We haven't had freebies in a long time, have we? Mostly because after last summer, I wasn't very happy with what I was doing. A lot of you have already commented on my very obvious happiness with what I've been doing recently, so here we are with a few brand-new wallpapers, a lineart, and a coupl...
2019-01-21 13:41:21 +0000 UTC View Post
Hint 1: It's one of the ones suggested this month.
Hint 2: The number of hands is not necessarily representative of the characters.
Hint 3: The juggling balls were just coincidental.
And let's welcome four (!) new Patrons since Saturday: Cath...
2019-01-21 11:41:49 +0000 UTC View Post
No, not one of the furry ones. They're not helpful at all. Can't even pose as a Kneazel.
Have you heard of these Body-kun dolls? I've seen them advertised quite often, and never really thought I'd ever get another manikin. (I used to have a wooden one in my early twenties, and wouldn'...
2019-01-19 17:40:31 +0000 UTC View Post
Edit: Clicking the link in the text below should take you straight to my shop with the discount already applied! Clicking the unicorn should have worked too, but apparently, it didn't.
I've been rethinking my social media approach recently. I've decided to push Instagram a lot, with a lot o...
2019-01-19 12:52:20 +0000 UTC View Post
Here we are! "Wardens of the North", watercolour and coloured pencil on Canson Vidalon cold-pressed paper, 16x26 cm (yes, I'm quite mad).
Patreon has changed its giveaway rules to comply with US gambling laws, which means that giveaways have to be free for all. So here we are - Patron...
2019-01-19 12:24:16 +0000 UTC View Post
This is one of the cases where I simply didn't know where I was going with the colours ("grey" wasn't specific enough, apparently). Once I'd made up I mind that I wanted to go for "chilly", one decision led to the next - keeping Maedhros mostly in unusual cool tones, but getting dark enough with ...
2019-01-19 08:40:50 +0000 UTC View Post
I'd made two mistakes with the last version - the worst of which was letting the paper soak in water for too long before stretching, which destroyed the surface structure. This only became apparent in the detail work, which turned out extremely frustrating, cakey and too dark. This gave me the ch...
2019-01-18 11:11:40 +0000 UTC View Post
How could I have forgotten what great layers you get on Vidalon paper? (The Hunt was painted on that as well; nuff said! ;)) I can build up extremely light layers, build detail, without getting too dark but still very detailed.
I've also just received a little package of paint from M....
2019-01-17 07:55:33 +0000 UTC View Post
Canson Vidalon paper is love. <3
I wonder if my husband would mind very much if I bought a few dozen more pads to store for the rest of my life... to be used on the best pieces only.
Probably not in our wet basement though....
2019-01-16 10:21:37 +0000 UTC View Post
Here we are! I'd spent all day erasing and redrawing and erasing and fixing and worsening the front horse, until I literally didn't see what I was doing any more. I just totally baffled my hubby when I took a fresh look at the pic, saw the horse, and broke out in a Minion-esque squeal: "Abominati...
2019-01-15 21:19:18 +0000 UTC View Post
Getting just a bit more done on this - in between mopping the basement, which keeps filling up slowly with rainwater. Sigh. At least I don't store any paintings there after the last flooding in 2014 (which was when I lost "All the others, gone")...
Patrik Wilson, with his face squished into the right angles, makes another appearance, as does the magnifying glass.
2019-01-13 21:28:29 +0000 UTC View Post
... or, possibly, "The Siege of Angband". Updated version! I decided to give Fingon his bow instead of a spear, and Maehdros his now-customary javelins (he's had them in Ossiriand, and in The Hunt) that he uses as his ranged weapons of choice.
Maedhros and Fingo...
2019-01-12 15:48:42 +0000 UTC View Post
The Last Alliance. Watercolour on Clairefontaine Etival cold-pressed paper, just under A3 size.
I'm really excited to show this in all its glory, especially since the colours in the wip photos were so off!
I'm incredibly happy that my last four pieces have turned out so we...
2019-01-11 13:45:50 +0000 UTC View Post
... and dear me, this is what I call a level-up piece!
Here's Elrond and Elendil. That banner looks very "second referendum" somehow.
... and he took me almost the entire afternoon. O_o Once again, a Euro-cent for size comparison.
The rocks are also finished! So only the background figures remain. I've got high hopes for tomorrow afternoon!
2019-01-10 18:15:20 +0000 UTC
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By the way, this looks *so much better* in real life. My camera can't pick up all those gorgeous greys. Can't wait to show you this in its original colours!
I'm really excited painting this, haha. Might be the beginning of my Grey Phase.
Aaaaand I really feel Maedhros need...
2019-01-09 20:00:29 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm really happy with those beautiful greys. And the horse. And Gil-galad!
This is basically three colours right now - a lot of ultramarine, mixed with raw umber or burnt sienna. Those three together make for the most subtle, beautiful greys! <3
Welcome, Melissa...
2019-01-09 16:53:43 +0000 UTC View Post
On the other hand, it is the Last Alliance.
Speaking of which: was anyone else horribly bothered by the Other Last Alliance in the third LotR film? I always try to skip that bit when I can (just like Mumak-surfing Legolas). I felt that those Elves shouldn't have been there, a...
2019-01-07 18:49:25 +0000 UTC View Post
I hope to finish the lineart today! Elendil still looks a bit scruffy; but his face is so tiny that I'll probably fix him digitally.
2019-01-07 09:36:17 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm getting cross-eyed - time for bed! Hope to finish the lineart tomorrow. :)
... and here's Bert. ;)
People on beautifully decked out horses just make me so happy. And yay, more golden hair to come!
2019-01-05 16:56:24 +0000 UTC View Post
This is enough in the way of guidelines for me to start with the lineart! Going to do that today. Start, at any rate! :)
Can't decide whether I should have Gil-galad's horse this scared, or more composed. Horse people? What say you?
2019-01-05 09:03:57 +0000 UTC
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... in Mordor, where the shadows are.
The Fall of Gil-galad. Very unfittingly, there are a few hilarities here. First, of course, there is Bert, of Gondolin fame, on Gil-galad's left. (The one holding the banner is Elrond. So it remains to be seen if Bert finds his death in Mordor, or...
2019-01-04 13:52:55 +0000 UTC View Post
... and I spent most of the movie mentally putting a long black wig on Patrick Wilson. XD And slightly squaring his chin. But he already came with the perfect cleave.
He's officially Fingon!
2019-01-03 15:45:47 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm getting the hang of this!
Fun fact: Did I tell you that, when we were in Cornwall in 2017, I'm almost sure I saw Kit Harington? I know the Dragonstone scenes from GOT were filmed in Cornwall (we recognised parts of the coastline) and when we were in Tintagel, I saw a bloke who loo...
2019-01-02 18:13:55 +0000 UTC View Post
And less time on the computer. It hurts my eyes, and my arguments when I try to reduce my son's screentime.
More travel sketch pratice! Here's a little sketch I painted this morning, from a photo I took last year on our school trip to Rome, in one of the moments where I managed to sho...
2019-01-01 12:09:17 +0000 UTC View Post
We're going to the Peak District this summer, and I've decided to get in some landscape painting practice until then. This is pretty much a direct copy of a painting by David Bellamy, whom I admire very much. The hope is that I'll find some time for plein air sketching when we're there, and I don...
2019-01-01 08:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
I meant this piece to be cathartic, and it was, in so many ways. It came out even better than I hoped, and since yesterday, I had the feeling that my left eye was actually taking over without that much of a fuss - as long as I kept focused on painting for hours and did nothing else in between. Li...
2018-12-30 13:31:33 +0000 UTC View Post
I've actually had some very, very vital time to think, grieve, heal, and actually come to terms with a lot of things. Coming to terms with my poor eyesight is easier now that I'm on holiday and have no obligations other than taking care of myself and my family. I've had a few good talks with my p...
2018-12-29 14:04:32 +0000 UTC View Post