Ujwala, Reinterpreted

altered version of 5x7 inch monotype

I did one more portrait today for the Julia Kay Portrait Party, this time of an artist living in Sri Lanka whose portraits and figurative work I have admired for several years.  But my monotype, which I enhanced with watercolor, was paler and pinker than this, which was pretty but didn't seem right.  I decided to play with the image on Photo Elements, and ended up liking this version best.  Perhaps I will try and paint another version using this one as a source. 

Kathleen for JKPP

5x7 inches, monotype with added acrylic ink

Another small portrait for the Julia Kay Portrait Party, this time of Kathleen, who is younger looking and more attractive than this portrait suggests.  Still, I enjoy the process of making hand pulled monotypes, like the expressiveness of the way each brush stroke shows. The three portraits  I did this week all are very different; in fact they look like they might have been done by different people.  Part of me wants to work in a recognizable style, but part of me rebels at self-imposed rules.  Nuts to silly restrictions!

The week had its ups and downs with regard to my art.  A collage that has been at a local gallery for about a year finally went home with someone, which felt good to me.  But I had to go collect three large watercolors from another venue, where they probably had become over familiar to folks in that area.  I left some smaller collage work and novelty pieces appropriate for Valentines day.  We shall see,

The Happy Painter, for Julia Kay's Portrait Party

5x7 inches, oil on gessoed mat board

I took another stab at a painting based on a photo of a person I know from online groups.  This time my victim is Donna Mulholland, aka The Happy Painter. Donna's art journals and her blog are filled with clear bright color and an upbeat attitude, so I decided to try and capture some of that cheerful intensity in my interpretation of the photo she posted on Flickr.   I decided to work as quickly as possible, with a larger brush than I was comfortable with, and I intentionally let some of the complementary under painting, done in acrylic, show through.  Not counting the drawing and under painting, I spent about an hour on this little portrait. 

Now the hard part for me, a person who usually works in watercolor or acrylic - letting it dry.  Patience is not my long suit.