In The Works

"Black-eyed Susans" -- wip

"Black-eyed Susans" (detail)

"Black-eyed Susans" (detail)

Here's the old painting that I mentioned in a previous post.  I recently unearthed it and decided to work on it again.  It's a big one for me -- 16" x 16" -- especially for all this detail.  I'm not sure how accurate the colors are to the original painting as I didn't spend any time trying to even calibrate them to my monitor -- but you can at least get an idea of what the heck I'm doing.  The last image is a little blurry -- oh well.  Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!

Contemporary Crows

"Contemporary Crows"
10" x 11"

(what this painting could look like framed)

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I just finished this one and posted it over at Daily Paintworks.  It's a little different for me, although still kind of similar to the painting, "Pumpkin Shadows" I did a while ago.  I liked the simplicity of the forms and the positive and negative shapes they created, not to mention the colors.  These are two cast iron crows (with very large feet to help them stand), that a student of mine decided to paint.  I couldn't resist the composition and had to butt in and give it a whirl.  (Thank you Tina!)  :)

Below is my progression in case you're interested -- and "Pumpkin Shadows."

"Pumpkin Shadows"
9.75" x 9.75" (image size)
This is presently matted and framed with this style frame
although the actual one is lighter, with a warmer  brown tone.
$150
For inquiries, please email me

Tea with Lemon

"Tea with Lemon"
6.5" x 11"

(what this painting could look like framed)

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Below is the first post of this painting from today.  The lemon was too weird looking for me.  It looked wavy and was still too light.  Lemons are hard for me.  :)  I think the revised version above is better. Although I just altered it slightly (AGAIN) on the right side to round it out just a little more so that it doesn't look cock-eyed.  I have to get ready for company so I don't have time to post the final-final but I'll try to do it later tonight.  I think I've finally solved the crooked problem . . . I hope.  Oy!

"Tea with Lemon"
6.25" x 11"

(what this painting could look like framed)

I'm sitting here typing and looking at that lemon and it's bugging me.  I have this up for auction, but I need to go back and fix that lemon!  Ugh!  Will this painting never end?  Stay tuned . . .


I've updated this post, couldn't get to it last night though.  Below is the updated detail of the more "rounded" lemon.

Crows

I thought you'd like to see this work in progress.  One of my students brought these big-footed, cast iron crows to paint.  I think they're so cool -- such a fun project!  A little more contemporary, in that we're just keeping this simple -- all about the form and colors on white paper -- no background.  My student has begun hers on aquabord.  I'm excited to see how she likes the surface.  I'm sure she'll do a great job.  I'm feeling compelled to do a little study of one of these birds on the `bord as well.  

I'm also finishing up the tea with lemon.  I made a little progress yesterday, but not worth posting.  Also I started working again on an old painting that I posted a long time ago, so stay tuned.  How's that for a cliff-hanger?  Have a great weekend!

Best Friends

"Best Friends"
4" x 6"
starting bid:  $40

Click here to bid

This one has been in the works for a while and was giving me some trouble.  But alas it's done.  I hope to finish up a couple more in the next few days.  Stay tuned.

Happy Father's Day

me and my dad

I know this is a day early (and thank you all for indulging me today) but my dad subscribes to my blog and he gets notifications of the postings on the following day.  He didn't want me to buy him anything for Father's Day . . . so I thought I would give him this little "shout out" on my blog.  Happy Father's Day, Dad!  I love you!  :)

Subtle Differences

WIP - "Tea with Lemon"
6.5" x 11"

So here's the updated version of this work in progress as promised.  The differences from yesterday's post are very subtle, but I put some neutralizing washes over some of the brighter underpainting.  I also took the mask off the designs on the edge of the cup.  I still have some work left, but it's getting there.  I hope to have more paintings done and posted for next week.  Like I mentioned yesterday, my schedule's been a little hectic and I'm very anxious to get back in the studio full time again.

One last thing . . . I took the following photo last Friday when my 87 year-old grandmother came over and I thought I'd share it with you.  This was her first time painting with watercolor but I think she's catching the "watercolor fever" so I'm excited to do some more painting with her. I think she's awesome!  :)

 

Mom-Mom in the studio

I'm Still Here!

WIP -- "Tea With Lemon"

Good Grief -- where the heck have I been!?!  Well I've been working on some art stuff for my cousin: she has a new venture you see, so I've been helping her out with designing things.  But I haven't totally neglected my painting.  Here's something I started at the end of last week.  I've actually made more progress on it than what's shown in this image so I'll post something tomorrow to show you.  For now, I just wanted to get a new post up before you all left me!!  :)  Thanks for being patient (although it's not like I haven't taken little hiatuses before (hiatuses?  hiati?  haiti?  tahiti?  martini? . . . whatever . . . it's way past my bedtime and I'm too tired to google the right plural spelling, but I'm betting it's not martini).  Anyhoo . . . have a lovely day . . . I'll be in touch . . . I promise!

A New Watercolor Adventure!

Polish Pottery and Blueberries
5" x 5"
starting bid:  $75
Sold

(what this painting could look like framed)

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Ok . . . so I've wanted to experiment with Ampersand Aquabord for a while now and I finally did.  Here's the scoop for those of you who aren't acquainted with it.  It is a thin panel (masonite I think) coated with a white surface for watercolor.  The surface is very conducive to lifting color out, which as you know by now, I LOVE.  But what I think is so cool is that you can spray it with a fixative and varnish it to your liking so that it's protected and doesn't have to be framed under glass.  This gives it such a different look.  I opted for an acrylic gloss finish that has kept the colors very vibrant.  You know that look that your watercolors have when they're wet -- well that's what this seems to preserve.  You can read on the internet about what fixatives to use, varnishes etc, so that the work doesn't yellow or get cloudy.  Also, whether this is a method that will withstand the test of time.  I believe I read somewhere that someone's been using a similar technique for 10-20 years and their work has been fine.  If you're someone that worries about all that, maybe this isn't for you . . . but since I don't think I'm the next Andrew Wyeth or Edward Hopper, I'm not too concerned.  Of course I wouldn't want my work to fall apart within a lifetime after someone purchases it . . . I think this is a fine medium to explore and am not worried about its immediate longevity.

Addendum:  I just read that Aquabord is archival.  You can view their website here.

Happy painting and experimenting!

Stripe Challenge

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"Christmas In June"
6" x 6"
(watercolor on Arches hot-pressed paper)

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Just finished this as part of Daily Paintworks' "Stripe Challenge."  Is it ever too early for Christmas, really?  :)  Have a great day.

Snack-time? . . . more like Nap-time!

"Snack-time"
8" x 10"
starting bid:  $50
Sold

(what this painting could look like framed)

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Oh my stars . . . this painting has gone through so many changes I can't even count!  That background was crazy.  First it was all blue . . . then one of my students suggested it needed another color, so I added red.  Yowzers!  It was like a Fourth of July firework exploded all over the page.  So then I washed the whole thing out with lots of water -- and color oozing and dripping all over the place.  Oh, wait before that, I decided to SAND the background.  Yes . . . you read that correctly -- I used a piece of fine grit sandpaper and sanded the background to age it a bit.  (Incidentally this painting is on Fabriano cold-pressed paper so I knew it could take the abuse.)  Then I put a burnt sienna wash over it . . . then I just went for it and that's when I added all the water and mushed everything around.  I did some more burnt sienna -- added faint colors to the pattern . . . touched up the milk and cookies a tad and called it a day!  Whew!  I need a nap.  :)

Barn Study

"Valley End Farm Study"
4" x 5.5"

This is just a small study of my neighbor's barn.  I'm thinking of doing a larger painting.  I just finished reading Andrew Wyeth's biography and it got me all inspired to paint landscapes.  Can you say "ADD Artist?"  Am I all over the place or what!?  I feel like I should be settling on a genre and practicing only that, but I just can't stay focused long enough.  I guess I must like bouncing around -- it keeps things fun for me. But it makes me feel like I'll never be a "real" artist, know what I mean? Oh well . . .

Here's another watercolor sketch I did yesterday.  I guess no matter what, all this practice is bound to pay off somehow eh?  It can't be hurting.  :)

"By The Brook"
9.5" x 5.5"