Quick Visit to St. Pete

Oh my gosh I had to run an errand in St. Pete yesterday which afforded me about two hours exploring outside of the house and it was GLORIOUS!! Plus this is such an adorable and artsy city anyway, it’s right up my alley.. not to big, not too crowded, but still a bustling art scene (during normal times).

My first stop was the Leslie Curren Gallery which has a great variety of traditional work, but also lots of textured abstracts and small sculptures. I’ve always loved art exhibits, but now that I haven’t seen one since March I enjoyed experiencing these works twice as much!

Copper Tritschellers

Steven Kenny

Afterwards I strolled down to the Morean Arts Center and was really blown away by this fabric artist who puts so much detail and layers into each piece. Simply remarkable!

Krystle Lemonias

I also loved these alleyway paintings! They really feel so familiar, like you’ve viewed this space before out of the corner of your eye but you just can’t place it…. I should have taken a better reference photo so you could see the size because this piece is about 8 feet tall and is a wonderfully full of detail.

Nicolas Kalemba

And what’s not to love about some sumptuous flowing oozing colors that look almost like alien ice cream?!

Chelsea Rowe

All in all a pretty super duper way to spend the day!

6.25.2020

Real Time Skull Painting Demo

Enjoy this real time painting demo of a skull today. I am using oil paints on a homemade linen-faced painting block. It's great practice to draw and paint the human skull because it helps break down the structure and components of a face for portrait drawing that you normally wouldn't see.

Here's Part 2 of the live painting Skull demo: [It’s also a great place to jump right in just before I do major work on the facial structure]

Materials:

Any supplies purchased through my special links help to support this channel. Thank you!!

Oil Paints:

Titanium White: https://bit.ly/2Uqiugo

Naples Yellow: https://bit.ly/2UKShbB

King’s Blue Light: https://bit.ly/3denDhW

Napthol Red: https://bit.ly/2WO7DP7

Raw Umber: https://bit.ly/2xrsAF5

Payne's Grey: https://bit.ly/3arumV1

Odorless Mineral Spirits: https://bit.ly/2vhDrA1 \

Brushes:

Da Vinci Trio Brushes (size 1 round, 4 bright, 4 filbert): https://bit.ly/312TCiO

Da Vinci Size 2 Round Brush: https://bit.ly/3diLEEK

Da Vinci Size 2 Filbert Brush: https://bit.ly/2NdkwMv

Da Vinci Size 0/2 Round Brush: https://bit.ly/2CqUxiK

If you’re curious how I made this linen painting panel, check out this older vid that details my process.

And make sure you’re subscribed to my channel because I have two other skull paintings coming out in timelapse video style!

6.20.2020

Visit to Circle B Bar Nature Preserve, FL

When I read ‘lots of wildlife' in the reviews, I honestly did not think much of it… but WOW was I wrong! I got so much closer to huge dinosaurs in the form of herons, cranes, and gators than I could have ever imagined!!

What an awesome up-close animal crossing experience! These cranes were not concerned about our presence at all!

Do you see that camo gator hiding out in plain sight in the pic above? We also got to see a heron tousling with his “sushi” dinner before getting spooked by a really big alligator splash just behind him.

And how about this Florescent Swamp Chicken (possibly not the scientific name) pecking here and there?! I wish the brightness of her face would have come through the photo more - it was like traffic cone orange!

There were literally huge wetland birds in every direction, mostly oblivious to our passing by. Circle B Bar is over 1,200 acres of nature preserve with about 10 miles of trails throughout with both hikers and families enjoying all this pristine coastline, so the animals at this point feel very safe and carry on their normal activities as if we weren’t even there. So fascinating!

I was literally speechless with just how many HUUGE gators there were just a foot or so below the grassy pathway. We even saw and heard them leaping out of the water at prey, sometimes within fifteen feet of us! Yikes!!

All in all, a fabulous day with my adventure buddy Baila!

Oh, and in case you’re wondering… I do believe I’ve made a personal breakthrough and will be carrying a parasol with me from now on on flatland hikes because this Bird is officially over getting sunburned, ya dig??? ;)

6.17.2020

How to Get Over the Fear of Sharing Your Art

Are you afraid to show your art online? Facing and overcoming your fear of sharing art is important in order to grow as an artist and creator. Even though the risks of sharing art online (such as no likes/comments or someone stealing your idea), the benefits of sharing artwork online far outweigh them.

Everyone has to start somewhere, and no one is great off the bat, so take today's artist tips to help you break out of your shell and begin to share your gift with the world!

Resources:

How to Photograph Artwork Using Natural Light: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSQJWVlTDvg&t=2s

How I create my figure drawings: https://youtu.be/qUcnWwKL59g https://youtu.be/OlMi5izeBaM

Original drawings available in my Shop

If you would like more info on getting your own handmade-with-love toned (or white) paper sketchbook pop over here to be kept in the loop for my next sketchbook release.

Croquis Cafe Figure Resources (18+): https://modelindexdatabase.smugmug.com/

My Drawing Supplies (any purchase helps to support my channel, thanks!)

Kneaded Eraser: https://bit.ly/2VC4qBB

Map Eraser: https://bit.ly/2wgzoop

Mono Zero Eraser: https://bit.ly/3885Fej

White Chalk Pencil: https://bit.ly/3d3COLh

Steel Grey Carbothello Pastel Pencil: https://bit.ly/2YIvbED

Deep Purple Carbothello Pastel Pencil: https://bit.ly/2XTkGPk

Raw Umber Carbothello Pastel Pencil: https://bit.ly/30zLfL8

6.12.2020

Sewing a Mega Monster

I recently got commissioned to make something I haven’t made in over five years, a big huge giant Mega Monster!! Hopefully you are familiar with the sock monsters I create sporadically, but you are probably unaware that during the time that I used to sell these on a regular basis at craft fairs in music festivals I was also making much larger versions out of fleece. I even had one that was bigger than this and also wearable, Rosco, who I toted around all the events with me. Let me tell you, dancing Rosco was a real crowd pleaser!

Normally I did not make them with straps on them because I had folks buying them for children sometimes, so I was tickled pink when I got an email out of the blue from a person who had purchased one of my Mega Monsters a few years ago and then told me that some thing about quarantine was making her so antsy for the days that she could go out again that she was craving a monster she could wear like a backpack whenever the world is ready for parties again. I was like ‘don’t worry honey, I have got you covered!’

I mean, can you even imagine bouncin’ round the dance floor, lights flashing, music blaring, your fave band killin it… and in front of you is a ginormous monster keeping the beat?!

So long story short, we picked out the fabric online together and I had it mailed to my house but I took me about a week to make the monster and now he has now been shipped up to New York. I haven’t seen any pictures yet from my client, but I’ll share them when I do.

Also, if you are interested in snagging one of my regular sock monsters just keep an eye on Instagram, in my Stories particularly, where I post new releases every few months.

6.10.2020

Using a Resin Mold for the First Time

My first time using a resin mold and I’m sharing the experience with you! Since I already had collected and pressed plenty of lovely ferns and leaves, I decided to mainly focus on casting the resin with dried plants, which is one of my favorite ways to accent my 3D layered resin paintings in general anyway. Using this resin mold for some of the extras was just a bonus in every way!

If I can ever find an excuse to collect and dry more ferns I am more than happy to do so!

I hope you enjoy learning about how to use a resin mold today, I was really delightfully surprised at just how easy and straightforward it turned out to be:)

Snag some original layered resin art from my Shop!

My fave resin brand: https://www.artresin.com

And the silicone mold I just found on EBay; there are about a thousand different brand-new molds all ready to ship from China on there if you look around.

How to Pour Layered Resin Art: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxmP_I9gEvM&t=415s
5.29.2020

Clown Portrait Commission

Whelp, I’ve thought long and hard, and I think I’ve decided to give it all up for clown portraiture…

I just dropped off my latest commission yesterday and what an exciting spot it was indeed! My mom’s neighbor tapped me to repaint the badly damaged doorway portrait of Toby the Clown, who is the namesake of a local clown museum and school. It was my first time in the building and wow, I can honestly say I have never been in the midst of so much clown art in my life!

Although this is definitely one of my sillier commissions, I’m actually very honored to be asked to repaint this portrait because although Toby has passed away, he is beloved by many folks, including lots of other local clowns, and the folks who’ve seen the painting already say his warm and friendly personality really shines through, which means a lot to a portrait artist who has never met her subject in person.

They were super sweet and gave me a special surfing clown figurine since they knew I’m still fresh from the island life - so adorable. I was actually nicely surprised with the quality of some of the paintings. Check out the two portraits on the left in this pic, they were done by Red Skelton!

Below you can see the damage done to the original painting by the outdoor elements. I repainted it in oil, which will hold well but the gals down at the clown museum understand the face will probably need to be repainted every 3-5 years no matter what.

It’s definitely not what I’m used to, but I’ll take a great learning experience any time! I can officially add ‘Clown Portraiture’ into my repertoire now - ha!

Literally a few thousand figurines in the collection! Not exactly where I’d want to sleep at night, but totally awesome nonetheless!

5.28.2020

Daily Vlog, Day One

I had an amazing epiphany when trying to dive in and figure out what my particular audience wants so that I can figure out how to give it to them, which is, in a nutshell, how all successful creators get to be as such.

I’m not going to post them here or on YouTube, you can only find my artsy advice and real world rants, tips, and musings on my Instagram. I’m posting a new 3-5 minute vlog every single day, just as a way to check in with my patrons and supporters.

But just because I want to make sure you know how silly candid Caleigh can be (and to dangle the ole IG carrot just a lil..) I’ve uploaded just the first introductory vlog in a secret video that can only be viewed here.

Enjoy! If you mention this blog post to me on IG I’ll make sure to follow you back! xo

5.27.2020

Painting A Beach Mural at The Arc

Woo Hoo! My very first beach mural! Actually, it’s my first landscape mural of any kind and I learned a lot!

Trying to incorporate oil painting skills with mural painting technique definitely still has me on a bit of a learning curve, but hopefully you will enjoy these mural tips that I was able to figure out already.

I used interior house paint for everything which has a delightfully smooth and pigment rich consistency, although I do look forward to trying out actual mural paint one of these days.

I felt really fortunate to be able to work with the Ridge Area Arc in particular because, although the facility has been shut down for a few months due to present world circumstances so I was alone while painting the mural, I was able to meet a few of their clientele on a previous visit and they were so sweet and friendly and excited to meet me. It feels really good to be able to create upbeat artwork for folks who will really look at it and enjoy it every day.

Read more about the Arc’s mission and our project in the local paper. That’s right, this Birdie had a featured article for her mural project! Yay!! (click to enlarge it)

View fullsize

5.22.2020

‘Fern Tummy’ in Her Perfect New Home

Any of my fellow artists understand that when a client brings a piece of your work into their home it is a very meaningful transaction and a little piece of your heart goes with each piece you create.

So when another artist whom you love and respect so much decides to collect your work, feelings of gratitude and warmth abound, especially when you get sent a photo like this one of your work born on the ridges of the Ko’olau mountains on O’ahu, and now at home in the cozy woods of New Hampshire.

Ferns with ferns forever… :)

Seana is one of my fave muses and biggest supporters and becoming a closer friend every day. Check out her gorgeous self photography and one of my paintings of her, and then find Seana on Instagram @theillustratr and look at her beautiful artwork.

5.20.2020