Stylized Horned Guy, mixed media on canvas

Ain’t nothin’ in this world better than drawin’ me some monsters! That little horned guy above is the product of the last lesson in the Strathmore online workshops by the lovely Traci Bautista. I may have broke the rules a bit but hey! isn’t that what art is about? 

Traci’s lesson was about painting stylized faces on a prepared background made with stencils, graffiti letters, and stamps. I made a couple of backgrounds last week but only chose one to work with and chose the smallest one. There was no way I was going to try to draw/paint the way Traci did, it just isn’t my style. I painted a monster instead, and didn’t use glitter or shimmer paint. I think monsters are a bit more universal than “glam girls”, and I thought it would be funny to have a monster pop up in the group photos! haha

I did learn something though. I am quite the perfectionist when it comes to artwork and craftmanship, so this really was a challenge for me. Her online class has really taught me to let go, be loose, and brainstorming and doodling can actually be used in final work. I am actually going to miss the class, the members, and updating about it. If you haven’t seen some of the work, you can check out the Doodles Unleashed flickr group. 

Can you believe it’s Thursday already!? January is outta here…

Rubberband Balls & Yarn

Mixed Media Painting on Drawing Paper

Strathmore, (yes, the people that make paper) is holding online workshops by the popular Traci Bautista, the amazing Cathy Johnson, and Mike Matessi. I have signed up for two, and I have already completed two lessons and 3 pieces of artwork. I even joined the DoodlesUnleashed flickr group! The photos above are from Week 2, “Watercolor Backgrounds” , studio table and work in progress. I was a bit discouraged with the background, so I covered it with a layer of tracing paper. Then I repeated some of the shapes and lines underneath with paint pens and finished the composition with black. 

I thought it would be easy to “unleash” by doodling, freewriting and freedrawing with brushstrokes, etc. To tell you the truth it has been really challenging for me. I am not a doodler. I make art by starting out with thumbnails, I build pieces up by layers, and I am somewhat of a perfectionist. It’s hard not to “define” angles, lines, and subject matter. Overall, it has been a creative challenge that has actually taught me some things. You can see more info at my Strathmore page and you can see my workshop pieces here and here.

*update: blogger Chongolio posted about his workshop experiences today too.