Here's my answer: Something that I love about how I paint. . . hmmm. . . I guess I would say that I am confident in my ability to control my medium, watercolor. It took me many years and many, many, many failed paintings to reach the point that I'm at now. And I think I can say in all honesty that I'm proud of that.
colored pencil portrait, work in progress
This piece is moving along slowly, mostly because I've had a stack of paintings calling out to me to hurry up and finish them already! I'm not finished with the face, but I felt like I needed to have some of the hair laid in so I could get more of a feel for how much I want to push the rest of the face. Truly, this is a work in progress. Those finishing touches that pull it all together are still to come. And yes, I think he might still need an ear.
And, I've changed the commenting format for this blog. I've been getting some really nasty spam, so I've now limited comments to registered users (meaning that you either have a blogger account or some type of google open ID) Sorry guys. If you're not able to comment anymore and you'd still like to get in touch with me feel free to send me an email at crystal(at)crystalcookart(dot)com. I'd love to talk to you!
Arrr! Scurvy bilge rat spammers!
So, Crystal (you may be thinking) . . . what's with the pirate talk?
It just so happens that I have missed two very important milestones this month. One: September 19 was National Talk Like A Pirate Day. Arrr! Avast me hearties! This saddens me as I was planning on incorporating pirate speak into my blog post for that day. *wipestears* Oh well, there's always next year.
Right? ;)
And Two: The other day was my one hundredth post! So exciting! I feel like such a blogging expert now! (kidding, of course) Thanks everyone for reading along with me this far and for all your excellent conversation, encouragement and friendships.
I think it is pretty darn cool that my 100th post coincides very neatly with my portrait giveaway. Just a quick reminder that if you still want to enter for a chance to win just click on the banner above and fill out the form, there's only two days left! Special thanks to everyone who has helped get the word out! I appreciate it so much :)
See you tomorrow guys, have a great day!
Beautiful WIP Crystal....so sorry about your spam. I ate alot of Spam growing up.....it was nasty, too. These people can get pretty bad. I did battle with them on a Yahoo blog I have. I put up a prayer blog for them and prayed for them openly until they went away and left me and my fellow bloggers alone. I even had one of them come to me and say "thank you" and start blogging nicely with me. It was awesome! The power of prayer.....is amazing.
ReplyDeleteOn a lighter note, I guess you don't know that today is national coffee day......yes, I've been told by a fellow blogger. I have my cup, do you?
oh wow! This one melts my heart and leaves me in awe at the same time. It glows, and I love it!
ReplyDeleteI have a can of Spam with the label written in Korean. True story. I also marvel at how you can block in so lightly and really just attack a single area with color before expanding out. I out of habit jump around just so I can see where the contrasts are and then I go back in if I need to.
ReplyDeleteHi Crystal.
ReplyDeleteI've not had any Spam yet - I hope I don't get any either!
Your coloured pencil drawings are so incredibly well done that I can barely tell the difference between that and the watercolour! Can I ask which brand you use? This picture is gorgeous - and I love the hair, even though it's not yet finished!
Just been art blog hopping. love your art work. This is wonderful!
ReplyDeletecongrats on your 100+ posts :) So sorry about spam -- I had to take away the "you might also like" feature under each blog which I loved because someone hacked it with ads :( Keep up the great work you are doing --paintings and blogs :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Positively cherubic. Congrats on your 100th post. I think you ARE a blogging expert and should feel proud of the blog you've created. It's relevant, motivational, educational and an oasis for the eyes : ) I think you are bang on about being able to control watercolour. That shows in your beautiful colour blends and washes. And it's how you get such glowing skin.
ReplyDeleteHere's to the next 100!
Crystal - it's looking great. Very sweet. You should definitely be proud of how well you handle watercolor.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your 100th post! Your drawing or painting, not sure which you call it when it's colored pencil, is looking terrific! You capture such emotion with your works. You have wonderful control with your watercolor and you should be proud it's not an easy medium.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful! I also thought it was a watercolor. You definitely control your medium!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your 100th post! Sorry about the spam. Did you know Austin has an annual festival called Spamarama? It brings out a lot of weirdness.
Wonderful work, its going to be one of your masterpieces. And yes, you are a blogging expert for sure. You can see that in the number of your followers and also the comments you recieve for every post. :)
ReplyDeleteBest wishes.
I love to follow "work in progress" and I'll be sure to follow this particular piece. You are a very talented Artist and I've always admired your work. This painting is flawless.
ReplyDeleteThere's a fine line with these kinds of portraits. Usually the lines are too hard.
ReplyDeleteNot here though. You've mastered your medium. Your watercolors are fantastic.
and you're funny, too.
I had to do the same thing with my comments, and for some reason, talking mean with a pirate accent about spammers feels good, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteAh dang! I missed Pirate Day!! Well at least you can still celebrate 10/10/10!! coming up!! Yeah I know, kinda lame to Pirate day, who doesn't want to go around dressed and talking like a pirate? Oh! Halloween! Perfect excuse :)
ReplyDeleteI love the eyes in this painting, then again I am always drawn to the eyes in your paintings! I can't wait to see the finished product of this one! Sorry to hear about you receiving spam :(
ReplyDelete