30 in 30 for 2018

It's posted!!  And I signed up for 30 in 30, Feb. 1 - March 2, 2018 - it works out perfect that Leslie Saeta is traveling Europe for Jan, I wasn't ready to paint yet, but I have a month to GET READY - new beginnings, fresh new pieces coming!  Check it out, hope to see you there!

https://www.saetastudio.com/30-in-30.html

(this will be my 6th year in a row!)

Imagining a Scene with Paint

"Next Gig - OZ"

12" x 12" oil on canvas

Every picture tells a story! A representational painting tries to, as well.

This wandering musician/traveler looks to the horizon with

a happy/hopeful heart.  I painted this several years ago, 

but have always liked the feeling it gave me, one of hope,

one of wonder and risk-taking.

You have to know that the Prairie Palace in the background 

was inspired by the Co-op I once worked for in Bellaire, Ks.

I dig this girls outfit, coat a little big, the guitar on the back and bell bottom jeans.

It could have been me at one time.

In the Meantime

I know it's true and am reminded so often, if you aren't able to paint and have an artist's blog, post some of your older things..I have been sifting through and choose this one today.

This is my red dox, Chaco done in acrylic on board.  

He is my best friend.  I captured him smiling

as he slept in the RV on a trip.

I loved his little contented smile.

He smiles often.

Here we are, neither one of us smiling - but hugs all the same.

It's Not Possible..

...but then again, it is - life IS happening here in our new location.  Just LOTS to do.  The studio became 'on hold' until we could get some more pressing items sorted out.  

Energy is the biggest item we are tackling these days, seems just about all systems needed some updating and upgrading as we ventured into the cold winter. We are living OFF GRID with a solar system and generator backup.  It was amazing to us both - as we could picture ourselves living with ONE light on and then having to turn it off to use the next electrical thing, but it isn't like that at all.  

We actually prepared ourselves for the idea of how it all works by our years of RVing.  We 'boondocked' (stayed in the RVwithout plugging into 'shore power') many times so realize what our limits are. As they say, 'it ain't that bad!'  I never thought I would have the need to understand wattage and voltage, it was really a mystery all my life, but I am getting into it these days.  Luckily, we got moved without BAD weather and we continue to pass the days of working on our place without feet and feet of snow. Lots to look forward to, be thankful for and that is what I do everyday.  

And one of the nicest things is the beautiful view we have, pinching ourselves that we are NOW back where we belong, in Colorado, and the garnering the likelihood of staying warm by the comfort of our pellet stove.  Stay tuned.

A Sneak Peak of the New Digs

Studio space about Day 10 - moving right along, 

the added bonus is a loft space for storage above 

this 450 square foot space - very cool!  Ready for walls and ceiling.  

Stay tuned.

Almost There

I have been thinking alot about this blog and whether or not I will keep it going.

For now, "the blog gods won".

We are in Westcliffe - much of the time these days.  I have a new motto -

A TEST OF STAMINA!  

We have been literally knocking ourselves out 

as we MOVE OURSELVES back to Colorado - no help,

just us and our vehicles and a couple of trailers.  

Been so busy getting a studio space ready - among many other

unexpected glitches and roadblocks but all the

while it's worth keeping our 'eye on the prize'.

We wanted so badly to make this move for a very

long time now.

Soon, I will move my myriad of supplies and tools here and begin using them 

again.  I have also been thinking about 'why I paint'.  I have come to realize

that more then anything, it's about the PROCESS of painting...

the ups and downs and thinking that goes into what I am trying to express

and how I am saying it - what mood, what emotion, what color, what feeling?

I am ready to crank it up and get going again. 

It may happen around the first of 2018 - if plans go accordingly.

If you have been checking in, thanks.  I will be back soon.

Moving Update

Scene from out my backdoor in my new house in Colorado.

Update - we are in the dark area of tossing, organizing, packing, you know the drill maybe.

It's going to be some time to get a studio space up and running.

In the meantime, maybe some sketching is on the agenda..have to remember that one, 

as I pack up the studio.  I expect to have a place about 1/2 the size of my current

750 square feet that is jam packed, so lots of tossing will possibly happen.

BLOG ON HOLD

Time out, while we make a life change and move back to where we belong - Colorado.
Slow move - but most adventurous and important..art on hold, studio on hold, sort of - life on hold..big undertaking but it's now or never.  Visit back often, I will be back.

Happy Blogiversary

Yep - 10 years old today.  I started this blog as a way to keep family and friends

aware and up-to-date of what life had become as we moved from our beloved lifespace

in Colorado, retired from our jobs and took the chance of living in farm country

'middle of nowhere' Kansas. Not what it used to be, but still there and

still alive at times.

I remember a time waking up each day in those first few years and being excited 

about what to write or share.  That excitement

has waned...still WE look at this spot on the globe as 'home'..but see it more now

as a place where we can gather our sense of safety and sanity from

the rest of the world.

We are restlessly always looking for a place like it, in another climate..but

haven't found it yet, don't know if we ever will.

There is definitely something to that old saying -

"BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED'...and I think I have,

I try to bloom.  Each season is different from the one a year before.  At times it's hard to believe

it's been 10 years.  Time goes by, so fast.  In the meantime, life goes on.

If you visit here once in awhile, thanks.  At best, I share my art.

If you have been with me since those 10 years ago, you know how this blog has changed -

but me, I am the same person.  Busy, loving life and always creating.

T H A N K   Y O U

More Practice

"Peaceful Feeling"

9" x 12"

watercolor texture with pastel

on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Just some practice...having to focus extra hard

having a new lid put on studio building, metal roof, oh so noisy.

Great Horned Owl in Pastel and Watercolor

"Nightwatch"

pastel and watercolor on

Art Spectrum Colourfix sanded paper

mounted on gatorboard

9" x 13.5"

Had to force myself to stop before I covered up

all the great texture I created on the underpainting

with watercolor.  Sometimes I DON'T stop

and take it too far and then it is

impossible to return to that spot 

where I jumped in with too much zeal!

Calling it done. 

It will be framed and entered into the

ANAC Annual Traveling Show,

hopefully.  I'll let you know.

Work in Progress

Getting a start on a merged watercolor/pastel in my online class with Tonja Sell today.  I saw it right away yesterday, when the surface finally dried.  Had to get back to the studio today to get it going.  I get so caught up in art at times, it is all I think about.  Now that I've got it going, I can focus on other pressing things.  

Here is the start. Do you see the owl?

I saw other things too, but owl has been speaking to me lately. It is sometimes the last outdoor sound I hear when I let the dogs out for the last time..and then I can be awakened by that sound, through the bedroom walls in the middle of the night.  He penetrates my dreamworlds at times.  Would love it if it were a 'she'.  However, there are already two HOOTS in the night.

Stay tuned for more progress.

SIDE NOTE:  I try to use all my own source photos or borrow them from friends

or relatives,, the source for this one is from a stock photo company called Alamy.

I purchased the use of the photo from them.  

I would never copy an image from someone's photo without permission

these days.  It's only fair.  Photographers are artists too.

Working with Textures

Just off the easel..needing to be rephotographed..but this is my

iPhone photo.  I usually take my final photos with my Nikon,

it always gives me a better starting place when 

expecting to post a final piece.

Titled "Pacification" - pastel worked over watercolor 

texture on Art Spectrum 140 lb. natural Colourfix paper

(love that stuff)

adhered to gatorboard - 8.5" x 11".

Continuing to just love the outcomes

of these hidden subjects..getting really excited 

for the next one. 

Stay tuned.

Sketching and Painting

"Pixish"

9" x 12"

wc and pastel on UART

Today - I did it like it's supposed to be done..

however, I often don't.  I like the planning and

what it requires is that I slow

down and take the moment to do so.

Used this sketch as my jumping point, 

onto the canvas

which isn't totally drawn out of my imagination.

Sometimes I look at magazines at a figure and 

change it up a bit, so as not to be a copy

but an inspiration.

Queen of My Heart

"Queen of Hearts"

12" x 16"

Arches 140 lb. cold press

watercolor and pastel mix

This is my granddaughter Sterling, who had a couple

of Halloween costumes this past year.  Several great

photos were sent my way and I put this one

in the digital divide.  It worked perfect for the

textured watercolor under painting I completed 

several weeks ago.

That 'bright light' hitting her face (I think she was

standing in front of the TV) was hard to

translate without changing it totally.  Light

can hit the eye that intensely from the giant screens.

But, I like the effect of the bright rimming light

on her turned face..so kept it that way

and tried hard to make it seem real

and not creepy.

Box of WIPes

"Self Portrait"

watercolor and pastel

on Arches watercolor paper

This one got wiped and wiped before I was satisfied.

Finally got the eyes right and worked some more 

on everything...could keep going..maybe I will.

Always fun to do YOUR younger self, even with

new hairgrowth and 'extensions' (those were

not around in my day - ha ha)

Anyway, onward.

In Your Own Face

WIP - DH came through the

studio today, "Gave yourself some more hair, I see"

YEP, it's called 'Artistic License' - ya man!

and of course, this is my way 'younger' face...

(check back tomorrow or the next day for update)

From the looks of it, I have a long way to go..

eyes are not right..and if eyes aren't right, it's

almost a goner to me.

Golden Day

"Proposition for the Sacrificial Lamb"

9" x 12"

mixed media, watercolor and pastel on UART paper

Here is today's practice of the last lesson I was able

to take in...

Here is the start of how it goes

 Looking deep within to find something - anything

that stirs my imagination.

Found it and then some as I worked along

(plastic overlay let's me do a quick outline of 

my image)

As you can see, it changed a little, it's so easy for me

to get carried away, when the sky is the limit.

A Bird of a Different Color

"Pandora Migrant"

9" x 12"

merging watercolor with pastel

on UART sanded paper

adhered to gatorboard

I am plugging along with the online course I am taking

with Tonja Sell.  Finally hit the part that I will be loving even more.

The underneath of this one is watercolor washes, color mixing, stenciling,

gauze placement, plastic wrap effects and lots of manipulation of the surface.

In such a hurry once it was dry, forgot to take a photo of it.

Once that step is completed, you turn the piece around and around until

you find an object or thing you can embellish into 

a piece of reality - reminds me of when I was a little

girl and would lay for hours looking at the woodgrain

on my closet door and see faces or animals.

I saw a bird..and used a plastic sleeve and marker

to draw it out to refer to

upon adding more watercolor and pastel.

I got carried away with those whispy lines on the pastel.

I saw a bird with fine, shiny, colorful feathers.

The color families you see, were the color families

that were produced in the underpainting...which

if you knew, there is some underpainting showing

through on the end result.  Next time, I will photograph the

watercolor for you to see the process more completely.

BTW, for permanency - gatorboard is my new GO TO strata

for adhering artwork to.  It is good and strong.

  Foamcore usually warps

 when using PVA glue. I order

my gatorboard from

foamboardsource.com

UART comes in lots of different grit and either paper 

or board and

 is available at major art suppliers, 

I got mine from Dick Blick. Dakota Pastel

carries it too.

Getting Going with More Poppies

MORE poppies - using UART sanded pastel paper

instead of watercolor paper - making watercolor.

glue gun stencil, and saran effects...but

found that it just didn't pop

like it should.

Next lesson (I had just an inkling of what it might be and...)

I went ahead and added Derwent and pastel pencil.

Like it, oh so much, better.

Organically Speaking

"Poppy I"

watercolor - with a variety of tweaks

In my online class with Tonja Sell, part of our lessons for this week

is watercolor on different papers using

our own hand made glue gun stencils, gauze, and saran wrap.

This is the precursor to a poppy done on UART

pastel sanded paper..which reacts a little differently 

to this method watercolor paper vs. pastel sandpaper.

I see that this was an important

lesson, so I could push the technique to

look similar on the sanded pastel paper.

It will probably take more layers than 

about the three that I have here.

More Experimenting

This time I am playing with watercolor swatches 

and complimentary colors in pastels - on top.  

Some of the colors added literally POPPED off the surface, creating an optical illusion.

The class I am involved in is "Merging Watercolor and Pastel" 

on patreon.com with Tonja Sell.

Lovin' it!

Experimentation

Experimenting with watercolor, stencils of all types, even ones made with 

glue from a glue gun, gauze, waxpaper, saran wrap..so fascinating and fun!

Taking an online course, MERGING WATERCOLOR WITH PASTELS...stay tuned, we are 

about to get down to the nitty gritty.

In the meantime, one studio cat had to be 'shaved' the other day...her fur was 

so matted and full of knots, it was beyond our capability to help.

Had to be sedated and shaved at the vet.

She looks so cute..shows her tubbiness, however, the

other studio cat now HATES her..guess it's the 'cootie' smell

of the vet clinic and maybe because she looks so different and cool.

Keeping At It

I have decided that even if I don't PAINT, I will be drawing and sketching..

with water soluble graphite, sharing some gesture drawing..

and some black and white charcoal on charcoal paper.

Did a few watercolor color charts..

taking an online course with Tonja Sell on patreon.com

I Sell on ETSY

Check out some of the new additions to my Etsy shop.  Several of the 'now' dry and varnished 30 in 30 works are now 
for sale!  
Enjoy the special pricing while it lasts.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PattieWall

DAY 31 - the Finale Poster of Painting 30 Paintings in 30 Days for Jan. 2017

As you may have noticed in my sidebar are OTHER seasons and years of 

"Painting 30 Paintings in 30 Days"

Here is this years poster.

I would be remiss in stating that I have LOVED every minute of it.

When one stands back and looks at the breadth and depth of an

undertaking like this, it blows you away.

The very best part of looking at these posters collectively

is to notice the growth and change that has occurred over 

time.  This year, I wanted to just paint, but got caught up

in painting more floral paintings then I ever have.

Along with landscapes, florals have not always been 

very comfortable to me.

But now they are much more welcomed.

I have my favorites (there are 3 or 4) they pop right out at me on the poster.

There are others that make me cringe to add them to the mix.

It's hard for me to paint something in one day although it didn't

used to bother me - I find

I wanted to have just one more day to finalize and develop a piece

on some of these.

but then the spontaneity and freshness would have surely failed.

As a whole, I am pleased with my efforts...I know what I have 

learned - mostly - I continue to pull my subject matter

up into the light and give it more color. I am more confident

at color mixing and using acrylic paint as a medium.

But my very kindred medium is still OIL paint.

One of my pushes was to LOOSEN up more on the 

brushstrokes to not be so exacting and precise

in my depictions (it has always been that) to be more painterly..

and I think I achieved that

where it was wanted.

A final note of thanks to those who regularly visited and 

left encouragement and supportive comments.

It was nice to have the company with this

undertaking..I have enjoyed seeing your

paintings and reading about your efforts.

DAY 30 - Painting 30 Paintings in 30 Days (Pye)

"Auspicious Art Critic"

6" x 6"

oil on birch panel

YAY!!  I did it!!!  Another year of January 30 in 30 painting!

I wish to thank all my friends, my blogger friends, my painting friends, 

my daughter and my husband for their support!!

AND...this little sweet girl. Most of the time, she (as you may have read)

makes her presence known by sitting in a box

on a desk

just behind where I work.

It's always comforting to know that there are a 

pair of eyes, watching my every move,

in case I need some help!

Her name is Pyewacket, PYE for short.

She is a rescue kitten..who stumbled on my property

as a wee little thing, on a very cooold November night.

I have never figured out exactly where she and

her sister came from.  But it's not important.

What is important is that they enrich

life in the studio..they keep us full

in LOVE from cats,

and make great models for occasional

pet portraits.

DAY 29 - Painting 30 Paintings in 30 Days (#29)

"Number 29"

10" x 10"

oil on Raymar canvasboard

OK, I have to admit, I have run out of creative ideas on

titles for today.

This one turned into a paint fling after awhile.

It was 'OH so tight and precise'..not what 

I wanted at all..

so I conjoured up

my previous many sessions of learning - ala 'Kaye Franklin' -

and was very pleased with the outcome.

Too bad it didn't start that way, could have

decreased the angst through the afternoon.

Anyway, there are so many things calling to me from

all angles to be done or 'get to it' around the farmstead..I need

to be done for a few days..tomorrow is NUMBER 30!!

DAY 28 - Painting 30 Paintings in 30 Days (Muscari/Tulips)

 

"Haley's Comet and Muscari"

12" x 12"

oil on wrapped canvas

  As I started today, I anticipated taking 'go along'

photos, got a few, then completely got

lost in the venture of painting

these tulips and grape hyacinth.

Here are a few at the beginning...

 

Discovered I needed to take out that 'blocked in' color

of the sky, it dulled down or mudded the sky

color as you can see in the next one..wipe, wipe...

 

 I got really excited about the muscari - they were what

kept me going on this one.

ONLY 2 more - I hope I am ready to slow it down now.