Friday, August 19, 2011

The Redhead Girl


The Redhead Girl - another mixed media work that took forever.
I got the idea for her after I had sketched a girl's face with charcoal for the very first time that I later called "Girl with a crooked eye". I wanted a mixed media girl with that same haircut.

I adhered a book page, a part of a AAA map and a ticket to the canvas and painted it with acrylic paints. Outlined the girl, filled her in with Golden acrylics for face and hair, used India ink for more hair. Fabric for the shirt. Rub-ons, paper flowers, glitter.

Of course, like the charcoal girl, she is crooked - her face is slightly off. It took me forever to draw that mouth. I'm scared to do faces, and therefore I'm happy that I tried this one, even though it's crooked. I call this a girl with "lots of character".

I have to admit, I actually like her.

And since it's Friday, I'm linking this to Paint Party Friday and Studio JRU's Sneak Peek Friday.
Please have a peek at the work of all those talented artists.


39 comments:

Christine said...

I love her hair colour and the green goes so well with it.

carol l mckenna said...

Love her ~ very creative and colorful ~ thanks, namaste,

Carol (Share the Creative Journey) Happy PPF

Maria Ontiveros said...

Love the map in the background of this one.
Rinda

Terrie said...

Nothing wrong with slightly crooked! What would be wrong would be to not try at all! I think she's adorable - I love that she doesn't have long flowing locks (really, it seems that 90% of paintings of girls/women give us long hair - what's up with that?!), I love that it's bright red and I really love the background and mixed media elements. All in all, something you should be proud of!

Netty said...

Its terrific, loving all the great layers. Happy PPF, Annette x

Silvia(Barnie) said...

Carola, ich bin begeistert. Da passt einfach alles. Die Blumen im Haar, die Blume am Kragen und dann die Libelle auf der Wange (ein toller Hingucker). Wunderschönes Werk.

seabluelee said...

I didn't even notice that her face was crooked. Real people's faces are always crooked or lopsided in some way, so I suppose it looks natural to us. I really like her red hair.

alexa said...

I really like her too - a characterful face, and one that is not going to allow you to mess with her! Beautifully done, even if she did take what seemed like a long time to emerge. :)

Stephanie said...

I love her! I am really starting to fall in love with mixed media. . .and it is a lot harder than I realized.

You make it look easy!

donnalouiserodgers said...

of course you like her, she is perfectly likable,

it's easy if you want to do straight balanced faces - use a grid...

i personally prefer wonkyiness and I find your girl is beautiful

and I think, yes, if one has ones ears tuned to hear

God speaks

Unknown said...

Great picture and I love crooked... :)

Joni Nickrent said...

So many wonderful elements all rolled into one gorgeous piece! Love the red hair against the green! AWESOME! POP ART MINIS

Lynn Cohen said...

And she is so YOU!!!!!

Bren Graham Thebeau said...

just dropped in via the link up with Studio JRU. Looking forward to exploring your blog. I see you are connected to Vision & Verb, I expect you know blogging buddy, Marie of Lost Aussie blog

windrock studio said...

Hey Carola, she is so very pretty! I love this, good work!

La Vie Quotidienne said...

I like her too! She is charming. What a great combination for the background...I think this should be a series.(-:

GlorV1 said...

Hi Carola, hope all is well. I don't see crooked, I see a girl with her own style. She looks at us as if to say, "Go ahead, make my day!" She looks ready to answer a question, any question, I like her. Nice job. I like the map too, that's a great idea. Have a wonderful weekend.

Rosie Kaplan said...

She looks like she never takes no for an answer!

Faye said...

Great piece. Who cares or even notices if she's a little uneven? No one's face is symmetrical.

EVA said...

She is lovely and fun! I also really like the hint of the map peaking through.

jacqueline said...

Dearest sweet carola, she is adorable and i love her hair. :) Have a lovely merry happy weekend and love to you!

Kat Sloma said...

I like her character! And I have to admit, I'm happy to hear that I'm not the only one that takes a while to complete a project... Happy PPF!

Jennifer {Studio JRU} said...

I love the flowers in her hair... she is so sweet Carola! I was just thinking today about using a map as a background, I just need to find some old ones! Beautiful work! :)

Chantal said...

very nice creation

Marcie said...

I love this girl of yours!! I can see that she's spirited and creative and filled with joy. Terrific!!!

Frida said...

I have to try out the ideas I have in my head. Love this.

Unknown said...

I love the expression on her face- perfect for the words you used!

Kristin Dudish said...

I love her vibrant red hair! The contrast of the green really makes your painting pop... Fantastic! (And the text is wonderful - it really goes with the determined look on her face!)

xo
Kristin

carlarey said...

Love all the dimension you added to this piece, there is so much to take in. She's very cute.

Melisa said...

I love the way you name your girls, lol. She has such pretty red hair and I really like the flowers in it. I think I"d like this haircut myself, it I could have it red! Faces get easier with practice, I'm finding.

Fallingladies said...

love the cute little dragonfly on her cheek!

Junelle Jacobsen said...

Happy hair! Always a joy to come see what your studio is up to, your use of color and enthusiasm is always a contagious mix.

She is a delight!

Giggles said...

Love the powerful little girl!

Geckostone said...

Oh Carola, she's lovely!!!You are soooo talented! I love the little dragonfly on her cheek! Deb

Karen Isaacson said...

Her mouth is wonderfully expressive - a hint of a secret smile, maybe a tiny bit of a smirk. I love the little vine on her neck. I LOVE her green shirt - it reminds me of a topographic map, which works so well with the map in the background.

Heather Foust said...

You like her.... I love her. She is beautiful!! You did a great job on her! I love the map behind her under all the layers. She really has a lot of charater!!!

SHERI COOK said...

I like her and her style...never take no for an answer. We could learn a lot from her! HAPPY PPF!

Robin Norgren, M.A, R-YT, Spiritual Director said...

I ADORE the placement of the dragonfly. well done brave girl!

Meegan said...

Love this! Girl is adorable, love the colors & background details. The sentiment is just wonderful!

Have you considered joining cafepress or redbubble & setting up a shop? I have one I set up years ago & never did much with but it still manages to sell enough that it pays for it's monthly fees and usually brings in a few hundred dollars a year (I know, not exactly gonna make me rich but it's fun knowing hundreds of people have stuff with my images). Redbubble makes very nice greeting cards in particular & I thought with all your blogger friends you'd probably sell lots of those and as far as I can remember redbubble doesn't have fees like cafe press. Just a thought.