Aussie YouTube Hoppers video
I have been very busy these past few months with quite a few different activities. This particular painting was made specifically for a group of Australians that I am now a part of. The Aussie YouTube hoppers. A bunch of 13 very talented ladies who all participate and make their own creative video tutorials on YouTube, with a specific theme. The theme for this month is Beautiful Australia.
I had trouble deciding what to do, as I always feel a little out of place. Most people involved in the projects I take on are either mixed media, or scrapbooking. Very talented at that. I paint, it's what I do, it's what I love and I sometimes feel unworthy of being a part of a team. It is my own insecurities, nothing anyone ever says to me. So I am doing my best to get over it, yep just get over it lol.
On to the topic, Uluru, Australia's beautiful red rock, notorious for "a dingo took my baby". I have never been there, but it is on my bucket list. The red dirt just looks so amazing, and the quiet that I assume engulfs you is magical. Quiet, ahhhhhh yes. I used my artists choice and put the fence in the painting. I don't think it is actually there, I just wanted something closer to the viewer for perspective.
In all honesty, I threw a tantrum over this painting, the grass, the grass, the darn grass. You will see from the pictures I place next that I just couldn't get it right. Like I say in my video, I mainly focus on portraits and doing a landscape is completely out of my comfort zone, which is what I need sometimes. I am pleased with the result. The link to the YouTube video tutorial is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNKqXhZI9kg&t=101s
Make sure you follow the link in the description of the video to see the next project made for this theme, by Niamh Baly.
On to the embarrassing pictures of the beginning of this painting.
This part was ok, Ultramarine on the top, darker to lighter. Red Oxide on the bottom, with some burnt umber. Yep, doing well. I honestly wanted to stop there, because the grass terrified me.
Bam, what amazing grass that is Kristina. My gosh you got it first time, is what no one will ever say to me lol. I hated this, but I thought with a little more grass layering it would magically fix up.
Yep, I thought wrong. Luckily I was doing a practice painting before actually filming for YouTube, so none of this is in the video. Aren't you lucky.
Still I didn't give up, thinking maybe by putting the long grass in the front it would look awesome.
Cue the tantrum, the sleepless night figuring out what to do and the obsessing over the painting, because I was determined to get it right.
This was my solution, start over with the grass, but first paint Uluru in. I actually enjoyed painting it, I calmed down and then I got down to nitty gritty of investigating how to do grass. That damn grass.
Chuck Black, an amazing YouTuber, I watched his videos. I am nothing compared to him, but I tried his technique. It certainly looked better than my previous attempt, and this was only layer one. Many layers to go.
I ended up with this one, with only a few layers left to go. The anger was subsiding within me, I could look at the painting without wanting to boil up from the inside out. The green annoyed me though. My reference picture had green, but in my painting it just didn't look right. So I took it out for the YouTube video.
This is my practice one for the video. I was pleasantly surprised. I had done it, I painted Uluru and grass. I had done my very own landscape!!! Now for the filming of the painting. In the stinking hot heat of Queensland, in summer, in my garage. Open the garage door get attacked by flies, and I haaaaate flies, with a passion. Keep the door down, the light isn't amazing, and it's stinking hot. So I sweated away and made the video, I am proud of that video. I have a long way to go, very long, but I am taking my baby steps towards teaching people how to paint, while hiding in my garage lol.
This is a quick little part of the YouTube video, just showing the close up of the posts. I could've spent so many more hours just fiddling with the little details, but I restrained myself.
As a final note, from frustration comes success. I consider this to be a lesson learnt, a success and it's given me the opportunity to build on what I have learnt here. Also in the making of this video I realised that I needed to invent something to hold my iPad on my easel. Being after Christmas and coming up to a lot of birthdays in my family, spare cash wasn't an option for an expensive holder. Plus I am currently using my husbands old broken iPad, so I didn't want to spend any money. SO I came up with this. Hubby obviously did the hard work, I just told him what I wanted done. And voila, didn't cost me one cent, holds my iPad nice and safe and is very sturdy.
It is absolutely perfect, and I am grateful for my hubbys help to make this.
So, moral of the story........hmmmm I could say "never give up", "from failure comes success", "Just keep swimming", but the lesson I learnt the most, "Believe in myself". I never do, and It is hard for me to say those words, but it is something I need to start doing. I am worth something, I can paint, I am a good person and I deserve to be alive, and so do you.
To anyone thinking they aren't good enough, think again, because you are. You are unique, special, beautiful and talented. And you are worth it too.
