Merry Christmas!

Wishing

everyone

a very

Merry

Christmas!

Blind Contour Friday ~ Week 8

This is a blind contour of the poinsettia that I have on my desk at work. The pot didn't make it into the drawing...the phone rang and I lost my place so I continued with the petals.

To participate, click on this link to Diahn's blog and see how easy it is!

Loosening up!

Let me begin by apologizing for the photo. It seems that I have only had time to shoot this piece when it has been raining and so I only have a mediocre photo to show.

I started this painting earlier this year. The reference photo was taken in the summer of 2008. The vase and roses are my Mothers. The roses now grow in my own yard but the bush came from one she planted more than 40 years ago. When she sold her home and moved to a condo I had to have a start and these are the 1st roses from that bush.

I am really loosening up with my drawing. If you remember a few months ago I had a shot of this vase on the drawing board. Well, I put away my trusty ruler and started the drawing over. The roses were already drawn on a separate sheet of paper but I started the vase over completely.

One thing I have learned is that I enjoy my end result much more if I jump in and draw it instead of trying for technical perfection. I think the Friday blind contour drawing has had a lot to do with that. I stressed and stressed over getting all the different areas in the vase just right and I wasn't enjoying the process. I finally decided to just do it and I am enjoying this much more.

Blind Contour Friday ~ Week 7

This is a quick blind contour for this week. I wanted to draw something just to get back in the swing of things.

If you haven't participated yet, join in by clicking on this link to Diahns blog and follow the instructions...and have fun!

Oh by the way...it is a diet Coke bottle and I looked when I drew on the label and then again when I started the cap just so that I wouldn't draw over the bottle.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Blind Contour Friday ~ Week 5

This is a quick blind contour drawing of something in my office.

I wonder if you can tell what it is?

Wrong guesses will not quell the pleasure I get from these little drawings but will ignite a desire to try harder.

I hope everyone will make time each week to take a part in Diahn's Blind Contour Fridays. I hadn't done these drawings in years but I can tell it is having a positive effect on my skills. Thanks Diahn!

Blind Contour Friday ~ Week 4

I am a few days late in posting for this weeks Blind Contour Friday but it has been a very hectic time. Hopefully things will slow down early next week.

Blind Contour Friday ~ Week 3

Here is the blind contour drawing for week 3 which is being hosted by Diahn. It is of a "Lady's Head Vase" with flowers which is one of my favorite pieces given to me by my Mother.

I have attached a photo of the vase for anyone who isn't familiar with Lady Head Vases. The flowers are the original ones that came with the vase many years ago.

Facebook First Annual Autumn Art Competition

Here is the link to the Facebook First Annual Autumn Art Competition. Entries must be posted by noon on October 31st. Original work must have been completed during the month of October 2009.

Blind Contour Friday ~ Week 2

Since I usually draw and paint in great detail I wasn't sure how I would feel about participating in the weekly Blind Contour Drawing hosted by Diahn but I am having fun. I find myself thinking throughout the week about what I can draw next. I was in a hurry this morning as I left for work I forgot to pick up something to draw...I copied Diahn and drew my left hand...HeHeHe. If you aren't participating you are missing out on the fun!

Struttin'

I think I am finished with this guy. He is actually more teal than the blue in this photo.

I will set him aside where I can see him for a few days just in case I am missing something and then on to the crystal vase.

Blind Contour Friday

I am a few days late but here is my blind contour drawing of a twig pumpkin I use for fall decoration.

Hop on over to Diahn's blog where she is hosting Blind Contour Fridays and join in the fun.

Crystal Vase

While I am finishing the last details on the rooster I have also been working on the line drawing for the Crystal Vase. I want to have a simply detailed line drawing of this vase on file so that when I want to paint it in the future it will not have to be redrawn.

I have another painting "on the drawing board," so to speak and will show photos when it is further along.

More Progress

I have removed the masking fluid
and still have work to do especially
on the eye area. After that I will start
on the background and then layer
the feathers until I reach the correct
values.

Havin' Fun!

I am having a lot of fun with this guy!

Colorful Plumage

I have to admit that I was a bit intimidated to put paint to paper since I have painted so many flowers. I am really enjoying working on this handsome creature with all his colorful plumage. I will post more as I make progress.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Plumage

After working on the color sketch I decided to make this guys tail feathers a little larger by about 10%. I have also decided to go with colors for his plumage closer to those of the original photo which are more teal than winsor. He is the first in a series of four Roosters. I was inspired to paint roosters after admiring the work of Annelein of Watercolors.

We are off to the beach for a few days and I will post progress when I return. Have a great week!

Directors Award

"Summer Elegance" won the Director's Award at the Fountain City Art Center Member's Show.

I had originally called it Queen of Hearts but the name never felt adequate for such an elegant flower.

This is the painting I started in January for the Dogwood Arts Festival not realizing the entry deadline was only one week away!

Back To The Old Drawing Board!

Finally, I am beginning to paint again! This summer has been one that I did not focus on my art for some reason. Maybe I just needed a break. Whatever the reason I am glad to be back to the old drawing board!

This is a color study of my next painting. I saw the reference photo of this guy and fell in love with all those feathers! I am trying to decide whether to make him brilliant like the attached photo or go with the more subdued colors in the reference photo.

What was I thinking?

I haven't painted my living room in years! Well, It is a combination living room, dining room and kitchen with a vaulted ceiling. It has been painted several times just not by me. I had forgotten how much like real work that is! Ugh. When I was 30...not a problem but now that I'm...not thirty it is too much! I will pay someone before I tackle that job again.

For 3 days I rolled and brushed and cleaned spatters and lugged around a 5 gallon bucket of paint and rested and started all over again. I worked full days to accomplish the goal of finishing all those rooms during my weeks vacation. By 5:00 on Tuesday I was leaning against my kitchen counter trying to reach the wall with the small roller, telling myself, "Every stroke you make today is one less you have to make tomorrow!" "Come on you can do it!" Thank God that job is complete!

I was finished by 5:00 on Wednesday. No, the hallway wasn't painted neither was the peak of the vaulted ceiling but I was finished! On Thursday I could barely get out of bed I was so tired and stiff. My dear hubby was off on Friday and he finished the hall and the trim at the top. I managed to clean thoroughly and get everything back in place, minus things I didn't need and I am very pleased with the results. Now just 6 rooms and two baths to go!

Daniel

Still not much going on around here in the way of art so I decided to post this portrait of my oldest grandson. Daniel was 9 months old when I did this using Prismacolor Pencils on pastel paper. He is now 13 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall and just as cute as ever!

I have been doing a lot of decluttering and this week I plan to paint the main level of my house. I feel much more creative when things are organized, so I am working toward that goal.

Have a great weekend!

Kelly

I haven't painted in a couple of weeks so I pulled out this watercolor portrait that I completed just over a year ago. This was my first watercolor portrait and was painted from a professional photo.

Another giveaway!

Pop over to Cathy Johnson's blog and leave a comment. You will need to scroll down to the CD post to enter. She is a great artist and is giving away an instructional watercolor CD to one of the first 30 to leave a message.  Good luck!

Friday

Friday was a wonderful day for me! It was my birthday and my fantastic husband whisked me away for brunch at la maison de gaufre. We did some sight seeing at the quaint ville de fontaine and then took in a movie at le cinema regal. As the heat of the afternoon began to ease we headed for a nice bike ride along les collines de sterchi trainent. Macaroons would have made my day perfect!  Ahhhhh, it was still a wonderful, wonderful day!

Have you noticed how everything sounds so romantic and wonderful in French? 

Have a great day!

"Spring Cascade"

Finally "Spring Cascade is finished!

I have to say I learned so much from working on this painting. When I chose the photo for this I thought, "How difficult can painting white flowers be, I've painted them before?" That was my first mistake, they aren't white but the softest blush of pink. 

My favorite part was and still is the way the buds cascade from the top down the left side of the painting.

Great Giveaway!

I have had so much going on that I haven't posted in a couple of weeks, but this just couldn't wait!

Diahn is giving away a piece of original art each week until the end of the month when her new Estsy shop opens. If you want in on a chance to be one of the lucky recipients check out her blog.

Quick Study

This is a quick study I worked on during my lunch break on a scrap piece of Arches 140lb cp. This albino peacock was fun to work on. I love peacocks, with their iridescent feathers. They are such showoffs! I don't appreciate that in humans but in peacocks, I do.

I love to paint flowers but I need a break from them from time to time. After the crystal and roses I have a commission piece and then maybe a full sheet of a peacock.

I Love Garlic!

I have been wanting to sketch more in my spare time and none of the items on my desk say, "sketch me!" So...this morning when I was packing my bag I noticed this wonderful little gem just sitting there and I could smell it! I popped it in my bag and here it is.

I absolutely love garlic! When a recipe calls for 2 cloves, I use 4...or 6. It will probably not last throughout this weekend. I am sure I can find an even better use for it once I get home...garlic olive oil, roasted vegetables, spaghetti sauce...mmm.

Have a great weekend!

"Spring Beauty ~ Revised"

This is the revised version of the Rhodie (below) that had the brick wall as a background. After scrubbing the bricks I layered Winsor Violet then Cobalt and Winsor Yellow allowing each layer to dry before proceeding to the next.

Finally I dripped color (including some opera and rose madder) and let it run while I held the painting upside down. I also took some of the WV and darkened some of the shadows on the petals, added some highlights to the leaves and lost some of the edges.

I am not sure if this shows on your monitor but the main color of the background is Winsor Violet which seems a little too blue in this photo. I will live with this for a few days and probably end up tweaking it a little more.

I still plan to paint this on a full sheet at some point AFTER I finish the crystal vase of roses.

Have a great day!

Coming Along

Another update on the pale pink flowers of "Spring Cascade."

I have worked on the values and adding color to make it more lively. I am still not happy with the shadow in the center flower but I will work on that over the next few days.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Ugly Duckling Update

I think I may have over reacted...just a little...ok...quite a bit.

After scrubbing my deep, purple shadows and areas of the rose madder wash, which I liked when I first applied it, I walked away and thought about what I wanted to accomplish and how I wanted the flower to look. The advice I was given was well intended but it was not my style to paint that way. Now if this will work with the other shadows I think this painting will be worth framing!

The Ugly Duckling

Here it is...the ugly duckling! This painting is at that terrible stage where I would just as soon throw it away! I am not going to of course but I have thought about it. 

I was given advice to have nice, strong shadows at the same time I thought maybe some should be stronger than others. I chose to go against my gut feeling and painted all strong shadows. I should have listened to myself and then if it wasn't right I could have darkened them.   

I painted a wash of rose madder over the flower on the left (with the arrow pointing toward it) and was not happy since I want the flowers to retain the white in the petals. If you look closely you can see that I have begun scrubbing heavily on the flower to lift much of the damage I have done. O well, as a wise friend of mine said, "Art is also about learning."

"Spring Cascade" Progress

A quick update on the progress of "Spring Cascade."

Dreams

I have been having some vivid dreams for a few weeks. I have illustrated my dreams from time to time over the years so I thought it would be fun to share some of them on my blog since I haven't had time to paint for a few days.

This was "designed as I slept" a few nights ago for my pastor's wife, Heidi's bridesmaids. Tim and Heidi have been married for nearly 20 years so it has nothing to do with reality and she will not be using my design.

This bridesmaids "ensemble"consists of an asian style jacket covered in white sequins accented by a scroll design created using black bugle beads. Soft flowing wide leg pants in black complete the look for the contemporary wedding! Sounds to me like something out of the J. Peterman's catalog.

"Spring Cascade" Update

I took this to work today and worked on it during my lunch break so there is not a lot of progress. I was so excited when I began working on all the color on the limbs.

Here is a close up.

I Can't Help Myself!

This painting will be, as I mentioned before, a painting of a crystal vase and roses. Both the vase and roses are my mother's. The roses are from a bush she planted about 50 years ago.

I know that I should be working on "Spring Cascade" but I had been thinking and sketching on this for about a week and I just could not figure how to draw the cuts in the crystal.

Tuesday was my day to stay home and paint or draw. I had planned to paint but I can't help myself, I couldn't get the crystal out of my mind. I needed to solve this problem! I sat down to draw and came up with the 1st drawing to the left.

It looked ok until I stepped back and looked at the whole drawing. The cuts are much too small for the size I have drawn the vase. The vase is actually much shorter than this but I wanted to make an impression and to fill space so I decided to make it taller which means that everything has to be elongated.

After studying the vase by sight and touch, I came up with what you see in this photo. I still have to work on "seeing" how the cuts appear as they curve around the vase but I am to a point that I can put it down and finish work on the painting...I think.

If anyone has advice on drawing crystal PLEASE feel free to share! Thanks!

"Spring Cascade"

Yes, it is another painting of pink flowers but I promise it is the last of the pinks...at least pale pinks...for a while.  I started this painting, "Spring Cascade," before becoming so involved in the peony painting. 

The next painting will be so much more involved than this. It too has flowers, red roses and a crystal vase. I am looking forward to the challenge of painting all the detail in the glass.

Happy Mother's Day!

Ruffled, Yellow Iris

Here is the progress on the ruffled, yellow iris. This painting is about 10x14. The smaller paintings are completed much faster which is a nice change from the full sheet paintings. 

Here I go again...

This is the line art for my next painting. I never thought much about painting flowers but here I go again. I have painted some portraits and a few still lifes, which I love to paint, but I seem to be on a roll with the flowers.

This is on a quarter sheet of 140lb. Arches watercolor paper which is what I use most of the time.

I still have to adjust the petals in a few places. In the main photo I am working from it is difficult to tell exactly how some of the petals curl, so I am studying several photos to determine some of those correct shapes.

Queen of Hearts!

Art Contest ~ Check It Out!

http://www.freep.com/article/20090424/ENT05/904240302

Gettin' There

A quick update on the peony progress!

Spring Beauty

I LOVE SPRING! Apparently I also love pink flowers.
The original of this painting has a brick wall as a background which I have never been happy with so I took it in to Photoshop and removed it. I am considering doing this as a full sheet at some point after the peony.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone!

"Fiesta Chilies"

When I started "Fiesta Chilies" I was intimidated by where to begin and which "red" to use first! It is one of my favorite paintings and the third in a series of Chilies.
My studio space is on the top level of my house and my computer is on the bottom level, two flights down, so I haven't posted or painted much.
I have been sidelined this week with tendonitis in my right foot.
It has been bothering me since January but I tried to take care of it on my own, which didn't work. On Monday I saw my podiatrist and he gave me a shot of cortisone. By Monday night I couldn't walk. Tuesday was quite a bit better and now I am wearing regular shoes! For the last two months Crocs have been my friend.
I will have an update on the peony next week. Have a great weekend!

Leaf Bubble Painting

I have uploaded three images to show the progression of each layer of paint. The bubbles are easily recognizable in the first photo.










You can still recognize the bubbles in this shot.
I used them to shape my rocks and other items in the background.









I am pretty happy with the painting so far. I do have a few places on the leaf that are too dark but I am working on those.

I probably should have used a darker paint to create my bubbles which would have given it more texture and contrast.

Any suggestions or comments are welcome!

Have a great weekend!

Bubble Painting

This is my first attempt at painting with bubbles! I saw the technique on Sandy Maudlin's blog. I found her blog when she was featured on Chris Beck's blog Brush-Paper-Water.

Both of these women are great artists and you should spend some time on each of their sites.

The mixture consists of 6oz. water 3ozs dishwashing liquid and 2oz fluid acrylics. Add ingredients and stir with straw. I noticed in one post that Sandy's students were using what looked to me like a straw for an atomizer so that is what I tried and it worked.I tried blowing bubbles with a mouth atomizer...use a straw!

When the bubbles have risen above the rim of the bowl, quickly lower your paper onto the bubbles and lift straight up. Bubbles lose color within a few seconds. Blow fresh bubbles each time you add a layer. You can dry between each color or not. I tried placing the bubbles where they would be appropriate for the painting I had in mind.

This techinque is fun and quite different than the controlled strokes I am used to. Tomorrow I will post my progress on this technique.