Venetian Masks

This is the line art for the first of the series of Venetian Masks.

I have included notes from one of the music books I use in handbell choir. I love these masks!

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.

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!

Competition

In my last entry I said that the "pair of pears" would probably be my next painting but things have changed. There is a call for entries to the Dogwood Arts Festival here in Knoxville so...I will be working on a full sheet painting  of a gorgeous, pink peony. The photo was taken by Diahn who is not only a fantastic artist but is also a great photographer AND she was nice enough to give me permission to paint from her photo. Thanks Diahn! 

I rarely add shading to my line drawings after they are on the watercolor paper but this one is a doozy! All the delicate curls and flips of the petals. Yes, they are a part of what drew me to the photo in the first place but they are already proving to be quite a challenge. So, I added some shading just to be able to distinguish one from the other. My next step will be to erase most of the graphite leaving only faint lines as my guide. After this I will be choosing my pinks and putting paint to paper. 

The deadline for the competition is February 20, 2009. Four weeks plus a week for framing, let's see if I can pull this one off!

Zelma