Charcoal is FUN! Two Portrait Drawings in Charcoal

Self Portrait, charcoal on paper

When I first started my art journey, I made four charcoal drawings (you can see them here), and these were more than a year ago.  I put the charcoal sticks aside ever since I picked up paint and brushes.

However, thanks to Pauline Agnew's wonderful e-course, I'm falling in love with this medium this time round.  You can be very expressive in your marks with it.

My Hero and King, Xiang Yu, charcoal on paper

I even drew a man.  And who better to draw than my all-time hero and king, Xiang Yu?  Watch this 4-minute music video on him on Youtube, sang and played by Peter Ho.

Have I captured something about him in my drawing?

My Sanity, a self portrait oil painting

My Sanity, a self portrait, 30x40cm, oil on linen, by Lucy Chen

I think this is my best painting so far.  Although I spent less than 5 hours on it, although the colour of the face is not at all normal, I have captured my emotion and my feeling in this portrait.

It is a very true and naked record of this particular moment of my life.  And for this, I have found painting self portraits to be a wonderful journaling tool.  Yes, a new and important discovery!

Also this painting is inspired by one of Vincent Van Gogh's self portraits.  Can you tell which one?  Click here to find out.

Favourite Art(ist) Friday - Fleur by Cassandra Barney, and a Matisse

Fleur, by Cassandra Barney
(courtesy of Greenwich Worshop)

Strong intense colours are what attracting me these days.

No wonder I can't take my eyes off this painting by Cassandra Barney the moment I saw it.  Maybe I want to be this woman, living a passionate life, and still keeping herself centred and calm and perhaps a little indifferent to the noises around her life.

Geraniums, by Henri Matisse

Fleur reminds me of another painting titled Geraniums by Henri Matisse.  Don't they share a very similar palette?  Orange, red, blue and green.  Pure and intense colours.

I am super inspired to use this palette in my own painting!

Natalie and Her White Bird, a painting inspired by Matisse

Natalie and Her White Bird, 40x40cm, oil on linen, by Lucy Chen

Natalie and Her White Bird is painted with a palette based on Henri Matisse's The White Feather.  

I love the strong contrast of the red background against the woman's fair skin and the softness of her dress and hat.  In my painting though, I felt strongly that I should replace the feather hat with a very alive flying bird.  And what better white bird is there than a sulphur-crested cockatoo?  I used to see many of them every morning when I catch the bus to go to work.

Matisse is such a master of colour.  Perhaps I will take inspiration from some of his other portrait paintings and make my versions again.

Take a look at his paintings here.  Do you like Matisse?  Which one do you think I should try next?

Favourite Art(ist) Friday - The White Feather by Matisse

The White Feather, 1919, by Henri Matisse

How is it that I only just discovered Matisse and realised that I love him?

Pauline Agnew introduced me to this master in week one of her e-course and I fell in love with his work right away!  Isn't he amazing?

The above painting titled The White Feather was one of my favourites.  I love the use of strong and bright red background against the woman's fair skin and her cloth.  There is a softness about her and the feathers on her hat.

I love this painting so much that I am inspired to paint a portrait of my own using a similar palette.  I will share soon.

Here is a great documentary on Matisse.  Thank you, Pauline, for including this beautiful documentary in your e-course.

Self Portrait with Head Tilted Down

Self Portrait with Head Tilted Down, 30x40cm, oil on linen, by Lucy Chen

Looking at myself in the mirror and painting self portraits is quite an addicting exercise.  After making one with my head tilted up/back, I decided to paint my head tilted the other way and try a different palette.

I think forward/down tilted head is harder to paint than the backward/up tilted head.  It is harder to get it anatomically correct and the pose is not as pleasing.

Have you seen any good portrait paintings with a head tilted this way?  Please leave a link for me.  I would love to study them.  Thank you.

My First Self Portrait Oil Painting

A Black Me, self portrait, 30x40cm, oil on linen, by Lucy Chen

I painted this self portrait by looking at myself in the mirror.  After completing this painting, I asked my 3-year-old if he knew who this was.  He replied, "a black mama."  Thus come the title of this self portrait.

Unlike my last oil painting, I think this one looks more fresh and has better control of the edges.

The photo above does not show it, but I have used colours like ultramarine blue and burnt sienna in my black mix to create warm and cool blacks for the hair, brows and lashes.  However, the result is still not as picturesque.  I will have to do some research and study on how to paint black.

Many people has asked me where I learnt to paint oil after seeing my progress in the last post.  If you're interested, check out the Web Art Academy (this is an affiliate link, which means I'll learn a small fee if you sign up through this link - very much appreciated :).  I find the instructor Natalie Richie to be an incredibly talented artist, and he videos are high quality and well explained.  You also get so many art books in digital format as a bonus.  Great value!

The Difference 17 Months Made On My Art

Head of a Woman, 30x40cm (approximate;y 12"x16"), oil on linen
by Lucy Chen (this is my first oil)

This is my first oil painting.

I can see many faults with it.  The most serious and obvious lies not in technique (such as the handling of edges), but that I was so concerned with the "how" to use oil that I wasn't free to express my feelings with my brush and paint.

Left: my first ever painting, acrylic, Nov 2011
Right: many paintings later and first try with oil, Mar 2013

Although I have a long long way ahead before becoming a good painter, I am proud of my progress over the last 17 months.  And I know I will be a good painter and a good artist one day, because art making is my passion and my meaning.

Are you also passionate about painting or making pictures?  Let us work hard to be the best we can be!

(By the way, I'm learning oil painting at the Web Art Academy (disclaimer: affiliate link), and I can't recommend it enough.)

Favourite Art(ist) Friday - Vincent Van Gogh

self portrait drawings, c. Autumn 1886, Paris, by Vincent Van Gogh

Who doesn't love Vincent Van Gogh?

I've already written three posts on his paintings (his chairs, The Starry Night and Bedroom in Arles), but   how he amazes me!  I just can't stop looking at his paintings and reading about him, too.

Here're some of my favourite quotes from Letters of Vincent Van Gogh:

"And the reason why I have few fears for the future is because I know how and why I have acted in the past. And because I know that there are others who feel the way I do."

"I long most of all to learn how to produce those very inaccuracies, those very aberrations, reworkings, transformations of reality, as may turn it into, well - a lie if you like - but truer than the literal truth."

"Well, the men of the day are men of just one day, but whoever has enough faith and love to take pleasure in precisely what others find dull, namely the study of anatomy, perspective & proportion, will stay the course and mature slowly but surely."

"I entirely agree with what you say about those times now and then when one feels dull-witted in the face of nature or when nature seems to have stopped speaking to us. I get the same feeling quite often and it sometimes helps if I then tackle something quite different. When I feel jaded with landscapes or light effects, I tackle figures, and vice versa. Sometimes there is nothing for it but to wait for it to pass, but many a time I manage to do away with the numbness by changing my subject-matter."

Click here to read more quotes I highlighted in the book.

New Art Journal Pages for 2013

I take my paintings seriously, so art journaling is great for letting loose to just play and make something quick and easy.  With Life Book 2013 in full spin, I'm happy to have finished a few pages following the lessons.

The background of the above page was created by spraying ink, and the girl drawn with crayon, acrylic and pencil.  I liked the effects created with spray ink.

My faery art mother is one to turn to whenever I feel discouraged and not good enough.  She'll always be there to offer encouragement and support.

Patience is the word I chose for 2013.  I used this word to create a page for Monica Zuniga's "True Intention" lesson.

Life is a journey.  For my journey in 2013, I have certain goals to achieve, and many blessings to count on.

I also created an art-specific journey page for Kelly Hoenig's lesson.  It is a game board.  The art faery, with two paint brushes in her hand, is setting off to achieve her goals.  And what are they?

They are: wisdom, freedom, patience and growth.

Each goal is represented by an animal.  Owl for wisdom, eagle for freedom, lion for patience and rabbit for growth.

Are you doing Life Book 2013, too?  I'd love to see your pages.  If not, it's not too late to sign up for it yet.