Thank you for your report!
We have received your report and it is currently under investigation by a forum moderator.
Bits and pieces.
Welcome to the forum.
Here you can discuss all things art with like-minded artists, join regular painting challenges, ask questions, buy and sell art materials and much more.
Make sure you sign in or register to join the discussions.
Hang on Studio Wall
This is a Studio member-only feature!
Join our Studio membership and save your favourite Painters Online content, from gallery artwork to step-by-step guides, to your own online mood boards. Create your go-to place for inspiration and learning. Plus, members can also enjoy a range of exciting features including monthly art videos and a digital magazine library.
If you are already a Studio member, simply login to your account.
Not a Studio member? Why not try our free 30-day trial - no commitment, no credit card required
Message
Posted
Just a little general natter. I have started a series of 6 x 4 pics for a frame I have on the wall. At present it's occupied by fictional detectives. I thought it's time for a change, and decided to do fictional villains. (I need eight pics). I'm already having second thoughts. I started with Count Olaf the chief nasty from 'Lemony Snickit's Series of Unfortunately Events.' (Jim Carey played him brilliantly in the film version...I'm not a fan of his, but have to give him his dues for this role. However, the last thing I want to do is copy a pic of Jim Carey...I'd rather make something up.)
Here are my first two attempts....
Still not there...but fun trying. But do I want a bunch of psychos hanging on my wall? Even in cartoon form, maybe not. I'll have to think of something else for the frame, but I'll do a few more villains for the fun of it. I'll pause on Count Olaf and have a shot at Annie Wilkes. You'll probably know of her, even if the name doesn't ring a bell. She's in Stephen Kings book MISERY, there's a film too. An author crashes his car in a snow storm. He's found by Annie Wilkes, an ex-nurse, who cares for him in her cottage. Turns out she's his number one fan, until the author tells her he's going to kill off her favorite character. Not something that's wise to admit to a deranged person like Annie. (There will be blood).
On another subject...I expect you look at art online, and occasionally come across pictures you like but, frustratingly, no information is supplied on the artist. Here's what I mean...an example of a black and white plate design I really liked...
Then these plates turn up on Antiques Roadshow and I get a name...Piero Fornasetti. An italian artist who saw photos of a deceased opera singer, and was so inspired by her he went on to design 350 plates of her. Here's a few...
The opera singer was said the be the most beautiful woman in the world, here's a pic of her...
Lina Cavalieri...never heard of her...but a beauty.
Most be great to get that sort of inspiration. Not sure I'd like to paint the same subject 350 times.
I mention it because it interested me, and now I've written this, it has me thinking 'will I need 350 goes to get Count Olaf right?'
Still not there...but fun trying. But do I want a bunch of psychos hanging on my wall? Even in cartoon form, maybe not. I'll have to think of something else for the frame, but I'll do a few more villains for the fun of it. I'll pause on Count Olaf and have a shot at Annie Wilkes. You'll probably know of her, even if the name doesn't ring a bell. She's in Stephen Kings book MISERY, there's a film too. An author crashes his car in a snow storm. He's found by Annie Wilkes, an ex-nurse, who cares for him in her cottage. Turns out she's his number one fan, until the author tells her he's going to kill off her favorite character. Not something that's wise to admit to a deranged person like Annie. (There will be blood).
On another subject...I expect you look at art online, and occasionally come across pictures you like but, frustratingly, no information is supplied on the artist. Here's what I mean...an example of a black and white plate design I really liked...
Then these plates turn up on Antiques Roadshow and I get a name...Piero Fornasetti. An italian artist who saw photos of a deceased opera singer, and was so inspired by her he went on to design 350 plates of her. Here's a few...
The opera singer was said the be the most beautiful woman in the world, here's a pic of her...
Lina Cavalieri...never heard of her...but a beauty.
Most be great to get that sort of inspiration. Not sure I'd like to paint the same subject 350 times.
I mention it because it interested me, and now I've written this, it has me thinking 'will I need 350 goes to get Count Olaf right?'
Posted
Lewis, I watched that episode of the Antique road show, I must say the plates did nothing for me, but he seemed happy with his collection.
As for your dilemma, it seems a bit of a forth road bridge effort, by the time you have finished eight, ( if all 8 were done at my pace) it might be time to start all over agin, because you see something in the earlier ones you don’t like, and off you go again down another path.
Best of luck.
Posted
The variations on a single theme is what appealed to me CJ, and the monochrome. It's odd that B & W drawings appeal so much, it's not representative of real life, yet suggests it in a most powerful way.
Thanks for doing the sums for me Linda. I hadn't thought of it like that, sounds like nothing at all put that way. And I'd get 15 days off! Now all I have to think about is what I'm going to do with those 15 days.
Posted
I think many people like B&W subjects, more so maybe, because it is not representative of real life. It gives room for imaginary thoughts,
the absence of what can be complex colouration which can give way to a fictional element and in doing so, I suppose can take us away from the complexities of life.
Who knows!
Edited
by C Jones
Posted
One of my congenital failings has surfaced again. I like to draw people. I've no idea how many eyes I've drawn over the years...many years...and I still get them wrong. Went wrong with this...
...you're seeing it after I've done all I can to sort the eyes out. There's only so much you can do with the watercolour media I use. Not so bad now but still slightly out. Having fiddled with it, I know it's wrong and it screams at me.
I was going to do a bit more on it, the cat is supposed to be semi transparent, but it isn't yet.
There's one far out option...I could give her an eye-patch...
...put something vaguely piraty in the background and I might get away with it.
Not serious of course, just messed with it for a few minutes in photoshop to add an eye-patch.
This ship has sailed, it's time to give up and move on to the next thing.
...you're seeing it after I've done all I can to sort the eyes out. There's only so much you can do with the watercolour media I use. Not so bad now but still slightly out. Having fiddled with it, I know it's wrong and it screams at me.
I was going to do a bit more on it, the cat is supposed to be semi transparent, but it isn't yet.
There's one far out option...I could give her an eye-patch...
...put something vaguely piraty in the background and I might get away with it.
Not serious of course, just messed with it for a few minutes in photoshop to add an eye-patch.
This ship has sailed, it's time to give up and move on to the next thing. 
Posted
The eyes of your Alice are curiously unsettling ...... perhaps it's the cat in the background: he was a Cheshire cat in the book, I think; you've made him look a bit evil....... while she looks rather tired. I like your Count, though: the more villainous and toothy of the two particularly. Interesting dress Lina Cavalieri is almost wearing - a sneezing fit could have had June busting out all over.
I'm drawn to black and white images, too - used to do a lot of pen and ink work, most of which I've lost over many years. But the splendid Sylvia Evans has sent me a Rotring Artpen surplus to her requirements! So as soon as I've got a mound of Election Expenses Returns out of the way - fun will follow!
Posted
I had an artpen, it got lost or broken along the way. A dip-pen was the most responsive, but I managed to make too much mess with them. Blots mostly. I've seen blots in other people's pen work which seem to add to the proceedings, as though artfully placed. Mine were always in the wrong place...so it's fine liner drawing pens for me.
The pen drawings I admire most are done with just solid black, no hatching or stippling etc. Tricky, requiring varying weight of the line to suggest shape. I've only managed one drawing like this because I can't resist fiddling. The thought is 'it'll be better if I add some shade hatching there'....once you start you have to carry on.
