Hiding In Cyber Space

I have had several requests for information on how I created my latest self portrait.  So, here goes.

I had this painting.  

It had been crying for embellishment of some kind.

While I am a sympathy crier, I'm also someone who hates to cry.   Go figure.

So, I just had to make it stop.

Autodesk SketchBook to the rescue.

The following are the steps I took to get the finished selfie.

1.  Upload photo of painting.

This was by far the easiest step in the process.  This became layer one.

2.  Upload selfie photo.

This was the hardest step.  First, because taking selfies is something I hate doing.  Second, lining up the two layers so that my eye was just where I wanted it was tricky and took several tries.  Once I was satisfied with placement, I set the selfie layer at about half opacity; just enough to be able to see both layers.  I erased  the parts of the selfie I wanted hidden behind the... curtain?...  waterfall?  I'm leaving that up to the viewer.

Here is layer 2 alone

3.  Draw in details.

I will admit, this step felt like cheating.  I was just tracing, after all.  But after thinking about it   for a second   for a while  too long, I decided this project wasn't about my ability to draw; it was about composition and combining media.

All three layers together.

I have to say, I find "cyber arting" to be quite satisfying. It lets you have your cake and eat it too. I have a finished piece, but my original painting is untouched, ready for another go.

I've titled this Hiding In Cyber Space, but maybe it should be Thinking Of An Encore. 

A Whole Other Country!

This is a lesson in flexibility.  

The willingness to change or compromise.  The ability to be easily modified.

I love the work of Rebecca Vincent. The perspective she achieves with simple bands of color is wonderful.  I don't know what techniques she uses but I thought pouring and swiping could give similar results.  And the February pouring challenge was stripes.  Perfect.

I started with a landscape I had poured a while back, which hadn't turned out great, but had a lovely sky.  I poured vertical lines of paint on the bottom two thirds and then swiped and manipulated with a pallet knife.

To be honest, at this point I was thinking it was kind of ugly.  And it didn't look anything like what I was going for.  But, I let it dry and then went upstairs for a second opinion.  No, I don't mean I prayed about it.  😇  I showed it to my sister who said it made her think of Na Pali in Hawaii.

So I googled it.

Well, would you look at that!

Okay, time for that flexibility I was talking about.  

Instead of going to farm country, we're going to a tropical island.

Add a few waterfalls.

And sand and water.

And we're in a whole other country!