News News News!

Hello there everyone!

I have some updates for you all. The first being...

I have updated my personal website;

My personal website is currently about 95% complete; I still have some improvements I would love to put into place. I will be making these improvements over the next few days; however, I am very proud to say that the new website is up and running and is hopefully a lot more easier to view and use. 

I worked solidly for 2 days (and into the nights, hehe) working on it and I am very happy with the results - I hope you like it too.

Another update is that I have created some brand new social media accounts. I created these as I would really love to be able to connect with other artists and people that enjoy my work. So, if you fancy it send me a tweet or follow me on instagram, don't be shy! :-)

• I have a new Twitter account with the handle @AllanahClaire

•  & also a new instagram account! Click on the image to be taken to my instagram page. My Instagram handle is 'AllanahClaire'

Thank you for reading. All the best,

Allanah x

Maleficent is here :-D

Hi there everyone,

I have a new painting for you all... It is the beautiful Angelina Jolie as Maleficent - click on the YouTube image below to watch me paint Maleficent! I hope you like it ^_^

I recently went to see the new Maleficent film and I really enjoyed it! It was very heartwarming; I left the cinemas feeling quite uplifted. I won’t give too much away, just incase you haven’t seen it…

I hope that you like my huge Maleficent painting. I really loved creating the background on this piece.

I decided to create a green smoke effect as in the movie Maleficent has special powers that come out as green light and smoke; I really loved how it looked in the film and so I wanted to add my own interpretation of this effect into my art piece. It was very fun to paint - I did it all freehand so I wasn’t sure how it would look but I quite like it!

 I also really enjoyed painting Maleficent's eyes, they look spectacular in the movie, they are really twinkly and have lots of different colours in them. It was quite fun to try to capture the beauty of them by painting.

Hope you have enjoyed reading my blog, thanks for dropping by.

I have lots more paintings planned so stick around :-D

Take care, best wishes,

Allanah Claire 

Xx

I'm going to be on the TV!!

Hi everyone!

Finally; I have the time to create a new blog post!

I have been very busy the last few weeks and I have some very exciting news to share with you all. 

I’m going to be on the TV with 3 of my paintings!

I’ll explain why and how now…

I was recently selected by ‘Etsy’ (A popular online market place that sells only handmade & unique items). To appear on their first ever UK advert. I had entered a casting call, really not expecting to be chosen.

To visit my Store on Etsy click the image below! :-)

When I found out I had been selected I really couldn’t believe it. I was so elated, proud and excited! (Also slightly nervous!)

^above is a screen shot of the e-mail telling me I was successful!

There were 50 other artisans that were selected for the advert also; I got to meet many of them on the day of filming - everyone was so friendly and lovely. There was such a warm atmosphere. 

The producers and directors and all the Etsy staff were just brilliant. It was quite a long day for us all but the whole day everybody was in high spirits.

We filmed the advert on Wednesday May 14^th 2014. Filming started at 10:00am and finished at approximately 9:30pm.

The film studio was in London so I stayed in a hotel overnight as I am quite a distance away! My lovely & awesome friend Gemma came with me too; it was so exciting to share the once-in-a-lifetime experience with one of my very closest friends!

We had a great time together, and we also managed to do a sneaky spot of shopping at Oxford Street! Also we both fell in love with London! (& are planning to come back soon)

*Gemma if you are reading this a huge THANK YOU for being such a brilliant friend and for helping me with my huge paintings (I know it was stressful at times but I think we both managed it so well). I'm so proud to be able to call you a friend & think the world of you!*

^a little snap shot of the paintings I took along to London

I will be creating another blog in more detail about the Etsy advert but for now I am not allowed to reveal too much about it. I don’t want to get in trouble!

So, to follow will be some photos of the set, more info about the day and lots of other details too! So stay tuned. It’s going to be brill!

P.S the advert airs in the UK this summer! ^_^ Yey!

Best wishes,

Allanah Claire

Hi peeps, a quick update here before I go to work. Yesterday I painted this cute French Bulldog. He is called Dexter. My dance teacher brought him into class with her. He is only a puppy and is so very cute. I have a new sketchbook and thought he would make a perfect first page!

Hope you are all having a nice day. 

Thanks for reading x

Allanah Claire

Marilyn Monroe Portrait

Hi peeps!

I have finished my Marilyn Monroe painting - below is a picture of the final piece. I hope you like it!
After reading a book about Marilyn I felt a bit of connection with her, she really had drive and ambition, she was very much a dreamer and so am I.
When you have a connection with the subject you paint, I feel that it makes the artwork so much more interesting and meaningful.
For this painting I really wanted to capture Marilyn's beauty.

 

I hope you like my very first painting of 2014. I will embed the video of me creating this piece below so you can watch that if you're interested. 

Thank you for reading, hope you have a nice day, all the best, Allanah Claire x

Happy New Year 2014!

Hi everyone,

First of all, I'm so sorry that I haven't updated my blog for a couple of months! I've just had quite a few things going on lately. I'm hoping I will be able to get back on track with everything now.
Anyway, better late than never, right?
Here goes... 
I have a few little updates. 

I am currently working on a new painting (see above)

It is, of course, Marilyn Monroe. I have painted her in the past but I feel like I have never really done her justice or painted her to a good enough standard so I thought I'd revisit and attempt to paint her again. 

It's going well so far and I can't wait to update my blog when it's finished to show you all.

In other news, in December 2013 I was awarded a prize in a art competition by Element Eden. I was so happy to win because the standard was outstanding, all the entries were amazing. I'm very flattered I was chosen as one of the winners. I will add a picture of my prize soon. It was €300 to spend on any element eden products I liked! I chose a coat and hoodie to keep me warm in the winter and also a lovely bag and T-Shirt! It's all really high quality and such a great prize! So thank you Element.

That's all for now but I'll be back soon,

thank you for reading my blog.  Take care everyone and I hope you all have a great year in 2014!
Kindest wishes & all the best, Allanah Claire 

Walter White AKA Heisenberg

Hi everyone!

I really enjoyed painting on a lager scale with my last painting (Gatsby) 
I loved it so much that I decided to create another huge painting; I am currently working on it; it is of a character in the TV Series 'Breaking Bad', called Heisenberg / Walter White.
I'm really pleased with the progress so far and I am going to continue working on it today.
I am of course videoing my progress :-D
Here is a picture of the work so far, hope you like it...

Check back for the finished piece and video!

**update** progress today:-

Thank you for reading my blog :-)

All the best,

Allanah Claire

The Great Gatsby - My New Painting!

Hi everyone :-)

I'm super excited to show you my newest painting! I have been wanting to create a bigger piece for quite a while but couldn't find the time so I'm happy I managed to get this done.
The first picture is the artwork in progress, the next is the finished piece. 

Tadaa! I hope you like it. Here is a video of me creating the piece...

I painted this piece in just one evening; I surprised myself at getting such a big artwork done in such a short time.

I was inspired to paint this piece after watching the film 'The Great Gatsby' I loved the film, it was wonderful (just a warning though if you're thinking of seeing it, it's tragically sad!) I have also read the book, which is written so beautifully. I highly recommend it & it's definitely worth reading the book before the film :-) I'm looking forward to creating more art and sharing it with you!  Thank you for reading my blog,  All the best, Allanah Claire x

An Inspiring Holiday!

Hi everyone!

It has been quite a while since I last created a blog entry; 

this is because I have been on holiday. I went to Costa Adeje in Tenerife and it was so beautiful there!

I feel very lucky that I got the chance to stay on such a beautiful island and I have come back inspired to create a painting including the different wildlife and flowers of Tenerife. 

(Above is a picture of me soaking up the sun!)

It has also been a while since I have picked up my paintbrushes but I feel ready to create a special art piece. I already have a rough idea of what I would like to do and I’m rather excited to bring it to fruition! 

I am going to start some watercolour paintings tonight as studies for the big piece I am planning so I will be updating my blog soon with the finished pieces! Until then... Here are a few of my holiday snaps so you can see why I'm so inspired! It is a truly beautiful place. I hope you enjoy them! :-)

Thank you for reading my blog, 

All the best;

Allanah Claire x

Something New!

Hey everyone,

I can't believe how fast this year seems to be going. It's already late March. How did that happen!? Anyway, on the arty side of things I have been busy drawing Brigitte Bardot.
It has been quite a tricky one; Probably due to the scale; it is A2 (42.0 by 59.4 cm) which is a pretty big piece (for a graphite drawing anyway!)
I am enjoying drawing it non the less and as usual I am making a video of me creating the piece. I will hopefully have it finished by next week.
Exciting stuff!

Also...I am hoping to create some more colourful pieces in the not too distant future as I have been focusing on my pencil drawings and techniques for quite some time now and I miss my paints! It'll be great to start some new paintings. I'm very excited about that!

Thank you for reading and take care :-)
best wishes,
Allanah Claire

It's January!

Hello peeps!
This is my very first post from 2013! Yey! It feels really good to be updating my blog & I have a new drawing for you!

It's Dexter Morgan (Michael C Hall) from the TV series Dexter. I really enjoyed creating it. I will embed a video in this post of me creating this piece; if you are interested in watching it just click to play.

I am really hoping to create a big painting soon. I have been a bit unwell lately. I keep getting colds and other winter viruses. I am pretty sure I'm on the mend now though so I'm really excited to be getting my brushes out and making new artworks soon! I hope that you are all having a great New Year so far and fingers crossed I will have a nice painting to show you all in my next post :-)
All the best, Allanah Claire

Here are some questions I have answered for a lovely girl for her school project, I thought I would share them here too...
At what age did you discover your passion for art?
Since as far back as I can remember I’ve always loved painting and drawing. My mother has a photograph of me at aged 1 painting in the back garden on a wall. My mother Rachel, is an artist and has created the most beautiful enchanting watercolour paintings of animals and nature; she always encouraged me as a child and I am very grateful for that as I have kept creating through-out my life. Art has been like a life-support for me; even at the bleakest times it’s always been there for me.
How would you describe your art?
My art is quite self-reflective. I once read a quote, something along the lines of …‘every portrait is a portrait of artist and not the sitter’. I think it was from an Oscar Wilde book, possibly The Picture of Dorian Gray. I immediately connected with the quote as my feelings and emotions are always present in my artwork; each one of my paintings seems to have part of my soul in. So I guess I would describe my artwork as emotive, self-reflective and also with a slight amount of imperfect perfection… I always want to reach a certain level of flawlessness but I never seem to get there it’s like an unattainable type of beauty that I want to express.
Do you hope that your work will be recognized worldwide?
I think every artist would love for this to happen, unless it was for a bad reason of course. I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t! I love the pursuit of trying to get my art known though, it’s quite fun crawling up the ladder and if I did reach a significant level of success I fear that it might ‘cheapen’ my future works, I mean this in the sense that maybe in my head I would feel like I had become a ‘brand name’ instead of being valued for my artistic vision/ talent.
Are your family and friends supporting you?
Yes, definitely. It’s important to have support with something like art. It’s quite subjective so people aren’t always going to like what you do, I’ve had my fair share of haters, but even if just one person really connects with your work and seems to understand, it makes you more determined.
Besides the arts, you have other passions?
I really enjoy music. I love reading and also being around nature and the outside world. All of these things I’m passionate about also help inspire me with my artwork too.
If you could not have a career in the art world what you want to do?
I feel like I don’t have a choice. It’s in my blood and I really believe with all my heart an Artist is what I am destined to be. If it doesn’t work out for me I will still be painting, just very poor!
:-) hope you enjoyed. x