After I'd been painting for about a month I came across the ning sites of I Draw and Paint and Paint my Photo and The Painting Loft - all these sites had monthly exercises to do and I used these for inspiration. I went through a phase of drawing portraits after my youngest daughter asked me to draw her and found that there were monthly challenges to draw portraits on ID&P so I used this for inspiration.
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| Graphite portrait of daughter Sian |
I went through a phase of doing quite a few graphite portraits and really enjoyed them although I haven't done one for some time. The last one I did was again, at Sian's request, her favourite actor and singer - and think she has a bit of a crush on him! - Jaydn Smith
Uploading these has reminded how much I enjoyed drawing these - must get those pencils out again soon!!!
There is also a watercolour challenge on ID&P each month hosted by Bix who has become a wonderfully supportive online friend. I took inspiration from the photos she posted and enjoyed trying them out. It's really interesting to see how different artists interpret the same photograph, no paintings were the same. I was painting things I'd probably never have chosen to paint myself and I think it really helped me to improve. I was painting something most nights and getting feedback from other artists which was really helpful. Practice, practice, practice ........... and more practice, that's the key!
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| Pebbles - painted for Bix's watercolour challenge in Feb 2011 |
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| Marbles - painted for Bix's watercolour challenge - Feb 2011 |
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| Beach Scene painted for Bix's watercolour challenge May 2011 |
