I hope you are well!  

Summer is here!!  It's time for the pool, the beach, and time with the fam.  :)   It's a great time of year for me!

Creatively speaking, I've been working on some fabulous projects for Chameleon Pens.  It's both fun and challenging.  This is my first design team, and I've been feeling my way along, with LOTS of love and support from my lead, Cathy Andronica!

Today, I thought I would share with you a bit about my journey to become a designer, and also give you a quick catch-up on what's been happening on my YouTube Channel.

I'm just dropping in for a quick note today!  

I hope your new year is going well so far :)  It's still a very busy season, so don't forget to take a few minutes to play, refresh, and renew.

I'm excited to share with you that Jane Davenport has a new line of mixed media products!  

AND....

I have some of them!

So, without further ado, I hope you'll enjoy this speed painting of some creative playtime in my art journal.

One of my friends laughed at me because the first thing I did was change the desktop background to something artsy.  He said, It says a lot about a person when they have to do that before they can work, especially when they're not even going to see it!  

You are definitely an artist! 

We laughed. :)

If you follow me at all, you will see that I tend to hop from "fun and fancy free" to more "serious" art.  (It's all serious, but some is just, Wow, this is fun!  While others touch on values like freedom, hope, and joy, life, transformation, etc.  This was on the more serious side.)

I recently saw the movie Mad Max: Fury Road.  Loved it!!  I couldn't wait to see what creative invention was coming next :)

I was also very inspired Charlize Theron as Furiosa.  

There was a point at the beginning of the movie when I saw something in her eyes.
I saw a meeting, a joining, a place where Hope meets Desperation.  
Her eyes were on fire!

It inspired me so much, that I wished I were a portrait artist!

So, naturally, I decided to try.  I get in trouble with that so much!...that's how I ended up working as a drafter....anyway...

I have painted a couple of portraits before, and I did a self-portrait mosaic quite a while ago.  So this is not my first attempt.  Read on if you are interested in my artistic process.

I decided to make a "study".  That's artist speak for practice.  I set my intention to think of it only as practice.  That means it doesn't have to be perfect, or "professional".  This way, I feel I have complete creative freedom to work on it, make mistakes, or even make a 'bad' painting.

I started by prepping a canvas with gesso, then making an abstract background that I was happy with.

As you may know, I am trying to learn to draw, and I have a long way to go. 

I believe in using the tools you have, so I didn't let that stop me.  I printed out this photo, and traced...yes, traced!...Furiosa's features, and outlined highlights and shadows.  Kinda scary looking!

Next, I chose colors.  I wanted to create an earthy feel, sort of grungy and apocolyptic, like the movie.  So I chose Prussian Blue, Naples Yellow, and Burnt Umber.

As I worked through the painting, focussing on lights and darks, I gravitated toward a blue toned color palette.  The painting became almost monochromatic.

As I paint, I take time to step back and look at the piece.  I take process shots along the way.  Looking at it from different angles and distances, or through a camera helps me see what needs to be changed.  Here, I can see that the right corner distracts from the focal point.

I saved the eyes for last.  For me, they are the most important, and most difficult part of the painting.  I wanted them to really stand out.  

The whole goal of this painting was to capture the intersection where Hope meets Desperation in her eyes.

Finished!  I don't know yet if I captured that feeling.  What do you think? 

With Much Love and Gratitude,

Jessica

P. S.  If you enjoyed this post, please like, share, or even join my mailing list!  Thanks!

P. S. S.  Bonus Pic!!  

Embrace the beauty of the Cross today.

You can find me in the Pavillion, across from the stage in booth 2206.  And mention my blog to get your free art print!