The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron, was recommended to me by a friend a few years ago. I kept the book in the back of my mind until I purchased it a few weeks ago. Another artist friend and I are reading the chapters together and talking about it on Zoom once a week. The author provides artists and shadow artists (people who secretly want to be artists but will not let themselves) with a spiritual path to higher creativity. I’m all in, especially since my Lord is the original Creator of all things. Chapter one inspired me to let loose and paint Little Queen of Hearts Acrylic Valentines Day Portrait. It is what I wanted to paint this week, regardless of trends or resale value.
First I took a picture of my subject, then uploaded it to Be Funky, my favorite photo editing app. Then, I added the graphic novel filter to the picture. The filter helped me to see what I wanted to include in the portrait. I decided not to include the flowers held by the model, or the busy background. I kept the computer chair because my subject is a modern Little Queen of Hearts.
You can watch the video at the beginning of the video to see how I painted the background on a 16″ by 12″ black canvas. I printed the picture on an 8″ by 10″ piece of paper, then traced it onto the canvas with graphite paper. Filling in the mid-range color of each section was the next step. I start with the middle tone, then add details, shadows, and highlights. It was that simple.
Happy Valentines Day!
Kristie
Subscribe to Love My Little Cottage here.
Read Artistic Love Hurts Valentine’s Day Vignette
It’s beautiful! How lovely that The Artist’s Way lead you on this path. Thank you for sharing your journey. You have a real talent. Thank you so much for sharing with the Hearth and Soul Link party. Have a lovely week ahead!
You too, April!
Kristie, the little queen portrait looks fabulous ! Thank you for sharing with us at Meraki Link Party at Doodle Buddies. Drop by this evening to join the next Meraki Party..
Much love
Naush
Thanks for hosting, Naush!