Every painting has an ugly stage.
So whenever I’m stuck with a face, I look back at my progress photos.
I take photos of every painting as I create. That way, I’m reminded that each painting has this ugly stage.
Otherwise it’s too easy to fool myself into thinking a painting should fall right into place. That never happens.
It takes a lot of mistakes, happy accidents and SO many layers to finish a painting (especially the eyes and face).
Most of the time my character looks nothing like it did when I started.
Yet whenever I begin a painting, my mind tells me I should get it right on the first try.
In this video you’ll see how I use some of these ideas and techniques to loosen up with faces, allowing happy accidents to intuitively guide me.
I’ve always loved creating detail and definition in my characters with black outlines. But it’s always been tricky to find something that’ll go over all of my mixed media layers.
When I first started painting, I even tried a black Sharpie marker, which I did like the look of, but once I added my top coat, the lines smudged and completely ruined my finished painting (so frustrating… don’t make this same mistake!). I tried so many different pens and inks, but they either looked too painted on or the lines just didn’t stand out.
So now I’m most often using a black water-soluble pencil. This way I can bleed out my lines and smudge them intentionally, then go back in and add more definition (the Stabilo brand Marks All Coloring Pencil is my favorite right now).
I’ve finally realized that freedom doesn’t happen in my art unless I’m having fun and that means keeping things simple by dancing between what’s in my comfort zone and playing.
I have to experiment, paint something completely imperfect, then keep following my joy and doing more of what I love.
Happy Painting!
xo Juliette Crane
P.S. If you’ve been wanting to paint together, but don’t have a lot of time, I’ve put together my Happy Painting Mini Course, which has five-instant-access projects to get you started.
Click here to Learn More About My Happy Painting Mini Course.
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HELLO
I'M JULIETTE
A painter, writer, and creator of The School Of Happy Painting, online courses to help you loosen up, let go, and develop your own unique style.
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