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.