Frida Por Vida - Mixed Media Art

Hi everyone, I have some new art to share with you today!

This is my latest mixed media original canvas entitled "Frida Por Vida".  It's a large 20x24 deep canvas.

This was my first attempt on Frida.  I've seen so many renditions that I thought it was time for me to do my own interpretation.  So I began sketching in my art journal while I was waiting for my son to finish up his band practice.  This is my original sketch :D

I wanted to paint her on a large canvas so I re-sketched the whole thing on my canvas.  If I'm using a small canvas, I'll just use tracing paper to add my sketched image.  You can see that my canvas sketch turned out a bit different but that's cool with me.

Loving those bold colors!!

You can't really tell from the pics but I used molding paste for the roses on her head.  The have a lot of great texture.

Oh yes, she's coming along nicely!!

I'm so happy with the colors.  I don't plan my colors, I just start working and decide as I go.

More roses, they were among my favorite things to sketch when I was little!

My son thinks she needs more shadows.  What do you think?

Gorgeous, I'm feelin pretty proud :D

So there you had it, "Frida Por Vida"!  Prints are now available in my Etsy shop HERE.  The original is also available for purchase but will probably not be listed in my Etsy shop.  So if you're interest in the original, please message me on Facebook.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and don't forget to let me know what you think!  Suggestions and constructive criticism is always welcomed.

Have a Beautiful Day & "Frida Por Vida"!

Selena Inspired Mixed Media Art

Hi everyone!!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and Mother's Day.  I've been busy working on a new canvas and I'm finally ready to share it with you.  This piece is inspired by a beautiful photo I found on Pinterest of the late Tejano music singer Selena.

Selena Quintanilla Perez 1971 - 1995

This is my interpenetration of the photo.  I decided to give her angel wings which proved to be a challenge for me but first let me show you how I started.

I'm using a 12x24" canvas.  I added scraps of blueprints, book text and joint tape backing to the background using matte gel medium.

 Next I applied a thin layer of gesso and then chose my paint colors.

Using the photo as a guide, I sketched her out.

I always start with the flesh tones and then start adding the eyes and hair.  I go keep going over the colors with highlights and shadows until I get a look that I like.

I've never done angel wings but I really wanted to add them so I decided to just go for it.

It took me about four tries before I was happy with the wings.  I wanted share pics of my first two tries but I couldn't get the files to save properly.  This was my 3rd attempt and my guys kept telling me it looked like she was wearing a feather boa, lol.  So I went back to the drawing board.

I followed my son's advice and added a top bone then varied the sizes of the feathers.  Of course he still had constructive criticism to share, lol.  He even drew examples for me to follow :D

I think she turned out gorgeous!

I added hidden sugar skulls like this one in her bangle.

For even more texture, I stamped roses, flourishes and musical notes to the background.

Here's a look at the two together.

I'm not sure if anyone would recognize this as Selena but that's okay because she's a stunner either way.  Thanks so much for stopping by today and remember:

Keep Calm
and
Bidi Bidi
Bom Bom!!