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-Krislyn
I’ve had this painting in my minds eye for a while. It’s a large size oil and it contains subjects and techniques I am not completely familiar with. Because of this the painting has sat there in my mind and grown instead of fading away. It now wants to be a series. But I don’t have the skills yet. I guess it’s time to start researching, sketching and practicing! This is going to be a journey.
…And it started at Pinterest. My favorite of the various social media sites. Mostly because it’s made up of pictures and I love pictures! The painting series I envision has skeletal bits, portraits, birds and landscapes. So these are the things I looked for.
My next step was to paint! Only one way to learn a painting technique and that’s to do it … and do it… and do it again until it works.
Here are some of my sketches:
I’ve also been creating little stand alone paintings but using the themes I have in mind for the larger oil paintings. While I paint I have many thoughts passing through my brain. On my mind lately are people who are in my life. The kinds of people who are here and the kinds I want to be with me. Sometimes I just feel like I’m being slowly drained and these types of people always seem so nice at first. I feel like they are little birds picking me to the bone. I’m also concentrating a lot on the technical difficulty in the subjects I’ve chosen. The skull and skeleton is complex but I’m not looking for exact reproduction. Decisions have to be made on what to highlight and what to leave out.
Here are some of the small scale stand alone paintings. The two bottom ones are representations of the heart and root chakras. Stay posted for all of the chakra’s represented in drawings.
I’m really happy with how the bird and skull painting came out. I call it “Looking for Leftovers” and it as the exact ambiance I’m going for. It really feels like a win!
Interested in learning more about my process and seeing what happens with Picked to the Bone? Join my newsletter by clicking here: http://eepurl.com/bgOO1X
You can also see my Etsy page here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Krislyndillard
So I’ve done in progress posts before, imperfectly and without much to say about what I was doing. Today I decided I would do better. I would take photos along the way at specific times and I stopped along the way to journal out my thoughts.
This small painting is a study for a larger painting and possible series I am going to call picked to the bone. I don’t want to give away too much. Mostly because even I don’t really know whats going to fully happen with this project. However, many studies are going to need to happen to get me where I think I want to be. Some will be birds, small animals, landscapes of trees, ponds and hills and most challenging for me, the human skeleton.
This is a skull. The last time I rendered a human skull was about 15 years ago in my first year of art school. So, I guess its been a while.
Here is the beginning! A promising blank sheet of Strathmore 140lb pound watercolor paper that i have torn in half. The light coming from the window is perfect for painting today and my coffee is freshly brewed and inviting!
I’m just getting started here and already finding all the bumps, divets, cracks and variations of the skull challenging.
At this point I started to really notice the age of the skull in the photo I was working from. This lead me to think about the person who this skull belonged too. How long ago did they live? Was it a very long time ago? What did they see happen in their lifetime? Or was it not long at all and the process of decomposition just happens faster then anticipated? How did they perish? Gently or violently? And so forth.
At this point I have forgotten all about the skull once being alive. It is now only an object. A very intricate and interesting object but lifeless.
My thoughts having shifted to understanding this complex object are now transforming it into a painting. I’m thinking about colors, textures and volume and aesthetics. I think I will add a red splat.
Here it is completed. All in all I’m pretty happy with the result. I set out to learn more about the skull and I succeeded at that. That being said there are a few things I’d like to be different so I will probably make at least one more.
Interested in acquiring some of my art as originals or prints? Check out my Etsy shop or drop me an email.
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Last time I was setting up to work on a drawing I set up the web cam too. I recorded two drawing sessions of about 2 hours each and then compressed the whole thing down to about 9 minutes. You can watch how one of my drawings comes together, getting all the fun parts of watching the art evolve without the boring part of sitting around for hours.
This drawing is available for purchase as an original or a print! Check it out here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Krislyndillard/search?search_query=drawing&order=date_desc&view_type=gallery&ref=shop_search
For this video I created the drawing Lady of the Baths. Enjoy.
I’m done! This painting took an estimated 20 hours from start to finish. As a reminder this is a companion painting to Sun. Oil on linen 24 inches by 24 inches. The two will hang together in my yoga studio until time they find a new home. Here they are together as they are intended to be:
And here is the process from beginning to end.
If you are interested in acquiring either the paintings or prints check out my Etsy shop!
A while back I finished the painting Sun. An oil on linen stretched canvas painting. When I made the canvas for this painting I made two identical canvases always intending to create a companion painting to Sun. Sometimes things take a little longer then we anticipate. In this case I had to repairs that badly needed doing to the art studio. The repairs are complete the studio is cleaned and reorganized and now FINALLY I am back in there painting away. It feel like a brand new art space!
This is one of two or three blog entries detailing the process of ‘Moon’ Enjoy!
Here is the blank canvas. 24″ x 24″ gessoed and ready to go!
The first lean layer laid down giving me a general idea of my layout.
Here is how far I got last night after a solid 5 hours painting!
A quick snapshot of the different media I use during the painting process. Not all are always used in each painting.
Stay tuned for part 2 soon!
As always you can check out my other art either by clicking the above paintings tab or clicking here to see my etsy page!
I’ve got a lot planned for these next few weeks. I am diligently working on my artist statement, my artist bio and reworking my artist CV. I also have a very complicated painting planned where I will need to do some research. Think eagles, ribs and skulls. In the meantime check out this interview by the Work Your Art Blog. They asked me a number of questions regarding being an artist and marketing for artists.
Enjoy!
http://www.workyourart.com/interview/a-conversation-with-krislyn-from-oregon-usa/
and of course you can always check out my current selection of art and prints on my Etsy site here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Krislyndillard 
My exploration of watercolor painting continues with foxes. In addition to exploring paint I’m also really enjoying making art about animals. The fox really draws me in personally. They are small but fierce. Foxes are small,wild hunters that can survive in some pretty harsh conditions. They also seem like they might be the cuddliest of creatures. Enjoy the results of my explorations:
You can find these as prints in my Etsy store here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Krislyndillard
©Krislyn Dillard 2015
Inspiration comes to me in many forms but once it strikes I sometimes use Pinterest as a tool to keep it alive. I’m not a huge social media buff mostly because I lose patience. However, I have found Pinterest to be a little more my cup of tea. Lately, I have been thinking about bones, foxes, birds, octopuses and branches. You can see this reflected in my Art Inspiration Board. Still nothing beats going out and studying what inspires you in person too. I’m planning a trip to the zoo and museums.
Check out my board here:
For about two years now I have been enjoying the use of my Steadler pens on a small square Bee paper drawing pad. They are small enough to take with me everywhere! My studio literally becomes where ever I am. I have used this flexibility of space as a means to bring more flexibility into my drawings. Where once my drawing skills were basically a means to an end to work out ideas for paintings they have now evolved coming into their own.
Here are some images of the drawings and some of me in various places creating the drawings. What a ride and its not over yet!
All of these drawings and more to come are in my etsy store Krislyninobscura. I have originals and prints. Check it out!
Krislyn Dillard 