Our House Update #4

The paint process has begun!  Yesterday I made my first brushstrokes on this project, still not sure where it's going but will get inspired as it develops.  I'm already seeing possibilities with color, it helps to stand back to see the whole project.  This is the part where I want to paint 24/7 but that's not a good idea, you need to take breaks and get away from it for awhile.  Then you come back and see it with new eyes.  When I get really stumped it's best to leave it for a few days or maybe weeks.

And I have a tip about transferring images onto a painted surface (which some of you may already know) make a black charcoal carbon, it works perfect for small details.  This was particularly helpful with the figures.

Stay safe out there, be well and be positive.  This to will end.

Deborah Ann Kirkeeide copyright

Our House Update #3

The reason they call art work, art work is because it's truly Work.  Most of it is work that I love but the step I'm working on now, transferring the images to the paper surface, is tedious and boring.  I have about half the images transferred and yawn, it's break time.  This step is also hard because I'm excited to paint and it's hard to wait.  I'm using a pencil carbon to copy the images and it doesn't show well on a painted surface which is taking more time.  This is an old fashioned way to work, normally on simple compositions such as still life, I draw the image on my paint surface using paint while focusing on the subject matter.  This project is to complicated with many variables so I'm using a different approach.  Since I don't have a photo of this process, it's boring remember, I've posted some studies from some of the images I'm using.  I've chosen some of my favorite images for this project, all the images are from my own photos or from family archives.

This is a watercolor and pen study I painted on location (plein air).  I've incorporated it on the left side of the project.  This area is from an old house used as a bed and breakfast, it's part of the old home with the tower on the right side of the project.

None of the homes used in this project are any family homes as I was more interested in design elements and I don't have many family home photos.  None the less they represent home a place we think of as safe, a place of family, love and fond memories.  Maybe that's why I chose this theme during this anxious pandemic time.

I had fun doing a little mixed media piece using this old photo from my husband's family archives.  In the project he is standing on the left bottom in front of an antique car which is funny since this man never owned a car his whole life.  He lived close to the city and used a trolley to and from work, hard to imagine in todays world not owning a car.  Of course there are lots of people living in big cities using public transport and not owning cars.

I'm not sure if I will add color to these old images in the project or keep them as grey scale.

Stay well, be safe and positive.

Deborah Ann Kirkeeide copyright

Our House Update #2

The last couple of days I've been hard at work mapping my composition, this process helps me visualize the painting and hopefully avoid any bad composition problems.  It's been fun using Photo Shop Elements to alter my personal photos that I have chosen for the project.  I can then enlarge or shrink to fit each space and paste up on my work surface (16x20 inch watercolor paper).  Remember the finished piece will be a painting not a collage, so the photo you see of the paste up will only be used for composition purposes.  Also I'm trying for a collage type affect not true proportions.

At this step I can still rearrange subject matter and come up with a pleasing composition.  Taking a photo of the project and seeing it in a smaller version makes problems pop.  At least I can avoid the big problems before I dedicate any time to painting.  I already see something to work on, so more changes ahead.

Ok made a few changes I think it's ready to go and since nothing has hollered to be changed this will be transferred to the surface.  I'm getting antsy to paint which for me is the fun part and things will continue to evolve as it progresses.  I've used old family photos for the people, my Mom is in the front, Dad is with the dog, then I added my husbands grandparents.  Oh there is a little photo of myself slipped into the big window during my braid years.

Stay safe, stay positive!
Deborah Ann Kirkeeide copyright

Our House Journey

I've been in California most of the winter helping my daughter through surgery and recovery.  I returned just as things started heating up regarding the coronavirus then put myself on quarantine which ends this Saturday.  I'm well and planning to use this home time to hunker down in my studio, stay positive and create.  Things have been crazy for my family since last September, I won't bore you with the details only to say that I've not painted or created in a long time.  So looking for inspiration I pulled out some old pieces started for a mixed media class, a large one with a multitude of layers.  I had planned to tear the paper into smaller pieces once I layered it but now I want to work large.  I can't believe I said that!  Out of the blue I've become inspired to do something with houses and windows, I'm going to name it Our House after the song.  The plan is to create more of a collage look, bits and pieces incorporated to create interesting shapes and designs.  How this will work I've no idea, I'm just going to go for it, hope for the best and if it works great, if not there's always gesso or tearing into smaller pieces.  So I will blog this journey as the work grows, my successes, disappointments and failures.  I'm confident that this piece will evolve, change and grow as time goes by.  No hurry, stay well and keep positive!

Background
I'm hoping to leave the background showing through in areas, this will be a huge challenge.

Preliminary Sketch (very rough)
So now I have a plan, Lol, I'm already changing it.