Watercolor Self Portrait

If our lives are like a field I have many furrows on my self portraits.  But then sheet music has lines so surely our portraits can be like music which is hidden between the lines and above and beyond them as well. I did this today on white watercolor paper and then digitally gave it a background color. I would gladly paint anyone else but myself. The good points are that the model is free. If I can use the word "model" and my name in a sentence is questionable.

Learning and getting comfortable painting my self portraits is my job this week. Hopefully your week is just as fun.

More of my art can be seen on Saatchi Art

Modern Expressionism Self Portrait

If anyone wants a good laugh try painting a self portrait. They are amusing. Modern art is meant to entertain. The shocking part is that you also see some family resemblances right before you. Can that be? Yes. Very much so. So those artists of old who painted many self portraits were no doubt had a great sense of humor. They also learned valuable lessons from each portrait.

Here I am with all of my flaws and stories that show on my face...  A wonderful truth about modern expressionism is that we can put equal amounts of feeling and color in our paintings.

A painting can tell as much as a novel!

View more of my modern expressionist paintings on Saatchi Art

Hawaiiana Paintings Today

                                                                 
                                                                     Work in Progress

Today I got out the brushes and left my palette knife alone. It's an odd feeling, but keeps the cobwebs out of my brain by using them again. And everyone knows I could use a little brain help. The good part of making fun of myself is I know when to stop. Right after I've started.

Working with paint brushes gives me wider strokes that is for sure. I can't guarantee that I won't use my palette knife on this, but for now I am resisting. This photograph was taken 45 minutes after I started painting. I want it loose and impressionistic so I've stopped now in the creative process to evaluate. Most likely the finished painting will be for sale online at Saatchi Art

I've started this new group of portraits from my memories of an old store in Hawaii now closed, but I used to go there alot. It was called, "Gems." It was just a short walk away. All of the Hawaiian ladies use to sit on the benches outside in the shade while their families shopped inside or just to "talk story" and rest their feet. Ninety nine percent of the ladies had their hair pulled back and fresh flowers pinned in. Young and old alike. There were large white plumeria trees against the building that tossed their blossoms to us. Most were swept away every morning, but that didn't stop the trees from sharing their fragrant blooms during the day.

 

Just My Feet Beach Painting

                                                                        Just My Feet
                                                       Acrylic on Hardwood Panel Board  
                                                               July 30, 2015 Carol Yap  



Yesterday was one of  those days where I got the run around trying to get a simple document. I was told that I would need to get additional documents even though I brought what I was told to bring. So one quick stop turned into many stops. Now the good news....it brought about this painting.

One way to unwind for me is to paint. Paint something calming, soothing and make the churning colors look like they were made for each other. Being energized can yield some creativity on the canvas as I unleash it rapidly with a palette knife and paint.

There is something calming about walking on the beach. The waves throw themselves at my feet and yet the ocean is so powerful. The sand crabs scurry along in bursts. They are some of the tiniest creatures that call the beach their home. Their safe haven.



    

Paul McCartney Beatles Portrait

                                                                       
                                                                        "Vinyl Man"
                                                                     Portrait Painting

When the Beatles came to America I was probably seven years old. My older sister carried a transistor radio with her as the Beatles were catching on fire everywhere they went. This also was about the time Barbie dolls came out and this was what I thought about...but the Beatles tunes are very catchy. My older brother had an old-school-bus-yellow-Chevrolet station wagon that he called,  "The Yellow Submarine." We didn't get to live in it though. He drove it to high school, his part time job at Baskin-Robbins, and school dates.

Fast forward quite a number of years (key words, quite a number)  and I was at Union Station in Washington DC. I went into a Starbucks and asked to buy a limited edition Paul McCartney Starbucks gift card. The young man looked at me and he turned to another young man and told him my request. Of course, he looked at me and there was a gathering in the back while they chatted out of ear shot. Finally someone came out of the office as they were locked in the safe and I got one of the last ones! I think these young men thought that I was there in the day and they were witnessing a Beatles fan relic. I was looking back at a group of young Beatle fans.  That card is still in my possession hidden away so well I don't know where exactly it's at.

All between then and now Paul McCartney is now Sir Paul, but the same likable musician. My portrait of him is painting in a modern expressionist style of Sir Paul in his youth.

Painting available for sale and in print at Saatchi Art online. Enjoy.

  

Hawaiiana Paintings

Work in Progress

I've been working on some Hawaiiana paintings at home. This one I started one day but didn't have enough time to finish. I feel like my paintings are more fluid and flowing when I begin and finish in one setting. There are perks of  painting in different settings. I analyzed the colors and made some changes. I'm not sure I am 100% happy with this one yet so that is why I am not showing this in full color yet. It looks more vintage in black and white here. That brings up the subject of photographing your paintings in black and white to critique paintings. . It helps to analyze  pattern, texture and all over design. Let the camera be the silent critic. Smiles.

When this acrylic painting is complete I'll be listing it for sale on Saatchi Art 

Color, Shape and Expression Art

                                                                       Electricity
                                                            Acrylic on Hardboard
                                                                       Carol Yap      

This painting describes how I feel about Summer. An explosion of color, movement, and freedom. I painted this yesterday with a palette knife and acrylics in silence alone with my wandering thoughts of thankfulness. A horse bucks and jumps because it is free. Energy flies every which way. That thought in itself is beautiful. Here is how I expressed it in an expressionist-impressionist style.

Is everyone having a great Summer? With rain every day here we are living in a green jungle. The lawnmowers and weeder barely get cool before they are started up again. Tree seedlings have shot up 6 ft or more in a month.  We live in a jungle of green.

Find out more about my paintings here.