I promised i wouldn't post about this piece again until it was finished, even though there was much to update on in the meantime. So, here we are.
Finally, what was supposed to be an exercise in abstraction, to take a break from another art project, is completed. This turned out to be an artwork all in it's own right. I usually tend to leave art pieces incomplete and unfinished to go work on something else. I am proud that i saw this one to the end and the process did take many turns that were unexpected. I guess that's what happens when you don't have a plan or vision for the final outcome.
In this post, to wrap things up, i will be sharing many of the shots i took throughout the process to give you a feel for the complete venture taken to get to this final result.
This artwork was originally drafted in pencil and then topped with archival micron pen inking. The pink accents were done in a standard highlighter and then internally lined with red and blue ink. The white background was colored with a black fine tip Sharpie one line at a time.
Next, the blue was added on for a flesh tone. Three different blues were layered and blended in multiple stages. I love the sheen of the wax-based PrismaColors. Part of me wanted to stop here but i am glad that i didn't listen to that temptation.
Upon finishing the blue layers i then added metallic golds and copper in some areas blending them a little to get a warmer gold tone. The metallic sheens only get more shiny and metallic from this point. I also outlined and retraced some of the striations with a metallic silver gel pen.
Metallic Gold gel pen was used for outlining and striping areas of contour within the figure of the female form. Since the gold gel had some issues setting atop the wax color, the gold was overlayed in multiple coats throughout the process at different intervals.
The background striations were originally done in white charcoal pencil. Before laying down the white charcoal i went over the black Sharpie once more, line by overlapping line, for good measure to have the most solid black background possible.
Because of the white charcoal dust and the diminishing richness in value and tone, i went over the charcoal with a white wax-based PrismaColor. Much of this entire artwork was troubleshooting trial and error. Needless to say, the white wax had a difficult time layering atop the charcoal.
The next stage was to color behind the white stripes. These background colors were done in PrismaColor and consisted of an alternating pattern of the top blue used on the skin, then a metallic blue, and after that a metallic purple.
After laying down the background i backtracked and added the first layer of black gel pen outlining to the gold stripes and other assorted areas. I also experimented with taking some progress photos in natural lighting to warm it up a bit and to try and capture the metallic sheens.
This made me test out a few shots with the sunlight behind the paper and permeating the artwork where it wasn't too opaque for the light to get through. I have to say it gave a translucent effect and almost made it glow!
Even the backside of the art looked cool in my opinion. Sometimes, the back can be as valuable artistically as the front.
At this stage in the art process is when i got to have my fun detailing. I suffered a painstaking process to make stripes in each background color layer with black ink. I also outlined the white stripes of the background. Then i went over the gold get again top to bottom.
Then i outlined them all over in black gel pen once again. I then split the repeating color patterned stripes with a silver gel pen to create some contrast. The area of the hip was also finally filled in with purple metallic gel, gold and silver gel, and then outlined with black gel.
Because my black gel pen was getting coated in wax color and restricting a consistent flow of ink... i ended up having to wipe my pen tip ever so often. This led to a scratch piece of paper that, to me, is an artwork of it's own. The limitations of how long i could go before having to clean the tip would have driven most people mad. I, however, embraced the challenge of patience and meticulous accuracy.
The white, even with the added layer of white wax over white charcoal, was lackluster. So, i went ahead and recoated with another coat and layer but with metallic silver PrismaColor this time.
At this late stage in the creation of Expectant: Agog, i decided to go over the gold and copper for one last solidifying layer. I do think it made a difference in enriching the tonality by further blending and filling the opacity of the metallic values.
After all the final touches and details were added along with any final layers of color, the last thing to do was take some photographs. I tried my best to get multiple angles and use natural lighting to get the sheen and metallics to translate as best as possible. The final result was scanned in high resolution and therefore had no luster to it whatsoever.
I have always been reluctant to share my artwork online. It would be easy for anyone to just copy and paste from my artworks from Google images. Now that we have blockchain NFT options, i am much less reluctant to share due to proof of art!
I have been waiting most of my digital life for secure options to present themselves online to share and present my art. I have always been against watermarking my art. Personally, i don't even like to corrupt my artwork with a signature. With the option to mint art on the blockchain, proving is provenance and authenticity as well as it's scarcity the future is here. The conditions and moment that i have been waiting for has finally arrived.
With HIVE, this process to mint, buy, sell, and collect art couldn't be easier. A couple of other blockchains have the capability to offer NFT artwork... but the fees can make the process less affordable than is desirable. The whole point of this is to get rid of the middle man.
On HIVE, the cost of doing business is optimized and streamlined. NFT ShowRoom is the HIVE based gallery of artists, collectors, and artworks on the market. I highly recommend giving it a look and getting involved. This is a new and burgeoning market in the crypto and blockchain space. I have two artworks up for sale now which you can see here!
Expectant: Agog was/is an expression of the female form and the beauty of life therein. This artwork is a celebration of life and love from the inside out. Translating with art the beauty of life and it's interplay with light in this piece was a satisfying challenge.
“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”
– Vincent Van Gogh
I only minted 3 editions of Expectant: Agog... and one has already sold. These are exciting times to be an artist and content creator. Thanks for taking the time to read and/or scroll through this post. I appreciate your time and consideration.
