Ellies Life Book Unfolded

Here are the pics of Ellies life book unfolded, as promised. Not particularly good pics but you get the idea. I am delighted with this idea, the book is already taking form.

I've been home from St Osyth for five days now and it seems my relaxed approach to art followed me back because I did nothing for four of them!
Yesterday I picked up my Art House Sketchbook again and started on pages two and three, mainly because I was unable to do anything else due to the fact that my Son (a personal trainer) took me for our first training session on Monday and I could barely move all day Tuesday!...Who knew you had so many muscles in your bum and legs!!!!!! I've mastered the walking but sitting is still awkward this morning.

It's pouring with rain here today, so I'm hoping to lose myself in the studio and get those two pages finished after my noon training session.
Will scan and post soon as I'm done.

My Art House Sketchbook still hasn't arrived yet...is there any one else from the UK that is taking part that can tell roughly how long theirs took to arrive? I'm gathering it's just a postal thing.

Ellie

You may remember the life book I started for Ellie, it's a beautiful handmade book made by Kala you can see it HERE

I haven't made an entry in it for such a long time and I thought it was time I caught up, so here she is on her 2nd Birthday (she has actually just celebrated her 3rd).

Already the accordian book is revealing her growth and stirring memories...I am so pleased I started this project, by the time she reaches 18 it will be a wonderful stroll through her childhood and the perfect gift.

Prizes and Presents.

On Thursday I visited the WI Open Gardens in my village, Doddington. I had company so didn't manage any sketches while viewing but won a book on mushrooms in the tomobola which I used later that night as a reference for the sketches.
I also attended Ellie's second birthday party and later sketched her eating her cake from a photo I had taken earlier that evening.

Sketchbook note of interest:
The Hahnemuhle D&S sketchbook does not like too much water, when sketching plein air, as I usually do, it doesn't cause a problem because the sun dries out the layers quickly but when working in the studio I found it very quickly started to turn to mulch with quite small applications of water.

A Day With Ellie

I spent Wednesday looking after Ellie. She, Harry and I had the whole day together!
We spent a wonderful day chasing her around the floorboards, I'd forgotten how quickly a baby can move!
The two short naps she had presented perfect sketching opportunities, so I filled a page in my journal before moving onto the life book I am building for her.

Portrait Demo Stage 3

©Anita Davies

Stage 3 - Adding Warmth

I always really enjoy stage 3, all of the hard work is done, my values are in and the face is looking 3-dimensional, right now I could pour any translucent colour over the paper and it would still be Ellie.

I use a couple of warm shades from my tricolour palette and break the warmth's down into cold and warmer:

Opera Rose (neat), for the pinker, cooler areas
Opera Rose mixed with yellow ochre for the deep peachy, sunny spots

Because these hues are placed over the top of an existing underpainting, they will produce new hues of their own in places, so no intricate mixes are required...we simply need to breathe life into Ellie's features.

Ellie's chin, cheeks and nose are the closest features in the painting and are also areas that generate heat, so these areas require a lashing of that sunny peach mix. Because the photo is backlit, Ellie's ears also require lots of warmth as does the crease in her neck just below the ear.

As her features tilt back away from the viewer the top section of the head, while still requiring heat, requires the cooler pink hue. When the pink is placed over the areas where I used the warmer shadow mix of Cerulean & Rose, the violet becomes stronger and more interesting.

As in stage two where remembering to add the darks is vital, in stage 3 remembering to leave the brightest of highlights is essential, they allow your darks to appear stronger and your form to appear more believeable, defining the direction of the light source clearly.

*Notes

The entire painting stage took me approx 35 minutes, when I approach a commission I spend much more time on all aspects of the piece, including the sketch. Strange how we see a freedom in our journals that we fail to take over into our paintings.
I am happy with the looseness in this piece, I don' feel I lost anything in approaching Ellie's portrait this way and hope to remember this for future works.

I found this bright, candy coloured tricolour palette suits young children nicely. It is young and cheerful with it's soft dark mixes and it's elements of gentle warmth throughout.

Finally...A few more children watercolour portraits. I have selected 'Izzy' because of the focus on her eyes....In my opinion, the absolute key to any successful portrait, they unlock the soul: character, emotion, expression...they all live here in the eyes. Get them right and you are halfway there!


'Bethany' - painted 2004


'Kayeigh' - painted 2004


'Izzy' - painted 2005

Portrait Demo Stage 2

Click picture for large image

STAGE 2 - Cool and Dark

When I work a portrait I always work cool - warm, working on the darkest shadows through to the lighter, warmer areas.

I first place the coolest shadows in and then the warmer shadows.

For this portrait I decided on the following tricolour palette. Normally I would just go straight in with this selection, I don't sample them first on scrap, make colour charts and mixing charts...I just paint and MAKE it work.
My theory is that the colour doesn't really matter, only the temperature of the colour interests me and the values in the painting. If I painted a perfectly formed apple in a palette of purple and pink, it would still be an apple, the fact that it isn't green or red doesn't hinder the finished piece!
However, for this demo I have made a loose chart for you to enable you to see my selection clearly:

As you can see at the bottom , the 3 paints make a nice warm violet ideal for warmer shadows and a nice green/blue for the darker, cooler shadows.

I am using a Pentel Water Brush for this portrait, they come in 3 sizes...I think mine is the medium tip. I use it for all my journaling and travel sketching.


Applying the shadows in a baby or children's portrait is where it can all go wrong. Too crisp a line adds age to a portrait as wrinkles do to a person, gentle blending and graduation is the key!

This doesn't mean you should ignore the darks you see, they are necessary for form and will enable your portrait to have dimension. Build them up gently, running a wet, clean brush over the edge of the shadow will allow the graduation to be smooth and therefore, ageless.
Warmer shadows will usually exist around the creases in the nose, inside of the mouth...anywhere that usually generates some kind of heat. They will appear redder in hue.
Remember, the whites of the eyes are NOT white throughout, they are spheres and therefore will have shadows and form like any other part of Ellie's cute little face!

I have uploaded a very large image so you can see my approach in detail.

STAGE 1

Tricolour Portrait Demo

This is the 2nd of my portrait sketches for Ellie's Life Journal. This one is based on a recent photograph taken of Ellie just last week, aged 7.5 months.

Because I love a challenge and I'm having problems getting motivated since the weekend, I've decided to paint this portrait as a work in progress (WIP), in 3 stages using just 3 colours from my watercolour palette.

I hope to explain my process as I go. I paint largely from the heart so, dependant on subject, my methods alter slightly. However, when it comes to portraits I have noticed a pattern (of sorts) to my 'technique' that I hope to share with you as I go along. The tricolour challenge is something new to me that I have added as an extra, personal challenge. I challenge myself like this often, I believe it pushes my skills, allowing me to try something new. I never make notes or keep records of mixes, I mix as I go rather than large quantities, this means I probably never get the exact same mix twice but I see this as a positive rather than a negative...No two parts of anything are identical in shade or colour. If I had to be that technical about my art I don't believe it would offer me the same freedom and enjoyment it gives me now.

I'm posting as I paint, so this could go well and prove to be an enjoyable and perhaps even helpful reference. It could also go exceptionally badly but hey, I'm ok with that if you are...We learn the most from our mistakes.

STAGE ONE - The Sketch
Above is my preliminary sketch, created using an HB pencil and drawing very lightly until satisfied, then just a little harder on the lead to pull out my main guidelines so I can see where to apply my paint.
I am working on Bockingford watercolour paper...Yes, it is white but I have darkened the scan to allow the pencil marks to be more visible on screen.

Please, if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask them by commenting on this post and I'll try to answer them in my next post.

New Project

Ellie aged 1 week - Watercolour

Last night I finally started the project I've had in mind for the little indian handmade journal I purchased from Kala back in November...A life book for baby Ellie.

My plan is to paint or sketch little pictures of her as she grows on one side and capture a few of her favourite toys, shoes and general bits and pieces on the reverse. I do also plan to add notes and text along the way.

I will then present the book to her on her 18th/21st Birthday as a special and very personal gift.


When I purchased the journal I knew I would have to find some very special purpose for such a pretty and unique book.

The journal is made up of Bockingford watercolour paper in accordion style, allowing me to add further pages with ease should I require them through the years. It also opens beautifully revealing all of the pages on one side at the same time allowing years of growth to be viewed all at once, just perfect for such a project as this.

I started with a portrait of Ellie aged just one week old and added sketches of 'Nellie' and her 'Roo' blanket; the first toy and blanket we purchased for her, on the reverse side of the portrait.


Handmade by Kala

I know I am going to really enjoy this project, my only regret is that I didn't find my path to art earlier so I could have produced such books for my own children.

Every Dog Has His Day

Beany Dog - Ink & Watercolour

I spent the afternoon looking after baby Ellie. Oh, what a joy she is!

Her smile starts in the corner of her precious, little lips and spreads like fire before lighting up her beautiful, big, blue eyes.

I have a small box filled with toys and a cute little blanket I purchased especially for Ellie when she visits, this little fellow is one of those toys and spent the afternoon being devoured by two tiny teeth and an endless faucet of dribble.

Little Pink Boots

Earlier this week while shopping I came across these cute, fur lined, little pink suede boots and couldn't resist buying them for our little Ellie. Having had two boys myself, it's always such fun to purchase girly things.
Dithering on the sofa tonight, trying to think of what to sketch for my journal page, my eyes caught sight of them and that was that...no more dithering!

The background was taken from the pattern on my brand new, ultra soft, candy striped, dressing gown I purchased today with money that was gifted to me for Christmas.
Obviously, I am wearing it and it is so cosy, it even has matching socks!

Inspiration Revisited

Ink & Coloured Pencil

A spot of baby sitting brought new inspiration.

I managed to capture a simple line sketch of Ellie before she woke, the sketch came with ease and was a welcome feeling after the previous day's block.
I added a little coloured pencil after she left not wanting to waste a moment of her smiles and cuddles while she visited .
I have sketched Ellie once before, although she visits regularly, it is always so difficult to put her down and pick up my sketchbook...adorable as she is!


Gouache

I later drew inspiration from a book I have based on the Passion Play at Oberammergau, a gift from a friend who was lucky enough to attend in 2000. The next play takes place in 2010, it is an amazing display of tradition, creativity, dedication and unity, you can read about it here.


Ink & Gouache

V'ellie' Bootiful

Summer 2007 journal - 15 min sketch in Inktense pencil

Baby Ellie, so precious, so perfect!