Welcome to another Sunday Sessions!
In keeping with my #dtubedaily vlogs I decided to film the process that goes into creating a painting. This piece was inspired by my trip to the beach. It was a beautiful and sunny day and I was fortunate enough to have the place to myself. I felt gratitude when I looked out past the shore and sensed the wind against my face. Nature is a powerful grounding force and some of the simplest moments bring me some of the greatest joys.
Usually when I sketch I use references to help me stay on track with proportions and sizing. I had taken a photo of the beach and a picture of myself with my head positioned where I needed it. But when I began sketching I hadn't realised the photos were on my computer whilst it was still updating so I wasn't able to use them for the sketching phase. Instead I used my conceptualising sketch as a reference however it wasn't incredibly accurate and I struggled getting the details right for the angle of the head and eyes.
The background didn't require to much thought from me this time as I went with the basic colour scheme from my reference photo and the colours I could recall from that day.
In relation to references again, I usually use them to determine where the dark and light tones should fall on skin but as I've been practicing more with watercolours and my progression forward with faces I didn't need to rely much on it this time around. Progress!
I really enjoy landscape paintings and I have practiced a few of them in the past but I felt that I could never quite get the technique down especially with things like trees. During this process I really surprised myself with how well the water came out. I will admit sometimes I can lose patience and want to move a little fast through some areas and I felt that way in particular with the trees. Next time I would've mixed a greater range of greens and slowed down when it came to layering the colours. Overall I am really happy with how the trees turned out.
Lastly, the hair and face are tied together with some black liner and the pencil marks erased. This piece from sketch to completion took me three hours and I am really impressed with how quickly I was able to complete it. When you learn to quieten the internal criticism you open up space to flow.
I'd love to hear your thoughts so please feel free to leave any comments or feedback.
Biggest love to you!
Sarah. 🌬
Music: Russ Liquid - Tuesday Night
