Acrylic Ocean abstract

My latest work is a 2 piece set that mimics a landscape scene of an ocean. In the lower corner the gold sun sets over the horizon like a jewel.

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Ocean splash acrylic on canvas blue black grey and gold metal — Ocean splash acrylic on canvas

Blue grey black ocean splash abstract by Stephanie Konu — Ocean splash acrylic on canvas close up by Stephanie Konu

2 of 2

There are quite a few layers of paint that went into the creation of this two piece set.

I recreated the setup many times to achieve this scene that is filled with swirls and paint pouring. I can remember what I was thinking about when I created this, and I can see lots of drama hidden in the way the colours play against each other.

Perhaps these would look better in simple black frames, hung on the wall of a powder room.

Thank you for stopping by,

-S

November 18, 2019May 21, 2020 by @Lillybochic

Tips For Success in Blog writing #7 on best reads list

My latest publication: “Tips For Success in Blog Writing” is an instant hit.

I wrote this publication to help prospective bloggers to start the blog they have always dreamed of.

In this free ebook offer tips and tricks to get over that first hump of beginning the process.

I show readers that they have the potential do the things they really love, by planning ahead.

This week I am happy to announce that “Tips For Success In Blog Writing” has made it to #7 on BookAuthority.com’s list of 2019’s Best Books to Read About Blogging.

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Book authority.org review of Tips for success in blog writing by Stephanie Konu

I am very happy to have made this ebook and am so pleased to know that it is being enjoyed by others.

Thank you for visiting and come back soon for more educational content!

-S

November 11, 2019March 13, 2020 by @Lillybochic

Acrylic Portraits

My latest work is a study in portraiture.

African woman with gold accent and blue background acrylic on canvas by Stephanie Konu — African woman acrylic on canvas by Stephanie Konu

African woman with blue background and gold Accent acrylic on canvas by Stephanie Konu — African woman acrylic on canvas by Stephanie Konu

It was an unexpected leap to go from illustrating portraits to painting them. I had a few gut-wrenching interludes, yet I found myself happy with the finished work.

Young woman of colour 1 of 2 acrylic on canvas with green shirt and blonde hair

Close up blue background Young woman of colour 1 of 2 acrylic on canvas with green shirt and blonde hair — Close up Young woman of colour 1 of 2 acrylic on canvas with green shirt and blonde hair

I enjoy painting details with fine brushes. Usino a watered-down high quality black acrylic, I achieve an easy flow to outline each figure.

portrait of artist Stephanie Konu in 1980s vintage style colours green, blue and ebony — portrait of artist Stephanie Konu in 1980s vintage style colours

I’m having so much with this and I am excited to see what I develop next.

Thanks for stopping by,

October 7, 2019March 13, 2020 by @Lillybochic

Vaughn Ontario Culture days

Greetings!

I love autumn. It is my favorite season. Warm afternoons, cool mornings, and the perfect nights that require blankets with an open window are plentiful during this time of year.

Autumn is also a fairly busy time of year. Many of us are returning from summer vacations are are back to the daily grind. There are many art shows as well that pop up as the year comes to an end.

I had the pleasant opportunity to participate in an art exhibition early in September of 2019. The show took place at an historic estate that once belonged to JEH Macdonald of the Group of Seven. The event was in Thornhill, but was sponsored of The City of Vaughn.

Myself and 20 other artists exhibited our artwork during the weekend.

The show brought in approximately 100 people, and there were a few sales.

The highlight of the event was the opening reception. I was able to meet fellow artists who shared similar passions.

I’m very happy to have been invited to the show, and look forward to more autumn exhibitions like this one.

Thanks for stopping by,

September 30, 2019March 13, 2020 by @Lillybochic

Llama unicorn illustration

Greetings!

I have been trying my hand at using humor in my illustration work. I like to think that I can be quite funny, but telling jokes is not one of my strengths. I often mix up the details of a joke by telling the punchline too soon, or by laughing at the joke before I have finished telling it. I am better at giving witty remarks and comebacks than telling structured jokes. I always marvel at standup comedians who are able to recall hours of jokes and retell them in what seems like an effortless fashion.

My latest illustration work is a funny and misleading drawing of a llama with a horn. The wording beneath is acerbic, and doesn’t match with the fun and bright picture it is paired with. I think it works well for that specific reason.

White llama with unicorn horn funny caption everyone you know hates you — Llama with funny wording why stephanie konu

I think that this would make a great book cover. I would love to write somthing funny that would fit with this title. Perhaps I should begin working on my joke telling abilities.

Thanks for stopping by, and remember to check out my free ebooks. The links are at the top toolbar of this page.

-S

September 16, 2019March 13, 2020 by @Lillybochic

Illustrating comics with 3 panels

3 panel repeat illustration black woman — 3 panel repeat illustration

One of the things I like the most about illustration is that it allows me to express ideas in a diverse way. I have more freedom to explore ideas that normally would have been difficult to attempt with paint and canvas. Furthermore, with illustration I can use technology to copy and paste multiple sketches, change their size, and manipulate the scenery much easier than before.

The above illustration is an example where I have used technology to manipulate a previous sketch of myself into a 3 panel repeat illustration. I have copied and repasted the image into 3 panels. I added an abstract motif inspired by green cactus to make the image more decorative. I like the way it turned out, and it has a fun “summer” vibe to it.

Asian man covers eye illustration by Stephanie Konu

This illustration has the same idea as the previous one, except the decorative bamboo leaves are in the background of the illustration. Using technology, I merged the repeated subject at the shoulders to create continuity along the bottom edge. Thinking back, I would have been more creative if I had the subject covering his ears and mouth in the repeated images to make a “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” reference. It is an amazing feeling to play around with different ideas and to see the end result. I am looking forward to working on more comic type illustrations that include words and meaningful quotes.

Thanks for stopping by.

September 9, 2019March 1, 2020 by @Lillybochic

Gold textured mask with a black background

A human face painted in gold with textured and raised sculpture relief on the canvas with a black painted background. — A relief mask with texture and gold acrylic paint

My latest work is a mask inspired by my ancestral Yoruba tribe from West Africa. I wanted to represent the model of an elongated and oval shaped face, as this is commonly seen on traditional masks from the region.

Here you can see an up close and angled perspective of the nose bridge of the mask. The area is raised slightly to show a break in the surface of the face.

The method of this painting further explores my current practice of singular images against a black negative space. For this blog post, I felt that it was beneficial to take photos of the side angles and above/below vantage points to fully emphasize the immense texture in this piece.

A side view reveals a crevice of texture that was created when I applied some very grainy pieces to the face surface. I did this to add drama to the piece, and to represent the tribal scars of warfare that this mask would traditionally represent.

The eyes are a deep vacant black with glowing gold specks that are raised and have texture. My initial response was that seemed “spooky” but I think it was necessary to have gold floating over top of a black area for the eyes; as it allows the eyes to have their own space and stand out.

If looking closely, you can see a faint outline of lips protruding from the surface. I tried my best but I often get impatient when I have a good idea that I am excited about. Adding lips to emphasize the African features was one of these ideas. The next time I attempt to make a mask like this, I would like to spend more time on smoother corners and more pronounced features.

Thank you for stopping by, and as always I enjoy reading your comments

-S

May 27, 2019 by @Lillybochic

Gold relief painting in acrylic

My latest work is an acrylic relief painting that is heavy in texture. There is so much texture that my work is part sculpture, as the object emerges from the canvas surface.

An acrylic texture relief painting Epsilon in gold texture with black background. Saturn like ring around planet.

The concept follows the theme of my last few pieces; which is to show singular symbols against a black background. As the golden image floats through the darkness, it is representative of an echo from unknown depths coming outward. I say “echo” because it is difficult to determine what becomes of a feeling or thought once it is released into the universe. Perhaps on some level (collective consciousness, spiritual, or what have you), we communicate with symbols that carry deep personal meanings.

An acrylic texture relief painting Epsilon in gold texture with black background

Upon looking closer, one can detect the relief caused by the use of texture. Using my palate knife, I sculpted the division of the planet’s rings from the body of the sphere. It was also difficult to make a decision as to whether or not it was proper to paint black lines to further divide the rings from the planet.

An acrylic texture relief painting Epsilon in gold texture with black background

If I could change anything about this piece, it would be the unevenness caused by the division of the planet’s ring against the sphere body of the planet. I find it distracting.

When naming this piece, I wanted to avoid the obvious choice by calling it “Saturn”. To accomplish this, I researched other planets in our solar system with rings and learned that the planet Uranus has rings! The brightest of the 13 rings of Uranus is named Epsilon, and so voila!; the name of this golden planetoid painting was chosen.

An acrylic texture relief painting Epsilon in gold texture with black background Saturn ring planet

This last shot is altered; brightness levels have been reduced, while contrast has been increased. This allows the blackness of the background to really offset the gold multi faceted sphere surface and it’s rings.

This design is also available on many items printed on demand at www.spacearttshirts.com. Thank you for stopping by.

-S

May 14, 2019May 28, 2020 by @Lillybochic

Gold Trident with Black Background

My latest work is a gold trident with a textured surface. The piece is 11 x 14 inches and is entitled: Neptune’s Trident.

Gold trident shape symbol with black background — Neptune’s Trident by Stephanie Konu

I started off with a free hand sketch of a 3 pronged shape. Using a ruler to outline the sections, my aim was to ensure a shape that was as “un-lopsided” as possible. Without a symbol to trace, or a rough draft on graph paper it was tricky to conceptualize this shape.

Once the shape was sketched on the canvas, I furthered my experimentation with texture by shaping a thin outline along the edges of the trident. I used a technique similar to the one used for decorating cookies with royal icing. Stiff and dry texturizing compound along the border wall, to contain a more watery texturized mix that was flooded into the body of the shape. You can see that this approach has its drawbacks since the relief of the borders seems to be much higher than the inner body. The higher relief along the border contributes to an unevenness generally.

One of the the things I learned from creating this piece was the need for neatness and order! As you can see, each tip of the trident should be much more “pointed”, yet they are uniquely different. This is because of my sketch that was lacking a cleanly drawn plan for where to apply texture on the canvas.

The result leans farther towards the abstract than I would have hoped for. This current study of work is based on dream-like apparitions of images, and symbols coming out of the darkness like an echo. I think that “Neptune’s Trident” is a perfect example of what I am trying to achieve. I am excited to begin working on my next project in this series.

Thank you (as always) for stopping by.

-S

April 25, 2019May 21, 2020 by @Lillybochic

Gold acrylic triangle with black

My latest 10 x 10 inch// 25 x 25 cm acrylic on canvas continues my study of singular-focused images against black negative space. This piece features a heavily textured triangle shape that is entirely golden.

Gold triangle against black acrylic — Gold angles by Stephanie Konu

Gold light

I took photos of in the light, and so the shine of the black acrylic paint allows the viewer to also see raised texture floating in the blackness. Here (below) is a shot with the brightness turned down, and the contrast brought up to maximum. The painting has a much sexier look with the adjustments- and I think I will (one day) invest in the services of a professional photographer to capture my work.

What a haunting image

The intent behind this piece was to depict the fading light of a distant dying star. The glow is homogeneous and the texture is as even as I could apply it. It reminds me of a ghostly apparition. Something emerging from the darkness that has an unknown origin.

If I could change something about this piece, it would be the lack of clean and sharp lines. I will work on honing my sculpture skills in the next piece. This style needs to be explored, and I have quite a few ideas I’m very excited to implement.

Thanks for stopping by, and please check in again soon to see what I have been working on.

April 15, 2019May 9, 2019 by @Lillybochic