Caricature?

 

I have never done a caricature before. At least not one other than a cartoonish drawing I did many years ago at school and it wasn't very good. This is my first real attempt at one and it really turned out more like a slightly exaggerated portrait rather than a caricature. I tried twice and decided that I had chosen the wrong

subject. I chose Johnny Depp because my son really likes him and he portrays so many interesting characters. Actually, I realized it before I was even done with the first one but wanted to finish it for Cyan. My son actually looks a good bit like Johnny Depp, thus his fascination with him. So, what I know I did wrong:

1. I think I chose the wrong subject.

2. I didn't exaggerate anything enough.

3. I exaggerated too many features.

4. I should have done a full body or nearly full body pose so I could play with the overall perspective a bit more, maybe made him standing in a quirky pose and made his body smaller and his head larger.

5. There should have been a hand and a cigarette involved. 

Hmmmm, I'm sure there is more, but these are all I can think of this morning. Last night I had a list in my head a mile long. I don't like it when I can't do something. I am very stubborn and I may try this again because I feel like it defeated me and I don't like it. Even though I really have no interest in doing caricatures I still want to make it work just because. Told you I was stubborn. But this is why I love doing MAD and IF, it makes me try to do things I would not normally do. What is really funny is my son and husband love these, go figure!

IF_Propagate

 

This is my entry for this weeks Illustration Friday. The prompt was propagate. I really love bees. I am allergic to their stings, so go figure, but he is so pretty.  Thanks for visiting and thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. You are all so encouraging and supportive and I appreciate it so much!

MAD_ I won!!!!!!

 

I won a MAD challenge, yeah me! Thank you Mike for liking my work enough to give me this award. It means a lot to me. It is also fun to do your challenges whether you win or not. I loved painting the Train illustration. It was fun from beginning to end. I think it turned out so well I may add it to my portfolio.

MAD_Train completed

 

Here is the final version, unless I change my mind and keep playing with it anyway. Right now I am really pleased with it, but I may wake up tomorrow and feel differently. Thanks for visiting and for all your supportive and kind comments! 

Day Two_MAD Prompt_Train WIP

 

I probably won't get a chance to finish this until tonight. This is where I stopped last night.  I like the simplicity of it and it has been fun to paint with no problems or how do I make this work issues. Gotta love the ones that just go smoothly and easily. Although my husbands only comment was "it's nice, but what's the point?" He thinks there has to be a purpose or a reason for everything. So, my reason for painting this is because I wanted to. Just for the fun of it! My younger daughter and my son, who is the youngest, both loved trains. They both had large complex sets that had sound and were automatic,  but my favorite one was the simple wooden one that you had to push to make it go, with the magnets to hold the cars together. We had a big table with drawers and many, many pieces of track, buildings, little wooden people, trees and signs... But they usually ended up putting a small figure 8 on the floor with nothing but the train and a few cars and would play with it for hours. Thanks for visiting and thank you for taking the time to comment!

MAD_train WIP

 

I have a free weekend so I decided to do a Work In Progress for this piece. I've got the time to post unless something comes up and hopefully can work it straight through. This is the first sketch and a partialy painted version and it is for the Monday Artday prompt Train. I love trains, so I had plenty of ideas to weed through. I just liked the simplicity of this one. Thanks for visiting. Let me know what you think, because I love to read what you have to say. & As always thank you for taking the time to leave a comment!

IF_Adrift

 

Well, here is my IF entry for this weeks challenge, Adrift.  I made it, barely. It may need a little more work, but my eyes are crossed tonight so I am off to bed.   I'm really hoping that next week will be an easier week for me. This one was a crazy one. Thanks for visiting! & Thanks for taking the time out to comment! I know I say it a lot but I really do appreciate it.

Adrift_a little progress

 

I'm keeping my grandson full time this week and my husband is out of town so I have very, very little time to paint. And I'm sick again, or still. Well, enough whining. I'm determined to get this done but, this is the only progress I have made so far. Either I get done tomorrow or I link it to IF as is, but for tonight I must go to bed because two year olds get up really early. Thank you visiting and I always appreciate it when you take the time to leave a comment.  

Adrift_stage one

 

Every week I think I will do something quick and simple for Illustration Friday, but it always evolves into a full blown illustration. So, again I am posting my work in progress because it will most likely take me a few days to get this one colored in. I had another idea that was a little simpler but, I was already drawing this one at the time. So many ideas, so little time. I have a very bad habit. I start projects but don't finish them. I can't tell you how many unfinished canvases, watercolor paintings, and just random sketches I have laying around. It is also not limited to art, I have unfinished sweaters, stained glass, half made jewelry, cut-out but, not put together sewing projects, embroidery, quilts... I could go on but, I am making myself a little sick. I am working very hard to change this about myself and am doing much better in recent years. Posting a work in progress tends to push me to finish, so whatever works, right? Anyway, thank you for visiting and taking time out to leave a comment. I can't wait to read them!

Muddy Version 2

I took Andrew Finnie's advice and added a texture layer in Photoshop and put back some of the texture I had gotten rid of previously.  My family had said it looked too much like sand.  Even if it does I like the texture better I think.  Maybe I'll quit messing with it now, maybe not.  Thanks for visiting and thanks for the advice Andrew.  I appreciate your comments and fresh view.  I also appreciate the comments and visits from all the other talented artists who comment on my work.

IF_Muddy

So I finished my illustration for Illustration Fridays prompt "Muddy". My husband really didn't like it and though I can't say it's my favorite, I'm not unhappy with it. It was fun and challenging and I used brushes in painter x that I usually don't use. It was almost as much fun as playing in the mud and without the mess. Thanks for stopping by, please leave comments because I love to read them, they make my day! I have had a couple of people email me to say they can't post a comment. I have attempted to fix the issue so please send me an email if you are unable to post a comment so that I will know if the issue has been resolved. Thank you!

Muddy_Work in progress

I just realized I hadn't posted anything in five days. Time flies and I have been sick. I was so miserable Sunday I couldn't even read. I really feel bad when I can't even read. So I watched food network wrapped in a blanket, with a space heater in front of me and a constant cup of tea. I'm feeling much better today. This drawing is at a strange stage still, but I think I like it so far. You have to kind of ignore the skin tones at this point, it will look different once I have the other coloring in. I have it in mind for them to be making mud pies, but that part is just loosely sketched for now because sometimes I change my mind. I know it's a weird angle but I wanted to see if I could make it work. I love to play with perspective. I just can't always make it work out the way I'd like it to.
The girl standing up is kind of based on my oldest daughter when she was young, which is ironic because she had a phobia about getting her hands dirty. Her kindergarten teacher complained about her washing her hands too often. My younger daughter however, played in the mud and with worms constantly. But I unintentionally turned this one into the oldest one. I do that sometimes. Sometimes I combine the two or use a friend's daughter or sons face and most often it is not a conscious effort. Later my husband or son will say "why are you drawing _________in that picture?" And I am usually surprised and say "oh, your right, I'm not really sure". Any way, I plan to use it for Illustration Friday, once I get it done that is. Thanks for stopping by! Comments are always welcome and appreciated!

Little Changes_amended

After a little more critiquing this morning, and a few more adjustments, I'm amending this post rather than starting a new one again. I'm hoping I didn't go too heavy now. I have a tendency to shade, then blend it almost all away, don't know why I just always end up going "soft" but that isn't always good and what I really want is intensity and drama I think. Great lighting effects always draw my attention in other peoples work and I just can't seem to get there myself. Oh well, that's what practice is for right.

After playing a bit more, this is where I am. I like it better. So, I went from not disliking it to kinda liking it. I definitely am liking the wings better than before. Thanks for the input! It is very helpful to have other eyes and opinions and I appreciate it!

which version?

Which version do you like better?
The first, the second or the the one from the previous post.

Not that it really matters, I'm not using it for anything except for practice, but it helps to know what other people like as far as coloring and lighting goes. I darkened the previous one to bring out the dragonfly, but I like the others as well. Sometimes I just know, this time, not so much.
Thanks for your input!