Shoe Progress

wip-3

I meant to post this shot yesterday but got a little distracted.  So here it is . . . off to paint some more!  Have a great day and thank you for visiting.  :)

Really Big Bowl

"Really Big Bowl" - wip1
12" x 16"

I did some more work on the big shoe yesterday, but nothing too noticeable. However, I started this one. I won't be keeping the name -- "Really Big Bowl" so if anyone has a suggestion, let me know. I just wanted to call attention to the size of this piece. If I do say so myself, it looks pretty cool in person.  I love working bigger than life with objects. Someday I'll have to try something on a full sheet. (That's if I'm feeling really wild and crazy!)  :) I'll be sure to post my shoe progress soon. Thanks for taking a look.  Have a great day.

Really Big Shoe - Take Two

"Really Big Shoe"
12" x 22"

I've got three projects going on here in the studio. Above is the progress shot on "Really Big Shoe." (I think I may have made a small mistake on its measurements in my last post. It's bigger than life -- unless you're a giant -- you get the picture.) Also I just finished and am very grateful to have sold "Winery I" shown below. Thanks for stopping by . . . stay tuned for more progress shots later this week.  :)

"Winery I"
6" x 8"
(watercolor on paper)
Sold

"Really Big Shoe"

"Really Big Shoe" - wip 1
12" x 21"
(watercolor on paper)

I bet you thought by the title, that this post was going to be about Ed Sullivan.  :)  Nope.  It's just my favorite shoe to paint, making its appearance again.  So here are the first couple of washes with some masking on the polka dots.  

In other news, I received word that both of my paintings made it into the Monson Arts Council's Spring Show.  In case you forgot which ones I entered, I've re-posted them below.  Have a great weekend and thank you for coming by.  

"A Basket Awaits"
20" x 16"
(watercolor on cradled aquabord)
Sold

"In Line At The Theatre"
11" x 14"
(watercolor on cradled aquabord)
Sold

Workshop Wrap-Up

Anne

Joanne

Laurie

Shelley

Aren't these fabulous!?  I'm so proud of my students!  We finished our 5-week workshop on Monday night and thought you might like to see the final paintings.  I think each student was able to capture the enamel's reflective surface and what about that steam?  I think I can actually hear Laurie's kettle whistling!  :)  I love the chips in the enamel that Annie, Laurie and Joanne included. (I don't think I even attempted to render it in my painting -- and they handled it like pros!)  Joanne's enamel looks amazing -- like it's just been polished.  And what about Shelley's wallpaper?  I think her choice of red creates such peace and harmony -- even her steam, wafting so gently from the kettle's spout makes me feel calm.  I also love Annie's beautiful wallpaper -- that blue-green is really lovely in person and the slight reflection of it in the handle is very well-done.  I'm just so pleased at how great they all did.  Three cheers for Annie, Joanne, Laurie and Shelley!!  Thanks for coming by and viewing my students' work.  :)

Winery 1

"Winery I" - wip
6" x 8"
(watercolor on Fabriano cold-pressed paper)

"Cupcake Commission"
5" x 5"
(watercolor on aquabord)
Sold

I just thought I'd share with you what I worked on yesterday.  I finished up the cupcake (although I may put one more wash over that background to even it out and clean up those dots a little) and started this new painting.  I wanted to fool around with some colors and textures.  I learned a lot with this painting.  The photograph of it isn't great -- I had a white light glaring on it, washing out some of the shadows - but I think I still may go for the drama and darken the shadows.  I don't really have much to lose with this one as it was intended for just practice.  Although a happy little painting may result.  :)

Thank you for coming to see what's new today.  Have a lovely day.  :)

Cupcake Commission

"Cupcake Commission"
5" x 5"
(watercolor on aquabord)

Not the most original name for a painting, eh?  Ha! After my last cupcake painting, I received a commission from a lovely woman who follows me on Facebook. This is just about done, but I'm just going to let it sit for a spell before I do the final touches. Viewing the image on the computer always helps me to see what needs fixing. Does that help you too? 

This painting was a lot of fun -- but is making me REALLY hungry -- in fact I can almost taste it! Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Painting!

All Done!

"Holy Cannoli!"
5" x 5"
(watercolor on aquabord)

Click here to bid.

I love when I can utter those two little words -- "all done!" :) I'm going to finish this piece with a UV protective gloss -- I think it will really bring out the colors. I don't know about you fellow bloggers, but I feel like I'll color correct (on my monitor) my images to a fairly accurate portrayal of the painting and then when I upload to blogger they lose all life! And if I add more contrast or saturation they end up looking garish when you click on them for a closer look. So anyway . . . know that while this is pretty accurate, there's some element that I can't quite pinpoint and the original has a little more life to it.  

Thanks for visiting today.  :)

Holy Cannoli! -- wip

"Holy Cannoli!"  -- wip
5" x 5"

I was hoping to get this work-in-progress up over the weekend but didn't.  So here it is so far.  I'm continuing with this dessert theme (for now) -- apparently my sweet tooth is hungry.  In person, the painting isn't as washed out, especially the plate.  Hopefully my final image will reflect the painting more accurately.  

In other news, I took some great photos for future paintings, at The Hardwick Winery where I will be teaching a "wine and watercolor" class in April.  The winery is BEAUTIFUL and if you are ever looking for a nice outing, please check them out -- they have lots of events scheduled, beginning with their Maple Breakfast on Saturdays in March and lots of varieties of lovely wines.  I'm looking forward to beginning some of the paintings I'm planning from that photoshoot.  So that's the scoop here in Massachusetts.  Thanks for stopping by and have a good week.  :)

Rainbow Sprinkles

"Rainbow Sprinkles"
5" x 5"
watercolor on aquabord

Click here to bid.

I was in a bakery recently and couldn't resist purchasing this cupcake to try my hand at painting it . . . ok, ok . . . AND I was hungry for something sweet. While the cupcake made it home for its photoshoot, unfortunately the raspberry turnover wasn't so lucky and met its demise in the parking lot!  :)

Thank you for viewing my work.

Daffodils For June

"Daffodils for June"
6" x 6"
(watercolor on aquabord)

Click here to bid.

For many years in a row, my friend June would go out and about in her town and plant daffodil bulbs in the fall so that in the spring people would be greeted by the happy blooms sprouting up all over the sides of the country roads. "It just puts people in a good mood," she'd say. And June loves to be put "in a good mood" . . . but what's even better, is it doesn't take much to get her there. She'll often call me up and say something like "hey Kara . . . I just saw a beautiful, old-fashioned phone booth for sale on the side of the road on the way back from NH and it just put me in a good mood!")

Anyway . . . June has a lovely little cookie shop and is putting together some Easter baskets and wanted a daffodil painting that could be made into a little gift tag, hence "Daffodils for June" was born. Thank you for visiting and have a lovely day!  

P.S. - I can't wait to see June's daffodils this year . . . they've multiplied over the years and it really is a wonderful treat!

Out On A Limb

"In Line At The Theatre"
11" x 14"
(watercolor on cradled aquabord)

Remember when I started this? Does your memory even go back that far? Well I "went out on a limb" and decided to enter it into a local show so I finally finished it up. I know . . . it's a little out there. I have no idea what to expect, so we'll see what the judges think. I'm going in with very low expectations. All that being said . . . my Little People interest has been renewed and I'm hoping to get the others ones in this series finished up so I can proceed with my original goal -- submitting them for jury at a Boston hospital exhibit. They make me smile almost as much as those crazy dogs in their Christmas costumes!  

(Sorry about the poor image quality . . . but I was scrambling to meet the deadline -- see my previous post.)  :)

Thanks for checking in.  Have a great day!