Wednesday, November 21, 2012

A Freehand Mandala and a Few Background Process Pics! :)

I recently finished this new mandala and sent off to a new home last weekend! Yayy! I thought I'd share some process pics, especially the creation of the background...I always love this process! I love the WHOLE process actually...creating mandalas is obviously one of my most favourite things to do... ;)


The above pic is showing a technique I learned in kindergarten using salt in wet paint to create texture...not a new technique to anyone by any means but something I use with almost every piece...remembering when I was first shown this in kindergarten made me realize how early on in life we are  drawn to what we are meant to do and how we are impacted by these things for the rest of our lives...so important to encourage our wee ones creative tendencies, whatever they may be... ;)
Below is the canvas as a whole at this stage (above pic - a detail of the bottom left corner)


 Below, adding more darkness and colour to the outer corners...


Then letting the remaining ink run across the canvas...why not! :)


Applying a little masking fluid for fun....


Below, I added a little pearlenscent gold ink over the dark umber in the corners and along the top


And then a bit of the process of the mandala...just freehanding it for a more natural/organic feel





 (Colour variations are due to daylight light vs unnatural lighting..., the above photo was in 
natural light, below, my studio lights but you still get the just of the design hopefully) Below is a pic of the finished piece... I really loved creating this mandala even though it was a size that I am not accustomed to working with but it brought me out of my comfort zone! Always a good thing... :)


Just a couple of detail pics of the center of the mandala :)



Hope you enjoyed! Happy Creating as always and have a great night! ;)

Monday, November 5, 2012

The Lil' Holiday Show and Sale

Last night was the little Holiday Show and Sale held at a friends house...it was a lot of fun and there were a lot of vendors! I learned so much from everyone there and got to sell a few pieces and pick up a few things for myself as well ;) So glad I took part! :)

Below are a few of the items I was getting ready before the show...


My little set up ;) Mental note...must purchase a small folding table ;) but I made due!


Below are a few of the pieces that were sent off to new homes :)





Overall this was a great experience for me, I have not done any shows of any kind as I usually rely on word of mouth and an online presence to let people see my art and what I do so this was a nice lil' stepping stone. It was a great way to see how others do it and ask a tonne of questions :) I also got some great feedback as well as another commission and a couple of "trades" :) And oh yeah...there was also wine and great friends I hadn't seen in quite a while! :) A awesome night for sure! ;) I'm very grateful for the opportunity! ♥ :)


The 3rd Little Mandala... ;)

Just a quick post to show you some process pics of the 3rd mandala I created ;) Below is the background - still wet hence the brightness of the colours...


The very beginning of the mandala...


 Quite a bit further along but it's taking shape nicely :)

 

And the final product! Just painting the sides ;) I experimented with gold "liquid leaf" with this mandala and I'm pretty pleased with the results! It's very stinky stuff but it works well...I'll definitely be using it again very soon :) This mandala is still available and will be in my Etsy shop soon or feel free to email me for details if you are interested ;)

Untitled
8x8"
Mixed Median on Wood
©WhiteVioletArt2012


I've pretty much been creating a mandala a day this past week, working on stuff for this show...so much more work to do in general before Christmas but it feels good to be so productive! :) This week I start on 2 brand new commissions also to be completed before Christmas... and I'll be stepping a bit out of my comforts zone for one of them in particular so wish me luck!

Happy Creating as always! :)




Saturday, November 3, 2012

The 2nd of Four Mandalas ;)

As mentioned in the last blog entry, I am creating 4 little mandalas for a show and sale this weekend :) Below is the second one which I think is my favourite one so far...it was my least favourite background though...wasn't sure how this was going to turn out but I think the line work ended up making this piece what it is...hope you agree...

Here's where it all started...

The very beginnings of the mandala...

A little further along...things are beginning to take shape! :)

Below is the finished piece...despite the lack of contrasting colours, this one turned out to be my fave...It was my favourite one to create out of them all so far and I totally got lost in the linework...fun stuff...I hope it goes over well ;)

8x8"
Mixed Media on Wood
©WhiteVioletArt2012

The First of Four Mandalas as Part of a Weekend Show and Sale :)

Some exciting news this week, I've been invited to take part in a little holiday show and sale this weekend with a few other creative friends...I can't wait to see how it goes and to see some old friends I haven't seen in quite a while :)

Although I'll be bringing some abstract works, I thought I'd create a few new mandalas especially for the occasion ;) Here are a few process pics of the backgrounds and the first mandala of the 4 that I've been working on (almost done all 4, just one more to go!)

Below: The 4 backgrounds - completed and awaiting paint ;)

The pics below show a bit of the process of the first mandala...originally I thought the background was a bit bland and lacked contrasting colours but I think it turned out quite well in the end...

Below is the start of the mandala... no plan, just free handing it and seeing where it takes me...

A little further along...

And almost finished...just need to add a bit of colour...

A detail shot before adding some blue :)

And viola! The finished product :)

8x8"
Mixed Media on Wood
©White Violet Art 2012

I hope you like it! Off to go see what everyone else has been up to in blog land... I'm a little behind! ;)

Monday, October 22, 2012

A New Fiery Orange Mandala! :)

I spent another day home sick with yet another cold today...I'm sooo tired of the sniffling and sneezing, but 'tis the season ;) On the bright side, it has given me the time this afternoon to just relax, put on a movie and create a new mandala :) It worked like a charm to take my mind off things ;)

Below are a few process pics...

I started out with a wood panel soaked with water, then I added acrylic inks and alcohol and let them spread naturally where they may...

Above is the final background, almost ready to be painted on :)

After it was dry, I started to freehand the mandala design...

Below is the finished mandala... all that's left to do is paint the sides and it'll be ready to hang! :)

Mixed Media on Wood
10"x10"x1"
©WhiteVioletArt2012

I hope you like! I'm off to find some more DayQuil to choke back and possibly order some takeout ;) I hope this evening finds you warm and healthy! :)

Good night and Happy Creating as always! :)

Thursday, October 18, 2012

A Wee Process Piccy ;)

Thought I'd post a pic of a lil' on going side project I was working on tonight :) I'm enjoying a night of downtime before gearing up to start work on a new commission in the next few days...I think it'll be a challenging one! Actually, the most challenging thing I'm learning about taking on commissions lately is just being able to chill out and have some faith in my ability...it's gotten me this far and I'm most grateful for the lessons I am learning... :)

Time to call it a night and get some zzz's! :)

Thursday, October 11, 2012

A Newly Finished Triptych :)

This newly finished piece was a commission for a friend that I sent off to it's new home last week!

I thought I'd share a few process pics with you! :)


Just the early stages, creating a series of half-mandalas so to speak, across the bottom of the canvases using paint pens, Faber Castell Pitt Pens and brush pens...pretty much what I used throughout the whole piece...I love them lately, they allow for so much quick and colourful detail! :)


 

I stayed away from using a compass with half mandalas in an attempt to give it a more natural/organic feel...I love how they turned out...

Below is one of the panels, almost finished :) Just a few more details to fill in and the sides to paint...


Alas, the finished product...I didn't have a wall big enough to hang it on to take a good picture of it but you get the just of it hopefully! ;)



 Below is a detail of the middle panel - it had some of my favourite "flowers" in it, had to show... :) 


"Untitled"
Acrylic/Mixed Media on Canvas
1.5'x1.5' per panel
©WhiteVioletArt2012

On a bit of a side note but I thought I'd mention, the difference in colour in the backgrounds in the pics are due to the difference in lighting...the pics of the finished piece are the truest to the actual colour and taken in bright daylight...makes a huge difference! :O

Have a good night and happy creating! ;) :)

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Some "Zen Doodles"! :)

Lately I've been on a bit of a "zentangle/zendoodle" kick...and I love it! I know some of you out there have become total masters at this but I am still kinda new at it. I love this style of painting! It's very relaxing and stress-free! I find it a lot like painting a mandala but not necessarily circular...it's just letting your mind completely wander! Great way to unwind watching a movie or listening to music :)


Above is a small zendoodle I did a couple of nights ago on a 4x4" canvas.  I had started the background of this painting while house sitting a couple of years ago but never did anything with it, perfect for a zendoodle of sorts! I thought the blues and yellows would go well with a new gold "Pitt" pen I bought recently...also a new thing I thought I'd try...and love it as well :D

This next one is the first sketchbook zendoodle I did a little over a week ago...my favourite one so far. I used fluid acrylics, FW inks and paint pens - tonnes of fun!

 Mixed Media on Paper
11x17"
©WhiteVioletArt2012

The image below is the start of the latest sketchbook doodle I finished last night...I wasn't really liking it in the beginning but thought I'd finish it and see where it took me...glad I did!

"Violet Zen"
Mixed Media on Paper
11x17"
©WhiteVioletArt2012

Below: The finished product! Yayy! I used some FW "Pearlescent" inks so it was rather difficult to get a decent picture of it without some glare but I did my best ;) The next one I do will be on canvas or illustration board though as I enjoy creating the backgrounds with inks and washes, not so great with paper... :O but good practice! ;)

 "Violet Zen" Detail
 
I'm also finding zendoodles to be a great way to relieve creative blocks - highly recommended! :) Off create something new...and possibly have an early night! (no promises on that one though!) :D

On a side note, I finished this while zoning out to "The X-Files" on Netflix - I find it interesting how movies or music in the background, affects what I'm painting sometimes! ;) lol

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