Mixing Caucasian Skin Tones in Oil

Hiya fellow artistas! Today's vid is kind of a double whammy because you get a sneak peek of my latest artistic venture as well as a very informative lesson (uh..... not to mention, BOOTY!). What can I say, I wanna start 2018 off with a bang:)

I go into detail on my palette and mixes and then do a little demo showing how even after I mix my skin tones I continue to accentuate certain areas of the figure with warm or cool tones as needed. Hope you learn a lil something! And if you do, a 'Subscribe' on my channel would be fantastic! 

Here's how I start my palette:

And here's a tiny sample of my reference photo (you'll just have to wait 'n see why I'm only sharing a tiny piece of it [squeeee!]:

Enjoy the show!!

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originally published January 2, 2018

'Nyeema' Goddess Painting Time Lapse

Me oh my Nyeema was a fun one to paint! Between those bright eyes, pretty pink smile, and fabulous stitching on her scarf I had a blast pulling out all the stops!

Nyeema, a self described Moonflower, is an amazing space-cadet-earthling-flower-child-flow-artist, for lack of a better word ;) She brings love and light to everything she does, and uses her social platforms to advocate for greener living and care for the planet. Nyeema is a very expressive muse, from her green hair and thrifted fashions to her hula hooping style and deeply personal prose on her Instagram (@indigomoonflower). She's the kind of person who has a lot below the surface, and is always up for adventure!

'Nyeema' measures 12x16 inches and is oil painted on oil primed Belgian linen mounted on birchwood.  This painting is available for purchase, and prints are coming soon, and you know she's on my 2018 Bohemian Goddesses Calendar too!!

If you notice, I added my paint mixing into the video this time. Do you find that helpful? Let me know if you like that in the comments below, of if it just added too much time to the beginning. Thanks! And....

Enjoy!

Paint Mixes:

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originally published November 12, 2017

Oil Painting Portrait Demo - 'Anastasia'

Oh boy, have I got a special treat for you today! My very first full-length portrait oil painting demo - Woo Hoo! You get to watch me speed paint this lovely muse in about 1% of the time it took me to actually paint it - ha! I've been finding better and better copyright free music recently, so the soundtrack get's pretty jammin' too ;)

In case you were curious about my incredible Malaysian muse, 'Anastasia' is a delightful and inspiring person inside and out and I was thrilled for the opportunity to paint her as part of my ongoing Bohemian Goddesses collection, in which I lovingly highlight creative and confident women from all over the world with my portraiture. You can read my paragraph about the woman behind the painting here. 

oil on linen, 12x16 inches prints available

Hope you enjoy the demo today! Go ahead and hit that Subscribe button while you're there so you don't miss any future vids:) 

What's on my palette...?

Here's a list of every oil paint I used for the entire work, and below you'll see a few color mixes from specific sections:

• Cadmium Orange
• Burnt Sienna
• Raw Umber
• Magenta
• King's Blue
• Cobalt Blue
• Terra Verte

• Titanium White
• Mars Black
• Paynes Grey
• Naples Yellow
• Yellow Ochre
• Flesh Tint*
• Brilliant Pink

* Flesh tint is actually only used in the turban; it's an incredibly vivid pink color that would only work in tiny doses when painting skin tones. 

Above was my initial palette for painting the turban and I later incorporated that with the rest of the paint needed for her skin tones. Here are most of the mixtures I developed while painting 'Anastasia'. Yep, even the dark green and blue went in there. 

So I've noticed a lot of other YouTube artists answer questions or talk about certain topics while showing their speed demos. Leave me any comments, questions or topic suggestions if you'd like to hear my thoughts over future demos:) 

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originally posted September 26, 2017

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Bohemian Goddesses Artist Statement (Revisit)

[Please Note: I'll be back in the studio working on my Goddesses and new blogs and videos this week - hooray!! If you haven't already read my artist statement about my most important body of work to date go ahead and give it a look; hopefully it will bring new love and light to your experience with my paintings:) ]

At last I feel satisfied and confident about the statement accompanying my current Bohemian Goddesses series - woo hoo!! I have been going back and forth on what and how much to share, and I decided to get pretty deeply personal. I felt that it was the only way to really show my audience how much this body of work means to me. 

It is of the utmost importance to me that my message of love and admiration accompanying this series is heard loud and clear, while at the same time being a sensitive writer to sensitive matters.

After you've read through, I would greatly appreciate any feedback in the comments or you can contact me personally if you have any thoughts you would like to share with me. Artists are almost always a bit nervous of public reception when introducing new works, and this release is no exception, especially because of the message I am trying to spread. In this day and age of uncertain futures of civil liberties and common decency sitting in the crosshairs, I am hoping to be a small vessel of love and inclusion and admiration. Hopefully you, as an art lover, will feel positively about the work I am doing, but please know that I am grateful for a thoughtful critique no matter what the opinion. 

So without further ado..... 

"In my latest series, ‘Bohemian Goddesses’, I am exploring women whose beauty transcends the (crumbling) traditional American ideal standards of perfection. Namely, unique and exquisite women who are not primarily of Anglican descent. Women who may have been marginalized in the past, but today are finding their own powerful voices and loyal audiences and are helping to create a more balanced, in tune, and accepting future. 

Growing up and attending art school in the Southeastern US, all of my art professors, live models, and almost every artist we studied, were read more..... 

PS. See the full series here

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originally published: February 23, 2017

Prints 'n Stickers 'n Stamps - Oh My!

Hi Friends! Happy Full Moon weekend!

Ok, so today's share might seem a tad unremarkable to some, but realize that my excitement lies more within what these little gifts and accents symbolize rather than what they actually are (I'll explain later;) )

I can't help it, I'm just really proud to share all the little things! Like, for example these really sweet vinyl stickers I've had made twice now. How clear and bright is that image?!? Along with these postcards I got last year that I use for 'thank you' notes and I've always been in love with my teeny tiny business cards. 

Plus I recently designed these super sweet stamps for authenticating my prints and giving a more polished look to my outgoing artwork parcels. 

Now let me tell you why these small things are so meaningful: 

All of these little bonus goodies with coherent logos and the same 'look' and branding and all that good stuff that I pack with every purchase as well as hand out to folks I meet, is exactly what you would expect a well-seasoned professional artist to bring to the table. I mean, don't get me wrong, I have been creating and showing work locally for years, but it is only within the last few months that I've actually starting culling together all the trappings of an artist who actually "knows what they're doing." Ha!

Simply having prints available is totally new for me!

I guess what I'm trying to say, dear reader, is that I am tremendously grateful that my ambitions as a career artist are starting to blossom in ways that I could have only dreamed they would. Because these are all tangible objects associated with sharing my artwork, they're meaning feels all the more real.

It's truly amazing what the smallest symbols of professionalism or achievement can mean to one artist working her very hardest to make it in this bustling world:) 

PS. Make sure you pop on over to my Instagram @caleighbirdart asap because I'm doing a Full Moon Goddess Print Giveaway this weekend! The winner receives an 11x14 inch gallery quality giclee print of their choosing from my two recent Bohemian Goddesses oil paintings. Yay!! 

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originally posted: June 10, 2017

Bohemian Goddesses Artist Statement

At last I feel satisfied and confident about the statement accompanying my current Bohemian Goddesses series - woo hoo!! I have been going back and forth on what and how much to share, and I decided to get pretty deeply personal. I felt that it was the only way to really show my audience how much this body of work means to me. 

It is of the utmost importance to me that my message of love and admiration accompanying this action to help change the modern art world for the better is heard loud and clear, while at the same time being a sensitive writer to sensitive matters.

After you've read through, I would greatly appreciate any feedback in the comments or you can contact me personally if you have any thoughts you would like to share with me. Artists are almost always a bit nervous of public reception when introducing new works, and this release is no exception, especially because of the message I am trying to spread. In this day and age of uncertain futures of civil liberties and common decency sitting in the crosshairs, I am hoping to be a small vessel of love and inclusion and admiration. Hopefully you, my loyal supporter, will feel positively about the work I am doing, but please know that I am grateful for a thoughtful critique no matter what the opinion. 

So without further ado..... 

"In my latest series, ‘Bohemian Goddesses’, I am exploring women whose beauty transcends the (crumbling) traditional American ideal standards of perfection. Namely, unique and exquisite women who are not primarily of Anglican descent. Women who may have been marginalized in the past, but today are finding their own powerful voices and loyal audiences and are helping to create a more balanced, in tune, and accepting future. 

Growing up and attending art school in the Southeastern US, all of my art professors, live models, and almost every artist we studied, were read more..... 

--

originally posted: February 23, 2017

Fabulous Gifts for Your Favorite Folks

We all know what time is.... try to deny it, but we all know we've got a least a few folks on our holiday gift list. Or maybe you're looking to drop some subtle hints of your own [wink, wink]. Either way, supporting your favorite creatives in their small businesses is a win-win; I mean, who doesn't love handmade?!

Here are a few of this artist's humble yuletide offerings. Hopefully you can get some inspo to check at least one or two folks off your list:

1. The Globetrotter

SELECTION OF HIGH QUALITY PRINTS (click for more options)

2. The Pet Lover 

(click for more options)

3. The Sensible Bohemian

(click for more options)

4. Your Dear Old Mum

(click for more options)

5. The Attention-Getter

GREETING CARDS! (click for more options)

6. The Doting Parents

(click for more options)

7. The Greenthumb

(click for more options)

8. (Last, but certainly not least) The ART LOVER!!

SELECTION OF HIGH QUALITY PRINTS (click for more options)

Would love to hear about any of these gifts in action! Send me pics or comment below for a feature. Happy Holidays!!

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originally posted: December 7, 2016

Visit to the National Gallery, Washington DC

  I was fortunate enough to spend three and a half days at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. while visiting my boyfriend at his parents’ house recently. The collection is absolutely incredible; as good as any museum I’ve seen in Europe! I have always especially enjoyed visiting art museums by myself so I can spend as much time as I want mulling over whichever works tickle my fancy. Of course, I love the docent tours and headset tours and this time I even brought along a guidebook to the collection.  I did a few master copy sketches in the galleries and really just soaked it all in.

 A few of the highlights of my visit included the only Da Vinci painting in North America, a small room with four Vermeers, the four Raphaels, six Toulouse-Lautrec paintings, and a number of John Singer Sargent, Van Gogh, Renoir, Cezanne, Manet, and Matisse works, just to name a few. I was literally in constant awe! I will be posting many of my favorites on my Tumblr blog periodically.

I was really paying close attention to various artists’ brushstrokes and choice of light and color. I have been feeling so inspired lately and am thinking of doing a few master copies just for fun. 

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originally posted: June 24, 2015