November/December art from the easel

 Thanks for stopping by - I am sporadically filling in my months (at least) - on this blog - but I have had lots of studio time so far this winter.  Trying some new stuff and revisiting my 'loves' - really liking GOUACHE - it's kinda like watercolor, but not.  Also loving Strathmore tan-colored paper (have some moss colored coming soon).  It takes to gouache and colored pencil very well!  The fox in acrylic (more abstract) is one of my practice pieces in a workshop group I belong to - investigating "intuitive painting". (See May 18)

"A Fenceful Hello"

gouache and watercolor 

on Fluid 100/300 lb. watercolor paper

Unititled  -as I am still looking at this one for any more ideas...

acrylic on cradled Ampersand

watermedia board

"Masked Avenger II"

colored pencil on tan-colored Strathmore paper

SOLD

"Just F.O.X."

SOLD

gouache on tan colored Strathmore paper

(I also had fun making notecards out of this image.)

"Effie"

Pastel on Kitty Wallis sanded pastel paper

Thanks for stopping by!  Come back soon!

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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.

DAY 13 - Painting 30 Paintings in 30 Days (Yupo)

"Floral Crown"

8" x 10"

watercolor, marker and pencil on YUPO

Good/bad time to try something new.  I purchased 

some YUPO paper several months ago and

wondered if I had the time this afternoon

to experiment with it and get something

worth posting that is not what I usually have done 

with YUPO before.

I experimented and found

it's a bigger learning curve

than I originally thought.

Once down, you have to leave the watercolor alone, 

If you go back, you just about take the pigment back out.

The surface is really slick and NON absorbent,

so the medium just sits atop - puddling and pooling.

I have tried it with alcohol inks, just dropping the ink

and letting it bleed into different colors.

Lots of fun, but trying to control it

is a real task.

Didn't leave enough time to play with it 

anymore, had to call it done.

This is PAR for Friday the 13th.

Painting 30 in 30 - Day 23/Macaw

"The Preen"

7" x 12"

watercolor on Arches 140 lb. coldpress

Feathers and more feathers today, I got

completely lost...

in time - that is.

Painting 30 in 30 - Day 9/Deer

"Innocence"

7" x 9"

mixed media

watercolor/colored pencil/gouache

Painted from a photo that I borrowed from my

friend - Danni.  I loved

the sweet look on this white-tail's face

as he obviously was aware that

something was going on.

Danni has an awesome blog

On the Way to Critter Farm.

You can visit it HERE.

Thanks Danni!

Mixed Media for Today

"EGG"

6 1/2" x 8"

watercolor, pastel and watercolor pencil

on Arches WC cold pressed

A Watercolor for Today

"Spring Break"

6" x 6"

watercolor on Arches 140 lb. coldpress

Seems like everyone has been on Spring Break lately.  Used to be such a special

time of year, when I was teaching school.

A Watercolor Painting

"Setting with Green Stemware"

6" x 8"

watercolor on 140 lb. cold press Arches

Painted this while in KC from my mom's tableware.

Number 27 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"Xander"

6" x 8"

watercolor on Arches semi-rough

Xander is in the household with Venture and Venus, whom I 

painted earlier in my 30 in 30.

He is an American Foxhound, as well.

He is the newest member in the household

of my FB artist friend, Liz.

He is full of antics.  Never a dull moment.

He does something either interesting, amazing,

and almost assuredly downright hilarious every day.

I painted him quickly, as I

had my own dogs to attend to

since it was such a nice

calm day at 71°.  That will

make you people back East

envious..with all the snow and wintery weather.

Our dogs needed baths, nail clippings,

and ear cleaning.

Cold winter has not allowed

us to bathe much - in the

'dog world' here in a long while.

Watercolor Sketch

My neighbor's foster puppy, Chance, 

is sitting at the top of the stairs to our deck

when we lived in the mountains.

A watercolor sketch today - practice for a more finished one...

but the plan worked out.

I just need to paint it on actual watercolor paper, 

not the back of matboard.

The tricky part of the scene was the deck and 

the stair railings, now I know what I am 

up against on those.

My perspective is a little off and I am feeling

where to adjust it

Need to move him over, as I ran out of room for 

his great long tail.

Note to self: watercolor doesn't work very well on matboard, it soaks into the fiber

right away and will not spread with water.

Watercolor of a Kitten

"Meeka"

8" x 11"

watercolor on Arches

Watercolor is NOT my forte - but I have decided 

I need to change my feelings about it.

Yes, it is a 

'put it down and there is NO correcting it' 

kind of medium

and I think that is what gets to me about it.

With oil and pastel and even acrylic - 

the 'correction gods' are forgiving.

However, I have lots of paper, 

lots of paint, 

just need the patience to 

keep on painting and not worrying

that it doesn't turn out

exactly like I want.

This one I am satisfied with...the end of the nose

didn't come out exactly like she looks

but it's close!

I have been collecting ideas on Pinterest

on making 'smash journals' - 

you can check it out by googling that one.

Made myself an "inspiration journal"

in which I can collect ideas, sketch,

paint, plan, doodle. It's kind of 

a personalized sketchbook at least

that's how I will use it.

I will share it soon.  

It has been fun ~ sort of 

breaking away from the norm with making this journal

for the last few days.

Day 8 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"Late Afternoon Shadows"

7" x 10" 

watercolor on Arches

This may look like winter to you, but to tell the truth, the photo was 

SOOO green and summery.  I chose to use some different light and color.  

It is the park at Deschutes River State 

Recreation Area in Oregon where we Rv'd 2 years ago.  

Pretty place - love the trees and the shadows at that time of day - 

made it very inviting.

I am not happy with this one but I figure 'painting one painting a sitting/day' 

I am not going to get it the way I intended it - every time at the easel.  

Win some and learn some.

Artist's I had in the carousel today:

Stevie Nicks

Cheap Trick

Coldplay

J.T.

and a few movie theme soundtracks

30 in 30 website at the top in sidebar

A Work Done in Mixed Media

"Tulips III"

mixed media on Arches watercolor

This painting was first drawn in brown ink, then painted with watercolor and finished with pastel.

I have been enjoying the ink drawing with watercolor but this one needed an extra punch of

strong color - I can usually get that with pastels.

It comes in an 11" x 14" matboard ready for framing.

Thanks for looking!

Be sure to check back often - 30 Paintings in 30 Days

starting SOON!

Day #11 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"Tango"

6" x 7"

watercolor on hot press Arches

I feel like a flounderer when I use watercolor.  Painting this photo was interesting as there is a definite transparency on the front critters wings,

but by the time I put my first layer down, it was already too opaque and too late to do another one. I am going with it.

Oh well, learning curve..it has been a long time since I have used this medium.

Check out my 'Daily Paintworks - Gallery' - see sidebar.  

I am selling my art there and Etsy.

A Watercolor of Penguins

"Three Amigos"

7" x 10 1/2"

watercolor on Strathmore

Lots of variety of watercolor applications used here: Neocolor crayons by Caran d'Ache, Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils and a variety of watercolor tubes, spray bottle with blue and purple, and white gouache. This was a fun one and turned out a little more like a design - all the while I was thinking more of "realism". 

AND..I sat at the kitchen table to paint it today, instead of the studio as all the watercolor equipment is still inside the house.

In the Land of Hunting Dogs

"Raylea"

8" x 11"

watercolor on 140 lb. Strathmore

Where I live, there are alot of breeds of hunting dogs...some hunt, some do not.

This is a friend's Brittany Spaniel.  Today's need was to paint an animal, which is my favorite thing to paint.

A Watercolor for Today

"Harvest of the Haybales"

7" x 9"

watercolor on Strathmore

Still stuck with only able to paint in watercolor.  I have had this one on my mind for awhile.  I couldn't quite get that morning light that I saw.  It will be attempted again in Oil..when I am more mobile. 

As Seen in Taos, N.M.

"Hollyhocks by the Stucco Fence"

approx. 7" x 8"

watercolor on Strathmore

I have been wanting to tackle this one for a long time.  Now is that time.  Watercolor is the medium.  Taos is full of lovely little stucco adobe homes, as well as cool Victorian aged houses.  This one was at the top of the hill, interestingly the stucco fence or wall to privatize the house.  The hollyhocks are in full bloom!   I love visiting Taos!

Finally have all my watercolors inside, seems that the paintings are getting more colorful with each one, which is what I wanted to happen!

Gothic

"Gothic After the Rain"

9" x 12"

watercolor on Strathmore

This is a landmark in the city where I was raised..The Gothic Theatre, Englewood, Co.

Still standing...as many movie houses, it has seen it's times of flourish and it's times of abandon and shut down.  For many years now it has been a venue for concerts of all types, mostly the alternative kind.  But, all the same, it's nice to see this piece of history preserved and used.  I spent many a Saturday afternoon meeting up with friends, enjoying a matinee, a big 'hangout' for local kids in a small suburb of Denver.

Today's Adventure in Watercolor

"Chaco and Bailey"

9" x 12"

watercolor on Strathmore

Took a photo of my two dogs sitting beside me in the other recliner watching me..someone suggested I paint that photo, so here it is.

I find I don't have quite the patience right now for problem solving that's needed when you paint in any medium, but watercolor is a doable thing in my situation.