A sidestep: inspired bij 'Sterren op het doek'.

I love to watch the Dutch televisionprogram 'Sterren op het doek'. In this program you see three Dutch artists create a portrait of well known Dutch people, in their own style. Each episode has three new artists. One of them was mixed media artist Frank 't Hoen and I was so inspired by his style of painting portraits that I wanted to try this myself! I bought a canvas (50x50cm) and some new paint in reflecting colors. I made pictures of some of the steps.
First I drew a portait of my youngest daughter (in graphite and in black paint) directly on the canvas. I used this picture...

...and created this with a little help of Photoshop:

,
I collaged a layer of pieces of magazines and books.

The next step was to apply the paint, which I did with a paletknife (first time...) and I added some texture with background stamps.

I wasn't really happy with the results, since 'messy' is not my thing....
I applied another layer of paint. This time with a brush! I also stamped with some bubblewrap and used sequinwaste as a stencil. I painted her hair too.

Better, but still...not completely satisfied....

More layers of paint followed, a lot of frowning (what should I do???), I worked on the eyes some more...Added some touches of my own, like lettering!

Anyway, this is the final result:

I love the painting but I'm a little bit dissappointed that it doesn't really look like my daughter any longer. When I drew her portrait in graphite (sorry, no picture..) I loved it for a 100%, but after lots of layers of paint now, I lost some of the important details in her face.

Anyway, art journaling and mixed media is all about experimenting. Trying new styles, new tools, new techniques...I'm very happy that I finished this big piece of art instead of throwing it in a corner because I didn't like it. I'm proud of myself that I went on and kept on adding layers untill I was finished. And I learned a lot: I learned that I love to work on a big canvas, but also that I love to work in detail instead of 'messy spots of paint'. When I worked with these new colors of paint, I noticed that they blend very nicely into more beautiful rainbow colors. I love the collage underneath all the paint but I also learned that I have to use less paint next time...because the collage is nearly visible now...

In case you are wondering where the painting will end up now it is finished: my husband loves it very much and wants to hang it in his office. My first 'out of the house' art is a fact now!

TFL!

Sandra