NEW series

I'm very excited about this new series, I am not going to say too much now but here are some pictures so far....

Native American Art Series...

Darker feathers for my Native American man... I think this painting is finished now - there will be more similar paintings soon. I love portraiture, paint & mixed media. I have Native American heritage & often explore themes of history, culture & heritage in my work as well as strength, the spiritual & emotional / social. I regularly use gold & silver in my fine art work - often representing the unseen...

#nativeamerican #nativeamericanart #portrait #mixedmedia #gold #art #artist #artblog #artblogger #watercolour #portraitseries #insideart #victorian #spiritual #ethereal #artprocess #americanindian #mixedmedia #deity #beautiful #beth_louella_aulton_art #american #firstnation #celebration #history #heritage #culture #unseen #artwork #travel

Self Portrait From A While Ago

Self portrait from a while ago - my native american heritage coming through! I was doing a lot of metal embellishment on canvas at the time as you can see here. Someone commented they thought I "look prettier in real life" than in this portrait 😂 Have to admit I disagree, this painting is a very close likeness - sure I didn't go for a glamorous pose but then self portraits (generally) aren't about making yourself look attractive but about depicting & expressing yourself, inside & out. Often the artist is the artist's best sitter as they know that face so well & they know everything that goes on inside. For the record, I can & I do create many flattering portraits, but that wasn't what this painting was about 😉

You can check out the full painting and more images on my website: www.bethlouella.com (portraiture - fine art).

#womanhood #feminism #heritage#history #ancestry #nativeamerican #african #kenyan #dreads #emotion#spiritual #faith #culture #multicultural#ethnicity #artist #selfportrait #fridakahlo #painting #portrait #portraiture #art #artblog #artblogger #nuture #familytree #genetics #dreadlocks

Start of 'Deborah' Illustrated Portrait

Start of 'Deborah' illustrated portrait for 'Inspiring Women' series. Deborah was a Jewish Prophetess & Judge of Israel (12th century BC) - a truly awesome & powerful woman from a VERY long time ago!

Want to see more? Check out my website: www.bethida.co.uk The 'Inspiring Women' series so far is under 'commercial & editorial' illustration.

#deborah #prophet #prophetess #jewish #jew #jewishwomen #powerfulwomen #femalehistory #feminism #history #art#illustration #portrait #illustratedportrait #artist #artblog #artblogger #bethlouellaaulton #drawings 

Adoption Photo

Came across this photo of me finishing 'Adoption', a painting that celebrates physical & spiritual adoption. I have a canvas print of this painting on my wall at the mo (much smaller than the original) & I find the regular reminder of awesome love everytime I pass it really inspiring & uplifting.

'Adoption'Progress Pictures

Here are some progress pictures of 'Adoption' (100cm x 150cm paint on canvas).  I don't usually change colours whilst painting but the blue wasn't quite working for me.  The painting is a celebration of adoption (physical and spiritual) and I think the warm, ethereal yellow was the right choice in the end.

You can view a higher resolution of the final painting here  

and the same painting plus other artwork on my website 

Progress Pictures of 'Mothers'

For those of you that like progress pictures...

View on Saatchi Art

Here is my new painting: ‘Mothers’, a self portrait (60 cm x 76 cm paint on canvas with photographs). 

I love the genre of self portraiture and the freedom of expression it brings. I painted the self portrait ‘Mothers’ because I wanted to explore the concept of heritage (physical, cultural, emotional, spiritual) and womanhood.  I have Native American heritage and am connected to Kenyan culture hence the hair style, choker style necklace and wrapped material. The necklace depicts my female family tree, showing the eyes of my mother, mother-in-law, grandmothers, great grandmothers…etc.  I focused on the females in my family tree because of the emphasis on womanhood and the influence mothers have. The pose is unusual; I chose to look at the viewer as if I were looking down to give the impression of strength and power.  I wanted to convey that my heritage and the women/mothers that are part of that heritage, empower me.

You can view this painting on Saatchi Art: http://bit.ly/2q23R5i

Fine Art Heroes

I am inspired by many artists but these very influential artists are my all time favourites and have played a big role in shaping my work:

FRIDA KAHLO - 1907-1954 (Mexico)

GUSTAV KLIMT - 1862-1918 (Austria)

AMEDIO MODIGLIANI - 1884-1920 (Italy / France)

Painting Identitical Twins

I have nearly finished a portrait of an identical twin, I am painting her twin sister soon.  Painting identical twins is fascinating as the differences in facial features are so minute. As a portrait painter you have to be spot on with accuracy but the precision is so important when painting identical twins, I have to confess that at one point in the early stages the portrait looked more like the other twin! All the facial features are honed and correct now (the portrait definitely looks like the correct person), I just need to finish off the clothing.  Here are some progress pictures, I'll post more photos once completed.    

January Work

Happy new year! Over Christmas I have been experimenting with watercolour which has been fun.  I am currently working on some pencil and paint portraits for an exhibition in the spring.

NEW work - Mountain

I am enjoying experimenting with a range of media. This piece is a self portrait exploring belonging, hopes and dreams. I often use gold and silver in my artwork and wanted to have a gold object as a focal point. I like to show elements of the 'unseen' in my artwork and have focused on the intangible; hopes and dreams. The belonging elements of the image link in with my Native American heritage and are subtly referenced.

Saatchi Art

Mountain 29.7 cm (w) x 42 cm (h) mixed media on paper

NEW Painting: My Brothers

This is a new painting of mine, I think it has to be one of my favourites. It makes me smile and also tearful when I look at it.  It depicts my brother and his tattoo of our deceased brother's name, hence the title 'My Brothers'.

My Brothers paint on canvas 80cm x 60cm

View a larger version and print options at Saatchi Art.

View on my website: www.bethlouella.com 

Adoption

My newest painting:

Adoption  100cm (w) x 150cm (h) paint on canvas

It is about physical and spiritual adoption.

View / buy prints on Saatchi

Below the Surface Woman Blue

Here is another portrait from the 'Below the Surface' body of work.  I went to the Stanley Spencer Gallery recently and admired a sketched portrait of his first wife in hard pencil.  It inspired me to use hard pencil in this body of work. 

Woman Blue  21cm (w) x 42cm (h) pencil, ink and paint on paper

View / buy prints on Saatchi

Below the Surface...

‘Below the Surface’ is a body of work consisting of portraits created with hard pencil, ink and paint.  The paint is expressive, depicting elements of the subject’s character.  Here is one of the portraits, there are more to come!

Woman Yellow 29.7cm (w) x 42cm (h) pencil, ink and paint on paper

View / buy prints on Saatchi

Lineage

Here is another recent painting. It is a self portrait (not a very flattering one, but then that is not what self portraits are about!).  It is called Lineage, the painting is about heritage, ancestry, what gets passed down to us and what shapes us.  My dreads look like tree branches so I created a 'family tree' / 'tree of life' with the layout of my hair.  The splashes of colour represent different elements being passed down, the things that impact / shape us and the results. The turquoise represents bitter sweet elements and the yellow represents positive elements, such as love, joy and faith. 

Lineage 61cm (w) x 91cm (h) paint on canvas 

View / buy prints on Saatchi

A Nice Surprise

I accidently came across this online...

I'm pleased to have been picked - a nice surprise!

New Portrait - FIT

Fit  36cm (w) x 46cm (h) paint on canvas 

View / buy prints on Saatchi

Here is my documentation of 'Rebecca'...