Cartoon art challenge – final pictures

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Slowvelder

Our “Artful Cartoon” challenge finished after the first week in August and I have been remiss in blogging about it. You can read the details of the challenge here.

Although cartoons are really not my thing when it comes to painting, this challenge tested our creativity more than any of our previous challenges. The test was to reproduce a cartoon in your own style and medium – creating a work of art.

Here is my attempt – I called it “the little mermaid grows up” and I painted it in acrylic on board.

As you can see from the picture below we got so many unusual and creative entries. From wall clocks to skateboards, paint shopped images to Popeye and Picasso.

A collage of the other entries

The piece of art that won the popular vote was a painting of Spiderman’s hand on a skateboard done by Jamey Richards.

Excellent detail. Congratulations Jamey!

To join our art challenges or to just follow along (although we love everyone to join in – no matter what level) please join our Facebook group – Free your Art

Our first group art challenge is launched – Free Your Art

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Slowvelder

Why the Egg?

Being the first online challenge, we thought that in order to see the various mediums and skill levels at play we would begin with something basic. Don’t be deceived however, as eggs can be rather tricky to get right. They can easily end up looking like potatoes. I am sure it will test your tonal skills, drawing skills and patience levels. Neither of us has ever painted a still life with eggs, so the task will be worthwhile. Starting with eggs will give an appreciation of form and tone (shadows-midtones-highlights), and how the two go hand in hand when creating the illusion of depth and dimension.

Guidelines

The reference image is provided. Feel free to adjust the image if need be.
Eggs are the “star” theme and if possible stay true to the general layout as far as possible. We are not looking for carbon copies, but rather expression in style and medium.
Any medium is acceptable, although some sort of colour and brush work would be ideal for this challenge. Art apps and digital art or photography are also welcome, but please start from scratch i.e. don’t trace or digitally copy.
Size guideline A4/A3

Timeline: The challenge runs from the 25th of April to the 20th of May 2012. Final paintings must be uploaded to the appropriate album on our Facebook page by 8pm SAST 20 May 2012 or emailed to me by 12h00.

Feel free to upload your progress pictures to the Facebook page whenever you wish. We would love to see how things are going. If you get stuck, upload a picture to the page wall and ask your question. We are all here to learn and help.

Credits:

Thank you to Dale Tyndall for taking the photo, and to Vanessa Marais for choosing this challenge, photoshopping and for telling us why we should paint eggs.

Let’s get painting!

Click on the picture below to join our Facebook page

Art challenge – Final reveal

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Slowvelder

Firstly Vanessa and I would like to thank all of you who have followed our art challenge and commented here and on Facebook. We have really loved this process and although we had moments of stress and panic it has been exceptionally rewarding working together and sharing with you.

I finished my last strokes on my painting at 7.33 this evening and as I type this up, Vanessa is in a final flurry of paint and brushes. By the time I finish this post she will have emailed me her picture. I think with hindsight we should have made our cut-off during daylight hours when it is easier to photograph wet paintings. My apologies for the glare on the pictures. Once they are drier we will do a follow-up post so that you can see them in a better light.

So without any further ado here is the reference picture that we used to paint from

and the reveal…….

Painting 1 by Vanessa

and Painting 2 by Jackie

Congratulations to all of you who guessed correctly – most of you were right.

A little about our process:

Vanessa

Adjust the reference photo to fit my canvas, and minimally adjust tones highlights and layouts on my pc. (If I am doing a real life study then I adjust the still life to be correct)
Print a couple of reference pics
Grid the reference picture on my print out. I do this when working from a reference photo, especially when it’s a bigger painting in order to get proportions correct.
Tone my canvas in acrylic (I don’t like to paint directly onto white). I tone according to the reference. Either warm (Burnt Sienna) or cool (Payne’s grey).
Draw a layout to the canvas, either using a grid or straight from observation. This can be rough or detailed depending on the complexity of the subject matter.
Paint in the tonal values using either warm or cool palette (I do this in acrylics as it saves on drying time)
Start adding the first layer of basic colours to all areas. I paint in oil using Winsor & Newton Artisan water mixable oils, starting with darker values working to lighter areas
If I have time I usually oil out the painting after each layer, this helps with building depth. In the painting challenge I never had the time to wait for this to dry so I omitted this step
I then build up on each layer with more colour, adding depth with glazes and adjusting tones. Each layer gets heavier, painting fat over lean. Trying not to lose track of the density of the paint is quite a challenge.
I leave the focal point (little girl) until close to last, along with the details and any deeper tones that need adjusting. I like to introduce and work on these at the end to tie in the painting
The very last thing I did was work on the white light and intense highlights
Wait 6 months for painting to dry and varnish. During this time it’s good to re-evaluate the painting or add/change any areas.
Shew 7 days to do all that…not even close. Dave is spot-on, we are never quite done!
(Total painting time 24 hours.)

Jackie

Firstly I must say that I have never really investigated my process, and I think that it is quite different each time depending on the picture I paint. I have learned so much about planning and process while working with Vanessa on this project.

1. I avoid drawing as much as possible and if I do it is normally just a basic outline to get placement. With this picture I did not feel the need to draw first.

2. I start directly using the colours I see on the picture, often mixing my paint tones directly on the canvas. I always do this using acrylics

3. I just keep on going like this leaving the focal point and the highlights till last.

4. On this painting I did my final coat in oils to get a smoother, brighter finish. This way I don’t have to wait too much for the painting to dry as acrylics dry really fast.

5. I like to live with a painting for a few months after I finish it and can sometimes fix it up, up to a year later.

5. My total painting time on this picture was 6 and a half hours. – 5 in acrylic and 1 and a half in oil.

Discussion is now open in the comments section of this post – please ask as many questions as you like and Vanessa and I will try to answer you.