New Year New Projects (Project Friends Ends)

I am quite excited to announce that the portrait series that was started around a theme has been finished. With a year full of learning, I am happy that I could not only meet the deadline but also could paint to my heart's delight!

Here are some snippets of this journey:

• Over a twenty portraits completed.
• Process: Photoshoot, photoprint, finalize a picture, paint. Repeat.
• I tried almost all the media - pen , pencil, pastel (hard and soft)
• I fell in love with oil all over again.
• On the side, I could start another series.
• Created other unrelated pieces for the exhibition acceptance. 

 

Untitled

18 x 24.5

Soft pastels on paper

I feel, I could educate myself on many aspects of studio arts and the importance of preparedness towards the creative process. The sentiment with which this whole series was conceived and finished was met with lots of encouragement and I tried my best to offer nothing but the best.

I could not include many into the series purely due to lack of available time. I am sure, we would work on something together in the future.

Now we look forward to the public viewing of this artwork. I will post updates on that very soon. Till then!

Portraits, Techniques, Likeness, and Life

Oct 1 - Oct 7: Day 49th of Friends Series

I have been drawing, painting, reading, and writing lately. As mentioned earlier, I met many new people during art show. And I cannot describe how helpful other artist have been. They gladly shared what they know and later sent more as promised. I cannot thank them enough for their help.


Portraiture

This is  a bonding process where a person tries to create his own version of how one sees. Its art and it also is science. Its 2 D in technicality and heavily 3 D for the artist. Or 4 D if you add the artist's perception to it. Artist tries to capture the essence of the model over the period of time.

Technique

There are as many techniques as there are portraitist. No single one is right or better. Some find realism to be the most disciplined form which may be true in a sense that if that's your goal in the first place. But over time, you learn to immerse in the process, and start to enjoy the process so much and so, that you hardly bother if that highly acclaimed belief of realism is only a way of seeing things.  The artistic license lets you enjoy the journey and the destination. Choose what suits you!  This is what I did for one of the works.

Likeness in Portraits

People find portraiture as hard because they think getting the likeness is not easy. Its true. Its not easy to get the likeness if you don't practice enough. There is a lot of relativity among different angles and shapes and the process requires a lot of swinging back-and-forth while creating a face.

When I do it with pause, there seems to be a harmony in the process. The focus is not on one part but the face as a whole. With this in mind, things just seem to be right. And when its right, you stop and gauge the balance. After a while, the process starts to balance itself.

Bonding Experience

I usually know when to stop. The work starts to speak for itself. It becomes a whole with its own identity and charm. At that point, artist need to take a step back and let the work enjoy its own identity. The bond between the subject and the artist moves on to next level. And that is a marvelous experience. Its too complex to explain in words.

First Juried Show

Sep 30: Day 44


With this day the month of September comes to a close. In October, we hope to see diversity experiment and the results thereafter. Here are some pics from the weekend :

The show was well attended

The work of artists were unique

 

 

The acknowledgement

 

The food

Call for Models for Series Friends is now closed

Hello,

I would like to thank you all for showing support and participating in the series Friends. The call is now closed.

 Niles Park

If you wanted to participate but could not, please feel free to contact me. I will surely be able to use the help for the future projects.

In the meantime, its all on me. Thank you again and I look forward to the progress!

-Bhavna

Sep 29 (Plus week of 22 - 26): Day 43rd today

Status Update

I have some progress during this week. Its about time I had some pics of the work available here. But I think, it is better to hold off for now.

If you are one of the models, please feel free to mail me for the pictures. I will be happy to send you yours WIP picture log.

To do

As I look at the numbers, I feel this project has slowed down quite a bit. The reasons are many but I have to focus on what's been accomplished. So, here are some guidelines for self:

• By the end of the week, have one piece ready from start to finish.
• Organize the to-do list datewise.
• Mail out the drafts.
• Update FB group on closing of call

Other Stuff

Last week, I had the opportunity to met with many artists during an exhibition reception. Some were new but most were quite experienced. They work in different media.

Its amazing to encounter so many creative people who use interesting ways to express themrselves. We shared lots of ideas and I was offered some great pieces of advice.

As I get back to the regular workday, I think about the event and the inspiring crowd.

Sep 18 - 19 : Day 37 Today

There are some changes underway. I have to get back to the drawing board (literally!) to make the changes in the series.

This means a slight delay as far as the weekly progress is concerned but Its within the scheduled deadline.

I have sent the new set of pics for printing and I await the pickup.

Day 11 - 13 (Aug 13 - 15): Portraits Taking Shape

Let me begin with a huge thanks to the models without whom this series would be impossible. Thank you for taking time to be a part of it.

Because of you, in the past couple of days:

• I had gotten four portraits started
• Prepped and primed a board
• Completed a charcoal/ pencil prep study
• One study of a model who offered to hold the pose for almost 30 mins

You all are super special to me!

For those who haven't had the photoshoot yet, please bear with me. You are in the list and we will schedule as discussed. If you signed up but didn't hear from me, please send me a pm.

There will be no photoshoots in the coming week but I will keep updating here and on FB page.

Will get back on Monday. Till then!

Day 10 (Aug 12): Backstage Bustle

To celebrate the 10-day anniversary of the series related work, I had a review cum re-plan session. Bought some supplies, restocked paints, and organized the paperwork. This backstage work is usually not the fun part but essential and calming.

Created the framework for Tree of life and worked on some to-dos.

Day 9 (Aug 11): Pastel Portrait

Usually I don't draw before I paint. I start of with the paints and refine later. But this time I tried to do differently.

Sketch with charcoal. Some basic shapes and comparative placements.

After painting, this is what the face looks like.

Added hair. No background is developed nor the clothing. Again, this is something I usually don't do. I develop the entire area as a whole. Just not this time.

An exercise to get the right colortone with pastels.

The messy workarea,  appeals a lot. A reminiscent of the productive day!

Day 4 to 8 (Aug 4 - 8): Summary of the last week

As the weekend approaches, it seems somewhat 

The week has passed and there are signs of progress. Its admittedly slow but acceptable.

Reading, photoshoots, painting, no-shows, research, and some unplanned stuff - the week was thoroughly packed and productive.

For the next week:

1. There will be one full and final portrait ready
2. Frame it
3. Finish the last chapter of the book that I am reading
4. Fill those pending forms
5. Order that golden paint, I had been meaning since forever

More next week.

Happy weekend!

Aug 1: Day 3

The day can be summed up in a picture log:

 As it all begins. With a blank canvas:

The tools of the choice. Some stay, some go:

The other medium is considered as well:

Then compared to what other stuff might work:

After some choices, some selections are made and this is what the palette looks like:

And after a while, a face starts to emerge. This angle of the face is a bit challenge, but we will judge after it is finished. This is after first hour:

Finished painting will be shared soon.

July 31: Day 2

Some things are just too hard to miss. One such thing was this door. Look closely.

There seems to be a story to be told. The colors are too distracting for the motivation to unlock what the door is hiding behind. But there is more just on the outside.

Simple construction of the door confirms the age of the material, which probably goes all the way back to say one hundred years. The wall against it, appears to be constructed fairly recently compared to the door. The arch at the top of the entryway is covering the  corners of the rectangular doors that would otherwise have matched to the opening like a congruous shape. Its somewhat hinders the view, thus, creating a slight disturbance in the harmony and grandeur of this otherwise magnificent piece.

Barring that, there is an interesting shape play between those tiny squares and the scallops at the bottom. All matchy-matchy. Yet so different. The ones above are are sharp, hard and dominantly standing stacked up as if to rudely register dominance over what neatly lies under a meek blue horizontal line in a complete surrender. Makes look the door almost king-like.

Day 2:

Some preparation is underway. A recent doctor's visit slowed the process but not for long. More tomorrow!

New Series: Friends

I am finally back from my trip and after some unpacking and likes, its time to get back to work.

This journal entry shall keep track of the work being done for the forthcoming series Friends.

The first of the ideas was to record everyday progress in a log to keep things under order and etch out a clear direction for what's to come. So, here's to very first entry:

Day 1:

I spoke to potential models about their availability and sorting out the schedule clashes. Overall, I am happy at the response and the shared enthusiasm. 

I have been meaning to keep the medium/size consistent for the series, but I am now questioning this decision as to is it necessary? Will surely get back at this as we move on.

Project : Friends

Thank you friends!

As my prior ideas about arts generated a positive vibe I would like to announce the new and officially the first project of this kind where the paintings will be created as a part of series. For this series, I would like to have you as a model.

Its an enrichment project  and a learning opportunity for me as a new artist.


Call for models

For this project you are all invited to participate as a model.
Anyone in  the range of 14 - 50 can take part. 
The portraits will be painted from your photos that I will take. So, you don't have to sit for the paintings.

The photoshoot would be 20 to 40 minutes long, followed by a get-to-know session. It would include a small introduction and discussion about details of the process. We will discuss your likes, dislikes, favorite color, and stuff like that. A mini interview, if you like.
Based on this session, I will paint your portrait.

You don't have to be present for painting part. But you can always check on the progress. In fact, I will regularly update you on the progress.


This project will begin towards the end of July or beginning of August and would continue until around Christmas/ New Year.

I will hand out more information and other details as a followup and would be happy to answer any questions that you might have.

For the exhibition purposes, your personal information will not be revealed. 


About me:

I am a beginner artist trying to make a difference with my love of portraiture.
For my sample work please visit this post.

I work from my home-studio based out of Bay Area. So, if you are local  you can visit when you like!



Project Info:

This series Friends will be created for an exhibition.

It will be a collection of portrait paintings created around a theme.


The portraits will be painted from photographs selected from the ones that I would take. Model can bring  the pictures of their liking. If you are not available for the picture shoots but would like to participate, we can set up a phone call where we can discuss how you may have your own pictures taken and sent over for the painted portraits.

During photoshoot, I will try to capture the personality as a whole. Likes, dislikes, favorite color, special interests, hobbies, and any other information that you'd like to share. If we have already met, the photoshoot time would be really short.

I am planning to paint over 20 portraits but only 12- 14 will make the final cut for the exhibition.

The painted portraits will be used for the purpose of art enrichment such as exhibition and will be available for sale after that.


Remuneration

Any prints of the portraits will be made available to the model free of cost.
The model can buy their original portrait after it's been exhibited.
It is a volunteering  opportunity for the art project.


For more information:

Leave a comment below, or
comment or PM me at my facebook page or 
mail me at bhavnamisra@yahoo.com


Thanks for reading. I hope to hear from you soon!

-Bhavna