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Monday, November 09, 2009

Face Toot

Ha ha. All I want to do it play and blog. So okay, two in one day. I thought it would be fun to paint a face and record the steps. On this one I start by gluing down a scrap of cotton fabric in my little book. I think it was a frog's foot; I got it at the Goodwill bins and there were dozens of them - someone's softy project gone south.

Then I draw the face on with my Aquarelle stabilo pencil. It draws on anything.

Next I cover it over with a layer of Folkart Parchment paint. It could be any color but I'm trying to be accurate.

I add a little pink to the cheeks and tip of her ear and mouth.

Hair and eyeballs.

Then smoodge in some other colors so it won't be boring and start modelling the form. I added more fabric and painted in the rest of the background.

I noticed that the fabric I added looked like the curtain on a stage and that the dots looked like spotlights so now we have a circus bareback rider ready to go onstage. I continue painting her face and hair.

Give her a word and a smear of gloss gel and she's ready for her close-up.

I'll probably be gone for about a week now. Stephanie and I are going to meet up in Eugene and have a plaster blast. I'm taking the pogo and flip video so maybe I'll bring back some pictures. Ciao.

38 comments:

Kelly Kilmer said...

Amazing is right. Toot toot! Love the two posts in one day.

Yum yummy yum book!!!!

Safe travels. Have fun!

Martha Lever said...

WOW this is so wonderful. I loved seeing the steps and how you intuitively work. FABULOUS!!!

Clare Wassermann said...

Thank you I love step by step blog posts .... more please! x

femminismo said...

Oh goodness. For a while there I thought I could reproduce some of that lady, but then you speeded up. Well, maybe I'll try and mine will just look different. Ready for her close up. Yep! Beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Didn't Jenny Doh say "Something from nothing" in her speach. That's what you do, the face is just beautiful.

It's the light, you always bring in the light.

Corrine
xo

Kim Mailhot said...

This is amazing, Toots! ;)
Love to watch you play.

I dreamed of you last night actually... I dreamed that we were getting together for a play date in this gloriously bright sunlit room with huge tables full of all the goodies an artist could ask for. You were already at work when I arrived and had a hard time putting down the paint brushes to greet me. I remember feeling so excited that I was going to be able to play side by side with you...
The pink unicorns told me that sometimes dreams do come true ! :)
Have a blast at the blast !

Janine said...

Wow! You are amazing! I love your Face/fabric!

Deirdra Doan said...

Thanks for posting all these cool faces! I love them. You always inspire me. Your work is joyful.

I have been face painting crazy too this week. One face but it came out so special come see my blog.

Nice to see your having a special fall of fun.

Deirdra Doan said...

I reread your post. Good idea to add colors so face will not be boring. I think I will try that with my next portrait.

Tricia said...

oh i love the little book! all the faces are AMAZING! and they are each so full of their own personality and story. thank you so much for sharing...i'm feeling like painting on some fabric today. :)

And so it goes... said...

Like the painting says...AMAZING! Such a treat to see how you "make faces"! Have a spectacular time getting plastered with Stephanie! Can't wait to see what you two come up with. I'm sure we'll be blown away....

Amy said...

you always make it look so easy! i love getting a glimpse of your process. have fun plastering and, as usual, thanks for the inspiration!

Lynn Cohen said...

thank you thank you thank you Judy.
I wrote down the exotic (to me) names of the pencil and paint.
I watched carefully.

Last night I made my first attempt at painting faces on the hard paged childrens book I had lathered in Gesso! Fabric next!
Oh boy this is FUN!!!

I so want to be Judy Wise when I grow up! I hope I live to be 120 so there is time to develop the skills.

Meri said...

Ok - I got into the doll class next July. I hope you're planning to do a lot of hand holding, because this is a new experience for me.

Lina said...

absolutely beautiful

anna maria said...

So very cool!

Paula In Pinetop said...

Absolutely amazing.

somepinkflowers said...

oh


i so love this!

:-)


{{ go ahead and
post
all the live long day!


somedays you might not
want to post at all
and that is good, 2,
isn't it}}

rebecca said...

judy..you have brightened my day in more ways that i can convey. thank you for your generosity.
xoxoxox,
rebecca

Toni said...

Judy - coming outta the blue, cuz I just read this and thought of you INSTANTLY:

while I suspect you may already know about this book, I decided to share because it's stunning and seems very much in line with some of your special passions.
book is: Beauty is Convulsive, by Carole Maso

Amazon says:
From Library Journal
In this poetry-like fiction, novelist and essayist Maso (Defiance, etc.) uses images from the life of Frida Kahlo to create, as she describes in her author's note, "a deeply personal meditation: an attempt to be in some kind of dialog with [Kahlo] across time and space-and with myself." This interaction between the author and her subject is the heart of this book, making it an imaginative, internalized interpretation of Kahlo's life and work, even if it is reliant on factual material, including Hayden Herrera's Frida. Maso's fiction is inclined toward the heights of passion and despair, so Kahlo's life, marked as it was by physical anguish and by her sensual and often pain-riddled self-portraits, makes for fitting material. Repetition, songlike cadences, and the occasional first-person narrator will make this book more appealing to readers interested in how prose, poetry, and biography intersect than to those wanting straightforward narration. But interest in Kahlo, spiked by the recent film and perhaps by Kate Braverman's Incantations of Frida K., may draw new readers to this consistently inventive writer. Maso's prose has generated wide respect, making this an important purchase for libraries with literary fiction collections.
Carolyn Kuebler, "Library Journal"

--------

Toni says, "It's like entering a tunnel with an open arc above, or crossing the threshold of the Casa Azul and finding yourself arm & arm with Frida's imagination ... "

anyway, plenty of used copies and worth every cent

Ro Bruhn said...

Thanks for the step by step Judy, this looks awesome. Have a great time with Stephanie.

Kim Rae Nugent said...

I love your little book of faces! It is always fun to stop by your blog for a visit. Have a wonderful day!

Anonymous said...

Love it! Thanks for sharing how you did it. Have fun plastering so you can show us all :-)

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous! Enjoyed viewing your process step by step Judy.

Miriam Cutelis said...

I just love your journal pages and have decided to create a unit based on your work in journaling.Would it be okay if I posted some of your journal pages on my art blog for my school.....I teach art at an elementary school in DC and wanted to encourage kids to journal.....also, any advice? The kids will be grades 3-5

Mir

Miriam Cutelis said...

you inspire me so much....I am sharing your work with every artist I know...

Mir

Unknown said...

i really like your painting, thanks, first time stop in you blog, and i will come again

Joy Logan said...

WOW Judy just came by to look back at all you've been up to,you lucky gal! I love the face book you did oh and your trips and classes...

Tolegranny said...

Wonderful faces and journal pages.

Lynn Fisher said...

That's beautiful Judy! Her transformation was amazing.

Susan Tuttle said...

I loved seeing this gorgeous evolution Judy!:)

How are you sweet lady?

xoxo

Leslie said...

Thanks for this amazing journey through your process. Beautiful!

Anonymous said...

I absolutely love the many faces of Judy Wise...stunning work...
Enjoy fun togetherness with Stephanie.
Orly

dewatobay said...

Generous Sharing! watching artist at work! sigh

Karen Cole said...

Love to watch such a progression.

I'll bet you and Stephanie are having an amazing time....all white and powdery. I'm green.....with envy.

amanda said...

Thanks for sharing your steps, so cool. Love the whole book!
Do you ever find your pages sticking together after applying the gloss gel? I've had a bit of a struggle with that.
amanda

LindieLee said...

You little book of faces is fantastic! I love the fact they all look very different. Do you have an online tutorial on how to do this fabulous faces?

Heather said...

Hi Judy, I just found your blog and I wanted to say thank you for sharing with us. I love that there is such a variety on your site, and that I can take so many ideas from here. I am currently trying to create little journal type books for my friends as a Christmas present, and this post is extremely inspirational and helpful in helping me achieve what I'm trying to do. Thank you so much.