I’m posting lots of work on Instagram… follow me there for doodles, sketches, paintings, works in progress, selfies, and just playing around. 😛
Follow me on Instagram – heatherunderground
Reply
Tag Archives: work in progress
Vanishing – An almost finished painting…
I’ve been working on a bunch of paintings. It’s killing me that I haven’t had time to post them… And, for the next three weeks I’m going to have very little time for painting… argh! I’m not going to think about that now…
This is what i worked on last Friday…
Above: detail from, Vanishing, a self-portrait
30″ x 30″ acrylic paint and markers
Here’s some process pics and the almost finished piece:
Here is the almost completed piece, there are just a few things that I want to tweak: 
-=-=-=-=-=–=-=-=-=-=–=-=-=-=–=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Thanks for stopping by! If you like my work, please consider subscribing to my blog (top right, on my home page)
or… Like my page on facebook!
It will totally make my day. (＾▽＾)
Share this:
Falling Down a Rabbit Hole
I have a show coming up next week. Working on some last-minute Alice in Wonderland pieces. Fingers crossed that I get them done in time! Just taking a break while some paint dries…. Hope you enjoy these work-in-progress pics – I want to get them done by TOMORROW. Yikes!
-=-=-=-=-=–=-=-=-=-=–=-=-=-=–=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Thanks for stopping by! If you like my work, please consider subscribing to my blog (top right, on my home page)
or Like my page on facebook!
It will totally make my day. ❤
Share this:
Sometimes, I Paint in a Prison…
While I could mean that metaphorically, in this case, I don’t. I really do paint in a prison, well, ex-prison. Once a week, I paint with a wonderful group of artists on a former military base. The room we paint in has prison cells along its perimeter. When I started painting there, there was still a cot, sink and toilet in every cell, but curtains instead of bars.
It’s a good reminder that I am free to paint what I want, and that even if I’m feeling stuck… well, I’m not as stuck as I could be!!!
The painting above is a work in progress. I am missing Alice in Wonderland, now that I’ve finished my piano. Just working on a bunch of small, fun pieces now – trying to get back in the groove after weeks of not having time to paint!
The studio is really quite cheery, as long as you don’t ponder its history… 😛
When I want inspiration for a really dark piece, I’ll go sit in here awhile…
Well, that’s all for now. I’m in a two person show, coming up in a few weeks. More on that soon. I have an art page on Facebook now too, stop on by!
Share this:
New Painting – Shows at Shoreline City Hall Gallery and Oasis Art Gallery thru July
I finished this painting Monday, just in time to deliver it to the Shoreline City Hall Gallery (along with 9 other paintings) for a 4-person group show called Creatures and Places that starts today! This painting, Better Watch Out, is 16″ x 20″ on wood. It says “watch out” in Russian on the arm. I really can’t believe where it ended considering its earlier stages, which I’m not sure I want to share… it started out as a goofy looking lion-like creature. I liked parts of it, but… I felt like the images weren’t interacting quite right, the colors weren’t working for me, and frankly, despite the menacing figure in the background, it was just too happy! It got worse when I consulted my daughter, and she encouraged me to add the baby lion in the foreground – which, admittedly, works compositionally.
I love painting with my Open Studio Group, but I only have this opportunity once a week. I find it very helpful being surrounded by the energy of a room full of people creating, even if we are all quietly doing our own thing. Creating in a vacuum is hard, especially when that vacuum includes two children who are constantly up to something, a house that desperately needs tending to, and a husband who is afraid to have an objective opinion regarding anything art related. This is where bravery and going with your gut will get you to finish line. I just started re-drawing, covering up and pulling things forward and pushing them back until I finally felt… not just content, but really pleased with my piece.
The underpainting for this piece was done at Artfest in Jesse Reno’s class, but this is as far as I got before the class was over. I did finish another painting in his class, which you can see here.
I hope you enjoyed seeing the process photos. I wish I’d taken more, but I was too busy attacking my canvas.
There will be a reception at the Shoreline City Hall Gallery (on the 3rd floor) from 5 – 6:30 p.m. If you are in the neighborhood, please stop in and say Hello. The show will be up until July 27th. This show features ten of my darker, macabre and emotional pieces. Unfortunately, due to this being a public space, I was not allowed to include Flightless in the show. Need to find a private gallery for that one…
My other show that is taking place now at Oasis Art Gallery in Wallingford, Seattle is the polar opposite of the one in Shoreline. The Oasis Gallery Show is up until July 7th, and features many bright, playful paintings. Unfortunately, they are closing their doors after our show, so come in while you can!
I’ll leave you with a few photos that my husband, Randy Stewart, took of my work at the Oasis Gallery.
Share this:
A Million Things To Do
My head is swimming right now. In late winter, my children constantly pass cold viruses back and forth. So all bets are off. I cannot count on having any time for myself. Even at 3 a.m. At times like these, I am thankful for all of the artist-moms that I have met in the last few years that prove it can be done. The mutual kvetching doesn’t hurt either.
I have three gallery shows coming up. Two of them begin at the end of April. That’s right. They overlap. So I am in total panic mode at the moment. One of the galleries doesn’t take racy or macabre works, so my two shows will be quite different – presuming the other gallery will hang my edgier works. It is actually being debated at Shoreline City Hall. (A story for another day…)
So today, I thought I’d share my works in progress. There are a lot of them, many still in the underpainting stage. I’d appreciate any feedback.
I’d like this to remain an abstract piece when finished – 2’x3′
inspired by my daughter
i want to put her in some striped socks! 😛
gorilla and the egg man. this one might be done…
hearing the universe… she will have headphones on…
I see a child in the middle of this one. Do you?
wondering where this will go…
Share this:
A Midsummer Dream
It’s been a rough week. Not much time for artistic endeavors. My daughter is on mid-winter break and my 3-year-old son has been sick for several days. So, I thought I’d share this painting that I finished last week.
It started out as a wooden board that had papers collaged all over it. I did this partly because the wood grain can be hard to paint over. Also, I like the textures and patterns that peek through when it’s painted. I randomly covered the paper with paint, and stared at it for a long time, waiting for shapes to emerge. I saw some marks that looked like they could be antlers, and the face of a deer. So I outlined these, and drew a general outline of a body. As I started to play more, I became bored with the idea of just a deer, so I merged the features of a woman with the animal.
Sometimes I have a clear plan from the start when I paint, but I like the challenge and surprises that not having a plan can bring.
Unfortunately, I don’t have photos from the earliest stages, but you can still see the progression here:
shapes emerging
the ugly teenager phase
getting closer
Share this:
Flora Bowley Rocks!
One weekend in November, I was one of the lucky few who got to attend a Flora Bowley painting workshop here in Seattle. She is truly awesome. There is nothing I love more than having hours and hours of uninterrupted painting time, surrounded by creative, like-minded souls. And who better to lead you on an intuitive painting journey, than Flora?!
Both GIANT paintings that I worked on came to be, just by playing. I tried not to influence them by making plans too early on. Or over-thinking things. They were definitely shaped, however, by the overwhelming bliss of having a weekend to put being a mom on hold, and the knowledge that I was going to be visiting NYC for the first time ever, soon after my class. I recently finished up both of the paintings. What do you think?
big city – 30″x30″ – in progress and finished!
letting go – 30″ x 30″ – in progress and finished!
HeatherUnderground 