Since I am a beginning (again) artist and a few of my blogger friends and readers are as well, I thought it would be fun to share my process as I work on a painting I’ve had in my mind for quite a while. For me, creating art can be broken down into a series of problems to solve in order to get to the finished product (and get the painting in my mind put down on canvas).
I love tattoo art, and am especially fond of old-school tattoos. I also have always loved mermaids. So, it should be no surprise that I would want to paint a mermaid, in an old-school tattoo style.
I haven’t spent much time in the studio this summer as I’ve been enjoying the great weather, but now that’s changed and I have this mermaid painting that needs to come out of me.
I started by covering by 16×20″ canvas with primary magenta cut with a little titanium white and a touch of burnt umber. I wanted a nice warm, rich background.
Then I scraped on a bunch of colours with an old credit card. I think it was unbleached titanium, yellow ochre, cadmium red, and bit of hookers green.
I decided the background needed more work, so after it was dry I went back at it with just unbleached titanium and yellow ochre. Went horizontal instead of lengthwise with the paint application this time.
Now that I was happy with the background, it was time to work on the mermaid. I had printed off a drawing I found on Ye Olde Interwebs, for inspiration. I needed to make it larger, so I grabbed a piece of tracing paper and gridded it to match the simple grid I drew on the print-off.
It took me almost 45 minutes to be satisfied with the mermaid, but after some erasing and redrawing, I am pretty happy with what I drew.
I’m ready to trace my design onto the canvas once it dries completely. Not sure if to do the outlining first, or paint her in first. If this was a real tattoo, I’d be outlining first, then filling in. Hmmmm….Stay tuned for Part Two. And, if you’re looking at these posts for actual artistic advice, please remember:
Rock on,
The WB
OMG Deb I am so jealous. You are such an inspiration. Very cool!
Thank you Susan!
OK, I need to work on step -1… getting the mess off the table so I can think about doing art! Looking forward to seeing this evolve. I’ve never watched the stages of painting creation…. very interesting!
Me either, Pat. That’s why I thought I’d do it. Thanks!
Impressive. I don’t think I’ve ever had a creative image in me waiting to come out. I’m always awestruck by other people’s talents. Look forward to seeing more.
Thank you, Karen!
I love how you’ve shared your process with us… even the starts and stops… because don’t we all have a few of those? Inspiring. I’m looking forward to more!
Thank you, Janis! Trying to take the “mystique” out of art so that more people can be encouraged to create. If I can do it, then anybody can.
omg – you have no idea how much I loved this post … including the laugh out loud parts 🤣
I can tell I’m going to learn a lot from you. Right now I’m in the inordinate-number-of-mistakes mode!
I’ve often wondered about the drafting part onto the canvas. Thanks for the tip about using a grid and drawing first on tracing paper. It may sound obvious to you, but it wasn’t to me!!
btw – I finally got to use my new “Deb” tool for making dots. I’m smiling … I got the result I was looking for!
Woohoo! Now I’m smiling too 😄
You can get carbon paper for tracing in black or white too! I love sharing what I’m learning, Joanne. I learn a lot from watching artists on YouTube.
I’m going to enjoy following your process. I use a grid, too, but I’ve never used tracing paper so I’m going to learn as you go. I’ve had trouble with my pencil grid showing through layers of acrylic paint and I’m wondering how the carbon paper lines hold up. I made the mistake of using charcoal once and the drawing bled out before I was through needing it.
I use graphite paper, Jean, to trace my design onto canvas. Sometimes I use coloured chalk or a white pastel chalk pencil, if freehanding a shape onto canvas. The beauty of the last 2 is that they wash away with a bit of water.
Hi, Deb – This is very, very cool. I can’t wait for Part Two!!
Thank you, Donna!
Wow! I certainly anticipate Part II and how ever many more parts there might be. Thanks for sharing — it might just inspire me…
You’re welcome, and thank you Janet!
I would love more time to get crafty. I did an art class a million years ago and loved it, but I need time to try and improve my drawing skills. For now I’ll stick to scrapbooking the odd birthday card when I get a chance (although it did remind me of something I made aeons ago that would make a great blog post – thanks, Deb).
Thanks AJ! Hope to read that blog post of yours soon.
Thanks for sharing your process! I think I had the same Barbie haha!
Hehehe! Thanks, Tracey.
Looks like you are having a great time expressing your inner artist! Can’t wait to see the end result.
Thanks Molly!
I’m with Pat. I love that you’re sharing this with us. I have no idea about the process for painting, so this is so fascinating for me. I love your mermaid! Also, that song! HAHAHAHAHAHA.
Thanks Akilah. That 14 second song snippet cracks me up (as does Lady Dynamite). Could be the soundtrack for my life 😄
I’m always fascinated by arty people Deb – I can’t draw to save my life – but I do enjoy colouring in – that’s my claim to artistry. I loved seeing all your prepping etc and I’m looking forward to seeing the finised product – tattoos and mermaids – two of my favourite things x
Thanks, Leanne!