Vision

I woke up with an image reflected on my retinas. I had an overwhelming urge to realize the vision.  It had to be dreamy-loose but also had to adhere to my vision. I began with a watercolor sketch, but the color was too vibrant.  It needed to be somber. I took a photo of the …

The Light

 A snapshot from a dream-mare.

Watercolor Wednesday

Either Give Me A Hand, or Get me outta here!:)  Not sure which. I began with two reference images; a woman in a fancy ball gown and an image of a child cheerfully reaching for something.  I fully expected to use the reference very loosely, as a springboard for a sweet ethereal scene.  But it …

Watercolor Wednesday

Waiting in the wings.

Creative Writers

  As promised, and with pleasure, I bring you the thoughtful, funny and imaginative stories prompted by this series of watercolor illustrations on your left. Thank you writers!  I’m charmed and impressed, especially since many of these writers are visual artists as well. —————— From Helen: I sat barely moving at the end of the …

Stylized Blonde

A fun watercolor sketch with a little urban style;)

Digital Painting Tutorial Part 3

Final “Spring” Because Spring is part two of a four-part project, I had be sure that the choices I made for this piece will harmonize with the previous work. I have a very clear vision of the overall project, and have decided to contrast the moods of the seasons greatly.  On the other hand, I will …

Digital Painting Tutorial/Spring Part 2

Okey Dokey, part two is mostly about the way I manipulated my photos to provide a back round and a dress for Ms. Spring.  There have to be myriad ways to deal with photos incorporated into digital paintings.  I’m simply revealing the way I went about it in this piece.  And, I have no problem …

Four Seasons:Spring Tutorial

Spring, It’s the second in my Four Seasons project.  Last time with Digital Winter , I explored an overview of the digital painting via Photoshop layers.  The focus of Spring is painting the skin.  I’m using Photoshop CS4 and Wacom Intuos 4.  I’m still working on the finish, but here’s essentially, how I’ve  painted the skin …

Digital Painting Tutorial

Above is a screenshot of the basic Photoshop underpainting of “Winter”.    Below is a visual tutorial of the painting process. Please feel free to ask any questions that may come to mind, since my text explanation is spare.

3×3 Illustration Annual #8 -I’m In It!

I’ve been entranced with  the  3×3 Illustration Annual  since I first discovered it one Saturday in Barnes and Noble.  Naturally,  I sat with it in the B&N cafe enjoying the eye candy more than my beverage.  My book wish list is always lengthy, but I bumped book title #1 and bought the Annual.  Since then, I’ve …

Stripes for Illustration Friday

Illustration Friday‘s prompt this week is stripes.  And, while my above entry is less an illustration and more a portrait, I couldn’t help myself.   I love to paint real people.   As my penance for not pushing the illustration angle, I decided to make watercolor my medium for this challenge.  My watercolor skills are …

Razzle Dazzle Rose

A little girl wielding a magic crayon with a lovely point, expertly sharpened by the built-in sharpener in the 64 pack… of Crayola’s, of course.

Fifteen Minute Hair

<a href=”http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/3107543/elenacaravelas-blog?claim=4cumqmy9rsx”>Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a> I love to render thick manes of long hair.  Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I’m familiar with them.  From age fourteen to thirty, I dragged around my own head of long heavy hair that reached nearly to my ankles.  Why, you may ask?  Couldn’t …

Lorica #3

The third illustration in my not yet written, middle grade novel.  So many projects, so little time:) Related articles Mysterious Lorica (elenacaravela.wordpress.com)

Katniss

Do book cover illustrations influence the way you envision a character before you read a book?  Does an actor cast as the character from your favorite book embody your idea of the character in a film? My niece and I recently discussed these questions. We decided that we try not to allow an illustrator or …

Mysterious Lorica

There is a story behind this painting.  I posted this piece first on my Illustration Friday  page for the topic mysterious, but I its first obligation is to serve as an illustration for a story floating around in my head.  This story will convert itself into text after I have a few more illustrations worked …

Encounter with a Ladybug

Chapter 3 PAUL MOVES ON Ah, what one must bear.  After the disheartening encounter with Malamar (who I may eventually forgive), I felt the overriding need to stretch my limbs and rest a bit. I commenced to lay directly on the floor, because my grandfather claims there’s nothing better for the back.  Just as I …

Portrait Of A Girl-Featured Artist Interview

Just in case you did not catch this interview of Leah on my Portrait of a Girl and Her Art  blog, I’m reposting it here, center stage. Leah Olbrich is a fascinating young artist, and a wonderful young woman. Enjoy. (Leah is featured in “Portrait of a Girl and Her Art”on page 43 and page …

G- rated Steampunk Mermaids

Very recently two illustrators whom I admire, inspired me to paint a steampunk piece for kids.  Now, I really dislike painting mechanical symmetrical elements, but I do enjoy the look of  shiny geometric details. So I decided to simplify, take it slowly, and allow Photoshop’s filters to do the heavy lifting. I also relied heavily …

Summer Bugs

As I scratched my first mosquito bite of the summer, I became entranced by the beauty of the buggy images on my tv screen… I don’t remember what I was doing in 1996, but I missed the release of Microcosmos a gorgeous French film that certainly captured my imagination.  It dunked me right down into …