do it yourself: photo references

most times, figurative artists need good human body references for their paintings and drawings. having a live model is just awesome, but when you cannot afford one, a fair photograph do the trick. and when you don't have photographs available (and you don't want to use that one you found on the web without permission, do you?), what do you do? well, in my case, I just apply some foundation on my face, put on a funny head band that keep my hair off my face, set up my home camera, look for a piece of white wall, take off my clothes... and in less than a couple hours I have a nice batch of my own reference photographs.



it's fun and a good exercise of creativity, as well as a little revival of my stage days. and best of all, I can always have the exact (or almost exact) poses I want for the concept I am developing.



the inconvenient: I have to struggle to make the figures in the drawings not to look like me too much. which sometimes doesn't happen. it sucks to have your own face in every board, when you don't have the intention of building a self-portrait.



this is why I've been in desperate need of models that can "donate" their pictures for my reference album. I've found lots of wonderful pictures of stunning people around the internet, but I don't really feel like emailing them asking for permission without some kind of payment or retribution. and I totally need men pictures!!



the pictures above are from today's photoshoot, some of the ones I liked best. breasts are blurred for obvious reasons (although I don't like this resource, but it's less stupid than those black stripes. I know that this is an art blog, but I really don't feel very confortable without the smudge... :P). on the wall you can see pieces of the tape I use to mark the right position for myself, my daughter's scribbles (she always find a way to do it when we're not watching) and light switches. more homemade, impossible. I'm also coming to the conclusion that I need a better camera. one that do not take blurred pictures when you are not using flash in a poor light (I hate using flash) and that can take several shots in succession. it's very tiring coming and going from behing the camera every time I want a shot!

em bom Português.

to my Brazilian readers: no need of trying to follow my broken English anymore. the posts are being now translated to Portuguese on my other blog, Inspirais. see you there, and hope you all enjoy it!

para meus leitores brasileiros (sim, eu sei que alguns de vocês tem estado por aqui com uma certa frequência. obrigada a todos!): não é mais necessário tentar acomponhar meu broken English. os posts estão agora send traduzidos para o português no meu outro blog, o Inspirais. vejo vocês por lá!

my first promo postcard

I've spent almost all day (and when I say "all day" I mean the time I reserve for working, between my usual domestic chores) working on my promo postcard. as I said before, I chose my piece Ascension to the front of the card. I think that piece is very representative of my style - colorful, theatrical, and it has lots of abstract shapes, along with the strongly spiritual concept. I know that maybe it's a little early to make a promo postcard, but I wanted to take advantage of the printing service free shipping with limited time and went ahead. :P

here's the front of the card:




for the back, which will be printed in b&w, I used the detail of "The Scream" that I liked best. I liked the result pretty much.



I hope the result in print come out just like the expected. if I like the final product, I'll surely spread the word. :)

about "The Scream"

i explained in this post a little of what lead me to make The Scream. it's basically a piece about violence against women, a subject that really sensitizes me not only for being a woman, but also for being human and for dreaming and working for a better world based on respect and equality.

my first certainty about this work, in my brainstorm, was that I didn't want a piece that was oppressing or showed only the pain of the violence or abuse. I wanted something that could have a "voice", that could help people to reflect about how to change things.

I first envisioned a monochromatic piece, in brown tones, with some hints of red. but once more I couldn't help myself and distributed warm colors all over. they ended up contributing for the dynamism and strength of the piece.

the symbolism of the piece is quite simple and direct. there's a dual figure in the center. it might be the same woman in two different attitudes, if you like. the red-haired one is scared and in pain. she holds her bleeding heart and wears a mask to keep herself hidden from judgment or other losses. she might be the one who was raped in a party after drinking too much, the one who was abused for a family member but preferred to hide in order to do not cause disturbances in the family, the one who was beaten for her husband but kept silent for fear of losing her children. she might be one of the Congo women. she might be me, or you.

the black-haired woman doesn't wear a mask. she is screaming - although sometimes I think that she is in fact singing. what she releases from within herself is a bird, red as life. is the desire for freedom from a world conquered by force, not love. she screams her right to be treated as a human being instead of a second-class citizen, as a partner instead of a subordinate. her right to express her own ideas and have their own attitudes without being demonized for them.

there are also masks at the bottom, a pile of masks without faces behind them. they once belonged to women who decided to scream instead of keep silent and anonymous. that decided to stop pretending that that's how the world is and there's nothing that can be done to change it. but there's so much one can do just by having a voice... to demand political and social responsibilities. to educate the new generations toward respect and non-perpetuation of old habits that put men in a privileged position. in other words, to demand respect for being human.

the scream

here it is. description later!