Anatomical Skull Glow Up

October 09, 2022 in Studio, Artist Diary

Do you remember that trio of skulls I did a while back? They were some of my most popular prints n paintings and I really loved creating them, so I’ve often kicked around the idea of making more.

Somewhat spontaneously I acquired an anatomical skull just slightly smaller than in real life to use as a reference for more skull paintings. The material and accuracy was great, but I wasn’t really a fan of the color.

So I decided to give a glow up by actually making it look much older - ha!

I wanted the skull to have that antiquated, slightly mildewing, authentic bone aesthetic to try and mimic the real deal. It was my first time trying to age an object like that and it actually turned out better than I was expecting - Yay!

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First I plugged up the sockets with cotton balls so they wouldn’t get too light colored inside. Then I sprayed a nice double layer of white primer, which was perfect for adhering the acrylic paint with a sponge.

It was a remarkably easy process and only took about 90 minutes - super fun and satisfying!

What an improvement, don’tcha think?!?

Stayed tuned for some more skull paintings coming soon, just in time for spooky season! Take a peek at the preparatory drawings for now 🙌

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10.9.2022

Fun Skull Study

July 12, 2022 in Sketchbook, Studio

We have a full sized skeleton in the anatomy classroom which is great for helping my students understand a little more clearly how the body moves. This week I had my students spend a class session drawing it this past week, and since it has been quite a while since I’ve had the opportunity to do so myself, I figured I would join them.

Of course I am always walking around the room, checking on folks’ drawings so I couldn’t get to the entire skeleton like I would have liked to, just the skull. I’m thinking of doing a video for my YouTube channel drawing the full skeleton just for fun. I would want to have it seated and maybe holding something, or at least have the head tilted in a way that looked in thought… I’m not yet sure exactly what I’d do, but I would want the skeleton positioning to look somewhat ‘lively’, not just stiffly standing there like a dry anatomical diagram.

Let me know in the comments below if a full skeleton drawing demo on my signature toned paper would be of interest to you:)

But in the mean time, enjoy this lil skeleton shortie vid…

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..and then enjoy a few of my student’s skeleton drawings too!

7.12.2022

Palm-Shaded Figure Progress

June 10, 2021 in Oil Paintings, Studio

Whoa I have bit off quite a lot with this painting… but am enjoying taking it slow so far. This is actually a collaborative piece with one of my Instagram followers who offered me a few fab reference photos like this during quarantine when I didn’t have any models. As striking as the original photo is I was a little intimidated, but after a few hours I’m feeling right at home among the palms:)

6.12.21

Black Lives Still Matter - Resources for Racism Education

May 16, 2021 in Inspiration, Studio, YouTube Videos

Today I’m bringing you a wealth of knowledge on one of the most important, yet most difficult to discuss, topics plaguing the American dream - systematic racism. Until we not only learn from the past but learn to see the racism between the lines and just under the surface, we will never be able to succeed in banishing unfair and unjust treatment of Black people here in this county or in the rest of the world.

Perhaps you saw my post a few weeks ago about why I felt compelled to create this drawing of Duante Wright’s grandmother. Today while I demo this, and another easily recognizable fallen brother in the Black Lives Matter movement, I’m sharing a plethora of podcasts all about the Black experience both historically as well as contemporarily which you can enjoy enlightening yourself with while working in your own studio.

Here are the podcasts I mention in the video

1619 by The New York Times

‘Policing in America’ by Throughline

Louder Than a Riot

‘How Jacob Loud’s Land Was Lost’ by Planet Money

‘Rethinking Black Wealth’ by Planet Money

‘Reproducing Racism’ by Reveal

‘Tuskegee Syphilis Study’ by American Scandal

‘The Immortal Cells of Henrietta Lacks’ by Rebecca Skloot (book)

‘Henrietta Lacks’ by Black History Club

’Henrietta Lacks’ by Babes of Science

‘The Real Black Panthers’ by Throughline

‘Monumental Lies’ by Reveal

Nice White Parents by The New York Times

‘Black Parents Take Control, Teachers Strike Back’ by Codeswitch

Please let me know if you find this post useful and will be listening to a few of these recommendations. Also, if you have any great resources to add please do!!

5.11.2021

How to Get Better at Drawing :: Ask an Artist 6

February 28, 2021 in Ask an Artist, YouTube Videos

So a really common question I get from people is a pretty general one, ‘how can I get better at drawing?’ And while the number one answer of course is to practice, I think very often people aren’t sure quite how to practice or how best to use their time practicing drawing. Today I’m going to share some of my best tips for getting better at drawing for beginner or intermediate artists that you can apply to any art practice.

Once you focus in on what areas you need to improve on and make a consistent habit to practice, I’m sure you will be delighted by just how quickly progress will come to you.

Here’s my How to Draw Hands workshop if you’d really like to take things to the next level.

You definitely do not need any special materials in order to improve your drawing skills, but below are just a few items I like to use. If you purchase anything through my special links it helps support this channel so thank you very much!

9x12 Toned Grey Sketchbook

White Chalk Pencil

Parisian Blue Carbothello Pastel

Steel Grey Carbothello Pastel Pencil

Canson Me Tienes Paper in Steel Grey

Find this model, Diana, on Instagram if you’d like to use her poses in your own work at whatever donation you can afford:)

2.28.2021

How to Clean + Restore Old Paint Brushes

August 02, 2020 in Studio, YouTube Tutorials, YouTube Videos, Tutorials

Today I am going to share with you a super easy way to clean and restore your old oil paint brushes - yep even the ones with dried paint in them - using common household products.

One of the best ways to be eco-friendly while also being nice to your wallet is to rejuvenate and condition your old paint brushes rather than buying new ones, so grab some dish soap, rubbing alcohol, and olive oil and let's get this party started!

8.2.2020

Where to Find Copyright Free Images

July 12, 2020 in Studio, YouTube Videos, Inspiration, Tutorials

Okay my lovely patient viewer, I hope you learned a lot from last week’s ‘Copying vs Stealing and Being Inspired’ video, and now as promised I have five sources where you can get copyright free photos for your artwork. Yay!

Finding free good quality reference photos is not as hard as you would think if you know where to look and sometimes who to ask. It can be easy to fall in the habit of just finding images through google searches and using those for your paintings, but taking from other artists without permission will not get you or your artwork very far in this life so better to go ahead and source ethically.

Let me know in the comments if you can think of any other great reference photo sources!

Here are the ones I've found:

https://onairvideo.com/

https://vimeo.com/croquiscafe

https://www.nma.art/

https://line-of-action.com/practice-tools/figure-drawing/

https://www.pexels.com/

https://www.pixabay.com/

https://www.imagesource.com/

https://freephotos.cc/

7.12.2020

Mirror Self Portrait

May 01, 2020 in Me as Muse, Studio, YouTube Videos, Figure Drawings

Now this mirror self portrait was a fun one to create! It is a serious exercise in really trusting in yourself to please your toughest critic - yourself!

Drawing a self portrait is something I haven't done since grad school and I am quite excited to share this process demo, including not just a timelapse of my drawing, but letting you in on how I had things set up in order to get the up close camera shots that are literally between me and the mirror.

Here are the materials I use to draw. If you purchase anything through my special links (even if you choose different colors!) it helps to support my channel so thank you!!

White Chalk Pencil: https://bit.ly/3d3COLh

Parisian Blue Carbothello Pastel: https://bit.ly/2KNxmjD

Pencil Extender: https://bit.ly/2uCRQqC

Kneaded Eraser: https://bit.ly/2VC4qBB

Map Eraser: https://bit.ly/2wgzoop

Mono Zero Eraser: https://bit.ly/3885Fej

And I don't remember the brand of this paper but this is my other fave kind for use with pastels or charcoal: Canson Me Tienes in Steel Grey: https://bit.ly/3f8uqff

Make sure to tag me on Instagram if you create your own mirror self portrait - I'll share it in my story!! @caleighbirdart

5.1.2020

Making COVID 19 Masks

April 28, 2020 in Studio

Perhaps you’ve noticed every seamstress around has been focusing her super powers on mask making to protect our communities, and this lil Birdie has now joined the ranks.

Through a little research I discovered that quilter’s cotton batik is an especially good material to use due to it’s tight knit so I was able to purchase a little this week and have been watching the mask orders flood in.

Because I’m offering three sizes in four patterns and my cloth supply is limited and going fast, I’m literally assessing inventory after each order is placed, rather than having products in my store that may overrun my available fabric. If you’re interested in a mask for you or a few for your family, your best bet is to catch me on Instagram @caleighbirdart where I’m taking orders through direct message and updating my progress.

Be safe out there folks! xoxox

4.28.2020