Finding A New Technique

For this piece it was my first time ever painting a waterfall and it was quite a challenge. I was inspired by a picture I saw and decided that I must turn it into a painting. I was so nervous that I would mess it up so I started with the surrounding trees which was a more familiar technique to me. After a day or so I applied a green wash to the waterfall area and then I got so excited that I started to apply the white paint for the falling water over it. After I applied the white my excitement faded away and turned into disappointment, so much so that I washed out all my brushes and packed the painting aside for another time. I gave the technique some serious thought before I went to bed that day and attended to the painting the next morning. I know what you are thinking but no, I did not succeed at making to waterfall look like the one in the picture I was following nor did I the time after that and for each time I had a failed attempt I brushed over the main areas with some white paint which was starting to create a build up on the canvas. So after about 5 or 6 failed attempts and several layers of paint I finally got it right but still it was missing something, maybe a little character. That’s where the gold paint came in and when I stepped back and looked at it I felt like I made a great accomplishment. Viewers tend to think that artists have everything all worked out but little do they know that we struggle to find a technique that is suitable to the individual. What are some of your struggles as an artist?   

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Testing the Abstract Waters

I have always aimed to be a realist painter but was curious about this form of art they call abstract. I was also intrigued by how some artists creatively camouflage an object into the background yet the viewer can see it when carefully observed so I decided to do an abstract piece based on this. I started drawing a man’s head in my sketchbook and the same continuous line to move along the page in no particular direction. Then instead of drawing a regular face I merged it with a simple drawing of an owl butterfly with the eye on the wing aligned with the position of a human eye. After I transferred the drawing to my canvas and added colour I showed it to a couple people and they saw the man’s face but not the butterfly. So was my abstract piece successful? Well my objective was to camouflage the butterfly but I think it was too well hidden. What do you think?     

The Carnival Rush

Till Dawn by Candice

Its good to read the papers because you never know what you may find and I was fortunate enough to be browsing through a newspapers when I came across an ad asking artists to submit pieces of their work for a Carnival exhibition held by the Art Society and the National Carnival Commission. When I looked at the deadline and glanced at my calendar I realize time was going to be an issue but I know opportunities like this don’t pass by very often so I put everything else on hold and began to work on ideas for my paintings. Yes I say paintings because I initially wanted to submit no less than two but I ran into some problems. After I made my sketches and began on painting number one I got frustrated that it wasn’t coming out as I would have liked it to so I rolled up the canvas and took a day off from painting. On my day off I scampered for more canvas and went out to buy more paint as I was running low on certain colours.

The next morning I got up early and began to put my fingers to the canvas (because I finger paint) and I liked the way things were going with this one. Things were going so well I was nervous of messing it up so I was working slower that usual and I still had to buy and cut wood to stretch the canvas on. This meant that I submitted my painting later than I wanted to and yes it turned out to be just one painting but it was my first painting in about two years and it’s the first to be in an exhibition. I felt like I accomplished some small task on my To Do list and my next step would be to host a full exhibition with all my pieces. My work is one of many in the ‘Many People, One Carnival’ visual arts exhibition at The Art Society headquarters in Federation Park. To catch a glimpse at some of the pieces check out the link below.

http://s85.photobucket.com/user/artconnect1/library/Carnival%20Visual%20Arts%20Exhibition?sort=3&page=1

Burning the Midnight Oil

This acrylic painting of what I would consider a perfect beach day was done as one of my SBA pieces and it was done in a bit of a hurry to meet a deadline, so here’s what happened. Being the good, creative art student that I was my teacher asked me to help decorate the school hall for a ceremony that was to take place the next day while my painting was also due the next day (the one I barely started). I stayed back after school and decorated the hall anyway and I probably left there about 6pm and what was usually a 15 minute walk to my house turned into a 10 minute jog/ power walk. As if things weren’t bad enough when I reached home there was no current but I had to finish the painting and it was already getting dark so I had to paint by candlelight. So there I was feeling like Leonardo Da Vinci with the candles surrounding the canvas but then I realized that the colours weren’t looking the same as in daylight and I wasn’t sure if I was mixing the right colours but I carried on anyway because I had o get it done. Current eventually came back at some late hour during the night and I didn’t finish till 1am. I was cutting it kind of close, barely got any sleep but I got it done and went to school to submit it to my teacher. However, when I did she told me she would give me an extension because I stayed back to decorate the hall. As you can imagine I was all kinds of cross but it was an interesting experience to paint by candle light and I would do it again for the sake of my passion. What are some of the challenges you faces while trying to finish a piece?

The Furry Animals

 



This piece was my first try at drawing a furry animal in detail and I must say it came out pretty good. At first when I looked at the picture it looked really complex but I like to challenge myself so I went at it. The eyes seemed like the easiest place to start (it’s good to find a comfort spot for starting any drawing) and then I worked my way out from there. Drawing all that fur was really tedious and then I ran into some problems with the whiskers. How was I going to get thin white whiskers to show up over the pencil markings? Then I came up with the idea of scouring the paper with a metal pinhead before shading the area with the rest of fur. It worked but it didn’t come out as visible as I hoped it would but it felt good to come up with my own ideas. It took me about two weeks to complete this piece (I had five other subjects) and I was over whelmed with the result, I felt like I could have done anything after drawing the cat. A couple years after I had an issue with the drawing fading but then I darkened the pencil shading and sprayed it with my handy fixative (no CFC of course) so all was well again. My aunt who hates cats loved the drawing and took it in and there it remains for the rest of its nine lives. What are some of your techniques for getting around those furry animals?   

A Look Back to the Beginning

So to kick start things we’re looking back at one of my first pieces of art that actually made me look like I had some talent up my fingers. It was not an original idea that I had and just decided to execute, no no no, not at all, I started off really slow taking baby steps. This piece was done as an assignment that my art teacher (form 4) gave me to do and to tell you how baby the steps were it was a picture out of a beginners art book that was originally meant for colour pencils but I decided to play big and do them in chalk pastel. Now as simple as the picture may look it took me about two days to complete and after applying the finishing touch of the fixative spray I was proud of my little bird on the branch. To date, that piece has found itself in a Sanfest art competition where I received nothing more than a certificate of participation and an exhibition held by the Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago for which it was framed with matte board. It now hangs proudly in my room reminding me everyday of my progress. What is your experience with your first piece of art, the one that you think started it all? It may not have brought you fame or fortune but it ignited a flame inside of you that kept you going.           

Welcome to Art Connect

Art Connect brings together young and aspiring local artist with the seasoned ones so they can all talk about their passion, comment on each other’s artwork and give meaningful advice. Available to you would also be the names of art galleries and shops with what they have to offer you as an artist, inspiring quotes and the latest art events in Trinidad and Tobago and from around the world.