Days #28 and #29

29 Faces of May

Wow this is one month that has literally flown by! Looking back to where I was on day #1 to where I am now is amazing. This face-a-day challenge was a big one for me. I had always admired others' ability to create beautiful or interesting faces, but had long ago decided that would never be able to do that. 

It was eye-opening to see the growth in my work as I pushed through many feelings of doubt and inadequacy and kept on going. My resulting faces have surpassed my own expectations and have paved the way for many, many more to come. No longer will I be afraid to add a face to a painting. Thanks Ayala Art for hosting this challenge and helping me to grow as an artist!

Day #28 was really a fun one. My sister had challenged me to paint the entire face upside down, using my non-dominate hand [my right in this case]. I found it very freeing to work upside down finding it an interesting challenge to put in all the features with such an unusual perspective. I never turned the page around until I felt it was finished. To my surprise my finished face ended up looking like Lucille Ball! At least is does to me. 

Day #28 WIP upside down

Day #28 my "I Love Lucy"

For my final face of the challenge, I decided to go back to pen and ink with the focus on the eyes. Eyes have always fascinated me. These ones seem to say to me "What, is this all over? Really?" No, really it's just the beginning!

Day #29 - really...it's all over now?

Day #27 - FEARLESS!

29 Faces of May 

Yesterday is gone and all we have is right now, and right now my new mantra is "fearless." I hadn't planned for this face to emerge as the symbol of my own fearlessness, but that's the way art works...it becomes what we intend, but often with a slight twist. My only intent was to be mindful and let whatever face appear be what it wanted to be since I did feel somewhat drained of ideas. 

Last night I went to my very first Kirtan experience at my favorite yoga studio. We did chants and songs in a responsive format. The lights from the candles and the relaxation of the chants was just what my soul needed. The highlight of the evening was shavasana to the beautiful tones of the "singing bowls." 

Maybe that's where the face for Day #27 arose, I'm not sure. Wherever she came from I'm glad she did. Here she is.....

Day #27 Fearless

Day #26

29 Faces of May

Received news that was disturbing, but needed to be read. Sometimes it's very hard to keep going when the things you have to see are sad, hurtful, disturbing or just plain wrong. 

Today's face reflects my feelings right now. I hate when I can't really do anything to help when I really want to. Especially when it comes to family. I've seen a lot of heartache and have managed to survive. This face is for those times when I'd like to see or believe half of what I have too. . . or less...

No name today...just a face...be that as it may... 

Day #26

Day #25 Freedom

29 Faces of May

An article on Yahoo.com entitled "10 Things to Remind Yourself on a Daily Basis" caught my eye this morning. The writer described 10 things that we can all do to keep ourselves centered, balanced and on track. I decided to use one of the listings as my main theme for Day #25. It is still amazing to me how the face that emerges just seems to materialize right in front of my eyes seemingly without thought. But I know different...whether the work is conscious or subconscious or a combination of the two, it is what it supposed to be. I have been set free from my own judgements and feelings of imperfection and I have truly arrived to a place of total creative abandon. I call today's face Freedom and her prayerful pose is no accident. I really like this one! [guess I've said that before, right? ...lol]

Day #25 Freedom

Day #24 Renuka

29 Faces of May

Today I was looking at some of the other artists' work in the challenge. A lot seem to use old book pages as a background. I decided that I wanted to give that a try and do something more mixed media.

As I started my search for just the right page, I felt scattered and somewhat lost. Then I came across this quote in a magazine: "It wasn't the cancer as much as it was the threat to life. Once I learned about it, I knew I had to fight. It's important to accept it and fight." - Renuka Prasad

This pull quote was from an article about women with breast cancer around the world who have beaten the disease and are helping other women do the same. I knew immediately that this had to be my background. What made it perfect was the article had an accompanying photo of Renuka. I was instantly engrossed with superimposing this wonderful woman's face over her own quote which so aptly echoes my sentiments.

The first thing I did after gluing the paper down, was to add some paint in swirls over the words to get rid of the "paper" look. I chose to do a very sparing outline of her image to allow the quote to be readable. I really really like this one. I think it came to me today because of the meeting I'm going to in a little bit  - our cancer survivorship class.

Hope you enjoy Renuka

Day #24 Renuka

Day #23 - Gina

29 Faces of May

Today I created another pencil drawing of an imaginary face I call Gina. Her thoughtful gaze leaves me wondering what's she's thinking and who she's looking at. Maybe it's her boyfriend who is gazing back at her. Maybe she is just thinking about her life. I don't know for sure. That's what makes the mystery that sometimes surrounds a piece of art. Each viewer will have their own interpretation of it and that is one aspect that I love about being creative.

Day #23 Gina

Day #22 Mia

29 Faces of May

I decided to stay with the pencil drawing for today since I enjoyed the change of pace as in yesterday's face. Today's inspiration came from an image I took from an online "learn to draw" website.

Today I learned [again] that my skill at accurately creating an image that is supposed to be a likeness is still not mature. What I think I see and what actually ends up on my paper are not the same. I'm not saying that mine is bad, I'm just saying that I'm not giving up my day job to become a portrait artist.

I've named this one Mia as her face reminded me of Mia Farrow. Enjoy!

Day #22 Mia

Inspiration for Mia