Blue

"Everything's blue in this world"

1. "Blue"
This is one of the most fresh and recent things I've been working on and I have to apologize for everything lately being pictures from my webcam, but it takes me a while to get to a scanner and a lot of things have been bigger than the scanner and, most of the time, I'm also too lazy to take pictures and then put them up in photobucket, pictures with the webcam are so much easier XD
EITHER WAY, the thing about this piece is that I'm only using tones of blue (when I get tired of working on the pet portrait, the blues that are left are used on this piece =D) and that it's the second piece in my life, I think, that I'm making "alla prima". Meaning, I went straight with a brush and paint onto the canvas, there was no sketch previous, either on paper or drawing with pencil on the canvas. This happened precisely one of the times that I was working on the background for the pet portrait that I didn't want to waste the paints.
So, yes. Here's two pictures of it. I was annoyed that I showed to my brother and he said "Oh, I like it, it's a nice cartoony style" and I was like "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU", because that just seems to be the way that my pieces come out: with a tint of cartoon to them.
I have mixed feelings, I have no interest in hyperrealism, but I DO in realism and when I don't have a model to follow, copy or take guide from, a cartoony thing is what seems to come out XD That's fine, though, I don't mind, I'm still REALLY excited about getting to work on her face. I always have to obligate myself to work on the background first and leave the foreground for last.



2. I've been sketching more. Or trying to.
I was in Rhode Island last year, at the house of a very dear friend (she's really my bestie, bff lol ILher), and her super cool grandma showed me a book of something called "Natural Drawing" and what it talked about fascinated me, because it goes the opposite end of the way that I regularly work. I tend to concentrate on the details of the drawing and then work outwards, rather than getting everything in it's place and go from big to small.
I only remember parts of what I read and I really didn't read that much, but form what I remember, it's called "natural drawing", because you follow the outward lines of things and when practicing, you make these super wavy lines. And it requires a lot of practice and sketches, just to get your hand used to it and then you become a genie at it eventually.
Milla has been my victim of the sketches, I think it's her that I have the most pictures of, so I just open up all of them and draw every single one, one after the other, no matter what. And that's something that I've been really wanting to work on: giving my hand freedom, so that my human figure won't come out so stiff all the time and being able to draw it in every angle, position, size and everything. I'll get it <3
Here's a little sample, 'cuz I really like how this one in particular turned out XD


3. It's been about two months since I got the mohawk and I gotta say, I think me and this thing on my head were meant to be together.
This is probably the second or third boldest change to my image, after shaving my eyebrows. I had my hair down to my buttcrack at the beginning of this year, then I took a picture of Milla with this super cool haircut she had and got that hair do; then I was going through some personal issues with communication (because I just have a horrible time with confrontation and just SAYING things) and I took some scissors and gave myself a haircut like a little boy and reminded myself of my mom a lot; and then I got over that shit and gave myself a mohawk.
I feel like I should elaborate on the little boy haircut: at the time I just wanted to be more honest and open about what I felt and needed to say and getting the hair really short, kind of symbolized that want for bareness. Something gay like that. THEN, I got awesome, and got the mohawk, 'cuz I've srsly wanted one for a really long time and, like I told a friend of mine, it's like the epitome of rebellion!
I don't consider myself a rebel at all or even any of the things that a mohawk could be associated with: punk, aggression, violence; for example. BUT, I just legitimately happen to like how it looks on me and how well it looks with my outfits. I like that it gives me masculinity, just because it's so short; but it also adds femininity, because my neck and shoulders are almost entirely bare.
I like the little bit of androgyny it gives me, but that I never fail to look like a girl <3
So YES, I love the mohawk.



Thank you very much for reading this time around as well, wether you're reading for the first time or you're an assiduous reader. And if you're reading for the first time DO follow!
The page in facebook is absolutely fantastic, it gets updated almost everyday with something that I'm doing, pictures and whatnot, so you can keep updated with my work. So if you haven't liked yet, please do and suggest to your friends! The suggest to friends link is under the profile picture, it would be really great! Here's the link: Gabriela Handal Arte