Saturday 8 August 2015

Show Your Face, Sirens! Inspired by Deborah Wainwright.

Hello and welcome to Magpieheaven! Today I'm linking up with Kim Dellow's fabulous 'Show Your Face' blog challenge. I'm a little bit late, as the blog where artists 'show their faces' went live at 10.00 am yesterday, but life has been a bit hectic and this has been the first few minutes I've had to blog in a little while. I just couldn't let a week go by without a visit to Kim's place, where we can get together to share the faces we've drawn. You can find out all about it here - and Kim's challenge to us to be inspired by one another during the month of August! I think this is a wonderful idea and I'm sure when you see the great work Kim has been doing and the fabulous contributions by the other artists, you'll be inspired too! This week my inspiration has been Deborah Wainwright and a portrait blog she did last time. Now a really spooky thing has happened and I think I'm going to have to contact Debs about this!!! I decided to be inspired by the way that faces appear out of the background, asking to be created in Deb's work. Usually I begin a face and then add my layers. With Deb's technique I would have to let the shapes and textures speak and a face or faces to be born out of them. Imagine my surprise when I went to make a link to Deb's blog and discovered she had been inspired by me! We didn't get together on this one - honestly! Anyway, here is what I created inspired by letting the girls grow out of the medium.


I took a watercolour paper post-card and sprinkled it with a little Primary Elements and then spritzed. This was at about midnight last night, so I'm sorry I wasn't able to photograph the initial shape on the page. I took a heat-gun and dried it, allowing the watery patterns to marble their way across the paper. Then I took a fine black pen and started to doodle faces. I had intended there to be one face only, but these girls started to appear! I think they are sirens, the sea nymphs whose lovely singing lured sailors to destruction on the rocks around their island. I had never thought about them as individuals before, but as I drew, each siren seemed to form with her own character. Not one of them looks entirely comfortable with her role, I think! The one in the front looks to me as if she is about to sing, but she's looking to her companions for assurance. They seem determined to avoid her gaze and the one at the very top seems to be turning her head away and gazing with concern at - what - the impending doom of the sailors? So were the sirens unable to help themselves? Had they no choice but to sing, sorrowful in the knowledge that their magical music, beautiful as it was, would mean death for the mortal sailors?


I added some details with Inktense pencils and went over some of my ink doodling with a little water to soften the lines. At this point I just had to get to bed! I had really enjoyed creating the sirens and using the Primary Elements with watercolour paper - something I've never done before. It was really exciting too, to let the patterns on the paper tell their story to me and to allow the sirens to grow out of the page. So thank you Debs, for luring me out of my comfort zone!


You might remember that last week I created a five minute portrait of Frida Kahlo? I needed to send a card to a friend to thank her for her kindness and I know she is a fan of Frida, so - with a little collage added, some heavy outlining with 6B pencil and black marker and some stencilling I turned the portrait into a card. Thank you so much for stopping by Magpieheaven today! I hope you will have some time to create a face or faces this weekend and link your work to Kim's 'Show Your Face' too.

19 comments:

  1. Beautiful work Julie, love those fascinating sirens and the story of how they surfaced on your page! Have a great weekend, hugs, Valerie

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  2. Dear Julue Ann I'm am so honoured you chose me as your inspiration. I adore your whole post, but your sirens are magical and I believe they appeared to tell their story which you have interpreted wonderfully. This is a wonderful piece of art! I'm so pleased you enjoyed this process; I find it the most satisfying way to create.

    How amazing we chose each other, some things are just meant to be. Big hugs lovely and enjoy your weekend xxxx

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  3. I love that you inspired each other! I love your pieces! The card is fabulous with the extra outlining.

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  4. love your sirens!! glad you managed to find time to take part as you do seem to love this challenge.

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  5. Wow! This is FANTASTIC! I love that the characters do show in their faces! Great co-incidence too! Chrisx

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  6. Love your sirenes ! They are awesome!
    oxo
    Susi

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  7. Gorgeous! Beautiful, all of them. I love those dark colors ♥

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  8. Love your choice of colors and the story line. Very active and fluid....love it.

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  9. LOVE your sea nymphs - magical. I am inspired by you as well :-)

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  10. Another wondrous piece of work Julie Ann. Your sirens certainly have a mystical quality. You really get a sense of moving water and foaming surf. Amazing that you and Deborah were inspired by each other. Magic at work :o) Lx

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  11. It was lovely to know there was a new post from you and I perked up all the more when I spied the title of your post because Sirens have been on my mind for the week or so, blame it on Mystical Mermaids (I know, I know, different from Sirens but you can relate when I say that I was letting my mind wander!).
    Once again, you have breathed the essence of the magical into your art. You create the most astonishing characters, making your drawings come to life so that they are living, breathing souls. Gorgeous sense of fluidity to this piece.
    So special to be able to send this triumph of a face to a friend who has a fondness for Frida. This will definitely be treasured and I could imagine it framed and on display for all to see.
    So happy I was able to pop on-line for a wee while this evening. I am sure I will be dreaming of Sirens and their underwater adventures!
    Wishes
    Lynne

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  12. Simply wonderful art Julie Ann! xx

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  13. Love the theme , colors and movement in this art piece :)

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  14. Your sirens are magical and beautiful and wonderful!
    Such a delight to see your artwork always dear Julie Ann.
    Take care dear friend oxo

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  15. Gorgeous dear Julie Ann!! I love your sirens- as a matter of fact- I love your art! heehee
    Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful ladies! xoxo

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  16. What gorgeous pieces of artwork! You are so clever! The sirens are magical, they should get together with the mermen I made some years back,

    Lucy x

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  17. Magical mythological sirens - they really do feel an organic part of the movement and colour within them. And the Frida card is simply beautiful - lovely to see her come in to her own.
    Alison xx

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  18. So fabulous Julie Ann, great take on the Inspired by, just love it! Thanks for linking up to Show Your Face Inspired By, you are a rock! Thank you too for the fabulous shout out too! Kx

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