Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Day 15 of the '29 Faces' Challenge -- 'Gibson Girl' on a Painted Rock....



It's Day 15 of the '29 Faces' in February Challenge!  Which means once I hit the 'publish' button for this post, we will officially be over the challenge half-way hump, with progressively fewer 'Faces' ahead of me than behind.  Wooh!  But it does still mean another fourteen consecutive daily Face projects yet to come however, determined as I am to stick with it all and see it through to the end.... 

Up to this point it feels as though I've been mostly playing things by ear with my Faces, kind of working on random projects willy-nilly as I've felt like it -- but it certainly wouldn't hurt to actually properly plan things either.  Looking ahead, I realise there are several art deadlines fast approaching that probably ought to be receiving my attention.  One is the upcoming Nibblefest Art Contest (Nibblefest F.B. Fan Page here,  Nibblefest Blog here) with longtime readers knowing it's an event I like to regularly participate in.  For anyone unfamiliar, the Nibblefest Art Contest is a themed event hosted via ebay (Nibblefest ebay group here), which begins the 20th of every month.  The themes are broad and the entries (up to three per contestant) can be of any medium -- the primary ironclad rule of the contest is that all auctions must begin with a starting bid of .99 cents. Admittedly that can feel a little risky at times -- as such it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but for me, the contest is a hoot because I always so enjoy working with the Themes.  This month should be no exception, because the theme, "Moonlight", has to be one of my favourites.  As much as I love anthropomorphic 'Hearts', I probably  adore anthropomorphic 'Moons' all the more (if my 'Bloo Moon' Painted Rock, my 'Myrtle Moon' WIP Doll, plus this as examples are any indication) -- therefore I can totally see once again combining 'Moons' with 'Faces' for the contest AND challenge, and 'killing two birds with one stone' again while I'm at it (something to mull over anyway -- I have until this coming Monday, the 20th, to figure it out)....

Now, speaking of 'stones', this brings me to today's featured Face, happy as I am to announce another finished project, and yet another painted rock figurine at that.   As with the others, she was begun aeons ago (literally, if you consider Mother Nature's role in the matter!), so I'm terribly happy to finally declare her 'Finis!'.... 

 Meet "The Gibson Girl"....


'The Gibson Girl', with her upswept hairdo and poofy sleeves, her pet dove perched on her hands and cuddled under her chin

Photographed with a penny for size reference

This rock had lots of rough texture to work with, still, her features have always been very apparent to me




Her dove's wings are outstretched and framing her lovely face.


 
Good Buddies.

 Charles Dana Gibson was a victorian-era illustrator who, through his extensive body of work, influenced an entire generation as to his idealised image of feminine beauty that became popularly known as  'The Gibson Girl".  My own little lady here, with her upswept hairdo, serene expression and big, poofy sleeves, recalls to my mind these once-ubiquitous, vintage 'Gibson Girls' of yore, hence her title....

My usual little blurbie about my painted rocks:

...Typically, a rock... is just a rock. But sometimes, when luck smiles upon me, very special ones reveal themselves. Then I 'see' rock people, little figures hidden within the naturally formed bumps, corners and crevices of ordinary stones -- Nature's very own sculpture. With the help of a bit of paint, I enjoy 'liberating' these unique wee folk for others to enjoy as well.....  

 (To see more of my painted rocks, click on the 'Painted Rocks' label for this post -- as well as visiting my Painted Rock Gallery on EBSQ)....


6 comments:

Sunshineshelle said...

Loving these Painted Rocks... actually I love all your work!!!

Anne said...

Your rock painting are just fantastic :o)

Patience said...

Thanks so much Shelle -- really appreciating all your encouragement in this...!

Patience said...

Hi Annie -- thanks so much for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment. Really glad my painted rocks are such a hit! :-)

caryn strauss-smith art and design said...

I just adore these rock characters of yours! Really awesome!

Patience said...

Thanks so much, Caryn -- it makes me happy to know that folks get a kick out of 'em! :-)