I know how I love to watch step-by-step work in progress photos, It’s probably the best part to see that transformation…
So…. I thought you would like to see how I paint my mini originals.
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First thing – I pick theme, I imagine colors and choose frame that suits it. I do use frames available on Etsy, but they are in common use, so…. I have in plans to make my own, unique frames, and cast them myself. And oh! I plan real candies and some spooky themes too ^__^ … but for now, let’s get back to the painting process…
I already have a frame, and now what I need to do is to trace the cameo size on my specially prepared canvas.
**Canvas are really important here, as they create trully solid base for the painting – much more durable than paper. -Really?- you ask, well… hear this: One of my minis went through an ultimate crash test – somehow it landed in a cup with paint water and spent there at least 2 hours. When I realized that, I pulled it out, delicately pressed between tissue and left it to dry. Guess what… you could never tell something happened to it… it’s perfect. So don’t be afraid of a raindrops because it seems that you could swim with my cameos…
Ok, so I traced my outline and now I begin to sketch. Sometimes, if I’m not happy enough, it takes more than one attempt. But when sketch looks nice, and I approve it, it’s coated it with semi transparent layer of acrylics (as pencil can get mixed with colors, making them dirty).
And then I paint, paint, paiiiinnnntttt… with acrylics and watercolor pencils…….And when painting is done, I trim it, insert it into the frame and varnish. Voila!
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Today all of it took me couple of hours, counting in the photo time and lunch time in between…
And I prepared something special for you - an animated gif from all the stages of painting, enjoy!
and P.S. Consider it as a sneak peek of this week cameos. Update on my Facebook Page on Friday.
( it might take a moment or two to load )
I wanted to write a post about my first custom Blythe doll… But I feel that a history-pill about her origins and influences will be a good introduction.
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Let’s start with the year 1972. That was the year when Blythe doll entered the toy shops… and the playrooms of little kids… and kids were scared… REALLY scared…
Because B dolls had very big eyes (like in most of fairy tales when something goes wrong). There were,in fact, four pairs of those eyes…changing…staring at you… And a mind of a child, hanging heavily in a cloud of extraordinarily vivid imagination, could so easily animate those dolls and be deeply disturbed. World was simply not ready for Blythe, and Kenner company stopped the production.
If only they could predict the future.. and the amazing popularity of Blythe doll yet to come. On the photo – original Kenners from 1972, currently collected and restored by fans all over the world.
Reportedly, Blythe doll was modeled after drawings by Margaret Keane (below - one of her painting), mother of big-eyed pop surreal art of 60s. However, does it mean that Margaret is the author of sketches and prototype for original Blythe face mold? Who was the sculptor influenced by big eye art? I think many would like to know… just to say – thank you.
And so it seems that Blythe doll is inspired by pop surreal art… but looking at Lily (first photo below) ..she reminds me so much of “Incarnation” by Mark Ryden (second photo), which leaves the question – how many pop surreal artists are inspired BY Blythe ^__^ P.s. – on last photo in row – Christina Ricci – muse of Mr Ryden and a girl curiously similar to Blythe, but much younger.
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Being both art inspired and art inspiration, Blythe is certainly a special doll.
Rediscovered thanks to Gina Garan & since 2001 produced by Takara Tomy (Japan) as Neo Blythe. Very popular and collectible.
Personally I find “straight out of the box” B to be too plastic… maybe with some exceptions, like… Miss Sally Rice, which is very kitschy cute and I would love to add her to my collection.
But customized girl… with matted face, new makeup and some modifications… well – see for yourself my first ooak (one of a kind) Blythe girl. She just seems alive.
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The Process.
My first step was to read a tone of tutorials and look closely at the photos of other ooak dolls. The most striking are their eyes, and since I paint miniatures, painting custom eye chips was quite similar (not that easy though). I started with imagining the color scheme of my doll. I thought it would be most appropriate if my first custom Blythe resembled me myself. I think this is quite common among doll artists… it’s like reinventing yourself.. a sign of pouring a piece of a soul into a vessel that reminds human creature. So this is my first B that will look over all my next ones. A little plastic Goddess.
I gave her four custom eye chips – each for a different mood..
- dark ones – for a nostalgia (based on my own iris)
- candy ones – for when she feels a bit crazy with a pinch of sweet
- bright silver ones when she’s in fever of creation, with sparks of light in her eyes
- golden ones (photo coming) for a calm, sunny happiness
My Lily is RBL mold and it’s the easiest one to open, but you have to use some force anyway, and I didn’t want to break her… so it took me an hour of fussing to finally pop her head open.. like some precious egg.. I am actually quite proud because I managed to open the her without leaving any marks… and I’ve already seen some failed attempts.
Changing her eye chips was a bit of a fight too ^__^ and a lot of attempts with tape method, but it worked. And trying out the new chips (last photo on the right) I could already see the difference! There seemed to be some life behind those eyes, but when I looked for a little plastic brain , there wasn’t one.
Then there was sanding (I visited many tool stores in search for what I needed). I also carved her nose and nostrils and gave her a different lips… lips from my paintings. Then there was time for makeup and layers of Mr Super Clear. Somewhere in between sanding and spraying (in mask of course) I got a headache… was it too much chemicals that I accidentally must have inhaled? Maybe.. and it was one of the worst headaches ever. Sanding plastic – only in water. Spraying – in special mask that absorbs resin (Mr Super Clear is a resin based sealant).
And finally.. putting all the pieces back together… something amazing.
Some friends, not knowing what Blythe is, thought she’s made of porcelain. Well… she surely looks so much better than stock girl. And even boys played with her, and that is SOMETHING in a non-collector world ^__^
I hope you like her – my first Custom Blythe.
There will be next ones, this time available for collectors. This one is mine . {:
I’ve dreamed about making dolls since I remember…..
Few years ago I stumbled upon Enchanted Dolls by Marina Bychkova … I fell in love ……and I finally knew what kind of dolls are my destiny.. porcelain bjds.. fragile yet strong creatures that can last forever. I even made a prototype ( you can see it somewhere between very first posts), but I’ve put this project away for some time, giving myself a time to work out my own, unique style.
Dolls were suppose to happen this year, but I still don’t have a workshop large enough to fit a kiln, so this plan drifted a bit more into the future, but I couldn’t wait any longer with doll making, and I started my miniature collection! Each doll is unique, and each comes with a tiny display or diorama that tells a story – magical moment frozen in time. Character of a doll is very important to me, but it’s the scene that sets everything in the right light & shows my complete vision for each doll.
My minis are really tiny – 3-4″ (approx size of a index finger), which makes them great dollhouse miniatures. They also make perfect Blythe friends!
Each doll takes a lot of time and effort. Painting in miniature scale is a really challenging task, and since dolls look bigger on the photos, one gets surprised how small they are when holding one in hand. They are made od Japanese ”La Doll” air dry clay and painted with miniature brush. They are always leaving my studio lovingly wrapped & with some extra surprises ^_^
Meet my tiny Girls!
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Deer Girl – with woods diorama
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Alice in Wonderland – Mr Rabbit’s House – with portable hilltop
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Cupcake Queen and Candy House Diorama
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Nina – Candy Fairy with display
How about a bit of pop surreal craziness?
I just finished three new original pieces… those who visit my FB watched a bit of work in progress.
All three pieces are available, and I had real fun writing their stories….
And I want to tell you a bit about LOLA today.
Lola lives in her mysterious apartment,
which is like no other.
It exists between here and there…
each room is oval or round… in fact…
there is so many rooms that nobody knows their number…. walls are hairy…
and strange things happen when you least expect it.
well…you see…Lola is a Candy Fairy.
But those who think that “Fairy” means “good” …
have obviously never met a real enchanted folk.
They are… capricious and awesomely weird….
and each have some infinite task to perform.
For example..Lola…
Each morning, punctually wake and stretch like a cat…take a bath…
get dressed in whatever gorgeous gown appeared in her closet.
She does many superbly important things travelling through that endless apartment.
One of those “things” is harvesting a bunch of candies that have grown over the night on the Candy Machine.
those candies will later get delivered to various candy shops all over the world…
…and some lucky kid will have candy dreams that night.
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“Lola”
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“Nina”
(also from candy fairy)
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“Eye Candy”
(from All Seeing Eyes family)
I love tattoos… I don’t have one, but really want to! The only problem is, I have no idea what to ink into my skin… to make it matter to me forever.
But this post is not about me…
It’s about Kendra! She’s the first one to show me a ready tattoo inspired by my art.. and believe me.. it matters!
Whether you are a famous artist.. or aspiring one… if someone decides to wear your art on their skin.. it’s amazing! .. I’m thinking… maybe even the best complement artist could get.
^_^
It’s also fun to watch, so don’t be shy and share photos on my FB page.
I love stamp stickers, they are good for so many things! Those who ordered even the tiniest something from my shop (since stamps arrived) knows what I’m talking about.
And today I was making some photos for two new sets… and I thought that I should not only write, but actually show what you can do with those stamps.
I remember collecting stickers as a kid. I used them on letters, diary(silly diary it was) and various trinket boxes and such… Most of those were really horribly ugly, and as I think about it now, I would prefer to have pretty ones. .. such.. that are still cute after 25 years… (please, give your kids fewer things, but prettier ones)
So here are few ideas for stamp stickers.
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Idea 1 – something for letters, postcards and diaries. Draw fake painting frames with pencil, add conversation clouds, add to a postcard (protecting with sticky tape)(I love that one and use it often!)
Idea 2 – Make a collage.
I love this one too. Used to collect things, and collecting tiny stamps and putting them together into one big poster seems great idea! I’m going to do that (although that’s not so much of collecting since I make them myself…)
But I thought this little frame can show you the result. Another idea is to place each stamp into tiny frame and fill the wall with them, scattered randomly – tiny paintings.
Idea 3 – doll house posters..
well.. there’s no photo for this one YET. It’s also not so much my idea – I’ve seen it while watching Arietty (love!). (for those that don’t know the anime – it’s about tiny girl & her family. They have their little house made of various “human” stuff.. like sword made of pin.. or post stamp paintings on the wall (: …. that’s seriously cute!)
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If anyone creatively used my stamps – please share on FB! Would love to see that!
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I have something cute for your Sweetheart or your Secret Love (maybe it’s time to make it less secret?)
may I present..
black Valentines hearts… with whimsical illustrations.. for boys and girls
and…
with a “pocket” for a roll of parchment to write something on.
Available in my Shop.
Happy Valentines!
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… some like their Christmas noisy and crowded, some like it peaceful, with a roaring fire or a warm midnight swim… depending on location..
Whichever Christmas are to your liking, I wish you the best one ever. And may happiness and luck be with you through all next year.
I also thank you all for supporting my mad art vision.
Big Hugs!!!!
xo!
Karolin
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& Christmas hugs from the Elves!
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Where?
On my FACEBOOK page – every Thursday! It’s as easy as clicking the “like” button.
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And new pieces from this Thursday:
- Down the Rabbit hole locket with solid perfume
- Princess & the Pea locket with solid perfume
- Little Red Riding Hood locket with solid perfume
- Pink Clownessa brooch
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I couldn’t resist!
I was going to hold it until 6th of December… because in Europe it’s Santa’s Day – we all give each other some small gifts… (kids gets lot of course)
I believe in Santa. I even met him in Norway in his lair…. he’s supposed to know everything, so I asked him what’s my name… he didn’t know, but that’s alright - he’s not a real one.
But I believe in Santa. I believe.. he’s a spirit of Christmas. A spirit that makes gift giving such a pleasant thing. That’s Santa <:
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So I’ve made a special gift for you! A Santa paper doll that you can download, print or share with your friends via email or add it to a Christmas gift.
So just click the image – it will open in new window and then it’s ready to save.
You will find how-to-assemble tutorial in previous post. Enjoy!
