Creative Projects
Velma Mae’s 78th Birthday Celebration Powerpoint
For my mother’s 78th birthday, one of my sister’s thought it would be a great idea to have a surprise party. She chose an off year to throw mom off the scent. My one and only role, other than showing up was to create a powerpoint. Of course there was a technology fail and I … Continue reading
Sexiest Dictionary: Latest Round
Although I like the blending and contouring in “Contentious,” this guy’s chest remains undefined because the model in the picture was wearing a shirt. I have to develop a technique for painting an attractive man’s chest. I realized after the fact that his head was too small. In the picture I used, the guy wore … Continue reading
Sexiest Dictionary: Contouring & Shading
This week’s painting challenge was to add contouring and shading, so I could possibly cure the facial paralysis my subjects had. I still used non-watercolor journal paper, which made blending rough and it wrinkled. Plus, I still hadn’t bought the watercolor crayon colors I needed: black, red, white, and brown.This was my first attempt at … Continue reading
Sexiest Dictionary Paintings: A New Approach
In the latest round of practicing my illustrating technique for the sexiest dictionary, I disassembled my home office. Totally worth the sacrifice. I had no desire to sit at my work desk on the weekend. Instead, I relocated my work computer and monitor to the living room, so I could paint while the TV entertained … Continue reading
Sexiest Dictionary Rough Draft Paintings
Despite the fact that computer paper isn’t the best for watercolor paintings, all practice is good practice at this stage in the project. Here’s my workaround to not knowing how to draw. I used painter’s tape to place my paper onto the laptop screen. Then I brightened the screen, turned off all other lights, then … Continue reading
Watercolor Crayons
After researching about which medium I wanted to use for my latest illustration project, I finally bought the biggest set of watercolor crayons the art store offered. Making the financial investment came in a roundabout way. I’d bought a plane ticket to go back east to attend an event, which was a financial sacrifice, but … Continue reading
The Ellen B Show: Poetry featuring the Austin Writer Roulette
The Making of Ms. Sandman
Anxious to put my newly acquired special FX makeup skills to the test, I gathered all of my crafting supplies together to transform myself into Ms. Sandman for an upcoming performance at the Austin Writers Roulette. The first thing I had to do was glue down my eyebrows. In class, I’d used a solid glue … Continue reading
Self Portraits
I’ve never liked drawing. Too great of a learning curve between the effort and the desired result. On several separate occasions, I’ve picked up a pad and paper to draw only to lose steam and quietly put all my drawing materials away. Yet, I keep returning to it since my creativity bends toward visual art as … Continue reading
Special FX Makeup: Scars
As soon as I walked into the classroom, I had flashbacks of teaching HS science. On one table lie mostly edible foodstuffs I had at home: Karo syrup, food coloring, cornstarch, and vaseline. Nestled in between the groceries were various makeup products along with toilet paper, cotton balls and paper towels. Welcome to Special Effects … Continue reading