Monday, March 21, 2016

Finally! Finding Faith Project Unveiled: the Video, Photos and Painting


Over a month in the making, and my "Finding Faith" project is finally finished! I named it Faith is Waiting For Spring and it is a three part art project using painting, video and photography to tell a simple story.  I have always loved to dabble in photography and with my new-found love for videography, I had the idea to connect them with my painting and this is what materialized.  

I really hope you enjoy the video and photos and especially the surprise ending in the painting!
:)

 FULL details on the making of this project are below for those of you who want to know more.  I know who you are and it was written for you.  

Thank you for looking!

♥ Lisa


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Faith is Waiting For Spring
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Video: click to play









Faith is Waiting For Spring
oil on canvas
30 x 24 inch

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 Details About the Project

working in the studio
As you know, if you follow my art, I am a figurative and narrative painter and often paint intuitively (where the story unfolds by itself as I paint) or by creating scenes using vintage photos.  However, I had a new idea for my approach and that was to create the story with the use of video and photography, and then attempt to paint it.   In all honesty, this whole concept started with finding the 8 mm app for my iPhone.  It is the same app I have been using to make my "Studio Clips" videos, and it has me hooked on video making.  It's kind of funny to me how such a big idea can come from such a small thing like finding an app, but that is what happened.  Plus I have always loved taking pictures, so this project provided a way I could sort of tie these arts together with my love of painting. 

  The video and photographs took only 1 1/2 hours to shoot, but took over 10 hours to edit because I was very picky and kept changing my mind about the clips of video I wanted to use. Plus, selecting the music took a while.  I needed something slow since the whole theme was about Faith waiting for "Spring" to arrive. It is amazing how music can make or break the mood!

My beautiful niece, Faith was my gracious and willing muse and we did the shoot in an open field in the middle of Benton, Kansas.  I found her dress and the small props at a thrift shop,  borrowed the table and chairs, and  I made the flower crown myself.  I was pretty excited the day of shooting because everything turned out exactly as I had envisioned and the weather was perfect!  

My friend and gallery owner Teressa Sliger helped me locate the property after I sent a text to her one day to ask if she knew of any "Andrew Wyeth-looking places" out in the country where she lives. (My all time favorite painting is Christina's World, and the Kansas landscape looks exactly like that painting). So Teressa took me driving around one day trying to locate the perfect spot for my project and I ended up selecting the first one we saw.   I have to point out here what a great friend and support Teressa was to do this for me...indulging with me on my what had to seem like such a crazy creative whim.  She questioned me very little and just rolled with it.  Had she not done this, I might have just chucked the whole thing aside labeling it as a dumb idea, but her interest and enthusiasm helped push me forward.  Also, the property we chose was private property and we were not sure who owned it, so she offered to meet us out there on shooting day to keep watch for anyone that might question what we were up to.  We had to lug the table and chairs a long ways off the road to the tree that provided the main part of our stage and Faith and I were a bit nervous about trespassing.  I  imagined poor Faith being hauled off to jail in her pretty dress and flower crown, and me having to explain to her mother what had happened.  But having Teressa there helped us relax as we worked.  She assured us it was not a big deal to be out there and it wasn't.  We never saw a soul for the entire hour and half we were there.

After the photos and video were complete I busied myself in the studio attempting to capture the scene in the painting.  Since I do not paint realistically, this was a challenge for me.  I had to keep reminding myself that my job was to capture the essence, not every single detail.  Also, I knew from the start that I could not make Faith look like Faith.  I had already tried painting her face over and over again in my sketchbooks.  I decided that if I could at least capture the scene with just a likeness of her I would be happy.  I worked in oil because it is easier for me to make adjustments.

   Being outside, collaborating with people, taking photos, shooting video...it was such a fulfilling way to work in art!  Plus working with all the images from the photos and video,  and physically having been in that location provided a lot more information for me to work with, which for some reason seemed to make the painting process flow more easily. However, I can't always work this way because it is so involved.  From time to time though, it will be fun and I love the challenge.

Didn't Faith do an incredible job?  She is a natural beauty and she just knew exactly what I was wanting for the video and photos.  She was such an easy model to work with and I could NOT have done this without her!  We had so much fun that day and I am happy to say we are already scheming for the next project.  I just need to find a red flannel shirt somewhere.  :)

Thanks for reading.
xo

60 comments:

  1. Wow! Wonderful photos and painting!

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  2. What a precious compilation❣ So many
    Lovely colors and perspectives❣ It reminds of the depth and whimsy of Misty Mawn🌿

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    1. Thank you Laurel! For this work, I was very inspired by Andrew Wyeth's landscape in Christina's World and the many works of Andrea Kowch. Both use very open landscapes that I really love and remind me so much of Kansas.

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  3. So fantastic. I love the whole thing and your niece has the perfect look for your Wyeth inspired painting. Bravo. xox

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  4. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Totally fantastic in every way!!! Love it. Congratulations.

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  5. well my friend, i am *impressed*. this is just amazing - the amount of work alone boggles my mind. the video and the painting are beautiful, but more than that is the beauty and breadth of your vision...

    xoxo

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  6. Nice work Lisa. Proud of you.

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  7. Fantastic! Amazing in every way!!

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  8. This is so cool Lisa! It's mesmerizing.

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  9. Drarest Lisa, Brava! Exquisite video, painting, beautiful niece, entire project! I see a series of Faith painting evolving from this.... Keep going!

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    1. Joanie, you are sweet to stop by here. Thank you. Heal well my friend.

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  10. so sorry, I still can't type worth beans!

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  11. What a wonderfully expansive and far reaching idea that you had! And you just went out and executed it so beautifully! It's a wonderful synthesis of your art and your ideas and all of the things that I think that you really love. And your painting turned out beautifully. Good for you, Lisa. You did a great job!
    Libby

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    1. Good morning Libby...you're up and at 'em early California girl. Or have you not gone to bed yet? Thank you for your feedback and comment! I will be by your blog to see what you've been up to soon. I am a terrible blogger these days.

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  12. I loved every minute of the video and the story behind it, Lisa. Beautiful painting! Oh.. And good luck hunting for the red flannel shirt. That will be fun too!

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    1. Good morning Robyn and thank you! I appreciate you stopping by. Yes, I need a flannel shirt and an old house or barn too. Ha ha! Heading out to find one this week if I can make the time for the drive.

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  13. Lisa - this is beyond wonderful! Every aspect so thought out and well done. I love the antique film, Faith is gorgeous and the story you told. I felt like I was watching an old movie and wanted more. And then the painting! just WOW!

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  14. What a great project Lisa. The mood of your painting seems inhanced by the the lovely vintage looking video. Looking forward to seeing where this new approach to your art work takes you.

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    1. Thank you Carol. I was hoping the added media would add to the painting. Thanks!

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  15. What an ambitious project, and so well executed. The isolated feeling in the painting came through really well, even if I hadn't seen the location in the video.

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    1. Thank you Barbara! I appreciate you stopping by to comment.

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  16. This was so awesome Lisa...such a treat seeing the video...beautifully done and the painting was wonderful!!!!

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  17. Lisa, I don't know why, but I started to cry, when I watched the video and read everything. You really touched my heart with this one! I love the painting! I love the process! Glad no one went to jail! LOL! Much Love!

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    1. I didn't mean to make you cry sweet Stacy. Thank you for your kind words. Hugs

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  18. Lisa! What an amazing project and of course such beautiful finished pieces! I love both the video and the painting. I also love how inspiration comes from the least expected places and as long as we follow it it will take us on amazing journeys. So very well done. I wish I had a red flannel shirt to offer up. Thanks for sharing the details as well as the beautiful finished pieces.

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    1. Hello Kim and thank you. You said it perfectly about following the journey when inspiration comes. Something you do so well. Have a good week.

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  19. Hi Lisa, what a great job you did, it must have been very exciting seeing the finished work...beautiful video and painting :)

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    1. Hi Leesa. It was very exciting multiple times...the filming went so perfectly and when we returned to look at the photos we were VERY excited about the way they turned out. I had plenty of good images to work from while I painted, which in turn made it seemed to go more easily. I really was hoping to capture her a little more accurately, but sometimes you just have to know your limitations. Once I had a pretty face going on the canvas, I stayed with it too afraid to ruin it. Perhaps with future paintings that fear will subside. Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting!

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  20. I'm so glad Julie shared the link to your site. It was a winning idea that you brought to life. Lovely painting. I love your work!

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    1. Stephanie, thank you. Julie is a gem of a friend. I appreciate your interest!

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  21. I'm sharing a link to my FB group GET YOUR ART OUT THERE. Too many times painters get locked into the complexity of creating a 2D canvas, making slight improvements but never breaking new ground. I see such promise in this idea. My project based mind is exploding with a vision to basing a traveling exhibition on this, perhaps with a series of paintings connected to the video and images. Perhaps a 3D re-creation in the gallery with the original props. Perhaps you giving a class in the gallery space or creating more paintings during the exhibition. Perhaps inviting a submission process for other artists to paint from the same theme and exhibit with you. As I say, I'm on fire. Good luck with your new vision.

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    1. Dear Sea, your comment here sounds kind of like my thoughts went when I first discovered the video app and then started to put two and two together. I was pretty excited too! Your ideas are wonderful and I do have a vision for this project which includes some things you mentioned. Thank you for sharing my art! And thank you for your enthusiasm! What Facebook are you with? I will try to find you.

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  22. Lisa: I watched your video yesterday with Julie Oliver and a number of painters from the Artist Guild of Southern New Mexico, who have a regular Tuesday session in her gallery in Las Cruces, N.M. We were all impressed. I'm sharing it on Facebook. People should see this. It's a wonderful, emotive work. Make another video, please. And keep painting.

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    1. Hi Christopher, what a blessing to be part of the guild with Julie. And thank you for your kind words and sharing this. I am so happy your group enjoyed it. New works are being considered as I type this, so I hope you'll come back and visit again.

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  23. A glorious painting Lisa, really love this one ! Such a lovely scene and the golden colors give such a warm and serene feeling to it. Wishing you a happy Easter.

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  24. Oh My Lisa - what a fantastic endeavor. I loved it. The title, the music and of course beautiful Faith all made this a lovely work of art. Your painting at the end was super! I am so impressed - can't wait to see another one of these by you friend. Hope you have a wonderful Easter. Hugs!

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    1. Hi Debbie! Thank you so much and Happy Easter! Hugs back!

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  25. What an incredible project. Loved it all, but you're right the music was perfect. I always have a hard time finding the right music and I'[m not real patient on that.

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    1. Thank you Sharon. The music was quite the thing trying to find the perfect match. It is difficult to find free or inexpensive music to use for projects such as this and I am very grateful for the recording artists who put their work out there for nothing, relying only on donations. What a gift they have given.

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  26. AAAmazing Lisa! Simply magical! I'm here on my iMac because I wanted to watch the video clip on the large screen. You know I love and admire your work, and I usually "feel" it...like there's a story I'm seeing, then to see this all unfold in an artistic film style clip brought tears to my eyes! You are truly one talented artist! I wish my FIL was still alive so that I could share this with him. Don't stop seeking out the videography with your painting. I can't wait to see what you do next!

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    1. Becca, I felt so encouraged reading your comment. Thank you so much. Yo help me march on. Hugs.

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  27. OH, Lisa! I finally had the opportunity to watch your video and read this post. I have goose bumps that indicate how much I loved what you did. ALL OF IT! You are such an inspiration to me from the first time I met you on-line. Thank You for that. I would have to agree that Faith did an awesome job, too. She seemed to fit right in with what you had imagined. Her step went right with the music. Well, my friend, I give you a 10+ for this production and I look forward to many more.

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    1. Teresa, you comment was touching. Thank you. Faith was incredible to work with and I am really looking forward to more pieces with her featured. She loves art as we do and just seemed to connect to what I was trying to say with the art right away.

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  28. Now this Lisa really is impressive...a whole new level! Inspirational my friend. Can't find enough praise.

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    1. Morag, thank you. It was an absolute pleasure to do and this weekend we completed the filming for our second project. I am very excited to be doing this. If only there were more hours in a day. xo

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  29. What a treat to get to see this trifecta of beautiful art! How fulfilling it must all have been, and the finished painting really shines with your inspiration, just beautiful.

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    1. Thank you so much Terri. It was very fulfilling and I am excited to continue on this path. For a while at least. I really appreciate your visit.

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  30. Just found your amazing work via Julie Ford Oliver's website. So grateful!

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  31. Just found your amazing work via Julie Ford Oliver's website. So grateful!

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    1. Hello Cheryl! Thank you for popping over from Julie's place to have a look! I really appreciate your comment!

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