Sunday Sessions - "Between" - Painting Process

• Between •

Hey friends, it’s an overcast Sunday afternoon and it's been a minute since I’ve last painted. I’m trying to stick to some goals so I thought what better way to spend the day than by being creative.

My relationship with art over the years has been very on and off. When I was a kid you couldn’t stop me from creating - I was incredibly passionate and driven. But as I grew older I was often told how invaluable art was in relation to a career and that I shouldn’t focus so much of my energy into it. What I wish I had known at the time was how much cutting art out of my life was going to affect my overall drive and zest for life. I started to build a complex about my technique and abilities and had a big cloud of fear and failure hanging around me. This literally stopped me from creating anything. I would always think, well if its not going to be perfect it’s not worthwhile so why even try? I’m sure other artists at some point in time have gone through similar thought processes.

It wasn’t until I went travelling and was shown a podcast by Tony Buzan and Raymond Keene called the Genius Formula that my thoughts around this shifted. I haven’t been able to find the full podcast online but this is a link to the first half an hour if you’re interested. The podcast discusses how to learn and develop the 10 characteristics of genius, the misconceptions about what it means to be intelligent and how everyone has the capabilities to master whatever they put their minds too. It really sparked a lot in me and I honestly owe my huge mental shift and change in relationship with art to that podcast.

With a new perspective on my craft I feel like I have reverted back to being an infant. I am still going through the stages of figuring out my style and tweaking my techniques. But what I know now is everyone has to start at the beginning, you have to go through all the steps to learn and grow, to fail, to reflect, to find inspiration, to create momentum and motivation just to progress. It doesn’t just fall into your lap. It takes time and practice.

This is the piece I completed today, I used this image as a reference for the girl. I find myself constantly coming back to drawing women - not sure why but its where I find myself most comfortable.

• Initial Sketch •

I decided to remove her dress after planning out the colour scheme and feeling that I couldn't find the right colour to work with what I wanted for the background. I much prefer how she contrasts without the dress.

• Skin Tone •

I'm still trying to figure out how to mix skin tones. Usually things turn out a little more pink than I anticipate, like her shoulder in this instance, but I definitely feel more confident in my layering and tones.

• Background •

I like the diversity of using watercolours for things like backgrounds. The colours blend so easily and create different dimensions and textures. Here I used the wet on wet technique.

• Details •

I feel like my pieces only really come together when I line them all out. I erased any remaining pencil marks and used a gel pen and fine liner for the details. Finally adding silver, black and white dots to the background to tie it all together. Unfortunately the silver doesn't show up well on the camera but I work with what I've got. I'm looking to invest in stronger pigmented metallic paints to give future pieces more pop.

Please feel free to leave any comments or feedback. I'd love to hear from you.

Big love!
Sarah. 💚