Saturday, June 30, 2012

WIP: Well, bother!

This is the story, so far.

This morning, Miss R White
was sewn and stuffed and sealed
and had layers of paint sanded to silky smoothness.

Here she is on her sketch.
She has longer legs, 
because I like rag dolls to have long legs
and she has bent knees for sitting.


So far, so good, right?
I'm happy. She's happy,
and apart from her dislike of being
 wrapped in plastic bags while being painted,
we're getting along pretty well.
She looks sweet in her chosen colours 
of yellow and black.


I felt it was time I added 
some more colour to her face.
She's a black and white Dutch rabbit,
 and on such bunnies, 
the black is a deep and rich black
and the white is a clean, cold white.


Very  striking.

I started to add some of the detail to her face,
 with a light ring around her eye.



There's a lot more work needed on the face, 
but it's a start.  

Feeling confident,
I decided to go forward
and paint on striped stockings
Alice has striped stocking in
'Through the Looking-Glass'
so it seemed just right for Miss R White.

Here she is, all taped up for painting.


But I have to say, I'm less than happy with the result.


It looks really clumsy to me.
I can't decide if it's cute and idiosyncratic
or just messy and awkward.

It makes her look like a painted toy
(which is what she is)
as opposed to a shy little girl rabbit
(which is also what she is)



I can fix it.
I think my choices are to 
paint her legs black
and sand and buff,
and then they'll look like 
black stockings.

Either that, 
or I could sew some stockings 
for her to wear.

Dear, wonderful, gentle readers,
your input, your advice 
and your wisdom would be very helpful.
Do they look ok? Am I being hypercritical?
or are my instincts right and are the stripes
a bit of a disappointment?

Be brutal!


13 comments:

  1. Rhissanna! Oh she is looking LOVELY! I think her stockings are good... If it were me I would leave it alone till you are finished (if that is possible) step back, take another look... If you still are not satisfied then change them.. But I LIKE THEM... I think they are a beautiful contrast with the yellow and black dress.
    Happy creating
    Penny

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    1. I have to admit I love the idea of the stripes and the blue needs to be bright to stand up to the yellow.If I was a better painter, I'd keep them. So I'm now chasing blue striped fabric. Maybe I'll go buy some cheap socks or something? Thank you for your input. I really was having a problem seeing this clearly.

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  2. I'm not liking the colour...sorry:( Too blue and too bright. Maybe a pastel blue?

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Mary Ann. I trust your discerning eye.

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  3. Oh shes brilliant -I love rabbits or is she a hare -did you ever see a blog "my name is finch .blogspot.com"-have a look I think you'll like it

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! She's a rabbit, a rabbit who will be holding an Alice doll.(when I finally finish the Alice doll) And a really big thank you for pointing me towards Mr Finch's blog. What amazing things he makes!

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  4. Thank you, everyone. I showed it to Hubby, and he wasn't keen on the stripes, either( He could actually see the crappy paint job close up, so was in an ideal position to judge. I love the idea of striped stockings, but it's not going to work this way. So I've painted her legs black, with white toes, which is the colour they should be on a Dutch bunny. I'll either make her little ankle socks, or sew her long stockings. I have to go and dig though my fabric pile, so I'll see you next week some time...

    Thank you everyone for your input!

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  5. You're bunny is adorable. I will enjoy seeing her finished.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! I really (really) hope this happens this week!

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  6. Dearest Rhissanna! I LOVE DUTCH BUNNIES and she is off to a brilliant start. OK, I am NO EXPERT on this type of art. BUT I think her legs look fabulous. BUT if YOU are not satisfied, I would take Penny's advice and wait a bit. Step back and wait until you have done more. But this is my idea. If you can start all over again with the painting process of her legs, paint her legs with BLACK stripes instead of blue. BLACK AND WHITE STRIPES.....

    THANK YOU FOR VISITING ME! It is an honor to be visited by artists who take their time to come and leave a comment. I am a burgeoning paper artist, but my passion is in writing. Thank you so much for understanding my message.

    SO YES, try black stripes!

    ENJOY and let us know what happens...Anita

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for dropping by, Anita. I really appreciate your input. I've gotten so frustrated with the legs, that I'e painted them as they'd be on a real Dutch bunny (black with white at the toes). I'm considering sewing her some stockings if I have the fabric. Black and stripes would look wonderful, I do agree. The problem with the stripes wasn't the colour, or even the concept It was an utter Epic Fail on the part of the artist. Apparently, I can't paint neat stripes even if I use painter's tape...

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  7. I LOVE the striped stockings! All the painting looks great! I covet your painting skills.

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    Replies
    1. That's very sweet of you to say so! The photographs don't really show how seriously crappy the stripes are, unfortunately.

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Thank you all for the wonderful and supportive things you say! I'm thrilled to read them and I reply to each one.