Ibises WIP 3 & 4

Happy Thanksgiving week!

The ibises have gained quite a bit of color and texture and I got to use my Catalyst Blade and Wedge! Fun! The only bummer is that the blade seems to be obtaining a permanent bend in the rubber part of the handle. I noticed that I'm using it in one direction 90% of the time which is clearly the cause. I'm going to have to think on what I can do about that.

WIP 3

WIP 4

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Baby Portrait

I decided to try a portrait on the iPad, here's my first go! I used lots of layers and started off rather bland color-wise then built up as I went. I simply love the Procreate app! It feels like I'm actually painting and I'm quite pleased with the results. Next I think I'd like to try my hand at a digital charicature! Now to figure out who that should be of...

Baby
Procreate on iPad

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Ibises WIP 2

I worked on the ibises a bit more, here's a shot of how it looks right now.

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Hawk WIP 4 & WIP 5

Worked on the wing a bit, adding some more texture and color.

WIP 4

Then worked on the hawk's legs and feet and then the wing again, adding more color. I think I may add some more browns back in in the next round. I'm also feeling the need to do something more to the branch.

WIP 5

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Ibises WIP 1

It's cold and I'm dreaming of warm weather and the beach! With the beach on the brain I remembered a painting which I'd planned on doing a couple of years ago of two Ibises at the ocean's edge. I sketched it out then moved it to the attic for one reason or another and had forgotten about it. I dug the poor neglected birds out over the weekend and worked on the underpainting.

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Lily of the iPad

This weekend my PenGo stylus came in so I played around with that quite a lot and I love it! Now I just need to find or make a little case to carry it in so I don't lose the extra tip or scratch up my iPad when I throw it in the iPad case.

This is a painting I did over the weekend on my iPad using the PenGo and the Procreate app. I worked from a reference photo which I took a couple years ago while visiting Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA. I have looked at this photo numerous times with the intention to paint it and the iPad just seemed like the perfect place to finally do it. I do love making a mess with traditional paints but I think I equally love having the option NOT to.

Water Lily—Callaway Gardens, GA
Procreate App on iPad
Prints available on Etsy

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Hawk WIP3 and Halloween Photos

Happy Monday! I am not at all a fan of this turning the clocks back thing but I'm trying really hard to be a big girl about it. Having said that, only four months to go before Spring Forward happens and I rejoice again! Let the countdown begin!

I worked on the hawk a little more over the weekend and here's how the painting stands this morning.

I also have to share that I got myself one of the Princeton Catalyst Blades and one of the Wedges! I like the blade very much and haven't tried the wedge yet but how can I not love it! I opted for shape #1 (gray) for each since they have two different sized edges which I figure would offer more flexiblity. They work well for painting but I've also been using the blade as a palette knife to mix paint.

My family visited a couple weeks ago and we went to the pumpkin patch then carved pumpkins. We had a great time and I saw white pumpkins for the first time! I had no idea pumpkins could have albinism!

The Stalking Shadow.

Squash Stand

Raindrops on Pumpkins

One of many photos I took while we were lost in the corn maze

Margaritas and pumpkin carving!

The Morning After

The puppies all dressed up for halloween!

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Hawk WIP 2

I've been doing portrait work for the holidays and since that stuff can't be shared until after gifts are given, I thought I'd share a photo of the hawk. I haven't had a chance to work on him a lot but I did make a little bit of progress on the background and his head. Notice the big splotch of paint above his left leg where it seems I was doing a bit of sponge painting with my sleeve—oops! There's lot left to do yet but here he is!

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A Step Towards Clay!

My six year old niece came to visit last week, she loves art so I picked up some Sculpey for us to play with. We had a great time sitting outside in the sun sculpting! Here's my butterfly which I have yet to paint. This is one of the items I've been wanting to do in clay to hang on the wall. I'm glad I remembered to dig a nail hole in it at the last minute!

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Buzza Buzza Buzza Buzza

Here is another digital illustration which I had a lot of fun with. I started with a pencil sketch of the bee then once I redrew him in Illustrator I created the rest of the scenery, then I recreated it, then recreated it again, and again, and here it is. I decided on flowers, you can't have a bee without flowers and what better color flowers than purple! A hive, every bee needs a home. Additional bees because a bee needs his friends! And sun, ahhhhh sun! As it's getting cooler out nothing sounds better than finding a warm spot in the sun!

Buzza Buzza Buzza Buzza!
Print Available on Etsy

I also reworked the background of the cat illustrations and added an orange kitty to the mix.

Black Cat
Print Available on Etsy

White Cat
Print Available on Etsy

Orange Cat
Print Available on Etsy

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Alice in Wonderland

A few years back when I was working as a Graphic Designer in Colorado, our department took a trip to Pier 1 Imports to find items to decorate our drab cubicles. I came back with this fantastically fun flower vase which reminds me of Alice in Wonderland and is still one of my favorite things. I snapped this photo when I was washing it in the sink Monday.

Cleaning Day—Alice in Wonderland Vase

Here are some other photos which I've taken recently. I do particularly love capturing cardinals, males in particular with their vibrant red coloring.

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White Horse WIP

The last of the under-paintings which I started this week is this white horse. I had hoped to get another horse started as well but I have company coming and I've run out of time. Here's a very poor photo taken in low-light with my phone.

I planted some lettuce in containers on the deck a few weeks back and something kept digging in the pots. I finally decided to move them up to the area directly outside the french doors in the family room where I was hoping the dogs would keep the animals at bay. Well...not so much...

Brave little guy getting a drink with a foot in one of the pots of lettuce sprouts.
The dogs were completely unaware on the other side of the window. Hmmmm...

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Hawk WIP

Yesterday morning while i was peacefully eating my breakfast and getting ready to start my day there was a big BOOM and the street went dark! With the computer out and no way to work I had a cleaning day! All of the normal cleaning was done so it was time for the nooks and crannies, those things you don't always do like baseboards, windows, etc. I made a list and started marking things off, at the bottom of my list, I had "PAINT"!

Here are some photos of the first two stages of a hawk I'm painting. A couple weeks ago I stumbled across a photo I'd taken of this guy and knew I just had to paint him! I had hoped to work on him some more yesterday but as luck would have it the power came back on right as I was about to head for the easel.

Hawk WIP—Sketch

Hawk WIP—Underpainting

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Baby Girl Underpainting

Here is the first of a few under-paintings which I did over the past few days and are drying right now.

This sweet little girl is calling me, I can't wait for the underpainting to dry so I can work on her some more! In the meantime I have three more masonite panels to gesso so I can get my other ideas sketched out and started.

I'm planning on going to Dick Blick to pick up some clay later this week. I have had the urge to dig my hands into clay lately and I have a few ideas I'd like to try out! I wasn't sure about it at first as I don't have, or know anyone else who does have, a kiln. I thought about going the Sculpey route but clay is so much less expensive that it just doesn't make sense to get Sculpey unless I was only doing one or two small items. It turns out that there are places around which allow you to rent a shelf of a kiln so that's what I'm going to do! Crossing my fingers that I can remember enough about clay from high school and college that my items don't explode!

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Exciting Stuff!

This month's Alpha Arts Guild meeting was last night and I learned a lot! Phil Garrett came to speak to us, he is one of Golden's working artists. Phil spoke about the variety of Golden products and what you can do with them and I was amazed! I didn't have any the number of the products they make and the variety of fun things you can do with them. I used to use acrylics but I've been painting primarily with oils for the past several years, after last night I am tempted to try acrylics again!

Here are some of things which I heard about last night!

• A virtual paint mixer! Golden has this available on their web site! 
• Molding paste. What can I say? He past a pile of it around to play with and it just made me smile! 

Molding Paste

• Digital Grounds! You can coat a surface with this and so long as it's thin enough to run through an inkjet printer you can print right on a wide variety of things including aluminum foil and acrylic skins.
• Acrylic or gel skins! By painting on surfaces which the paint wont adhere to you can create skins which will peel up once dry. Once they are peeled off the surface they were painted on you can print on them using digital grounds, use them in paintings, as window decals, for a surface to transfer onto, etc. Incredible!

Acrylic/Gel Skins

• My personal favorite discovery of last night was when he pulled out the Princeton Catalyst Blades and Wedges! My heart skipped a beat! I must get some of these! I may never use a brush or palette knife again!

Princeton Catalyst Blade

Princeton Catalyst Wedge

On a different note, my seasonal painting is beginning. Once spring hits I tend to put my paint brushes down and get outside. This summer I ran my first 5k (YAY!) and did three organized bike rides a 20 mile, 23 mile, and 43 mile ride. This last one (the 43 mile) was the most challenging and the most rewarding as it was the Young Survival Coalition's (YSC) Tour de Pink Atlanta, a ride for breast cancer. Now that the rides are over and the temperature has dropped I find myself itching to paint. I have one painting on the easel and one board gessoed and sketched out, and two blank gessoed boards with ideas ready and waiting to go! I'm hoping to have something to show here in the next week or two.

YSC Mini Cooper - some very lucky person won this!

Team Bendt Design Polo Shirts for the Tour de Pink!
Bendt Design is my graphic design business, I had these perfectly purple shirts done up for the ride!

I've also added another digital illustration to my etsy shop! Well, it's the same one as in my last post accept with a black cat. I'm also hoping to have more of those up soon!

Black Cat
5x5 print in 8x8 frame
Click here for the Etsy listing

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Cat Illustration

Recently I've been sketching some cute animal characters. I decided to scan them in and turn them into digital illustrations. Here is the first one of a sweet white cat with a pink flower and a colorful butterfly.

I'm excited to have added a print of this little guy to my shop over on etsy!

White Cat
5x5 print in 8x8 frame
https://www.etsy.com/listing/111321908/white-cat-with-flower-and-butterfly-5x5

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Praying Mantis

'Praying Mantis'. Copyright 2012 Darlene Twitchell

Sadly, though it's harder to tell sometimes here in Georgia, the summer appears to be about over. The above photo is my favorite shot from the last few months. This little guy was watching me do yard work one steamy hot day. I'm guessing he was praying that I'd get him a teensy glass of lemonade.



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Creativity, Life Would be So Boring Without it!

A friend of mine posted this video this morning on facebook. The video is of Ken Robinson speaking about creativity and the need for it. I found the video quite entertaining, well worth watching!




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The Dog Park

We have a fantastic dog park here in town! We had two great danes visiting us this weekend so we took them to play. I had a lot of fun watching the dogs and taking photos of them running around, splashing in the water.

I absolutely fell head over heels for this puppy!