Natalie Heaman

The Art Garden 🌱

  • A Tale of Two Outhouses

    A watercolour painting showing two outhouses: one is old and has a classic crescent moon on the door. The other is newer with green metal panelling on the side.

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  • September 2024 Hobonichi

    A brush-pen drawing of a dog looking out a window. You see the dogs back, silhouetted against the window. Outside is a blue sky and tree.
    A drawing with acrylic paint markers of a tree, the leaves changing colour from green to orange to red; a sign of autumn.
    A drawing with acrylic paint markers of a single sunflower growing out of a drain next to a concrete wall.
    A brush-pen drawing of a small table in a garden. There is a ledge dividing the grass and plants, along it runs a rat. Text reads: “Saw a rat while having lunch in the community garden.”
    A cartoony drawing of a bright-eyed dog with pointy ears, mouth open and tongue hanging out. Text reads: “Boo went to a new park and ran around like a maniac!”
    A loose drawing of a dog with floppy ears. A thought bubble comes from his head, and in it a drawing of his favourite toy: a rubber football.
    A drawing with acrylic paint markers showing a silhouette of a dog as she walks through low-tide at the beach.
    A drawing of a pole with a no parking sign. The pole is covered in overgrown hops, partially covering the sign.
    A sketchbook page with the words in blue watercolour: “Keep it simple!”

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  • Summer ’23 Film

    When I was in high school and in the first post-graduation years, I shot a lot of film. I liked experimenting with multiple exposures and putting filters in the camera. In recent years I’ve tried getting into it again, though it took me about a year to use a 36 shot roll! I think this roll of film was also on the verge of expiry and probably sat in a hot car or two, which adds some flavour. Here are some pics from summer 2023.

    Camera: Canon A-1 / Film: Fuji Superia 200

    A film photo showing forest with evergreen trees, light shining through them. In the shade is an abandoned train car, covered in graffiti.
    A film photo of old train tracks and evergreen forest behind them. The sun is shining brightly on the trees.
    A film photo of a waterfall and the rocky cliffs around it. Some plants grow on the rocks.
    A film multiple exposure photo with a light leak which makes part of the image look bright orange. The multiple exposure is of mountains and forests, the two layers of images blurring together.
    A film photo of mountains and an inlet. The mountains appear fainter the further back they are. The lighting is a bit hazy, as if there is moisture in the atmosphere.

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  • Minthara

    Minthara from Baldur’s Gate 3! She is hilarious to me, all power-hungry confidence despite a terrible track record. Here are two in-game quotes from her; I tried something new for colouring the second one in particular.

    A drawing of Minthara from the game Baldur's Gate 3. She is an elf with an intense expression, smiling and splattered in blood. She is saying "And they would know that they could depend on my. Feared, venerated, adored. I would be everything to them." Which is a line of dialogue from the game.
    A drawing of Minthara from the game Baldur's Gate 3. Her expression is intense and the lighting dark, with glowing blue light reflected on parts of her face. She is saying "We have a purpose and a bond. By my oath, i will fight with you while that purpose holds." Which is a line of dialogue from the game.

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  • Monday Portrait

    An oil painting of Monday the cat. She sits on a colourful patterned rug. She is a short-haired cat, and a mix of white, black, and orange tabby colouring. Her bright eyes give her a curious expression.

    Over the summer I slowly chipped away at this oil painting of my friend’s late cat Monday – slowly chipped away looked like 3 painting sessions with long gaps in-between. After this and the other cat portrait I completed earlier this summer, I’m finding the process looks something like:

    Session 1: drawing, transfer to panel, get down first layer of paint (Very Important: do not judge how ‘good’ or ‘bad’ it is at this point. It’s gonna look messy. Faith in the process and all that. At times I do actually feel that faith in the process and at such times can enjoy the messy weird-ness more. But it’s hard to stay in that mind set! Practice, practice, practice.)

    Session 2: Refinement, add detail. This takes a similar length of time to the first round of painting.

    Session 3: the last details, like whiskers, the glint in the eyes, and little additions or touch-ups. With this and the last painting, this session didn’t take long.

    That’s only the process for two oil paintings, but that’s more oil paintings in the last 6 months than the last 5+ years! I plan to keep practicing oils, and I’m curious how the process with continue to evolve as I do.

    A photo showing the original sketch of Monday, and a copy on tracing paper, which is being used to transfer the drawing onto a wood panel.
    A photo of the in-progress oil painting, where some colours are laid down but mostly you still see the underpainting, a solid blue.
    A photo of the in-progress oil painting: almost all of the panel has a first layer of paint down. The colours are flat and rough looking.
    A photo of the in-progress oil painting: colours have been refined and given more depth, but there are still details missing. The cat’s face in particular looks blank and unfinished.
    A close-up photo of the focal point of the painting: Monday the cat’s face.The detail shot better shows the different colours carefully painted.

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Blog Index

PROJECTS / SERIES
Gouache Creatures Series, 2019
Somerset Series, 2021
Thrift Store Catch & Release
Beautiful Day Records

SHARED SUBJECTS
Dungeons & Dragons
Figure / Life Drawing
Pet Portraits
Character Art

OTHER
Daily Challenges
Bookbinding
Writing
Photography

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