Tuesday, 9 June 2015

Zelyss inspires... Aww! SO cute!!!!

I just received by email today these three adorable paintings of two seven-year-old fans who were inspired by me! They are SO cute and beautiful. It gives me great pride as an artist to be admired by the little ones... 

Thank you so much, girls. My next painting will be dedicated to your sweetness and inspired by you likewise. 

Lots of love,
xoxoxo




(this one is obviously inspired by 'Priscila and the Unicorn' below. 
I think she may have even overdone me...)



Sunday, 7 June 2015

Work update : "Beth"



Work in progress: "Beth"

'Beth' in acrylics

Just finished my piece "Stempunk Ingrid" yesterday and started already new one. I like finishing one painting before starting another, because I like to keep my colors handy for continuing and acrylics tend to dry super fast, so I can only keep one palette active at a time. 

So this is 'Beth' from my sketch already posted. I want to focus on smoother complexion on this one.


Friday, 5 June 2015

Inspiration for new painting...#2



I can see this as a painting, but with her face looking at me instead of her back...

Thursday, 4 June 2015

Tutorial #2: Panel qualities - which wood should you choose?

Hi there! Today I decided to post about types of wood panels/boards to work on. You see I just had a new stack of boards delivered to the studio, ready to prime and paint (yeah!). Here they are below, in several sizes.




So I have had my fair share of several attempts of painting on several surfaces. I have even painted on a red PVC surface (see my painting "Circus Madelein" below).



As I said to my previous tutorial, the key is always proper priming, with several Gesso primer layers and a high dose of patience (for waiting out the layers to dry).

But of course, I do not suggest working on PVC. Stick to wood boards. Now of those, the best and most responsive to my technique is the chipboard, and it is the one below. You can probably find it under other names but this is what it looks like:


This material, with 3 layers of gesso and a little sanding with a fine sandpaper (I use no.400), can be perfect. It does not absorb the color, it has "tooth" for the paint to stay on, it is smooth enough for when you are dry-brushing, but no so smooth to make the paint flow uncontrollably.

Other types of wood boards, which I don't recommend, are the following.

MDF: too satiny, when primed it has a lot of grain raised that will destroy my brushes, and if sanded it again becomes too smooth. 



And last, and worst, plywood. I bought several pieces of plywood with the hope that since it is actual wood, the outcome would be better, but no. As seen in the photos included in my previous tutorial, when the paint goes on, despite priming, the result is risky. Not a chance to be durable.



Never be afraid to experiment, you may find some other surface that works best for you. And never let failed attempts discourage you. There is always a better piece of art waiting ahead, as long as you are there to make it.

Stay tuned for my next tutorial on ways of priming. And if you like my page, drop on my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zelyss/1026378090720993? or my google+ page: https://plus.google.com/116934195623571090402/posts and 'like' /add my page to get more of my news. 

Tuesday, 2 June 2015

Big eye girl: "Leyla" sketch by Zelyss


"Leyla"
Sketch by Zelyss

Birdy "Wings"


Birdy
"Wings"

Oh lights go down
In the moment we're lost and found
I just wanna be by your side
If these wings could fly

Angelfall Book 3: 'End of days' by Susan Ee (disappointment)




Aaaah!

That's quite a start. Right?

There is one single thought pestering my mind, ever since I was on the first few pages of the book: I did not, and repeat, I did NOT expect to see the word 'nipple' in this series. The book was beyond that, the characters were beyond that, the author was beyond that. So, why???

Other than that.
General impression after finishing the book: "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!!!"

Nothing in this book is what it was supposed to be. First, the plot: couldn't keep me interested. On "Angelfall" I couldn't wait to get back to the book. On "End of days" I couldn't wait to end it, so as to end my misery. Or sorts. Too much hell, too much blood, too many locusts.

[spoiler alert]
And the characters? Penryn as the leader of the Resistance (ok, let's bypass that). And Raffe, selfish enough to satisfy his urge of the moment, and surrender to his passion, disregarding thus the feelings of Penryn. "Yes, I want you, but no, I don't want you". Speaking about hot and cold.

And don't let me get started about the ending. We spent an enormous amount of time in hell (literally), watching the fallen angels be punished and chased by demons, because they had had daughters of men, and the conclusion of the story is that Raffe decides (out of the blue, on the 97% of the book) that he is not perfect anyway, so why bother? Let's give this thing a try. Dah!!!

I said it before, I say it again. Stop on the first book people!

Don't write sequels.

Impress us with something new...!

Aaaah!

Big eye girl: "Eye Candy" sketch by Zelyss

"Eye Candy"
Sketch
by Zelyss