to give myself more time to get comfortable working larger. This is the stage I'm stopping at! Time to recycle the canvas ;)

Reflection

-Mel

June

My birthstone pearl had a bit of influence on this guy. Obviously still in it's beginning stages... this painting touches on the collaboration of make-up and jewelry to transform one's image.

-Mel

Another piece I'm currently working on

A nail polish to compliment your mood perhaps? Jaded, Spring, or Snow Me White?

-Mel

An army of lipsticks. Prepared to battle unsatisfactory natural lips. There's a color fit for every skin tone.

Readdressing the Painting Process

I was recently talking to my friend, and painter, Abigail Wiese Van Cannon about the transitions that paintings undergo. I take a lot of in-progress shots of my work to clearly see the evolution. After staring at a painting for a while it becomes harder to see the changes that occur. I spoke about this in an earlier post, but when Abby coincidentally brought up how interesting it is to see paintings grow from such timid beginnings, I new this topic needed another go-around.

So, in casual conversation with my main squeeze I brought up my appreciation for the different stages of painting, and since he's a photographer, I was curious about how much he knew about the painting process before he met me. (Hoping he'll correct me if I scramble up his words any, since it was a few days ago and my memory isn't the greatest), what I basically took from our convo was that he first understood the depth of the painting process after seeing a good friend of his sketch out landscape paintings before painting them. Of course in my mind he would have told me about how much my work opened his eyes to the many layers of painting... but he was honest and real, and his response still proved a different theory of mine correct. Many people outside of the painting world don't know about, or they never really see, what is underneath the beautiful finished piece. They don't see what was taken out or put into a landscape, or what was enhanced versus what was dumbed-down. The measurement lines and the awkward shapes struggling to work themselves into something recognizable are also hidden. And so, everyone should be aware of the struggle.

Here are the in progress shots of two different paintings. The final completed paintings can be found on my website.

I want to get in the habit of posting more in progress shots on my blog, and just keeping the finished images for my website.

Happy Monday!

One of my latest from my still life series

Oils on a 12"x40" canvas

Sunday brunch shoes... dance shoes... make-my-legs-look-great shoes... Saturday night shoes... anytime anywhere shoes...

Check my website for better quality photos!

A boost of energy

I participated in the Pancakes and Booze Art Show last week. When I first heard about this event I was apprehensive about showing work in a place where I pictured tons of sloppy young people drunkily ragging and engorging in huge mouthfuls of syrupy (and just as sloppy) pancakes. I must have been ok with that image because I went for the plunge. Sloppy young people have the right to be exposed to subjectively tasteful artwork too. 

Flash forward to me going through the piles of paintings in my studio and finding a cohesive body of work that will fit into this type of show... whatever this "type" of show was to me at the time. I selected five paintings from my female figure collection (I mean, who doesn't like artistic nudes) and dropped them off at the gallery.  

Friday night rolled around and after having a few drinks with the guys, Brett and Nate, we headed over to 4N5 Gallery on Mission and 4th. The gallery location was amazing. It was the perfect spot to catch the attention of the night-on-the-towners. We were checked by the bouncer, the non-painters paid a light entrance fee, and then we were in. 

I was impressed. There was a decent mix of the weird artsy type, hipsters (of course), the young professionals, and the tamed older type. The range of art work was wide regarding skill level and mediums, music was pretty good, the drinks decently priced, and the smell of pancakes was in the air. It was a great night. I even ended up selling the piece below! That's success in my book :)

New works in the making

Finished piece from my feminine-touched still life series...

What happened to Leo?

I never posted an updated photo of the painting I did of Leo, my spunky mini poodle/jack russell mutt. So here it is:

Wondering what the initial stages looked like? I'll leave you with the link to the first post I created for this painting... http://melissasmall.blogspot.com/2011/12/happiness-is-in-heart-not-in.html

The Process

I'm a huge fan of taking "in-progress shots" of my paintings as I work on them. It's pretty amazing how paintings evolve from the original idea they spring from. There have been countless times when I think of something that I really want to paint, and I form a mental picture of what my painting will look like. My paintings NEVER turn out the way they appear in that initial daydream.

The great thing about being in an art school is that I'm surrounded by so many artists, all of which have unique artist's eyes. Whenever I hit a wall, there is always someone close by that is willing to critique my work and help me progress. Because I am lucky enough to receive so much input regarding my paintings, I think it is even more important to document the changes that happen from beginning to end. These changes are a reflection of what I learn from class, the advice I get from professors, the opinions of my studio-mates, my own self-reflection and so much more.

And so... here is an example of painting evolution:

This is where I am right now. I'll keep you posted on when the paintings are complete.
Better quality photos on my website are to follow.

Metallic Seduction, Embrace, Temptation, or Euphoria... What's your lip color?

In-progress painting... one of my lipstick triptych

Another day at the office

Nothing beats the feeling of coming into the studio ready to paint the day away. It gets lonely and frustrating in here... but I wouldn't trade it for the world.