Skip to main content

Otherworldly Masks





This beautiful woman was a friend who loved masks, dark paintings and repetitive designs in art. She inspired this mixed media piece. I gave her the original as a going away gift.


I had a tough time making this drawing slash painting. I used 19 x 24" bristol vellum paper and a dark 6B pencil to start with. My first mistake was using such a dark pencil for the shading. Click this Instagram link to look at the first sketch of this piece: Click Me! I have many more drafts and details of this piece at different stages posted on Instagram.

Then I used Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils.  The pencils are amazing! If you use them extremely heavy the water makes the color vibrant! I learned that you can also use it on silk. 

But it is not easy to color such a large space with just pencils. So I used Prismacolor hard pastels to cover the larger spaces and left the pencils for details. I made a happy mistake and painted over the hard pastels with water and the results were extremely fortunate. 

I used Sennelier oil pastels for the iridescent eyes and the top blue mask. 

I think mistakes make you more creative. That is always why I draw in my sketch book with a pen. It helps you try to conceal the mistake or make it a part of your design. Mistakes takes you on detours you would have never tried. If you feel like a perfectionist and it is affecting your creativity, strictly use a pen in your sketchbook. I forbid you to use an eraser and pencil. 

There is so much I don't like about this piece. I want it to look better. I don't like the lines by the knob and the middle mask. I wanted her to look like a drawing, not a painting, kind of like a character out of a comic book stuck in a vibrant world of colors. I do not think that translated at all. This picture does not suck. It does not matter that I was not able to fully translate my vision on paper. I think overall it is a great piece for someone who hasn't fully embraced art as a daily habit.  :-} 

Prints are available at Society6

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Art Supply Review: 6 Gouache Brands Comparison

  Gouache Paint Review Gouache is the same as watercolor because it is a water-based paint, except it is not transparent, it is opaque. Watercolor and gouache can be used together. Gouache should dry to a velvety matte finish. It can sometimes look creamy and chalky. Gouache could appear like an acrylic paint, but it reactivates when you add water to a finished piece like watercolor. Acrylic paint does not reactivate, it dries to a strong plastic-like finish. Gouache is often used in watercolor paintings as a highlight, or to fix a mistake, or an alternative to masking.  Gouache Brands Links: Lukas Studio Gouache Savior Faire Gouache Holbein Irodori Artist Gouache Winsor & Newton Designers Gouache Artist's Loft Jelly Gouache Arteza Paint Tubs (Jelly Gouache) How I will judge the gouache I am testing? 1. Do they offer the usual basics like Blue, Red, & Yellow? Or modern color theory options like Magenta, Yellow, & Cyan? 2. How do they swatch? I am looking for opaci...

12 Ink Drawings at Greta's Coffee & Kitchen Cafe

Amber Art's Sketchbook Tour My Ink Drawings at Greta's Coffee & Kitchen Cafe August 2023 Linktree 1. Title: Prometheus  (2022) Medium: Ink on Paper Size: 4x6 Price: $75.00 Instagram Reel Link   Inspiration: Despite what you see, she is in not inspired by Lycia Naff, the 3-breasted mutant in Total Recall. The beautiful artist, Mab Graves every October has a 30-Day Halloween Project called, Drawlloween. On Day 21 in 2022 was the FrankenFriday prompt. I used the music from Young Frankenstein in my Instagram Reel, because that is one of my favorite childhood movies. I love Georges Braque, he is the original creator of cubism, and this drawing was inspired by his painting, "Man with a Guitar." I love to listen to music while I make art. 2. Title : All is Full of Love (2023) Size : 5x5 Medium : ink on paper Price : $100   Instagram Reel Link   Inspiration :   The image of a woman in nature while hooked up to wires… Online dating is disappointing. Ha! The ...

Art Show at Seek Coffee

 Art Show at Seek Coffee I have two paintings showing at Seek Coffee in Astoria, Queens this Saturday.  They are available for purchase. I will also be selling embellished prints.  Cassie of Euphoria by Amber Art Inspiration Photo from Euphoria I love the famous scene from the 2nd season of Euphoria. Cassie surrounded by flowers is so beautiful and almost religious. I wanted to capture the beautiful but sad moment. I wanted to give it an art nouveau feel. I left her face in pencil because she is not a fully realized woman, she was completely unable to view her worth and dignity which led to her self-sabotage that hurt everyone around her.  Medium: Watercolor, Ink, Gold Leaf, and Pencil. Size: 6x8 on 8x10 watercolor paper. Purchase online: Click Here! Chrysalis by Amber Art I do not have an inspiration photo. I was inspired to draw this after a hard day at work dealing with too many egos. I was exhausted, but hopeful for a rebirth in energy and hope again due to a lon...