faa Archives - Veronica Huacuja

How About Turning Our Art Interests To Other Fields?

Hi there! I'm Veronica Huacuja, an artist and an online art teacher. I have some good practical tips for your art process.

WOULD IT BE INTERESTING TO APPROACH DIFFERENT TOPICS IN OUR ART? I carried out this new approach to my work, and what I discovered is intriguing, mysterious, absorbing. The artwork I'm presenting results from one of those cases where art and sickness (a medical condition) gather. This is its data sheet:

Title: The Deaf Man 7
Artist: Veronica Huacuja
Medium: Acrylic on paper and digital painting
Size: 10,000 x 10,000 px, 300 dpi
Year: 2021
Collection: Human Body

SICKNESS IN ART. As I've said in some other posts, I’m an artist interested in abnormality, deformity and its effects on human life. The persons that lose one of their five senses or were born missing one of them call my interest. I explore and investigate their lives. This initial information helps me to develop my work. I created this piece with deep respect and empathy for these people.

So, following these criteria, deafness is a fearsome sickness that isolates the people that suffer it because it affects their spoken language comprehension and communication with others. Hearing loss disables a person to understand speech, reality, which cause on them–in some countries and environments–, social isolation, loneliness and stigma. (1)

"In a medical context, deafness is defined as a degree of hearing difference such that a person is unable to understand speech, even in the presence of amplification.[...] In profound deafness, even the highest intensity sounds produced by an audiometer (an instrument used to measure hearing by producing pure tone sounds through a range of frequencies) may not be detected. In total deafness, no sounds at all, regardless of amplification or method of production, can be heard." (1)

The initial challenge in this work, as a figurative artist, was to express the latter. That is to embody in a character this drama.

LET’S DEDUCE A SIGNIFICANT MEANING FROM THE ABOVE. Definitely, blending information from different fields stimulates our imagination and creativity, which reflects in the original results we might accomplish.

IMAGES OF THE TECHNICAL PROCESS OF THE ARTWORK. I’m adding some images that describe the creative process using traditional and digital techniques. You'll find them at https://www.patreon.com/posts/47080432

Visit any time:

I offer Art & Mindfulness for Business Groups. A Virtual Program for Creativity and Well-being at https://veronica.mx/artprogram

Visit any time:

My Body of Art

My Art Shop

Other Art Blogs

Art Blogs at Fine Art America

Art Posts and Videos at Patreon

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Email: art@veronica.mx

Thank you for visiting.

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deafness

How to Manage the Light in Our Artwork

Welcome to another Art Post. My name is Veronica Huacuja. I’m a plastic artist and an online art teacher at an Art Program I've designed. I have some good tips for your painting process. Hope you find them useful.

This is a very true principle. One of the major topics we artists deal with every time we begin a portrait is where should the source(s) of light might be. In other words, where the lights and shadows will take place in our work and the effects on our character (s), atmosphere, palette, etc.

To exemplify this, I add the following work:

Title: Study Head 29 

Artist: Veronica Huacuja

Media: Oil, acrylic on paper

Size: 24 x 32 x 0.1 cm

Year: 2018

Collection: Portraits

Previous thoughts. Let’s learn from the great masters how they deal with this topic. One of these painters is Rembrandt (1606-1669, Dutch Republic). He used a standard lighting technique for some of his portrait’s studios.

Getting to know... That Rembrandt’s lighting is “(…) characterized by an illuminated triangle (also called Rembrandt patch) under the eye of the subject on the less illuminated side of the face. We achieve this by "using one light and a reflector, or two lights. (This way to solve the illumination is) popular because (it can produce images) which appear both natural and interesting with a minimum of equipment." (1) Study the cited elements of this technique in Image 5 of 5.

Material I used to make up the wok.

A physical model (a relative, neighbour, etc.)
One or two sources of light
A reflector (A mid-size white cardboard will make the job just fine.)
Oil paints
Gesso
Medium format white paper: 37.4 W by 26.7 H by 0.1 in. I use and recommend the Italian Fabriano paper, which is very thick (300 g /m2) and has a wonderful performance for oils and acrylics.

My experience while making up this artwork. Some things that we have to decide in our work regarding the light(s) are: its color (white, yellow or other), number of lights (1 or 2), intensity, closeness to the model(s), etc.

In "Study Head 29 ", I used Rembrandt lightning technique, which illuminates one of the model’s cheeks immersed in shadows as we can appreciate in Image 2 of 5 and Image 4 of 5. This technique also projects a subtle light to the face contour (the one in the shadows) and helps differentiate its outline from the background color (Image 2 of 5).

Let's reflect on the above. Taking the time to consider the various lighting options to illuminate our subject while planning a portrait can yield significant results in the end.

If you find this work interesting and helpful, please LIKE it, FOLLOW my Patreon feed, or BECOME MY PATRON. Thank you.

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1 https://www.google.com/search?q=what+does+rigged+measn+in+blender&oq=what+does+rigged+measn+in+blender&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i13i30j0i390l5.8512j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Using Chiaoscuro In A Painting

Let’s learn new techniques from the masters of painting and include them in our art flow.

Welcome to another Art Blog. My name is Veronica Huacuja. I'm a plastic artist, and an online art teacher for individuals and groups. I have some good tips for your painting process. Hope you find them useful.

SOME CONCEPTS TO START. Chiaroscuro is an Italian word that refers to the lighting and shadows in painting. Who used this interesting technique were the great painters of all times, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Velázquez, among others.

This technique emphasizes light and dark, making out stand the most important figures in an artwork. “It was originally used while drawing on colored paper though it is now used in paintings and even cinema. It is very commonly seen in religious art, especially with the light emanating from the holy figure being painted. This process is used because it naturally draws the eye toward the focus point which the artist intends in a very natural way.” (1)

CHIAROSCURO AND TENEBRISM. I’d like to approach an interesting difference between these both techniques. Tenebrism comes from the Italian word “tenebroso”, which means dark. In this technique, shadow undergoes to black, there’s no intermediation between light and shadow. One of the great exponents of tenebrism is the Italian painter, Caravaggio (1571-1603, Milan, Duchy of Milan, Spanish Empire). On the contrary, chiaroscuro uses light and shadow to create depth behind the figures.

SOME COMMENTS REGARDING THE WORK I'M PRESENTING. As an artist, I’m concerned with abnormality and its effects on human life. To create this work, I read and watched testimonials of persons that have had the experience of an epiphany, which as we may know, is “an experience of a sudden and striking realization” (2), that can be mystical, religious, philosophical, etc.

In the work, I tried to embody this strange human experience using the chiaroscuro technique to add drama and three dimensionality to the piece. The data sheet of the work is:

In the work, I tried to embody the strange human experience which is an epiphany. The last by using the chiaroscuro technique, which adds drama and three dimensionality to the piece. — Epiphany 5

Title: Epiphany 5
Artist: Veronica Huacuja
Medium: Digital Art
Size: 9,448 x 8,740 px, 300 dpi
Year: 2020
Collection: Portraits

LET’S DEDUCE A SIGNIFICANT MEANING FROM THE ABOVE. We can study the body of art of the great masters of painting, learn their techniques and use them in our work, in whatever genre we manage. Also, we can keep in mind that our production, as artists, mostly come as if from dreams, where our experiences overlap in a delicate, ephemeral relationship.

1 https://artsandculture.google.com/usergallery/the-use-of-chiaroscuro/1AJCCI6Py2rgLA

2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphany_(feeling)

Reuse Your Canvas And Achieve Good Results

You’re welcome to another Art Blog. My name is Veronica Huacuja. I'm a plastic artist and an online art teacher for groups and individuals. I have some good practical tips for your art process. Hope you find them helpful.

A GOOD RECOMMENDATION REGARDING OUR ART MATERIAL. Don’t throw away the artwork you consider at the moment unsatisfactory. Don't throw away the paper or canvas on which the results were not what you expected. This is because there’s still a good use for it. Let’s keep these materials and use them for a better achievement…, but this new use must be a strategic one.

One interesting thing we can do in our next work is to leave some elements of the original painting. This means, not cover with paint the whole original failed artwork, but to integrate it into the new one. This will improve the expression on our second try.

To exemplify the above, I add the data sheet of the work I’m presenting:

Title: Woman 10
Artist: Veronica Huacuja
Medium: Acrylic on paper
Size: 61 x 48.3 x 0.1 cm
Year: 2022
Collection: Women

Visit any time my patron's feed where you'll find images that describe the process of "Woman 10" using a failed painting on paper I made some time ago: https://www.patreon.com/posts/61243765

A SECONDARY TOPIC. I’d like to talk about the relevant use of physical models in our artwork. If, on the contrary, we use a photograph as an initial resource, we’d be working on another artist's interpretation, in this case, the photographer (copying the gesture or other elements he already solved). And I add something relevant, we’d be working on a two dimensionality (height and width), not on a three dimensionality (height, width and depth). So, the recommendation is to use a physical model and to make our own interpretation out of it. Ask your friends or relatives to pose for you. It'll be worthwhile.

By doing the latter, we improve the coordination of our sight, brain activity and physical capacities (the hand skills). This training will help us achieve rhythm, dynamism, and gesture in our work.

MATERIAL
- An unsatisfactory work on paper or canvas.
- Acrylics paintings.
- 3 brushes. The size of the paper or canvas determines the size of the brushes we have to use on the work. When we paint on a small surface, the brushes must be small and vice versa. For this work, I used rectangular brushes less than an inch thick.
- Water.

LET’S MAKE A MEANINGFUL REFLECTION FROM THE ABOVE. As with everything in life, our art materials are resources that are limited, so let's use them creatively... and by doing so experimenting and finding new expressions in our work.

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Email: art@veronica.mx

Thank you for visiting.

Clay Sculpting Our Painting Models

Welcome to another Art Post. My name is Veronica Huacuja. I’m a plastic artist and an online art teacher. I have some good tips for your painting process. Hope you find them helpful.

PREVIOUS COMMENTS. Have you ever had the experience of not having access to a physical model to practice your drawing skills with? Well, this is an easy need to be solved. I do the latter by sculpting clay models, pose them and draw them on paper. But to do so, I need at least two photos of a character to work with: a frontal and profile view. I usually find these two photos in official mug shots where law enforcement photographs the offenders. A good thing is that these images are in the public domain. This is one of these cases.

MY INITIAL SOURCES. Having the latter in mind, I searched on the Internet, and I found the two mug shots I required, and a very interesting story: the true chronicle of Bob Addison (1913-unknown, U.S.), inmate No. 35074, from the Virginia Penitentiary archives. So, I made up the clay bust and sketched the following artwork:

Title: Inmate #35074

Artist: Veronica Huacuja

Medium: Ink on paper

Size: 10.1 x 20.3 x 0.1 cm

Year: 2022

Collection: The Relentless

BOB ADDISON’S TURBULENT STORY. This man began his criminal career at a very young age: 19 years old. In 1932, he “was convicted in Tazewell County of assault with a knife and sentenced to four years in the Virginia Penitentiary. He served 2 1/2 years and was released.” (1)

After, he got into trouble again. This time in Russell County, where he, too, badly cut a man with a knife, and prior to his trial, he escaped, never to be found until thirty years after. In between, he used another identity, Elbert Roy Clark, got married, and had six children.

This time, when caught–now being an elderly man–, he did not serve his time because “after an outpouring of letters recommending clemency, including one from the Governor of West Virginia, Virginia Governor, Mills E. Godwin, Jr. pardoned Addison on 27 January 1967.” (1)

MAKING THE ARTWORK. There are several advantages by making up our models with clay:

- We exert our artistic skills by perceiving and representing the volume of the figure (wide, tall, and depth). This doesn’t happen when we practice with a 2D model, such as using a photograph or a screen shot from a video. Our brain, sight and hands work altogether when we use a real-life model.

- We can pose the model in different positions: foreshortening, profile, frontal view, bird's-eye view, low angle view, etc., and add diverse sources of light to it. Doing the latter we can practice the chiaroscuro, high contrast, among other light treatments.

- We can make up a silicone mold out of the plasticine bust and begin our sculptor's trade!

TECHNICAL PROCEDURES. I used the frontal view and a profile image to make up the plasticine cast. It’d have been great if I could have found both sides of the character’s head (left and right). (2) This is because our facial features aren’t symmetrical, as we may know. Anyway, I managed to make up the clay model avoiding symmetries. Then, I developed several sketches in ink. In this article, I included the one that I think reflects the once fierce personality of Bob Addison.

LET’S MAKE A MEANINGFUL REFLECTION FROM THE ABOVE. As artists, we can use of our creativity to solve whatever needs we might have to accomplish our work.

1 https://uncommonwealth.virginiamemory.com/blog/2011/10/24/mug-shot-monday-bob-addison-no-35074/

2 Alfonse Bertillon (1853-1914, France) was a police officer and biometrics researcher who created and applied an anthropological technique to law enforcement. He invented an ID system based on physical measurements and the use of mug shots to classify the offenders. Some of these mug shots had 3 views: frontal, and both sides of the head.

Should We Include Social Issues To Our Artwork?

You’re welcome to another Art Blog.

I’m Veronica Huacuja, a plastic artist, and an online art teacher. I have some good and practical tips for your painting process. Hope you find them helpful.

REGARDING THE TITLE OF THIS BLOG. Should we include into our art social problems we watch and read about in our everyday lives? I think it’d be a natural thing to do for some artists, but I’d like to add that this inclusion has to be subordinated to art itself, not to any other topic or field. If our work is a piece of art, it has to be free of any usage (e.g. political topics, trends, etc.).

So, that been said, I made up a collection I entitled The Relentless, where I picture historical characters that suffer social malfunctions and disorders that drive them to commit crime. The tragedy of their lives and their cross paths in the lives of others are elements that impulse me to create this collection.

In this series, I dedicate my work to the victims of the perpetrators I work on, and to the multidisciplinary law enforcement team that pursues these offenders.

This is the data sheet of the work I’m presenting:Title: Robert Stroud, The Birdman of Alcatraz

Artist: Veronica Huacuja

Medium: Digital Art

Size: 6,614 x 10,422 px, 300 dpi

Year: 2021

Collection: The Relentless

As we may know, Robert Franklin Stroud (1890-1963, U.S.) was a convicted criminal with significant contrasts in his lifetime. These contradictions prompted me to create his portrait, in which I tried to capture the tumultuous events of his tragic life.

A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. One more thing that triggered in me the creation of this work is that I’ve visited the public museum of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary during my lifetime on several occasions. I’ve read about the everyday routines that the inmates had to perform, the established relationships among them (their hierarchies, their groups), the roles of the guards, etc. I’ve seen the small cells in which these dangerous men lived for years.

SOME OTHER THOUGHTS. Regarding the aforementioned, I’d like to talk about the differences that some European prisons have compared to other countries, where the inmates have better conditions for redemption. This last, if it’s the case. I believe, besides a matter of finances, overpopulation, etc. the concept of man is different in diverse countries, and in different historical periods. Some countries use their resources to reintegrate the offenders into society–when they’re sure these men won’t relapse–, and others to punish them. I believe Alcatraz was one of the latter prisons where most inmates were meant to be broken. This statement has to be seen as a historical phenomenon.

LET’S MAKE A MEANINGFUL REFLECTION FROM THE ABOVE. I believe the answer to the question of this blog’s title is, for some artists, a categorical yes. Do you agree?

Visit any time:

My ART SHOP: https://veronica-huacuja.pixels.com

My BODY OF ART: https://veronica.mx

I offer an ONLINE PAINTING PROGRAM in traditional or digital techniques: https://veronica.mx/online_painting_course

Other POSTS AND VIDEOS: https://patreon.com/veronicahuacuja

Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed the post.

Let’s Mix Techniques In Our Painting Workflow

Let’s use in our art workflow a digital solution mixed with traditional techniques or the way around.

Welcome to another Art Post. I’m Veronica Huacuja, a plastic artist, and an online art teacher. I’ve some practical tips for your painting process. Hope you find them helpful.

A DIGITAL SOLUTION MIXED WITH TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES OR THE WAY AROUND. As I’ve mentioned in some other blogs, I discovered Blender–a free and open-source 3D computer graphic software–on the Internet. I learned its basics in many free tutorials hosted on YouTube. There’re plenty enough for any learning need you might have of this software.

One incredible thing is that because of this software’s popularity, there are lots of developers, 3D artists, etc. that free share their work and you can download it. That’s what happened in this work of mine: I used a rigged human figure made up on this software. “What a rig does is define the way the various parts of a model will move in relation to its other parts.” (1)

To exemplify the aforementioned, I add the data sheet of the work I’m presenting:

Title: Body Study 65

Artist: Veronica Huacuja

Media: Oil on paper

Size: 20.8 x 21 x 0.1 cm

Year: 2019

Collection: Human Body

THE PROCESS. One important thing to achieve in drawing or painting the human body (or an animal's body) is the dynamism that the figure must have, no matter if it is at rest or in movement.

SOME GOOD DETAILS TO KEEP IN MIND. To get acquainted with the latter, let’s have a look at the body of art of the great masters of dynamic photography, that are Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904, British and U.S.), and Étienne-Jules Marey (1830-1904, France). By the way, they both born in the same year and they died at the same age! And, they got to know each other and each other’s work, but they didn’t establish a close relationship. Let’s not forget the boat made the transcontinental geographical distances in those years. This is because Muybridge lived and work in U.S. and Marey in France.

MY EXPERIENCE DOING THE ARTWORK. Why I used a 3D model when I could buy a nude artistic photo from commercial stocks or use others freely as an initial resource? The reason is that it's hard to find natural and dynamic poses in these galleries. So, having that in mind, I downloaded a free 3D Blender rigged human shaped model. Because it was a rigged, I could pose it in any position. I also defined the sources of light (casting the shadows). When I was satisfied with the results, I made a snapshot out of it.

PAINTING AND RECORDING THE PROCESS. The next step was to use, as an initial source, the cited snapshot. So, I sketched the figure on paper using a black crayon and painted it with an oil painting. You can appreciate the process in an 8 min video at https://www.patreon.com/posts/70780632

LET’S MAKE A MEANINGFUL REFLECTION FROM THE ABOVE. Have you ever mixed these two techniques: digital and traditional? If so, your creative process and initial resources expand.

Visit any time:

My ART SHOP: https://veronica-huacuja.pixels.com

My BODY OF ART: https://veronica.mx

I offer an ONLINE PAINTING PROGRAM in traditional or digital techniques: https://veronica.mx/online_painting_course

Other POSTS AND VIDEOS: https://patreon.com/veronicahuacuja

Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed the post.

Uncommon Initial Resources For A Painting

The artwork of other creators is an incessant source of inspiration for our artistic plastic work.

PREVIOUS COMMENTS. This portrait is an homage to the women that lost their lives in the hands of Jack the Ripper a couple of centuries ago (1888). Their names, as we may know, are Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly.

Since I began the work, I wanted to portray the troubled life and tragic deaths of these unknown (at the time) women. I created this artwork with deep respect towards them. So, I made a previous research.

This is the data sheet of the piece:

Title: A Whitechapel’s Woman
Artist: Veronica Huacuja
Medium: Oil on paper
Size: 33 x 28 x 0.1 cm
Year: 2017
Collection: Women

MY EXPERIENCE MAKING UP THE WORK. As I’ve mentioned on other occasions, I like to use innovative and various techniques in my workflow.

A PREVIOUS ACTIVITY. In this work, I made just like the grand master of painting Leonardo da Vinci, used to do when he searched in the homeless and impoverished people of his time models to paint their troubled faces. In my case, I did a similar task, but using the powerful tool that is the Internet. That's how I gathered information about the mentioned five canonical victims of Jack The Ripper.

On the other hand, I watched the American series, The Killing and found out an incredible scene performed by the actress Mireille Enos that I thought was just the exact initial source I needed at the time to make up the work. I made up various snapshots out of the cited scene, and selected one of them to work on it in a digital environment. In Photoshop, I deformed it, and changed the original source of light on the character's face based on the chiaroscuro masterpiece of Caravaggio (1571- 1610, Italy), David with the Head of Goliath (1607). To see some photos of-the-art process, head over to the following link.

After being satisfied with the digital results, I used them as initial resources for the work done with oil on paper, in a physical environment.

MATERIAL.
- The transformed image of Mireille Enos.
- A reproduction of Caravaggio's painting, David with the Head of Goliath.
- Adobe Photoshop and a digital tablet
- Oil paintings
- Oil paper

MAKING A MEANINGFUL REFLECTION FROM THE ABOVE. The historical research, referring to the artworks of the grand masters of painting of all times, and our personal and professional experiences provide us with enough information to make up an interesting artwork. Do you agree?

Visit any time:

My ART SHOP: https://veronica-huacuja.pixels.com

My BODY OF ART: https://veronica.mx

I offer an ONLINE PAINTING, DRAWINF, MODELING PROGRAM in traditional or digital techniques: https://veronica.mx/online_painting_course

Hope you enjoyed the work and thank you for reading.

Using Literature For A Painting

Literature is an incessant source of inspiration for our artistic plastic work.

You're welcome to another Art Blog. My name is Veronica Huacuja, a painter and an online art teacher for individuals and groups. I have some tips for your art process. Hope you find them interesting.

Previous comments. Literature is an incessant source of inspiration for our artistic work. To explain this, I will refer to a professional experience. Some weeks ago, I got the invitation to take part in a collective exhibition regarding Leonora Carrington (1917-2011, United Kingdom) (1), who, as we may know, was an extraordinary, surrealist, multidisciplinary artist–painter, author, sculptor–. Her work is mesmerizing, not to mention the interesting life she had.

So, I reread her biography, the interesting relationships she established with so many celebrities of her time, such as Max Ernst (one of her dearest lovers at the time), Peggy Guggenheim, André Breton, Edward James (her early benefactor), and many other surrealist artists. Let’s not forget she lived the horror of the World War II in Europe, which is an important factor–besides knowing the Mexican, Renato Leduc (her first husband)–why she ended living in Mexico and adopting the English-born Mexican citizenship.

Her story, “As they Rode Along the Edge” (1), inspired me to make up this piece. The data sheet of the latter is:

Title: Leonora 1. Homage to Leonora Carrington

Artist: Veronica Huacuja

Medium: Acrylic on paper

Size: 25 x 25 x 0.1 cm

Year: 2022

Collection: Women

The excerpt of the cited story that inspired me making up the artwork was the powerful description of her protagonist:

“Her name was Virginia Fur. She had a mane of hair yards long and enormous hands with dirty nails.” (2)

A comment on the side. As an artist, I rarely explain my version of my work. I try hard to make art that points in a direction without defining a destiny. I believe that journey has to be made by the observer.

There’s a book written by the philosopher, Umberto Eco (1932-20116, Italy), “The Open Work”, where he propounds the interpretation of an observer to a piece of art depending on his biography, beliefs, education, social environment, and many other personal factors. So, the main point of an artwork is to achieve polysemy, which are different meanings.

Material.

· Acrylic paints: Vermilion red, Cobalt blue, Titanium white and yellow. With only these paints, we can achieve the full range of the color wheel.

· Bristol paper (270 g / m2). It is a thick paper that withstands the humidity of the acrylic paintings without deforming.

· Rectangular brushes of various thicknesses, only about 1 inch thick or so. I use rectangular brushes and not round, as I can produce stronger strokes with them.

Let’s deduce a significant meaning from the above. Would literature enrich our lives and our artwork? Yes, I believe so. Literature is a splendid and generous source for our art inspiration.

Lastly, if you find this work interesting and helpful, please FOLLOW my FAA feed (https://veronica-huacuja.pixels.com). Thank you!

Visit any time:

My ART SHOP: https://veronica-huacuja.pixels.com

My BODY OF ART: https://veronica.mx

I offer an ONLINE PAINTING PROGRAM in traditional or digital techniques: https://veronica.mx/online_painting_course

Other POSTS AND VIDEOS: https://patreon.com/veronicahuacuja

Thank you for reading.

1 Carrington, Leonora. “As they Rode Along the Edge”. The Seventh Horse and other Tales. Virago, Virago Modern Classics, 1989.

How To Make Up A Big Sketch On Paper

Welcome to another Art Post. My name is Veronica Huacuja. I'm a plastic artist and an online art teacher for groups and individuals. I have some good tips for your art process. Hope you find them useful.

LET’S TALK ABOUT… How to make up a big sketch on paper.

To exemplify the above, I add the following work.

This is its data sheet:

Title: Female Body, Study 1

Artist: Veronica Huacuja

Medium: Oil & crayon on paper

Size: 90 x 60 x 0.1 cm

Year: 2003

Collection: Human Body

A PREVIOUS COMMENT. I made this piece in an art workshop with a physical model. All the participants in the cited workshop agreed to work this pose for just 10 minutes.

Being that said, I had to hurry to “understand” the volume of the body, define the composition (on the paper), the painting tools and the palette.

After sketching it, it took me around an hour to complete the work.

MATERIAL.

- Thick black crayon

- Oil paintings

- Turpentine

- Paper: Bond 90 gm / m2

TECHNICAL PROCEDURES. I sketched the figure with the black crayon using heavy and light strokes. Then, I spread light coats of oil painting using brushes, my the fingers and turpentine. This last material helped to dissolve the crayon and the painting without deforming the paper. It's a joy to work on these materials. One thing that I keep in mind is that, during the process, I have to control the dark color of the crayon, else it might contaminate the rest of the work.

Painting with the fingers is a different way to approach the work after colouring the big surfaces with brushes. It is a very "physical" technique, as we may know, that somehow I compare it with sculpting.

TIP-ON-THE-FLY. If you use this technique, wear gloves to protect your hands. I wear cloth and latex gloves, one on top of the other. This prevents the sweat in the hands and avoids any fungus that can damage the nails.

LET'S MAKE A MEANINGFUL REFLECTION FROM THE ABOVE. Experimenting with different techniques in our artwork is something I find essential. It expands our possibilities for creating new series, collections, etc.

Visit any time:

My ART SHOP: https://veronica-huacuja.pixels.com

My BODY OF ART: https://veronica.mx

I offer an ONLINE PAINTING PROGRAM in traditional or digital techniques: https://veronica.mx/online_painting_course

Other POSTS AND VIDEOS: https://patreon.com/veronicahuacuja

Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed the work.