Sunday, January 12, 2014

Cocoa, free design and painting --A day of learning

 On the river (work in progress)
Acrylic on birch panel
5 x 7 inches
Barbara Muir © 2014

I spent the day painting and learning.  We were
having a working day, and in my breaks I
watched a video on painting techniques from
 Artists Network.  Connecting with Alyson
Stanfield's Art Biz Blog Twitter Tweekly for
January 12 set me off on some fun paths.  I
learned about key ways to use a Facebook cover
 page from the Social Media Examiner and learned
how to do a FaceBook cover page design change
 at Canva.  It was a wonderful, full, idea-packed day.
 My favorite kind of day.

On another note one strange tip from the loop
was to use cocoa powder as face bronzer.  Tried
 it and went out walking the dog looking wonderfully
 tanned.  (Proviso -- cocoa is chocolate, and great as
 it may look on your face as a bronzer, it stains clothing
 -- so wear a towel around your neck when/if you are
applying cocoa, and don't get it on clothes.  Dark
clothing is advisable.)

This little portrait is still a work in progress,
but it is coming along.  All in all a great
Sunday, a perfect end of the week.

Have a-noticing-your-best-times day.

4 comments:

cohen labelle said...

This is a tremendous portrait just as is, it has a natural spontaneity to it - hope you don't do too much more to it.
Consumption wise what kind of cocoa do you use?

Love,
Marcia

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Marcia,

Okay I won't do much more. As for cocoa, I use Fry's cocoa powder, and make it in the cup with a bit of sugar, boiling water and then a little milk. Frankly I'm addicted.

Love,

Barbara

Katherine Harra said...

Just happened upon your blog for the first time. I agree with Marcia, the portrait felt finished when I glimpsed it before I saw "WIP". I do wish you'd post a picture of yourself in cocoa powder, maybe a before and after (-;

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Katherine,
Oh my what beautiful work you do. I think not with the cocoa powder. I am frighteningly pale, and a fake tanner for that reason. The cocoa looked good, but was not such a great idea with the white shirts that are part of my standard uniform. Glad you like it. Delighted.

Take care,

Barbara

Portrait Artist

My photo
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I paint and draw on commission and for shows. To commission a portrait, or purchase one of my paintings please contact me at: barbara.muir@sympatico.ca
A major highlight in my career? Drawing Oprah Winfrey live via Skype for her show "Where in the Skype are you? Galleries: Studio Vogue Gallery, Toronto, Canada. The Amsterdam Whitney Gallery, New York City. Gallery at the Porch Door, Kingston, Canada. Your positive comments on this blog mean the world to me. I'd love to hear from you!