That Portrait and Why I Am A YouTuber

Happy 2020!

I have had a long break,

but not been idle..

there is no rest for the creative..

I promised you photos of the portrait that I painted for my 

Daughter and SIL

it is actually 2 portraits

 and took me ages to paint.. 

I find it so challenging to paint

portraits of people I know..

and to accomplish it

in between all the other work

 I have going on..

I was determined to send it as a Christmas present....

and I just made it..

Whew!

Caterina Giglio, Mixed Media Painting, detail.

As I write this post,

I am also hard at work 

on my first Vlog post of the year

on YouTube..

and I thought I would write about 

WHY 

I am a YouTuber..

First of all, 

gentle reader, it was NOT my idea..

It was Don's idea..

He had been watching 

a lot of YouTube videos

and thought I should be on 

YouTube

well you can imagine how that went over..

however..

that handsome guy is very persuasive 

and as we were leaving for 

Italy

the first time, he said ...

imagine how fun it will be to document the trip 

for our friends and family..

OK..OK.. 

I finally capitulated ... 

this coincided with the reorganization of 

Stampington Magazines..

I had been a consistent contributor to their magazines

as a way of offering some inspiration

to others..

my way of giving back..

what I realized after a while on 

YouTube

was that

I could reach a 

much larger audience 

than the 

magazines had covered and

 so I decided to give it my attention..

Caterina Giglio, Mixed Media Painting, Kori and Kaden in the Grass. 12 x 12 cradled board.

There is in my humble opinion

a need..

a desperate need..

for people to be more creative..

I know that not everyone is an

 artist,

but everyone can create..

it may not be a GREAT work of art, 

but it creates a GREAT feeling when one is creating..

it opens the door to expansive thinking..

it allows the heart to express emotionally..

and the act of creation results in joy..

that child like feeling of loosing oneself in the color..

the abandonment of self in the form..

and a feeling of connection

that sparks kindness..

and now more than ever..

we so need kindness..

So meet me on Friday..

I will have a 

YouTube 

video 

for you

on 

Organizing Your Mixed Media

Studio Space

C4N!

Mixed Media Portraits

Creating portraits 

takes so very long..

finding that thing about someone that makes them

unique or capturing the essence of presence,

is not always easy 

and I don't always get it right...

A Portrait of Ella, Caterina Giglio, detail, mixed media painting, 12 x 16

but I hoped to capture 

the determination..

the presence..

and 

the creative spark 

that Ella exudes..

She is remarkable ..

not because she is beautiful..

but she is talented and brilliant, thoughtful and astute..

Caterina Giglio, Mixed Media Painting, A Portrait of Ella, 12 x 16 on cradled board

When I paint or draw a portrait, 

I usually begin with a photo..

making several copies..

and blowing up details..

I never have the opportunity to paint with a  sitting subject..

So....

the magnificent photo below was taken by 

E. J. Carr

and it took my breath away when I saw it,

because I thought he had captured her so perfectly..

such a magical presence..

of course it always helps to know your subject..

helps and hinders

especially if you cannot seem to convey what you

want to say in paint..

pencils and art sticks..

Photo above by E..J. Carr, Mixed Media Painting, Caterina Giglio 

So this will be off in the mail to

my dear friends and I hope they love it..

...

and then I started a quick pencil sketch..

because my granddaughter 

Taylor

asked for a drawing of her for her birthday..

actually she said..

 "I want crayons, a yo-yo and you know how you drew a picture of Gina real good?"

..do you think you can draw me too?"

be still my heart..

so I used her little selfie taken some weeks before..

and started drawing

in pencil and graphite..

and I still have to get those crayons..

the big box with the sharpener.. 

obviously..

and a yo-yo

Pencil and Graphite drawing, Taylor, Caterina Giglio, 8 x 8 on mixed media paper

This week, I am making notes for my

Vlog post on Friday..

and I hope to be able to get back to work on my new series..

and experimenting with some fun

mono printing techniques..

and obviously

 I am off to find a suitable frame..

birthday presents won't wait..

xox

Studio Tour and Works in Progress

Happy Weekend 

to you,

 dear viewers..

and this weekend I would love to

take you on a little studio tour..

and share all my works in Progress..

It will give you a little idea of how much

I juggle in the studio each day..

and right now, 

I have no deadlines to attend..

so ....

I am free to tackle large paintings and small

meditative stitches..

Thanks for viewing..

Thanks for reading..

Thanks for being such a wonderful support..

I so appreciate you all!

xox

Mixed Media Portraits

I came to the

Mixed Media party

quite late..

by way of fine arts..

I had worked

with acrylics, watercolor and colored pencil..

all my life..

No literally.. all my life..

my father said I was born with a pencil in my hand, but it was probably

that as a baby and toddler,

 I was fascinated with his pens and mechanical pencils in his pocket protector..

he was an aeronautical engineer..

and he taught me so much about art..

and seeing..

as I look back on what he taught me, 

it was truly invaluable..

Caterina Giglio, The Rain Makes My Hair Curl, Mixed Media Painting

but 

 mixed media

saved my art life..

I was really ready to give up 

when I took a book making class..

and 

suddenly a light went on in my head...

and a new passion was developed..

art can be like that...

mixing media changed the way I perceived painting..

Detail, Caterina Giglio, The Rain Makes My Hair Curl, Mixed Media Painting, 16 x 20

Recently..

in the past couple of years I began painting

again..

slowly

and then one day

I decided to go back to portraiture.. since it had been something I found

not only engrossing, but challenging..

I was looking through my friend, Gina's selfies and I was 

immediately struck by the range of emotion that she conveyed..

so beautifully..

so I painted this first one below..

Caterina Giglio, Mixed Media Painting, 12 x 16, That Rat Bastard!

I see the goddess in everywoman as I paint her,

and a range of emotions that we all share..

Caterina Giglio, Mixed Media Painting

I have just recently finished the large piece which is 16 x 20 on cradled board

and it took me a good year to complete

in between so many other works..

I will add at least one or two more portraits of Gina..

as she is a lovely muse..

A few days ago,

dear reader,

 I began to paint a portrait of another friend..

her name is Ella,

and she is so photogenic...

the image below is right after I had knocked out the rough painting..

This is not a finished piece, 

but a work in Progress...

A Portrait of Ella, Caterina Giglio, work in progress

As you can see, the color is more defined and I am getting closer to finishing

the work..

A Portrait of Ella, Work in Progress, Caterina Giglio

of course I will share the finished work with you as soon as I am done..

They are all on cradled boards and Ella's portrait is 11 x 14..

and in the spare time..

I am working on my new video this week

on Journal Prompts..

and I will have my art journal pages ready to share next 

Tuesday..

until then..

thank you as always for your kind attention..

I so appreciate you all..

Ciao, ciao!

Mixed Media, Works in Progress

I know you know..

I have never been a fan of sharing my

works in progress..

Mixed media painting and photograph, Caterina Giglio

I suppose it is because

my vision for the piece and what you see, are so very different..

but there are times,

like now...

Photo, Caterina Giglio

when all I have to show for myself 

are a collection of pieces in process..

the photo above I shot of our pool.

right after a rainfall,

and I loved it so much, I decided to paint it

Large Canvas in process, Caterina Giglio

The canvas is large, 36 x 48

and will fit perfectly in my home..

I have a lot of work yet to do on it, 

but, I am excited about it..

and I am still working on a series of portraits of my 

dear friend, Gina St. Brigid 

I finished the small one below 9 x 12 

Mad Gina

which I love, 

both mixed media..

Mixed Media portrait of Gina St. Brigid, by Caterina Giglio

The large piece below is 16 x 20 both on cradled boards

The Rain Makes My Hair Curl..

is almost finished and I plan on doing several more..

Mixed Media portraits of Gina St. Brigid, Caterina Giglio

also in process is a cardboard book..

currently giving me fits..

Turmeric and Onion dyed pages, cardboard book in process, Caterina Giglio

while I adore the signatures (or pages if you are unfamiliar with

bookmaking)

stitching into the cardboard is extremely trying...

Turmeric and avocado dyed pages in cardboard book, Caterina Giglio

but you know me, 

I have already decided that I will do it again, because 

I will conquer it..

Cardboard book in process, Caterina Giglio

I am thoughtfully contemplating my art journal pages 

for this month and I am thinking

I need to use stitches to illustrate

the words below..

Art Journal page in process, Caterina Giglio

on the mixed media table are a few new works..

sneaky peeks..

Tissue Paper butterfly on mixed media, Caterina Giglio

tissue paper butterflies and dragonflies 

and the beginning of an article

for Somerset..

a proposal at least..

So ...

you may not see these for a while..

who knows?

so, there you have it, dear readers..

everything in process...

I cannot even begin to share with

you all the projects in my head and written in my notebooks..

so many ideas, 

I am truly blessed..

and I thank you as 

always

for stopping by..

Ciao, Ciao!

On the Work Tables...

It has been ages

since I invited you in to the studio...

and I thought I would share with you

all the projects that I have going

 in my studio, 

I have

5 different stations..

in my small studio..

mixed media allows me to 

work on lots of different things

at one time...

I always have journal pages in process...

my journal claims it's own table

 below

March pages are a work in progress...

and table 2 usually

shares space with drawing and book making..

when I get stuck, drawing always seems to

move me...

and the book in process 

is for 

a show in Canada..

a mini concertina..

it will have see thru hinges

ribbon stitched hinges..

it is going to be a work on letters..

and conversations...

table 3 is covered with papers

and I am working on some new collages...

a detail below...

I am in love with the textures...

and on the painting wall,

I am working on a series of portraits..

with a very special muse..

and for those of you

not on Facebook...

I was working on this piece over the weekend

and thought you

would want to see it too..

based on my August pages from last year

a bit of Giglio love..

The finished piece below..

for a family member..

the transfer in the piece is from an old photo...

 my grandparents.. 

I think she will like it...

and that... 

dear readers 

is a normal 

studio day..

I hope you enjoyed the tour..
thank you for stopping by..

Ciao, ciao..