Artsy Additions!!

Hello again!
I have completed a few more illustrations in my series of stylish young ladies. I decided to actually alter the color of the ink from black to a color that harmonizes with the rest of the piece - I did this by simply scanning the drawing, then changing the color of the ink lines in Photoshop. Then I colored the rest of it by using numerous layers beneath the drawing! You can purchase many products featuring this line of illustrations - just visit my Society6 Illustration Store at : http://www.society6.com/studio/aliciatemplinillustration/store
and my Zazzle Store at : http://www.zazzle.com/aliciatemplin

Christmas is coming up soon, and these would make great gifts!

Here are my 3 newest illustrations in the series :


"Mermystique," Ink Drawing and Digital Color


"Her Boa Boa," Ink Drawing and Digital Color


"Artsy Aura," Ink Drawing and Digital Color

Come back soon to see more illustrations and paintings!!! Have a blessed day!
*1 Corinthians 16:13-14*

All images copyright Alicia Templin 2010

The Digital Painting Process!

Hello everyone!
As promised, here are the steps involved in creating a piece (the featured piece is titled "Afternoon Stroll") that is drawn with ink, scanned and colored digitally in Adobe Photoshop!


Step 1 - The thin-tipped black Sharpie drawing


Step 2 - I made the drawing layer transparent, then created a background layer, chose a brush tool that mimics the appearance of pastel, and used a very large-sized brush to sweep a couple of blue hues behind the girl and her smiley dogs. :-)


Step 3 - I created another layer atop of the blue background, then began brushing in her skin tones with an opaque fleshy color.


Step 4 - I wanted her eyes to really 'pop,' so I focused in on the whites of her eyes, and I chose an intense violet hue for her irises. I then decided to place shades of this same violet throughout the painting to harmonize it all.


Step 5 - I didn't want her clothing to distract from her face, so I chose neutral colors for her blouse and skirt, and tied in her skirt with the blues of the background.


"Afternoon Stroll" Final Step! - I wanted the girl's and the dog's flowing hair to appear similar in style and color, so I used colors that were close, but not exactly the same.

So, that's how I go about it! In a near future post, I will be showing you a video of myself actually drawing one of these characters in ink. Come back soon!
Thanks for visiting, and God bless!

*All images copyright Alicia Templin 2010*

Illustration Inspiration! :-)

I have been learning more and more about painting in Photoshop using my wacom tablet, which has been immensely fun! So, as I painted the illustrations of the poodles and cheerleader, I thought I would try drawing some additional illustrations in a style that is a bit less-cartoony. I still used thin-tipped black Sharpie for the drawings, scanned them, then colored them in Adobe Photoshop with a tool that actually looks like pastel!
Here are my 3 newest creations:


"Feathered Friends," Ink Drawing and Digital Color


"Cattitude," Ink Drawing and Digital Color


"Lady Ladybug," Ink Drawing and Digital Color

I am now very inspired to continue painting in Photoshop! Seeing that I can achieve the appearance of pastels, watercolors, and many other media, I'm excited about discovering more about the world of digital paint!
In the near future, I would like to blog about the actual process of creating one of these pieces start to finish :-)
Thanks, and come back soon! God bless! *Psalm 37:3-6*

*All images copyright Alicia Templin 2010*

Blossoms!!

Hello everyone!
I wanted to do another new blog highlighting my newest completed oil painting, which I've entitled "Poised Petals." I painted this piece as a part of my new still life series (this time I included Degas ballerinas), and I also entered it in the 2010 Blossom Art of Flowers painting competition. There are a few days left to enter, so here's the website for whoever may be interested : http://www.blossomartcompetition.com/


"Poised Petals," Oil on Canvas, 24"x24"


"Poised Petals" detail of Degas in frame


"Poised Petals" detail of orchids


"Poised Petals" detail of Degas image on wall


"Poised Petals" detail of orchid on table

The results of the competition won't be released until November, so we'll just have to wait and see :-) But I thoroughly enjoyed painting this piece... I even have another Degas still life on my easel right now. I will be posting it once I am finished!
Thanks for visiting, come back soon! God bless! :-)

Illustrations Abound!

Hello everyone!
I know it's been a while since my last post, and many new illustrations and paintings have been created since then!
I have created a few more in my children and animal look-alike series, all done in layers of watercolor on watercolor paper...

"Shelled Synchronicity," Watercolor, 7"x11"


"Partyin' Penguins," Watercolor, 7"x11"


"Elephant Efficiency," Watercolor, 7"x11"


"Proper Poodle Playmates," Watercolor, 7"x11"

I've also been experimenting with coloring hand-drawn illustrations in Adobe Photoshop - a ton of fun! I drew these next few images with thin-tipped black Sharpie, scanned them, and colored them digitally! I'm learning oh-so-much...


"Perky Poodle," Ink Drawing and Digital Color


"Hip Hip Hooray!" Ink Drawing and Digital Color


"Prancing Poodle," Ink Drawing and Digital Color

I have also completed another still life in my series featuring small pieces of famous works by some of my favorite artists... The one that I just finished, as well as one that is currently on my easel, are both featuring small photos of Degas paintings. I will be posting these soon :-)
Also, Christmas is quickly approaching, and if you are looking for some great gift ideas (featuring the above illustrations and many more!) for friends and family, check out my Store on Society6 :
http://www.society6.com/studio/aliciatemplinillustration/store
and my Zazzle Store :
http://www.zazzle.com/aliciatemplin
Thanks for visiting, come back soon! :-D God bless!! *Jeremiah 29:11-13*

Spontaneous Still Life Series!

Hello friends!
I haven't blogged in quite a while, but I have definitely been busy painting away!
I completed a large painting of a mother and daughter reading together, which I definitely learned a lot from! While working through this painting, I came to realize that I truly enjoy painting glass and flowers, which are sitting on a table in the painting below. This realization stirred a desire to explore the subject of glass vases, reflections, translucency, and shape and color variations of a myriad of flowers!
In this blog I want to present to you the mother/daughter painting, which led to the following flower series (each containing pieces of paintings that have always inspired me!)... Enjoy!


"Once Upon a Time," Oil on Linen, 48"x36"


"Once Upon a Time" detail - Sydney


"Once Upon a Time" detail - Jacque


"Once Upon a Time" detail of Mary Cassatt book
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"Calla Lilies and Cassatt" Step 1 - underpainting


Step 2 - Vase, lemons and lime


Step 3 - Calla Lilies, Cassatt book and shadows blocked in


Step 4 - Glossy wood table and reflections


Step 5 - Framed picture, golden wall and shadow/reflection from vase


"Calla Lilies and Cassatt," Oil on Linen, 36"x24" - Final Painting!


"Calla Lilies and Cassatt" detail
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"Sparked by Sargent," Oil on Linen, 40"x30"


"Sparked by Sargent" detail


"Sparked by Sargent" detail


"Sparked by Sargent" detail
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"Sorolla in the Sunlight," Oil on Linen, 36"x24"


"Sorolla in the Sunlight" detail


"Sorolla in the Sunlight" detail

I know this is a long blog, but I had so much to share with you!
I hope you enjoyed it - I would definitely love to hear your thoughts & comments!
Thanks so much for visiting... I have more paintings in the works, so another blog is in the near future! God bless! *Romans 15:13*

•All images copyright Alicia Templin 2010•

Prairie Fest!

Hello everyone!
Today I participated in Tandy Hills Natural Area's annual Prairie Fest in Fort Worth, TX. They had all sorts of wonderful booths of local companies/small businesses, as well as scrumptious food and an assortment of musical entertainment. I heard of these festivities from an artist friend, so I decided to check it out - several local painters gathered and painted for hours along the paths and lush, green hills (that's right - hills! And in TX too!) of the Park, dotted with vibrant wildflowers. It was a gorgeous spring day, and we, the painters, were greeted by Fest-goers and passersby as they enjoyed the serene scenery :-)

Each painting completed throughout the day was then displayed in the Artists booth and up for sale - a silent auction, in fact. We are still awaiting the results....Oh the suspense! Half of the proceeds go to maintaining the beauty of the park :-) It was a fabulous festival day filled with fun, friends and flowers. We were even serenaded by a group of bagpipers (dressed in full Scottish attire, kilts and all!) while we painted. An enchanting day I will never forget!

I wanted to share a few photos with you:

The Bagpipers played an assortment of tunes - The red of their attire contrasted wonderfully against all that green of the foliage!


"Spring," Oil on canvas, 12"x9"
I decided to paint a fellow painter while she painted :-)
I just loved how the blue of her shirt stood out amongst a sea of greens, and I wanted to capture it!


"Spring" detail


"Countryside," Oil on linen panel, 6"x8"
The hills looked like a snapshot of an English hillside, yet the cactus in the foreground reminded me I was in Texas!

Spring in Texas is quite lovely - I'm grateful for the array of gorgeous wildflowers (especially the fields of bluebonnets!) that the Lord gives us. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend - come back soon to see more paintings! :-D

*Copyright Alicia Templin 2010*

"Classic Beauty"

The days continue to fly by more rapidly .... but, as they say, "Time flies when you're doing art!" At least, that's the version I'm familiar with :-)

I just completed my large, 48"x36" painting, and, as promised, I took progression photos to share the process with you! My lovely cousin Laura was the model for this painting I titled "Classic Beauty." I embarked upon a journey of paint, and I gleaned so much along the way - when painting, I have a board of inspiration to help me continually focus on my artistic goals and learn from some of the best! For this painting, I pinned up examples of Jeremy Lipking, Morgan Weistling, Dan Gerhartz, Michael Malm, James Tennison, and, of course, Sargent, Sorolla and Cecilia Beaux are always present. :-)


So, here is the underpainting that I began with (I did the first phase of the drawing in acrylic, but I soon had to adjust the measurements, so I will be doing the underpainting in oil from now on! Live and learn...)


Phase 2 - Blocked in the darkest darks and began work on the portrait.


Closeup of the beginning stage of the portrait - a long way to go!


Phase 3 - A lot of work on the main figure, alteration of the profile, and the addition of the reflection - I had to make sure that colors, values and shapes remained consistent in the main figure and the reflection of the figure!


You can see how much the portrait changed from the beginning - I removed the waves of hair behind her face to highlight the soft elegance of her features.


Detail of the reflection


The completed painting :
"Classic Beauty," Oil on Linen, 48"x36"
(In honor of one of my good friends and great inspirations, I painted James Tennison's painting hanging on the wall!)
I just entered this painting in Southwest Art Magazine's 21 Under 31 Competition, but I won't find out if I made the cut until September! So time will tell...
I would love to hear your thoughts about this one!
Thank you for visiting - More paintings will be coming soon to a blog near you! :-)