An Angelfish Painting: The Process through Pictures

Hi Everyone! It's been a while (not since January sigh!) but I'm trying to be a little more constant this time around. I've always wanted to share my painting process for all the art lovers out there. There's nothing like applying brush to paint and paint to canvas to ease the stresses of life. I find it therapeutic and I truly enjoy it. Feel free to let me know your thoughts if you paint as well.

So a while back I posted this picture on my Instagram (I also posted the finished picture there as well):

This was the beginnings of an angel fish. I'd like to show step by step how I got to the end of the painting through a series of pics I took throughout the whole process. I plan to do some other stuff with the background and add other subjects so I'll post the complete composition when its all done. For now here's the second picture step in the process:

I usually use acrylic paints on canvas. I'd like to try other mediums but for now acrylic on canvas was my choice. As you can see here, the fins on the lower half are almost done.

I managed to finish the body here but was still working on the fins underneath. Getting the colors to maintain that translucent orange look was a bit challenging.

Finally finished the fins at the bottom. Next it was time to tackle the tail. The tail on an angelfish is its most alluring most exotic feature. I really wanted to get this right.

Started out a little rough as you can see in the next pic but I kept at it.

With the tail finished, the last part of this gorgeous creature was the top fin.

The finished product, the end result, the goal!

I really liked how this turned out but I'm not finished. Look out for what I do to complete this painting. Hope you enjoy it!

Collaboration with Face-tuh-Face and Artful Trini

Two brilliant, humble girlies sat before me as I prepared myself for an interview with them. Throughout the past few weeks I observed in awe and fascination as real, raw talent flowed from their blogs. Two fellow graphic designers yet students like myself. It was an opportunity I could not pass up and so I asked and they accepted to collaborate with me in a sit down interview.

Shanice Vitals of the "Face-tuh-Face" blog and Allison Padillia-Alexander of "Artful Trini": - two rising stars in the graphic design industry. I asked about their earliest memories in reference to art and they revealed to me how those memories shaped the start of a journey on which they now find themselves. As I listened to their stories, I understood their respective roads travelled and the discovery, excitement, fear and triumph that is inevitably attached since I too travelled a similar path.

Shanice's work speaks in edgy, rebel tones. She is determined not to conform or blend in with what she sees around her. On her blog she stated that her blog was a means to discover her own artistic style and in the process, find herself.  From my observations she is surely on her way to achieving that goal if she hasn't done so already. The concept involves depicting her self portrait in the styles of the artists she admires. Choices she makes in her prefered artists give insight into just how good and gifted an artist she has already become. One such artist is Sara Golish - a prominent up and coming artist.

The work of Sara Golish

Our collaboration involved Shanice agreeing to do my portrait in the style of this amazing artist. Here are the results.

Allison's talents are also undeniable. The detail in her drawings are mind-boggling and has earned her compliments and high praise among her peers. A particular work of art produced by Allison entitled "Aquatic Globe" caught my attention because of the concept. It made me realize that she could quite easily become a concept artist. It's a glass globe (the kind that usually has a winter scene in it with the snow falling) but with a beach scene. The vivid color and the details were so magnetic. She revealed to me in our little chat that she sometimes dreams about the concepts of her art projects before fleshing them out. I was intrigued by this since I would give anything to be able to dream in such a way. Allison's talents include arts and crafts where she not only draws but makes things with her hands and also looks for objects on which to express her unique style. As with Shanice, Allison also agreed to do my portrait in her own style. Here is the result.

I really love these two portrayals. For more on these two rising stars, watch the video below of our chat together where many things about these artists are revealed.  Definitely something to enjoy!

Enjoyable Collaboration with Crafty Food Bloggers!

Marina's delicious carrot bread and tuna dip

Delicious, nutritious food. Who can resist! The thought of hooking up with some of my fellow food bloggers for a collaboration had me so excited, I could hardly sit still. I love food, especially when the food is not only savory and appetizing but also vibrantly healthy and good for you. I wasn't alone in my passion for this topic. Leston Paul of the popular blog "Creative DiversityTT" shared my excitement in doing the collaboration. Last but not least, the very talented photographer Kieron Anthony of the blog "Roadtoprotog" became a welcome addition as we came together to create a very special video about food!

We filmed the entire event as a food-show with two very eager hosts and two very talented cooks/foodies. Our guests were Marina Rivas
of the blog "Marisol Cooking" and Krystal Leah of the blog "Trini Vegan" (Hoorayyy for vegans, the healthiest people on the planet!). The video is packed with information about a healthy lifestyle and cooking with passion.

All the bloggers and collaborators

We really enjoyed making this video and hope you will enjoy learning from it as much as we enjoyed making it. Coming to the end of the video Leston and I tasted the dishes and both were so good that I couldn't stop eating. It was really a treat learning from these talented chefs and I will definitely be trying out the recipes they shared on their blogs. Let me know if you can relate to what our two food bloggers were saying in the two part video below and if you have any questions, feel free to post in the comments section!

Krystal Leah's amazing Vegan Pizza!

YOU CAN VIEW PART 2 OF THE VIDEO BY CLICKING HERE!

When Art Comes A' Roaring

In the words of singer, Jazmine Sullivan, "I'm not scared of lions and tigers and bears". Only in this case its lions and tigers and leopards. Yes folks its time for yet another art blogpost showcasing the subjects that inspire artistic desire. Once again I'd like to share some art pieces that were good fun to depict. These pieces, like the portraits of the previous post (Why I Love Portraits) were my first time attempts at depicting animals.   

This tiger was a bit of a struggle for me since there is so much going on. He's supposed to be coming out of some water and shaking himself dry so I tried to capture that movement. This was done in acrylic paint on canvas.

This white leopard was done mainly in pencil. I used chalk pastels for the colour in the eyes, the nose and the tongue. I really tried to capture the intensity in his eyes. There was so much mesmerizing tension there. I also used charcoal for the darkest areas. The drawing was done on cartridge paper.

This sleeping leopard was the most adorable subject. I borrowed a book based on wild animals from the library and the pictures there were so beautiful. When I found this leopard, I knew I had to paint him. This was done with acrylic paints on cartridge paper.

This lion was a bit difficult for me as far as getting proportions right. If you hadn't noticed, the nose is a bit twisted but considering how hard I worked on it I was quite pleased that I found my way to the end. This was done quite a few years ago so I want to try another one soon to compare with this and see how my skills have improved. I may have a lion depicting contest coming up in a future art blog between me and a few other artists. If you want in on the contest let me know in the comments and I'll arrange to have your best depiction of a lion in that particular blogpost. Here I used acrylic paints on cartridge paper.

Just as a little bonus I'd like to post two more paintings. As you can see they aren't animals but they are paintings that reflect the nature around us. Both animals and nature are definitely something to enjoy! 

Art: Portraits and Why I Love Them!

When I think of Art, I think of something exciting! Something that gets the blood pumping through the veins. There's nothing like it, whether it be paintings, drawing/sketches, sculptures, graphic design, illustration, fine arts, etc. The list can go on and on. Artists and art lovers any where in the world can relate to what I'm trying to describe. It is a way to express your most deepest feelings and thoughts. A person can stand in front of a Mark Rothko painting or an ancient grecian sculpture and see something that inspires them or fills them with wonder - something they can connect with and cherish as their own. It can be beautiful, haunting, disturbing, satisfying or meaningful and can solicit all manner of human emotions and reactions. Yes, that's ART!

This is my first art post in the blog "Things That Annoy and Things to Enjoy" and I am so pumped. I am especially excited because the first of my art posts for this blog will feature my own work. I know it sounds a bit selfish but bare with me. In future art topics I intend to feature other student artists like myself and also the artists who inspire me. This is definitely a thing to enjoy!

Let me first give a little back story. I am currently studying Graphic Design at COSTAATT - College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts in Trinidad and Tobago. I completed an Art and Design course at Thames Valley University in Reading, England.

This was my first painting of a self portrait. As you can see the likeness is a bit off and its more abstract than realistic but I am was happy that I could paint a portrait that could be seen as "recognizable" to others. The bird is on my shoulder because we (my classmates and I) were given an assignment to paint a portrait of ourselves that would show reveal something about us. The bird is a Scarlet Ibis - one of the national birds of Trinidad and Tobago. It was my way of saying that I am a proud Trini!

Above are two other self portraits that didn't do too well in the likeness department. The one on the left was done in chalk pastels and the one on the right is my first and only oil painting.

These are drawings I did only after I knew what it was like to paint a portrait. Working with paints helped improve my drawing skills as far as portraits were concerned. The one on the left is an illustration of what I thought one of the characters from Maya Angelou's book "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" - 'Mr. McElroy' looked like. The one on the right is a self portrait but when I look at it I only see my sister - Simone.

These are portraits of other people which were challenging but fun. I really enjoyed these. In the one on the left, I struggled with the hair a bit and the one on the right of the little boy, it took a while for me to get the teeth right.

Can anyone guess which celebrity can claim ownership of this portrait? If you guess Halle Berry you are correct. This was my first celebrity portrait. I was still struggling with likeness and proportions

at this point but it didn't stop me from enjoying the process.

Finally we have my first attempts at portraits using the amazing adobe photoshop software. I love using photoshop for portraits because even without too much detail you can achieve an exact likeness.

Although portraits are a highly enjoyable art subject I do paint and draw other things as well. My favourite thing by far to depict are animals and insects. I recently featured in an art exhibition entitled "Vintage Caribbean"where three other artists were also featured. You can click here to read the article written in the online Trinidad Guardian about the entire event.

Let me know what you think in the comments below and look out for more art posts coming soon.