2013 Art in Review

I hope everyone has had a wonderful year, a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah if you celebrate, and all in all a great holiday season. This Christmas was one of the best I've ever had! My mom is retired now, so she and I had time together to clean up and decorate the house, and prepare Christmas dinner for everyone coming over. I hand-made all of the gifts I gave this year, and will be sharing photos of the special items I made in an upcoming post.

In just two days, 2013 is coming to a close. This was a year of artsy trial and error, and really branching away from fantasy art, and exploring the lowbrow scene. I did a lot of experimenting, and stepping outside of my comfort zone when it comes to subjects, media, and expression.

I decided to give oils a shot, and really try to develop my own way of using them. At school we were taught to paint our darkest darks first, and instead, I have found that starting with light washes and moving up to mid-tones and adding darks and highlights last works well for me. It's kind of like doing a watercolour technique, and gradually building up the layers of colour, rather than starting boldly at the beginning with darks. I've also been painting on wood instead of canvas (I can't stand canvas lol), and I've really been enjoying the smooth painting surface. Next I'd really like to try Masonite.

I've also been restyling the way I draw/paint hair, lips, and noses, trying to get a similar effect I see many other artists I adore, employing (straight out copying is bad, inspiration is good). I'd really like to get a better grasp of the landscape/planes of the face in 2014, and learn how to do subtle shadows and highlights better.

My art has been diverging not only from the fantasy themes, but also into two distinct categories: illustration and fine art. I'm still exploring what both classifications mean to me, and am still a little confused about the whole thing. I think my illustrative work tells a story, and I think my fine art expresses emotion and uses a lot of symbology. Perhaps that's the difference between them?

I've also been trying out pops of metallics, like gold and silver, as well as refining my graphite techniques. I'd really love to try out graphite powder, which my friend Lily Buth has recommended in her art videos.

Click image to enlarge

Lindsay Cheesewright and I created the wonderful Femme Thou Art Collective, and it's been awesome to see it grow, and make new artist friends. I'm even more excited about upcoming calendar, new members, and auctions themes.

For 2014 I'd really like to create double the amount of artworks I created this year, work larger, create more meaningful pieces, illustrate a story, get limited edition prints made, and have an art shop directly on my website. There's lots to do!

Wishing you all a wonderful 2014! :)