Tag: Art Nouveau

January 4, 2023

Project Status: Birthstone Goddesses FINAL PHASE!

It’s the New Year and that fresh beginning is always an exciting time of re-assessment and looking forward! 2022 was a time of adjustment for me while we set up our new home and got used to a whole new flow to our lives. I’ve had a lot of time to think about this Patreon and the Birthstone Goddesses and it’s my hope to both re-launch this Patreon and wrap up this project in 2023!

The Birthstone Goddesses: FINAL PHASE!

So what’s in store for this year? I want to complete the collections I started when I was prototyping various merch at DragonCon back in 2019, an endeavor which was thoroughly waylaid by the pandemic, our own life challenges, and supply chain issues. Folks really enjoyed the more wearable and utilitarian art I shared at the con back in 2019 and I’m all about bringing beautiful things into the everyday!

Prototype Scarves and Totes from my DragonCon 2019 display. It’s time to redesign them with your feedback in mind! I still have a few of these prototypes available in my Secret Shop, as well.

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My tentative biz goals for 2023:

Mandala & Goddess Tote Bags, Apparel, & Journals
Frame & photograph the complete set of Birthstone Goddess paintings
Kickstarter Project in Late Spring – Mandala Enamel Amulet Necklaces
Kickstarter Project in Late Fall – Birthstone Goddesses Wall Calendar
Designing Gift Sets for each Goddess’ Collection by the holidays!
Re-launch this Patreon with Exclusive Merch!
Finish setting up automation with Art of Where & Printful
More video content & streaming! Without conventions, I need face time with folks again. I miss your faces!

A Big Decision – Birthstone Goddesses Art Book Delay?

One of the biggest decisions I’ve made this year is that I don’t think I have the energy in me to do the Birthstone Goddesses art book I wanted to do. I could either release that book now as a simple collection of my years of work on this project OR I could set this book for a later time where I’m able to create a few of the experimental paintings I had in mind to include, as well as create the luxury experience I feel would make the book special. I’ve opted for the latter.

Waiting till later means I can give myself the space away to not be burnt out by spending the time on the book that I’d like to in order to make it extra special! I’ve been working on this project for so long and I need a break before I come back to the book at a later point in my life.

As for this Patreon?

I’m still aiming to re-launch this space with a bit of restructuring to make it more of a low key Tip Jar with a few extra options for those who’d like to collect some premium exclusive goodies. I’ll still be sharing my experience and archive of material (coloring pages, tutorials, Secret Shop, etc), but I’ll be adding material here at my own pace instead of overwhelming myself. More details on that when the re-launch is actually happening! Right now this Patreon is staying in Tip Jar mode for health reasons.

I have another minor surgery for a hernia repair of an old surgical incision in my belly scheduled for tomorrow (eep!), so that’s definitely delaying my start to the year! Designing the exclusive merch will have to wait till I’m able to sit up comfortably again. 2022 had one last sucker punch to give, it seems!

After that, though, I hope to hit the ground running and give you guys a tour of the new studio space because it’s so amazing aah!

I’ll be back soon with hopefully more substantial updates and new things to share after a little recovery time. Till then! I hope you all are good!

♥ Ang

August 20, 2019

July 13, 2017

MINI TUTORIAL: Art Nouveau Hair

I did a panel on how to draw Art Nouveau style hair at JordanCon this past and thought I’d share the info and results of what I drew there live!

DISCLAIMER: This is by no means the definitive guide of Art Nouveau hair, but my own interpretation!

Inspiration Sources

If you want some gorgeous hair to get your creative juices flowing, check out the art of Alphonse Mucha and any number of the artists I’ve mentioned in the Unknown Nouveau article series. I also have several favorite study sources up at my Art Nouveau resource page.

Before You Begin…

Think about your concept. Art Nouveau isn’t all pretty ladies and flowy lines. Much of it has deep symbolic roots. What visual elements or symbols could you tie into your piece?

Art Nouveau at its visual core is about flowing lines, graceful curves, and aesthetic design, in addition to the spiritual and symbolic roots of the movement.

Source: I used an image from this evocative set of stock art by ArtReferenceSource as a base for the figure in this tutorial. Check out the rest of his gallery for even more amazing poses for use by artists!

The Bad Example

I made this bad example by randomly drawing lines (and even then, it was really hard to make that beautiful base pose look bad!). I consider this an ineffective use of the Art Nouveau style because it is directionless, does not serve the compositional flow, and generally just looks a mess!

A Good Example

Now this is better! You don’t necessarily have to have the hair of a figure flowing out everywhere in your composition. This approach shows that you could have a more subtle stylized and graphic take on the hair where it has become more of a decorative shape than a realistic object.

Perhaps she is a river goddess and her hair has become the flowing waters? Perhaps she is a volcano goddess and her hair has become lava flowing down the mountain? Weaving the hair into your background elements is one way you could bring in interesting visual elements and symbols!

Another Good Example

Here we have a more traditional take on Art Nouveau hair where the lines of the hair all curve back into the face, the heart of the piece, in this case. Nearly every line in the image is smooth, curving, and gentle.

I’ve also abstracted the ends of the hair into curly decorative strands, which is another very specific quirk of the Art Nouveau style that you’ll see Mucha and his students use a lot. These curly ends add a decorative touch to the hair that’s a bit more interesting than just ending the hair.

I’m sure I could write more about this topic, but I’m ending this tutorial here before it becomes a book! I hope it gives you some basic ideas of what to do with your Art Nouveau style hair.

Do you have any favorite examples of Art Nouveau style hair? Share in the comments area, as I’d love to see them!

May 3, 2017

Unknown Nouveau: Gaspar Camps

While I’m busy grinding away braincells on Lady of July ‘s many flower buds, I wanted to introduce you to another Art Nouveau artist I had never heard of! Gaspar Champs hailed from Spain and spent a large part of his career in France. He was very heavily influenced by Mucha, so much so that he became known as the ‘Catalan Mucha’.

Like my previous feature of Élisabeth Sonrel , I love how Camps brought his own unique flair to Alphonse Mucha’s line style. At times, Camps’ work feels more abstract with his figures melting into the details of his images.

I also love the sense of light bouncing in his more painterly work. What a joy it was to discover him!

If you want to see more of these art features, view them all at once here .

March 21, 2017

SKETCH DIARY: Lady of June

My journey continues this month with Lady of June! Lady of November represented a milestone of high quality and attention to detail in this series that was hard to beat! How could I make the rest of the Ladies as good as November? That was the difficult challenge I set for myself as I moved on to this month and ventured into the first of the Ladies of summertime!

After the dark whimsy of Lady of November, we’ve returned to the Ladies of Summer! Admittedly, this Lady has been a challenge thus far. While November had a lot of amazing imagery to play with, June is more of a subtle time of year. Its celebration of youthfulness and young brides reminds of May’s themes, with one of the only unique events being the Summer Solstice. I’ve been struggling to find Lady of June’s unique visual story to make her different enough from the other Ladies, but that’s what research is all about!

MOOD BOARD

One of the most prominent themes I found while researching the Summer Solstice via Pinterest image gathering was the celebration of Litha and the Sun Wheel. The Solstice celebrates the reigning power of the Sun. The Sun Wheel was an old tradition where a representation of the sun was set aflame and rolled down a hill to symbolize its shifting phases. As soon as I saw the Wheel, I knew it’d be the perfect inspiration for the mandala window!

RESEARCH NOTES

Research for the Ladies always begins with the origin of the month’s name. In this case, June was named for Juno, the goddess of marriage and well-being of women. She was also wife to Jupiter/Zeus. I look across different cultures and see what about this time of year strikes a chord with humanity. June in the northern hemisphere is a high point of Summer, a time of divination, and a powerful phase of feminine power.

Writing notes helps me to search out the imagery and symbolism I want to include in this Lady’s painting. I think of flowers, plants, and brides. The symbol of the well as a tool of divination also struck a chord with me, which is why it shows up so much in my thumbnail sketches.

THUMBNAIL SKETCHES

Many of these thumbnails explore using water in a well or pond as a divination tool. 2 and 4 feel a little close to Lady of March, with 4 feeling a bit more like a representation of Vanity. 3 captures a more traditional bridal theme, while 1, 5, 6, and 7 seem to capture that theme of a bride searching for her love in the reflection for a more unified theme. In the end, my favorites are 1, 5, and 6, with 5 and 6 having the clearest shapes and classical feel.

Character Posing

December 7, 2016

SKETCH DIARY: Lady of November

My journey continues with Lady of November! I’ve been looking forward to this Lady for quite some time, being a November birthday, myself! She’s a very special Lady who challenged me more than any of the others had before with the ambitious ideas I wanted to implement.

November, November! I’ve been looking forward to this month for a while, not only because it is my own birth month, but because it represents my favorite time of year – Autumn and a time of spooks and spirits! I decided to skip ahead in this series so that I might be able to finish some of the later Ladies by the time I reached the end of this year. But never fear, the other Ladies of the summertime will be explored come next year!

Mood Board

Lady of November’s mood board on Pinterest.

July 8, 2016

SKETCH DIARY: Lady of April

My journey continues this month with Lady of April! Lady of March broke through creative boundaries with her unique imagery and presentation. That once again made the pressure high for Lady of April! I had to work through art block with this piece, but in the end, powering my way through equaled something grand!

Brainstorming:

My research began initially with some overlap with Easter, since Easter is a movable feast that can take place in March or April. I initially thought I’d make March and April inverted twins of sorts, but I moved away from this idea by the end, though you’ll notice both Ladies still stand in water, representing renewal.

Over the course of my research, I discovered the festival of Demeter which is a famous April celebration. Women dressed in white take torches into the dark of night, representing Demeter searching for her daughter, Persephone, the goddess of Spring.

I also noticed many cultures in the northern hemisphere take this time of year to honor trees with arbor festivals. In the end, the imagery of fire, light, and the growth of trees that came up during research helped April to emerge in her final form.

You’ll notice in some of the thumbnails pictured below, I represented Easter by including rabbits, symbols of fertility and light bringers, though I eventually moved away from this imagery in favor of focusing on the Lady holding a tree, evoking her as a giver of life and promoter of growth. In the end, I preferred this unique imagery over repeating Easter’s themes.

Reference Gathering:
A mood board helps organize my muse’s random visions into something I can translate into my painting.

A peek at a small section of Lady of April’s secret board on Pinterest. Read more

March 2, 2016

SKETCH DIARY: Lady of February Part 2

February 22, 2016

SKETCH DIARY: Lady of February Part 1

July 18, 2014

SKETCH DIARY: Lady of January

This series began as my annual Christmas card back in 2012 and as a homage to Mucha’s stunning series “The Precious Stones”! I’m a long time fan of Alphonse Mucha ever since I discovered his work years ago in college and fell in love with his graceful, intricate compositions. I thought it’d be fun to challenge myself to an entire series in this detailed and decorative mode of work. The Lady of December sat alone as the only entry into this series until I recently decided to pick it up again!

“The Precious Stones” Female figures embodying the gemstones Ruby, Amethyst, Emerald, and Topaz.

“Lady of December,” Digital Painting, 2012.

I had tried to do a monthly series before in the form of a series of angels, but I wasn’t quite satisfied with the layout of the composition of the first entry in this series. The window and the figure felt disconnected, while the background seemed too empty with too much wasted potential.

“Lady of January,” Digital Painting, 2011.