andreasartt

[andreasartt]

New Painting!!

I had so much fun making this painting for so many reasons. First off, this is my first exclusively acrylic portrait painting after more than four years. It's easy to say I've improved a lot in those four plus years, but it's another thing entirely to see the comparison before my eyes. My ability with acrylic, in addition to my general understanding of anatomy, has gotten so much better,

While I'm still using the same techniques (dry brushing, layering, glazing), I've definitely refined those skills.

Second, this painting combines so many of my favorite aspects of art. From the graphic flat coloring of the dress, the high contrast in values, and the semi-realism in the faces.

I think this painting definitely serves as a perfect example of everything I've learned over the years in the many art classes I took in university. (A good portion of those about anatomy and figure drawing)

I also made a video on my process if anyone wants to check it out, but I'll definitely post a more detailed breakdown on here soon :)

[andreasartt]

starting a new painting !! (it is in fact another portrait)

However unlike most of my recent portraits, I'm going to paint with acrylic only. It's been a really long time since I've tried making a realistic portrait with acrylic paint (i think it's been 5 years now??)

I feel like I've learned a lot since then, and definitely improved my technique with acrylic since the rose painting I made last year, so I'm feeling confident 😅

[andreasartt]

my finished painting!

Even though this is the usual size I work with, there were a lot of smaller details which made it feel like a whole new experience. I also did a lot more blending than I usually do with acrylic (but I kind of love it and want to do more??)

As always I had to incorporate some other materials (color pencil and ink). I feel like it just helped tie everything together. I also made a youtube video on my process if anyone wants to check that out. It was a lot of layering and patience 😅

[andreasartt]

updated commission info ✨️��

If you're interested, fill out the form ⤵️

if there's something in particular you want to commission but isn't listed, feel free to reach out 😊

[andreasartt]

✨️ painting update ✨️

In between editing my art videos for YouTube I've been working on this painting of the Virgen de Guadalupe. I am so so close to finishing and I can't wait to share that end result with y'all.

I love working with acrylic and for this painting I've had a lot of fun blending acrylic! it's not something I do often, but it's still something I enjoy. Especially mixing it with more of a flat graphic way of painting colors

[andreasartt]

I've started working on a new painting of the Virgen de Guadalupe in acrylic paint. Although I'm working on a relatively large canvas (16 x 20 inches) it still is a little bit more intricate than my usual paintings with a lot of small details such as the stars.

I'm really liking the progress so far, even if it is taking me a little longer than I would've liked. It's been a lot of fun working with acrylic after having worked with oil paint for a while.

[andreasartt]

I made this oil portrait of my dad over the course of a few weeks?? (might've been less but I didn't work on it continously)

I had a good time making this, especially because my previous portraits of my dad haven't always been the greatest/mist accurate. So to finally have a painting that is him feels great.

I also ended up making a youtube video on my process (that pretty much is used with every oil paint based portrait I've made)

[andreasartt]

So.. it's been a hot minute since I've posted on here 😭 honestly I've been stuck in a not so great place but I'm back now and will hopefully get back on track on posting somewhat regularly on here

I made a new video on youtube breaking down the (simplified) structure of a hand as well as some examples of drawing hands from different angles.

I used to be horrible at drawing hands to the point that if I ever drew someone I would hide the hands behind the person's back. I had gotten somewhat better over the years, but it wasn't until I learned the anatomy and how to break down a hand, that drawing a hand became easy. Now it's one of my favorite things to draw!

[andreasartt]

Tawantinsuyu

color pencil, graphite, acrylic paint, 19 x 24

This is the sister piece to Heritage (even though there are three pieces in my Herencia series, Heritage and Tawantinsuyu were made at the same time and designed to look at one another)

This was a bit harder to make than the Heritage piece, I actually had to restart it from scratch because the rainbow portion that was covering the face was much more solid and looked off so I decided to scrap it instead. (Which is a great lesson in learning when it's best to simply start over.)

In this piece I used graphite for the face rather than color pencil, because I knew that I wanted the rainbow to stand out and having that contrast between color and grayscale was ideal to me. I was originally going to do the hair with black color pencil and/or charcoal, but I didn't really like the look of it. I wanted it to be a more "solid" black, so I opted for black acrylic paint instead. However there was some warping afterwards because the paper I used wasn't made for that. That being said, now that I have it framed, it isn't an issue.

Overall I still love how it came out, even if there were some things I would change with what I know now.

[andreasartt]

Heritage

Heritage, color pencil and ink, 19 x 24

I made this piece in 2023 as a part of my Herencia series ( a series of self portraits connected to my heritage.)

Growing up was a difficult time for me. After having been bullied and having aspects of my culture be laughed at. In the end, I spent a long time being ashamed of who I was and what I looked like. These series of self-portraits started about documenting the confusing mix of shame and pride to eventually just being pride and acceptance.

In terms of how I made this, I primarily used color pencils and some ink (on the earrings and the eye so it was extra dark. For color pencils I used purple, blue, and red. I hadn't previously used color pencils to make a portrait so I decided to work with limited colors to make my life a bit easier, while also making sure the end result would look cohesive. I made sure to slowly build up the values and layer the different colors to make a semi-realistic portrait.

For the eye, I first colored it with a purple color pencil and then went over it with purple to ink to deepen the value since I felt like it was missing some contrast.

For the earring, I decided to use some metallic pens I had to really make it pop from the rest of the portrait. Although it's a small detail, I feel like it makes the portrait much more visually interesting.

[andreasartt]

So life has been a little hectic right now, but I wanted to update you guys on something really cool!

I got the chance to exhibit my work as a part of the Seeing and Being Seen exhibition in CSUN's West Gallery, which has been super exciting. This is my first in person show since graduating so it feels extra special to have my art on these walls.

In their Main Gallery, they also have self portraits on loan from lacma which is extra cool. It felt a little surreal to go from one room where my art is in to the room next door where I could see Catherine Opie's work.

I'm so grateful for this opportunity. Here's to hoping for more like this 🤞🏼

I'll also make a longer post later about the actual piece I'm showing (how I made it, why I made it)

[andreasartt]

And we are done!!

I absolutely love how it came out and I had so much fun making it (even though I was afraid of working on something this big at the start lol)

There are still some stuff I would love to add in the future on the empty white spots, but for now I'm very happy 😅

I started this mural partly because we had a big empty wall, but also because I wanted a piece of Perú with me even if I can't be there physically. I'm glad to say I did just that 😌

[andreasartt]

update on the mural!!

So I added some things and changed some things. Starting with the things I changed, the stones on the left side which are a cool grey, I ended up doing a wash of brown on top just because the stones felt too cool?? and didn't really match the other stones as well as I would have wanted.

Then I added some more shadows on the stones and greenery! Luckily because I had everything laid out, it was relatively easy to add these new elements (compared to when I had to constantly be looking at my iPad to see what color had to be what)

[andreasartt]

Update on how the mural is going!!

Okay so firstly I just want to say I've been slow on updating you guys on here which is completely my bad 😭

Anyways... I started by laying down some water down brown and green to show where the stones and greenery would be. After which I used a dark brown grayish? color for the stones in the shadow. Then I did lighter browns for the stones that would be have the sun directly on them! I made sure to add a bit of yellow to the paint to give it that warmth you would get from sunlight.

I still have quite a ways to go, but im still happy with how it's going so far! Up next I'm going to being focusing on the greenery (specifically the shadow areas first) and finishing the stones too.

Although my sketch was off at first, it was relatively easy to fix all these issues once I added the paint and could freehand some extra stones and grass :)

[andreasartt]

I've started a new project, this time a mural!

I wanted to paint Machu Picchu and bring a little piece of my country to me 😊

I've seen a lot of people who make murals use a doodle method or projector (but doodle method doesn't really work me because I get confused and I don't have money for a projector lol) so I freehanded it instead!

The sketch was a little wonky compared to what I initially drew on my tablet. The mountains itself were pretty relatively straightforward because they're bigger and simpler shapes, the main issues was the structures below the mountains. So the bottom portions of my sketch was left a little incomplete because I will be working that out later with the paint instead of redrawing it all.

When I decided to cut my sketching early, I also decided that I wanted to start adding some color because it was starting to get confusing as to what shapes were supposed to be what (similar to my previous rose painting)

That being said, I'm really looking forward to this! It's been a long time since I've painted anything big (and even then, it was about 2 feet smaller?? and not as complicated lol) That being said, I have simplified it a lot in comparison to my refrence so I'm hoping that will help.

[andreasartt]

I made a pet portrait commission!

This was a lot of fun to make, but also challenging in a way. Compared to the other times I've painted dogs, this time the painting was very 'detailed' in comparison to the flat graphic look that I usually go for. But I felt that this more detailed look would work better consider the type of fur plus the limited color.

I started with a sketch to break down the areas with different values

and then I added the background color. Usually I would work the other way around, but because the dog would be greyscale instead of color, it was important I have the background set so I can see how dark or light I should go.

Once I had this set, I started laying down base colors where I could build the white fur on. I also did the eyes, nose, and mouth as they would be the darkest areas of the painting.

Then I started adding the actual fur detail on the face. I find it a little more manageable focusing on one area and adding detail, rather than tackling everything at once.

Then I followed the same method to the rest of the body!

After this, all I really did was add more white (partially to make the transitions in the shadow less harsh, but also the dog felt more gray leaning than white.) I also ended up darkening the shadow underneath the dog to help make the white stand out so more!

All done!

[andreasartt]

I made a pet portrait commission!

This was a lot of fun to make, but also challenging in a way. Compared to the other times I've painted dogs, this time the painting was very 'detailed' in comparison to the flat graphic look that I usually go for. But I felt that this more detailed look would work better consider the type of fur plus the limited color.

I started with a sketch to break down the areas with different values

and then I added the background color. Usually I would work the other way around, but because the dog would be greyscale instead of color, it was important I have the background set so I can see how dark or light I should go.

Once I had this set, I started laying down base colors where I could build the white fur on. I also did the eyes, nose, and mouth as they would be the darkest areas of the painting.

Then I started adding the actual fur detail on the face. I find it a little more manageable focusing on one area and adding detail, rather than tackling everything at once.

Then I followed the same method to the rest of the body!

After this, all I really did was add more white (partially to make the transitions in the shadow less harsh, but also the dog felt more gray leaning than white.) I also ended up darkening the shadow underneath the dog to help make the white stand out so more!

All done!