Face Book

I found this child's road runner book at the YSM a couple of summers ago.  It is rather large and has really strong pages.  I liked the backgrounds for the road runner... rather looks lots like UT!  I decided it would be a fun altered book someday.
Next step I kept it hanging around my studio readily available so I could gesso and paint on the pages when ever I had extra paint left over from a project.  It still has pages that needs to be painted over and now that I have started working in it, I will probably just make that a project.  I do this pre paint treatment to journals and books so that when I get the urge or feel the need I can just dive right in.
A few weeks ago, in one of my art groups, the ladies started talking about on line classes and learning to make sweet, cute, pixie-like faces.  I have a hard time with doing that after having formal art training.  My faces have a tendency to be more realistic and crone-ish looking, lol.  (look up crone-they are not all old and ugly!)  So, I decided to make this altered book a practice venue for fun, funky, playful, whimsical faces. (See Carla Sonheim's whimsical paintings)  I painted some flesh colored ovals at random on the already pre-prepped pages one day.  Added some details with pencil.  Then, looking at them realized I had slipped back into my old habit of realistic/crone look.  Another layer of gesso!  Then with a hard charcoal pencil, altering my original drawing. Much better!  I will be practicing more in this book.  Here are the faces I have done so far.

If you look real close you can see the shape of the original face underneath the hair-much more rounded.

Ame with this one... notice the pointyer (sp?) chin now.

Better now... took twenty or thirty pounds off her cheeks, lol.

Lop-sided eyes... but gives her a rather pixie like look.  And her lips were so in the wrong place the first time!

Another face lift...

Just starting... no flesh paint added yet, and no, she is not going to be that fat!  he he.

She needs help!

Okay, I think she is kinda cute!

And my scanner decided to get wonky... but gives you a bit of an idea..