Spirited Away Preview

Spirited Away - Enchanted Visions Preview

Hello all, 

I know it has been a long time since you last saw my painting Spirited Away (from the Slightly Eccentric Tutorials). I wanted to let you all know that I finally finished the painting and that I'm finally pleased with it (don't quote me on it-- leave me alone with it, I'll probably fix something else)! I changed a LOT since you all last saw it and definitely pushed myself out of my comfort zone. I am used to painting washes in light colors and stopping after two or three because I'm always afraid to ruin the piece! In this case, even the title tells you that the painting will be extra other-worldly and different. So this time I pushed the colors to make everything-- especially the fae come to life!

Unfortunately during this time I didn't take very many pictures. I just kept painting, thinking I'd be done soon, only making small changes and could photograph afterwards! So the rest of the tutorial I'm sad to say will be jump pretty far from idea to idea, but I'll put it together for you all and explain as best I can what I might have been thinking (or not thinking!).

The painting will be released as soon as my computer comes back from "the shop."(once the piece is scanned in, I'll actually stop making changes to it!) (and to explain-- I am writing on my laptop right now, but I also have a PC which handles all my major photoshop, printing, uploading and downloading needs-- the PC is the one in the shop, and the laptop isn't powerful enough to do all the things my PC can take care of.)

In the mean time, check out my website and see all the changes being made and all the new products released! I've been adding whole new sections on a weekly basis! So there's always something new and fun times to be had over there!

To view the tutorial of "Spirited Away" -click here-

Spirited Away in a Day of Painting

I decided for some silly reason to challenge myself today while I'm really sick... The challenge was for me to create a painting start to finish in one day. Somehow, the idea poured out of my pencil onto my watercolor paper and became exactly as I envisioned it start to finish. The piece was a challenge because of my cold, but I think that added to the spontaneity and charm of the piece. *cough*


I would like to start doing the One Day Method for all my paintings in the future... But sometimes, there's just no time. I know if I had stopped part way through then it would have probably taken a few weeks for me to get back to it... We'll see how it goes, it's a new year.


The piece is named "Spirited Away" for the Enchanted Visions Project. If you haven't checked out their site, do it now!! I was trying to think of a name for the piece, when I remembered the EV title that I thought I would never be able to imagine a painting for, it fit perfectly. I couldn't possibly change it.


I have been greatly inspired by the works of Stephanie Pui-Mun Law and this piece is about as close as I can get to her breathtaking works. I received her art book of the Minor Arcana for my birthday, and have been pouring over her brushstrokes, imagination and style. I hoped to create something half as beautiful as her pieces.


The result is very lovely, if I can say that about my own work. I am far too exhausted and needing sleep to scan the finished product right now, but I will try very hard to get to it tomorrow so you all can see the finished piece! I'm going to need a lot of hot tea and rest now....

Horses coming out of my pencil!!!

©Claire Nobles, 2011

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I won't be able to upload new paintings for a while even if I finish them. But I can show sketches!! This sketch is a commission that has a deadline, so everything else has taken a backseat until this project is underway.

The request is a fairy on a horse. It's being painted for the client's very dear friend as a gift, so there are a few specific requests.

I was online for over an hour today googling and sketching "rearing horses." The first few attempts to create the drawings were hilarious! I had a bunch of overweight fatty horses! The one above has gotten better from the first few, but he still looks a tad pudgy... I'll have to fix it. I'm used to drawing dainty whimsical unicorns, so it was funny to see that horses are really the opposite of dainty and much more powerful creatures (in a non-magical way). 

©Claire Nobles, 2011

The sketch above is a slightly more detailed version of the maiden. (sidenote: doesn't she look so awkward without a horse or at least a chair under her??) I decided to make her an elf instead because the wings of the fairy were getting in the way and not aesthetically pleasing and mostly because I realized "Why would a fairy ride a horse if she could just fly?"

Hopefully the client wasn't dead-set on a fairy.... She described her friend as a tough horse-riding girl who would never be caught riding sidesaddle in a pretty dress. I think an elf will go for her personality better. Just think of Arwen from Lord of the Rings.... She was bad-ass on her horse! 

Anyways, the elf is dressed in a riding corset, pants and hecka awesome riding boots. So she's pretty hardcore.

Also, since I'm on a horse kick, I will be attempting to get done another horse maiden, Epona. I blogged about this a while ago and just hadn't gotten around to sketching it out. That painting is for a friend who just asked really politely if I would paint Epona, and I couldn't turn her down. There's no deadline, but I'd like to do it simultaneously with my other horse painting. And now that I'm thinking about it I *should* add another unicorn into the mix... But I'm probably too lazy.....

Side-note, I told my watercolor classmate, Splotchy who owns a horse that I was going to draw a horse rider and she is practically asking every class about my progress. She said she'd give horse anatomy pointers too, so I'm in good hands... or hooves...? If I fail, blame Splotchy.

More previews!

Stardancer ink drawing- Created for the Enchanted Visions Project

Hey guys, because I'm nearly done painting this one, I figured I'd show the preview of the inked drawing, Stardancer. This piece has been created for two reasons. First, I needed Enchanted Visions themes to start getting finished. And second, so that I had a pretty painting to put over my bed (to clash horribly with my red comforter...) Funny enough, I actually don't have any original work of mine hung up anywhere in my house... Which is weird...

Btw, I noticed that this painting looks very odd without colors... At least to me it does. Please hold your breath for the colors, as they will be epic.

Anyways, I'm pretty psyched right now about painting. I have one already completed - Dirty Sock Troll - and am almost finished with three others including this one! Wow! It feels great to release my muse!

Unfortunately these paintings probably won't be released for a few weeks-- my web guy is working... On the bright side I *might* be able to get a working scanner and printer so that I can do my own scanning/printing and then I'll go crazy with painting. It's nice to rely only on myself!

Sock Politics....

Dirty Sock Troll - Sketch

Um, yes, it has been confirmed that it is *trolls* who steal your socks... Though they may get help from various other critters such as pixies and gnomes... I believe it has been an ongoing political conspiracy amongst the faerie realm for hundreds of years...

I caught this baby troll just yesterday and managed to get a rough sketch --didn't have my iPhone with me...

If I can get a chance to throw some color on this sketch, maybe we have a chance to put the sock thieves to rest!

Troll Sketch- Grunt!

Troll Sketch - Untitled ©Claire Nobles, 2011

I have no idea where this is coming from… Probably my mind punishing me for painting pretty fairies for so long… Needed a creature that burps more.

And the sad thing is I have commissions and planned pretty paintings to be working on, and my muse is stuck on TROLLS!?!

I can’t refuse my muse because then I can’t paint… So let’s hope this is temporary.

*belches loudly* –’scuse me!

Maybe not.