An Artist's Journal:Paintings by Felicia Marshall

6"x6" Acrylic on Masonite I could not decide on which composition to choose for my painting, because I was so indecisive about cropping my reference I decided to paint several portions of the photograph of the festive street scene. Transitions was my first attempt and this is my second. I have several more in mind for future paintings.

Rebecca 6”x 6” Acrylic on Masonite I didn’t have any specific image in mind to paint. I usually have several images set aside that I want to work with and it usually takes weeks before I actually get around to painting them. Today I pulled from a box of interesting images and I have to laugh when I write this, but I was attracted to the model’s bags under her eyes and her distinguished nose. I actually enjoyed working on this one. Tell me what you think.

5”x 8” Acrylic on Bristol My grandmother turns one hundred this year. I’ ve always admired her spontaneity and eagerness to try new things. These are characteristics she still has even now later in her life. Few objects in her home are used for there original purpose. She lived the phrase “necessity is the mother of invention." It wasn ’t until recently that I came to the understanding that not everyone had this ability. Maybe she would have been an artist if she’d been born a century later.

6x6 Acrylic on Masonite I am usually one to question our fascination with circuses, parades, and carnivals, but I have always been attracted to carousels. If you think about it, spending time going around in circles is usually something we try to avoid in life. Still here I find myself in love with the ornate animals and benches of a carousel. I was however disappointed with this carnival’s lack of attention to details. No nostalgic moments here. This carnival had been down graded to cheaper and cleaner plastic with no attention to details. I was left with the feeling of just having enough, none thing extra. Oh well that’s progress, I guess. On a more positive note I did get a a great day out with the family, a little bit of sun, and a great painting from this experience.

6x6 Acrylic on Masonite This is the first self portrait that I have attempted in fifteen years and that was a college assignment. I was so proud of myself in the beginning , it was all about the technique. In the end however the portrait had become just as guarded and manipulated as I suspect many self portraits end up. Wow, there is a lot of baggage that comes along with recreating your own likeness. I guess I should consider any artist that attempts a self portrait a brave soul.

6x6 Acrylic on Masonite This image was captured during a recent visit to the International Festival. I had hoped to find people dressed in their native attire, and I had great hopes of finding someone dressed in a sari, they are so beautiful and ornate. Three hours, two funnel cakes, two potty breaks, and eight outrageously over priced drinks later we turned down a city block and heard the sounds of Indian music, the smells of incense burning , and in the center of it all were a group of men dressed in white drumming. Even further down the street were a smaller group of women creating their own rhythmic sounds. I took a panoramic photograph of the entire block ,not focusing on any particular thing and not necessarily getting my ideal image of a woman in a sari. But to my surprise I captured a glimpse of not just a culture, but one in transition. I found that what I did capture was so much more revealing and insightful than my oiginal intention.

6x6 Acrylic on Masonite I have had this image sitting around for about a year. My original intentions were not necessarily to paint the photograph, but it was taken simply as a snapshot of Zora in her Halloween costume . She's so cute and girly, everything about the painting screams Zora, I even used her favorite colors, you guessed it pink and purple, go figure. The entire painting reminds me of cotton candy. I'm pretty happy with the finished result. The marriage between loose brush strokes and the blended modeling of the facial tones have a nice balance.

5x8 Acrylic on Bristol I actually played around with merging several photographs together I was extremely pleased at how I modeled the tin shed. I love using textures usually create with salt. A friend was so amazed when I explained the process. First apply a layer of color, very watered down, then add salt. The salt actually pulls the water along with the color towards it and when it drys it creates great textures.