Making, Crafting, Creating... aka Whatcha workin' on?

Not at all, but my SO kinda is. Which is weird. He’s OK with concrete, and he’d be OK with the recycled glass if we could afford the pre-made version, but he’s not OK with mixing glass into concrete. I don’t get it. Might be worth broaching the subject again, though. I think we could probably get away with doing a mix of glass, unsanded grout and resin. That is approximately what’s used in the name-brand versions, and would let us have something of a range of colors to choose from.

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Well, I certainly wish I owned my own place so I could do just that. I love those kinds of countertops.

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There’s a long historical context for using multiple materials for counters in a single kitchen- butcher block for… butchery, marble for pastry, stainless steel for hygiene, etc…
Personally, I dig granite for my main counters (though, money-no-object quartz or one of the other spiffy maintenance materials would be just fine, too) and I REALLY like butcher block for kitchen islands. Ideally (since I’m on a roll…) super-thick end grain. Like 8 inches thick. Sure, it’d weigh a (literal) ton, but man… so nice. Think of how long it’d last, even with routine sanding to take out blemishes?
And since I’ve just bought a new house, and it has no island…

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I’m not crafty at all.

But I did a couple of pumpkins that came out okay tonight.

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Okay, here’s another one. The darks/translucents are still a bit tacky, so I need to wait a day before making a final pass over it to smooth out some things, like the shadow between the chair leg and the dog’s cast shadow, and deepen the darks in his coat a bit.

May I get some serious opinions on this one?
This happens to be my “Hail Mary”, because I need to sell 100 prints a.s.a.p. (thinking of starting with family and friends before working outwards from there) if I want to get myself out of some immediate debt and put some food in the fridge.
I think it’s a good art-lover/dog-lover crossover, so I hope that works in my favor.

I apologize for the wonky angle, but it’s fresh off the easel and the wet paint is creating glare.

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Oh stop it.

I’m always so jealous of folks who can put paint down like this.

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Is she… Is she browsing the BBS?

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No, I’m serious!

Getting people to like it is not the hardest part. The hardest part is getting people to like it enough to want to put a few dollars down on a reproduction, or even buy the original. Food on the table trumps art on the wall, I suppose.

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Hang on, there’s a small dog in-frame, too. Hmmmmm…

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So, opinions on technique, subject matter, or sellability? (Or all three? I live with a painter :D)

I have no idea.

I was considering doing this, and would also like opinions on it – When I make prints, I could do a second image in paint with a text bubble near the bottom…with something like a cat, a heart, or a piece of pizza – like what the dog might be thinking. I wonder if that would look good on a t-shirt once I get through selling the limited print run?

All three, in reverse order, I suppose.

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Disclaimer: don’t know much about art, but know what I like… and this is gorgeous! Plus the dog looks very much like the adorable pup I’m housesitting with at the moment, so I’m totally biased.

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Sellability: So, I think it is an absolutely lovely work of art that a lot of people will enjoy. The expression on the dogs face is fetching, and the breed you painted is very popular. Also, not revealing the face of the woman is a good idea, since it becomes easy for the viewer to imagine themselves in that place.

One thing that would make sales easier is kind of cheating–riffing on classics that everyone knows, so they can say, “hey,I recognize that, I know art!”. As an example (I am not telling you to do this) an homage to van Gogh with a vase of sunflowers on the table will spark positive associations.

Subject matter: again, I like your choice of subject matter. It has near universal charm, is whimsical, relatable, and not cheesy. It speaks to what I’d like to be doing right now, tbh.

The bottom third leaves me wanting though. It is always a balance, as you undoubtedly know, to keep things from getting cluttered. But it feels like it is missing something (perhaps even just a signature to draw your eye?)

Technique: you know your way around a brush and color. Your pallette is lovely, and your brushwork has a nice blend of portraiture and impression. Your brush work also very nicely reinforces where you want the viewers eyes to go.

The shadows are distracting from your brushwork though. Your strokes seem to imply consistent points of perspective, but the shadows don’t quite jive. Can’t put my finger on it unless I busted out the graph paper.

All in all, fantastic. And I truly hope you sell three times as many prints as you need to.

(BTW, you can tell me to stfu and I most certainly will :D)

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I can tell you, every painter has one thing that drives them batty, and mine is hair or fur. I think I just need to take more time to deal with it as I’m painting. However, I do think the woman’s left foot is on fleek.

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Oh, I do appreciate the honest critique. It’s hard to get that sometimes.

You know what I was thinking about when I got started? The girl with the dog in Renoir’s Boating Party. I think that’s what clinched it.
As for subject matter, I want to get that association going, but yes – I do want to avoid whimsicle rather than whimsical at all costs.

The bottom third – I left some open space on purpose, but it will get some tweaking with splotches and gum tracings and stuff when I can take the time to put them in tonight. More texture.
My goal was to put some space in between subject matter and the viewer, much like Da Vinci’s drawing of the tree grove that always gets cropped at the bottom by stupid art editors.

Shadows – this is a well-lit night scene, with at least 16 different light sources. Thinking it out drove me crazy.

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That doesn’t surprise me one iota. Isn’t it so much easier when there is only one flood and one directional? :smile:

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Well, another thing about that is how many different colors were coming from the lights. I decided to just keep the palette limited to cut down on the confusion.

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I just built a downdraft table to use while spray painting, but I’m kind of disappointed in the box fan I used- I think I may need to try again with a proper blower.

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I used to know a guy who painted motorcycle gas tanks and helmets and such. He was a respiratory therapist at the hospital we worked at, and he set up an inspiration/expiration rig that pumped air in from the outside through a mouth nozzle. It was a pretty cool setup.

So is the downdraft table supposed to cut down on overspray?