Paintings of St. Maarten and Anguilla

Hi everyone and happy New Year! Sorry to have been absent so long. In October I was unexpectedly recruited into a part-time job (nonprofit development, my old stomping grounds) and have been careful to preserve my writing time when I’m not at work.

In the meantime, I’ve still been cooking and crafting, though a little more slowly perhaps.

I recently had the opportunity to go on a family trip to St. Maarten and Anguilla and wanted to share some iPad paintings I created while there. I had more time to paint on St. Maarten, so most of them (except the first one) are from there.

Hope you enjoy!

 

iPad Art to Digital Prints

I’m not sure what took me so long, but I finally bit the bullet and got some of my iPad art professionally printed with archival inks and artist-grade paper.

I used Picture Salon, and I am so thrilled with the results. The colors are so vibrant, so true to the originals. I used bright white paper and printed them as big as Picture Salon recommended (9 x 12 with a border). For more about the process of making these digital paintings, click here. For posts about my artwork in general, click here.

In other news, had a couple of recent critiques on a work in progress (novel) that really gave me a shot in the arm. So great to get some helpful feedback. This writing thing can be too solitary at times.

Currently reading Erik Larson’s Thunderstruck. What about you?

Hot Air Balloons Painting

This was a commissioned piece—-I thought you might like to see its evolution. The couple wanted a painting for their baby’s nursery that would grow with their daughter—i.e. not be too babyish when she grows older. They were totally open to me choosing the subject matter, but I wanted a little direction. The room is varying shades of aqua, so I started with color and asked them for photos of blue things from their recent trip to Turkey.

When I saw photos of the balloons in the blue sky over the mountains, I was hooked. The balloons were whimsical and colorful enough to be child-friendly and at the same time specific to a particular moment. I’m hoping the painting will remind them of a special day on their trip.

This is another of those projects that has been coming together for several months.

Here is the initial underpainting:

Next layers:

 

And the final layer, which is the first image in this post.

In other news, really enjoyed Lake Bell’s film In a World, now available on Netflix. And currently reading The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan. Very fun read.

Hand Painted Floral Trunk

I’ve been meaning to share this for ages and keep forgetting. I had the loveliest sense of deja-vu when I laid eyes on this trunk last summer at my friend’s house. At first I thought—cool trunk!—and then I laughed. Years ago I’d painted the flowers on it as a gift to my friend and had forgotten all about it.

I can’t remember why exactly, but while I was painting the flowers, I decided to add decoupage, including stamps from that year. Boy do they seem old now (37 cent lick-’em kind!!), but I like the way they give the piece a date and a context.

If you’re interested in seeing some more of my artwork, click here or here.

Currently reading: Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher. Very funny epistolary novel about the academic life.

Also still plugging away at revisions. Beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

Digital Drawing on Photographs

I have a little more to share about our trip to France, but for now, here’s a little artwork.

On a recent flight from Boston to Charlotte, I took a break from reading and started fiddling around with an app (Adobe Ideas), drawing on some of my photographs. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen some of these before, both pre and post-drawing.

Fun, eh? Have a favorite?

Just finished watching the BBC adaptation of Dickens’ Bleak House. Really enjoyed it. Currently reading Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth (it’s the memoir upon which the show is based). Now watching Bletchley Circle. I seem to be in a BBC/ British kind of mood.

For more posts about  my artwork and others’, click here.

Merry, Merry!

copyright 1998 Emily Smith Pearce

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Happy New Year!

Thanks for following along with my making, doing, and exploring this year. I hope you’re having a cozy and relaxing time with loved ones now.

Today, my kids are making the nativity set from madebyjoel. It’s a paper print-out that you can color and put together. Fun times.

I made this mixed-media collage as a card about 15 years ago. Thought it was time it saw the light of day again. Hope you enjoy, and I’ll see you in the new year.

Paintings of Lake Winnepesaukee, New Hampshire

I did these while spending a week with the family at Lake Winnepesaukee in July. I used my Sensu brush/ stylist (except on the last one, where I used my fingers—you can totally tell) with the Artrage app on my iPad.

I loved watching the water and sky at different times of day and in different weather. The colors changed so dramatically in a short space of time.

Which one is your favorite?

For more of my iPad artwork, click here, here, and here. Anybody have any experience with making fine prints of your digital work? I’d love to know what worked for you.

Copyright 2013 Emily Smith Pearce

Cape Cod Digital Painting

Here’s my view of Truro, Massachusetts, where we visited old friends. I used the ArtRage app with my Sensu Brush on my iPad. I seem to “paint” mostly when I’m on vacation. Love Cape Cod!

More digital artwork to come. For some of my previous iPad paintings, click here and here.

Introducing Dawn Hanna of Dawning Day Studios

I’m very excited to introduce Dawn Hanna, artist and photographer. I’ve admired her work for years and am so glad she’s pursuing her art full-time these days. She was kind enough to agree to an interview, and also, to offer a giveaway to my readers! *Giveaway now closed.

Dawn was born in Rhode Island but has lived in the south for many years. She’s recently left a 17 year career in social work to launch Dawning Day Studios, her photography, layout, and design business. She is a freelance photographer for Getty Images and Arcangel and has been published in Artful Blogging and Time magazine. Currently, Dawn is working on a soon-to-be-published e-book of artist self-portraits from around the world.

So, Dawn, how did you get started with photography?

I have been an artist my entire life….I think I came out of the womb staring at the colors and shapes around me. I picked up a Brownie Instamatic camera when I was 11 years old. From there, I learned how to develop and print in a darkroom (during prehistoric times…yes I am old!) in high school. In my early adult years, I worked a lot in the darkroom at The Light Factory in Charlotte and showed in juried shows here and there. Then life took its course and I found myself a mom and growing a family. I bought my first digital camera in 2007 and learned Photoshop from a dear friend of mine. Digital expanded my mind into the kind of work that I had always wanted to do and found myself totally immersed in it from that point on. I joined flickr and found daily inspiration from fellow photographers and artists who fed and continue to feed my soul on a daily basis. With the exposure and power of the internet…..I gained recognition for my work from book designers, art directors and stock photography agencies. It has been a steady and amazing growth since then.

What do you do when you get low on inspiration?

I have found that getting in the car and traveling somewhere does the trick for me. Sometimes I think our eyes get tired or they overlook the beauty in everyday that a new perspective can regain.

What do you recommend for someone who’s just getting started in photography?

I would highly encourage you to jump onto the many photo sharing websites such as flickr, instagram, google + or 500px and see what the world is doing with a camera these days. There is infinite inspiration on these websites and people are generous and encouraging to all. When I first joined flickr, I was scared out of my mind to put my work out there, but I will tell you that it has been nothing short of an incredible journey and led to my growth as a photographer and an artist.

What are you working on currently?

Currently, my partner and I are working on a book layout and design for an upcoming publication that is near and dear to both of our hearts. It has been a labor of love and we can’t wait for the book to be published.

Current obsessions?

I would have to say that my current obssession, like many others…is exploring the world of iphoneology. The possibilities are absolutely endless and it is so exciting to be on the beginning curve of an incredible piece of technology and artistic trend as the iPhone and iPads are.

Thanks so much for agreeing to share with us today, Dawn. You can find Dawn around the web at her Facebook page, her etsy shop, and on flickr. And seriously, follow her on Instagram. Wow!

As I mentioned, Dawn has graciously offered to give a print to one lucky reader from anywhere in the world. To enter, go to Dawn’s etsy shop, then comment here on the blog about which print is your favorite.

You have until 12 noon Eastern Standard Time on March 14, 2013 (one week from today), at which time I’ll use the random number generator to choose a winner. *Contest now closed. You won’t be added to a mailing list, but I hope you’ll like Dawn on Facebook and favorite her etsy shop.

Personally, I’m in love with the barbed wire piece. You have to go check it out!

Painting by App, Part II

In my previous post, “Painting by App Part I,” I talked about using Brushes and Sketchbook Pro and showed samples of my work made with these apps.

The next two apps I tried were Procreate and Artrage, this time with a stylus called a Sensu Brush. The Sensu brush was a gift (thanks, in-laws!) and I have to say, drawing on the iPad is a way better experience with it. Finger painting on a device is totally fun and may suit your needs, but if you want more control, definitely get a quality stylus.

The stylus itself isn’t magical, but it’s much more like drawing with a pen, and, in the case of the Sensu, with a brush. The Sensu has a rubberish tip on one side and a brush on the other. As far as I can tell the bristles themselves don’t really seem different from those on a regular watercolor brush, but I haven’t done an iPad comparison. Have you?

The Christmas tree image above was made using Procreate. What I love about Procreate is the ability to change not only colors, tools, and stroke width but also the paint load and tons of variations of brush stroke. Changing the “load” and brush type means you can control how much color you want on your brush and the shape your brush makes, plus the amount of water that’s mixed with your paint. These items are key to making your digital image look  painterly.

The following three images were made using Artrage, which is my favorite art app so far. Here’s why:

1) Artrage not only lets you paint with virtual oils or acrylics, it lets you squirt them out on the screen and mix them with your brush (or other tools). This feature alone makes the pricetag ($6.99) worth it.

2) You can upload a reference photo and pin it in the corner of your screen while you’re painting. So cool.

3) You can zoom in and out of your painting so you can work on detail areas or see the big picture quickly.

4) You can choose from among many paper and canvas options in any color you like.

5) Another favorite feature! You can change the drying time to your paint. This doesn’t sound like much, but it allows you to either mix colors on the canvas or, in the case of oils, pretend several days have passed and it’s “dry” enough to paint on top of your underpainting. Sweet.

6) You can add “water” or “solvent” (depending on your paint type) to thin it down. Like the drying time, this feature allows you to control how your current paint color will interact with the colors you’ve already painted.

7) There’s a wide variety of choices of how your brush carries the paint. I’m personally a fan of the dry brush options.

One wish for Artrage, and it’s a small one, is that you could use the edge of the palette knife for scraping off color (currently I can only figure how to use the flat of the knife for mixing).

The images below were done at Cedar Cliff Lake in North Carolina. The first is an earlier version of the second image. The last is somewhat unfinished but I figured I’d go ahead and share.

All of the apps I tried have their strong points, and in the end, you have to decide what you really want out of an art app. Is it a quick sketching tool for you, or are you interested in creating more intricate pieces? Do you want to approximate watercolors, pen and ink, or oils? You can make beautiful images with all of them, but for more painterly effects, I would go for Procreate or Artrage, and Artrage is definitely the choice for anyone wanting an acrylic or oil paint look.

I’d also like to try Auryn Ink, a watercolor app, but recent reviews of it (regarding compatbility with the new iPad) were pretty poor, so I’m hoping they’ll update soon.

Thanks for hanging with me through this lengthy and fairly technical post. Back to regularish programming soon!

p.s. On an unrelated note, I just heard an interview with Lindi Ortega and was totally mesmerized by her music. Try this tune here. She’s kind of a modern Johnny Cash/ Dolly Parton mashup though maybe more on the rockabilly side than strict country. She’s playing at the Evening Muse tonight in Charlotte. Wish I could go! Let me know if you do.