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

Kill Bill - New Painting - Uma Thurman

Hi there everyone!

I have a little art update for you all; I have just finished creating a painting of Uma Thurman’s character from the movie Kill Bill, ‘The Bride’ a.k.a ‘Black Mamba’ a.k.a ‘Beatrix Kiddo!’ So many names; but I digress…

So, here are some progress photos of my Kill Bill painting, I hope that you like them…

It’s so exciting that a blank canvas can be transformed into anything that you want it to be, it’s limitless. I love painting, it’s so primal, but at the same time so thought-provoking; when I paint I feel like i’m putting together a puzzle and the pigments and shade combinations are my pieces. It’s mentally stimulating but relaxing at the same time. It’s cathartic. 

The start of the painting, very patchy!

Mid stage - starting to come to life :-D

Finished painting.

I feel like my photographs don't really capture the detail of my painting too well so I have included some close up shots too.

Details 

I painted this piece for my brother who commissioned the artwork for his new house. It was fun to work on because I love the Kill Bill movies. :-) I enjoyed painting Uma's hair and putting all the details into it. The blurry background was also fun to paint.

Thank you for reading my blog :-)

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

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

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