ART EXPLOSION WEEK 28: "THE WOOD" my entry for the contest.
Here is my original painting created for ''ART EXPLOSION WEEK 28'' hosted by the wonderful by @juliakponsford.
And here is the entire piece:
I wanted to create a feeling of melancholy, as per the contest suggestion, but with a bit of Hope in. The figure sits in a dark wood and has her face in her hands. She might be in a state of sadness or desperation. Perhaps her melancholy is from a loss, but unbeknownst to her, as is often the case in real life, when we are melancholy or down, there is often a ray of hope in the distance that we cannot see for not looking for it.
As usual I start with a sketch:
And then I scan that and work digitally with Many layers. This piece is digital oil. Here is one version where I am filling in the background to start.
A bit more after a few more layers:
As there are so many layers here is a gif of the major ones from Sketch to Finished piece.
I love Steemit contests and really enjoy @juliakponsford weekly #artexplosion. She really does so much for our Steemit Artist community so I recommend joining in the fun. You still have time for this week so why not go here and join in!
If you appreciate my work please feel free to upvote, resteem, and by all means comment.
Your process still amazes me. All the computer painting and such. Though it starts with an amazing drawing at the outset. Very impressive, once again.
As someone below said, amazes me how many of these artworks' you produce. If only you could bottle some of this efficiency, and mail it my way. Once more, you figure that one out, it's 'off to the beach' with you, and those Mai tai's and margaritas in a chair in the sun with your laptop ( :
Well, two years ago I made the resolution to work daily and slowly but surely habits become the norm and I don't even think about it any more. I just get up and do art each day. Even if I am busy with other things I still can have a sketch book on me or use my little surface tablet. You just have to pick one habit to change and then obsess on it. When I get a thing in my head I just steam roll ahead :)
What's hilarious is when I read the title and saw the picture, I immediately thought the poor girl had been flashed by a stranger and was in a fit of shamed crying. Something about the Puritan dress and the title.
Or a Freudian slip on your part, @bleedpoet, ;) We'll have to watch out for you if I ever see you in a wood and you are wearing a trench or mac, I might have to shield my own delicate Puritan eyes :)
That is what is so great about art, you make the story I provide the illustration. And I have to say, I like your story. When I saw the inspiration word was Melancholy I had a good think. I tend to like more upbeat sometimes tongue in cheek things, so I wanted it to have a bit of hope. But now, knowing it had a bit of , er...well 'wood' in it thanks to your story, I am even happier and smiling even bigger :)
I'm amazed that you manage to make such a complex piece each week, impressive! I love that ray of light in the back and the colours in this are perfection :) Thanks again for joining!
Thank you, when you've been doing it as long as I have I definintely have my process down. And two years ago I changed my art practices to daily working every single day if even just sketching and it has greatly increased my productivity and my process yet I still really get lost in the moment.
Thank you for your fun contests!
Great work again @donnadavisart, but must admit this time I am in love with sketch..Those lines of yours, so confident and beautiful in their richness in scale and shapes, just love to look in it :)
Thank you so much. I LOVE to sketch. I do it everyday, many times a day :)
It can be seen in your work, this kind of lines are done when someone is drawing a LOT :) Love it!!!
Even when I don't have my computer or journal, I'll doodle on napkins and really anything is fair game if I've a pen or pencil in my hand ;)
WOW! an extraordinary drawing! it really suits the competition theme!
you will be the winner. I participated in this competition but I am not capable of competing with you :)
congratulations my friend
OH heavens, don't say that. I think @juliakponsford uses many criteria to pick the winner so you could very well be the winner. I mostly enter to keep my own work going and to keep meeting new artists here as feel ing I am also contributing to the Steemit Artists community :)
Love your Art <3 @donnadavisart , I will Follow you
Well, thank you. Ill check you out as well.
Amazing job, @donnadavisart! You reflected the mood perfectly!
Thanks so much.
I love art , nice post dude @donnadavisart
Thanks dude, but I'm a lady.
This is becoming fun, replaying to bots :) You made me laugh :)
I love replying to them, it makes me smile and laugh to myself! :)
Oh my apologize ,so iam sorry😂
No worries Dude, I thought you were a bot anyway :)
Wow!! That is a great piece. I cannot believe you can just whip something like that out. That is truly amazing. How long does it take you to make a piece like that?
With sketch and study and working on it, this one I did in four days. That's pretty fast for me, but as I use digital oil I don't have to wait for it to dry like when I used oil in real world. It is a little rougher than I like but I am learning to love the looser style of my quicker works.
I can clearly see your story in the picture. I also see what a beautiful job you did draping the dress. You know about gowns as that woman definitely has the proper layers on!
I notice in 'painting' the progression of the ray of light that the definition of the lightest highlights were made last. Are real oil paints opaque enough that that is possible to do?
When I painted in 'real' I always did lights last and its the reverse for watercolour. :)