Show Your Face in the Style of ...

...an established artist.

That is the "challenge" over at lovely Kim Dellow's "Show Your Face" community event for November.

And this is my share for starters: 

When I think about painted faces the portraits by Amedeo Modigliani are the first ones that come to my mind in the very first place. I love how simple his portraits look and yet he has managed to capture a very intimate moment where the portrayed person's face allows us to take a look behind the facade and reveals something deeply intimate or even the persons' very natures.

For some examples that have especially impressed me click HERE or HERE.

Being way too over-focussed on a natural look with my drawings or paintings I challenged myself this time to try and follow Modigliani's way of elongating the faces' proportions (but still let them feel quite natural and touching instead of artificial).

I also love his way of applying the paint to the canvas...but as it is one step at a time when trying something new, I decided to just focus on this one aspect for a start.

I needed a photograph with a person whose facial expression was somehow special, meaningful, touching...and I found a picture of a guy in a home decor magazine who is at work in his pottery studio and obviously loving what he does. So my aim was to try capture the wonderful expression on his face - as this is what makes Modigliani's portraits so wonderful to me.

 I used a (very) small canvas for my experiment and made a rough and quick sketch with a soft pencil first.
 

Then I went in with a fine tip brush and did the black lines first. I knew that some would get lost during the painting process anyway so I didn't spend too much time on being very precise with that step.

Next I started to build up layers of paint, trying to use colour tones close to the ones Modigliani used with his portraits.

As you can see I didn't stick to the colours of the photograph. I focussed on the face and on trying to let go of my usual over-accurateness that most of the time "kills" my paintings or drawings. I think I could have been even more brave with elongating the proportions....but hey - maybe a second try will get me (and the portrait) closer to that Modigliani feel. ;)

I am super curious about the other faces that will be shared over at Kim's place this time!

Hugs and happy crafting,

Claudia x

SanDee&amelie's Steampunk Winter Special

Hello and servus!

I just want to invite you over to SanDee&amelie's Steampunk Challenges where our two-months winter special challenge has just started.

As we know that most of you are already busy creating for Christmas (gosh! It is approaching so fast!), we thought a challenge that is open for two months instead of just one might give more opportunity for a little Christmas crafting break to create some steampunk or industrial themed stamped, altered, mixed media project....almost every kind of project is welcome (cards, tags, canvasses,...) - except totally digitally created projects (there are more than enough challenge blogs for these).

And there will of course be two prizes instead of just one to be given away. So I hope you will join in during the next two months. And make sure you also check out the makes of team B that will be presented on the 1st December this time!

I would love to see you over there!

Hugs and happy crafting,
Claudia
xxx

Paper Marbling Tutorial

Hi and servus!

Christmas is fast approaching and I thought you might like a fine tutorial for doing your own marbled papers so you can use them for self made presents like covered books, boxes and such.

I know that a lot of methods to marbling paper are quite complicated and take a long learning curve for mastering the paints and priming but the tutorial I am sharing with you over at the DecoArt Mixed Media Blog is one that I have taught at high school and it has never failed. So I hope you will give it a try.

So hop over to the Mixed Media Blog to learn more. I would love to read you over there!

Hugs and happy (Christmas-) crafting! 

Claudia

xxx

52 Card Pickup - Fog-inspired

Finally the time of year has come when living on sixth floor and looking out of our flat's windows feels as if the world outside has simply vanished at times.

I love fog!
Well, not exactly when I have to drive a car, but when walking the dog and finding ourselves being somehow "wrapped up" in a blanket that cannot be touched but that reduces sounds and makes me feel as if the existing world was only just within that small bubble around us that somehow "moves along" as we walk on.

Today I tried to capture this feeling in images and (my own) words.
I hope at least some of the meaning gets through to you. ;)

Have a lovely weekend! xxx

Stamp used: Indigo Blu - "Bare Forest I"
Stencil used: Tim Holtz - Sizzix - "Birch Trees"

Male Birthday Card

Just for the records a short share of the birthday card I made yesterday for one of my son's best friends. He turned 14 and has been loving my birthday cards ever since I started making some for him! (how thoughtful and loveable is that!?!)

The tag on this card was done by first dry embossing a tag I had cut from heavy black cardstock, then applying some DecoArt Metallic Lustre "Gold Rush" with a sponge and later scraping on some DecoArt multi-surface Satin "deep turquoise".

The pointing hand and ticket are from one of the fab Tim Holtz ephemera packs and the card all is glued to is from Prima's "Cartographer" ATC pad.

The "Alles Gute" quote was stamped onto a die cut label (Tim Holtz label die and stamp were a gift from my wonderful friend Sandra! (I hope you are a lot better now, Sandra! Thinking of you and sending hugs! xxx)).

Have a lovely weekend!

Claudia

xxx