Flower Abstraction in White

I taught my watercolor class tonight and was busy all day, so I did this small abstraction after I returned from class tonight.  I drove home through freezing rain - the ice never did melt completely off of the windshield.  We are in the midst of a winter storm that is supposed to last through Wednesday, so guess there will be lots of time to paint. :)

This quick watercolor is approximately 5" x 7" and is painted on some inexpensive 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper.

This is almost completely negative painting leaving the white of the paper for the flowers - I added some callagraphic detailing with the sharpened handle end of a paintbrush dipped in sepia watercolor paint.  Sometimes I really enjoy getting all "loose!"  You didn't know I could be a loose woman, did you?

Snow and Pines on YUPO Paper

Well, this is the latest installment in the "snow" series.  This painting is 7" x 13" and is painted on YUPO paper with watercolors. I haven't painted much on YUPO paper, so this is me still in the experimental stage with it.  

 We are supposed to be in for a storm this week so there will probably be more paintings in the "snow" series! :-)

Orange Day Lilies

This painting is going to be the subject of my lesson for the class I am teaching on Monday night.  It is 7" x 11" and is painted on Canson 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper.  I used orange and red orange, sap and hooker's green dark with alizarin crimson added to the greens for the darks.  I first poured the oranges onto wet paper and then lifted areas that I wanted to be lighter.  After drying it well, I mixed a series of different greens, and after wetting the background with clear water, dropped in the different greens indiscriminately right up to the edges of the flowers.  I finished the painting by negative painting darker greens around  the leaves.  The last step was to detail and define the flowers with deeper orange.  I darkened the orange with ultramarine blue for the shadows.

Winter Sunset

Here is the next installation in the "snow" series - "Winter Sunset."  This painting is 7 1/2" x 11" and was painted wet-in-wet on 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper.  I am really getting tired of the snow outside, but am enjoying painting the snow scenes.  It will soon be February and the days are getting longer, so things are looking up!  Spring WILL arrive someday.  :-D

A Cold Walk in the Park

This is my daily painting - a watercolor which is 12" x 6" and is painted on 140 lb. cold pressed watercolor paper.  This painting was done entirely in Antwerp Blue, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Light Red, and Paynes Grey.

Glow in the Cold Midwinter

This is today's daily creation...a watercolor- 11" x 7" which is painted on 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper.  It is painted entirely in quinacridone gold and antwerp blue.  I floated the gold in first and dried it well and then re-wet the painting and floated in the blue on top, trying not to lift the yellow underneath.  I guess the winter weather is getting to me - I have been in a winter painting mood!   lol

Drawing for Watercolor Demonstration: WIP

This is what I worked on today - it is a drawing in progress for a watercolor demonstration I am going to do in pouring liquid acrylics.  The demonstration is scheduled for March, but this part of the process takes a lot of time.  I will still have to masque out the areas I want to remain white before I pour and this will come after the drawing is complete.  This drawing is of two lush flowers with leaves and buds, but it is difficult to see at this point.  This painting is on a full sheet (22" x 30") 140 lb. cold-pressed Canson watercolor paper and the drawing is a grided drawing using a 2B pencil.

Winter Glow

This is the 2nd in the "Winter" series.  This one I call "Winter Glow."  I began this as part of the lesson I was teaching in my watercolor painting class at Riverside Arts Center in Wapakoneta, Ohio.  It was the second part of the lesson, where the students were to do a thumbnail, then draw it themselves on their watercolor paper, and then paint it using the principles taught in the earlier evening's lesson. This - like the first in this series, my last post, is very stylized in design and composition and is done in complementary colors of violet and yellow. This watercolor is 8" square and is painted on 140 lb. Canson Tientes hot-pressed watercolor paper.  You can see that the surface is very smooth as compared to a watercolor on cold-pressed paper.

Shadows in the Snow

Today I did a 1 hour watercolor study in complementary colors - Indian Yellow and Violet.  This watercolor is 8" x 6" and is painted on Canson Tientes cold-pressed watercolor paper.  I definitely paint more loosely when painting quickly!

Compromise: Not Everything is Black and White

Today's post, titled "Not Everything is Black and White",  is my statement on the political scene in the United States today.  I will say no more on that issue.  The painting is painted on 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper and is monochromatic - painted entirely in shades of sepia.

Still Life Under the Influence

Well, I wasn't going to paint today since I was planning to help take-in paintings at the Riverside Arts Center.  After our snow yesterday and the winds expected last night, I really didn't want to drive through snow drifts!  So - I e-mailed that I couldn't come and stayed home today.  Early this a.m. my friend Michelle called and asked if I wanted to paint this afternoon (the snow drifts don't scare her!)  - so....we set up a still life and painted.  During our session, my husband made us Irish Coffee - hence the reference to painting "under the influence." :)

This painting is an oil painted on a 9" x 12" canvas panel.

Oil Pastel Resist

I experimented this evening with oil pastel resist - it certainly didn't turn out the way I expected.  But - live and learn - I discovered that I don't like working with oil pastels any better than I ever did.  But - at least I have something to post for todays 'creations!'  I also discovered that I like doing resists with crayons a lot better than oil pastels!  I guess I learned something today!

Old Bay Village Beauty

This is a loose pen and ink drawing with a watercolor wash on hot-pressed Arches 140 lb. watercolor paper.  It is  approximately 6" x 7".  I used a Pigma Micron .005 archival ink drawing pen.

Lemonade Pitcher with Bosc Pears

I started this watercolor still life this afternoon and finished it after teaching tonight in Wapakoneta at Riverside Arts Center.  The watercolor is 14" x 11" and is painted on Fabriano cold-pressed watercolor paper.

Sunset Study in Watercolor

Well - this is today's post for the daily painting blog - I spent most of the afternoon preparing for the class I am teaching - starting tomorrow - so this was a quick watercolor I did tonight.  It is a limited palette - red orange, yellow, and  sap and viridian green and mixtures of those colors.  The watercolor is 6" x 8" and is painted on cold-pressed watercolor paper.

Monochromatic Character Study in Sepia

This is my daily painting - a quick monochromatic character study in sepia.  It is 8" x 6" and is painted on hot pressed Canson Tientes watercolor paper.

My Left Hand - Contour Drawing and Ink

Well - today is my big day - the reception for my solo show!  Soooooooo - needless to say, I have been busy...with little time to create!  So, this is my quick effort for today.  It is a semi-contour drawing of my left hand done  with a 4B pencil on watercolor paper. Then I took a 1/2 inch watercolor wash brush and made a series of strokes across the paper -back and forth - purposely not covering all the paper.  Then I softened my paynes grey watercolor and took my paint brush on which I had sharpened the end and after dipping the sharpened end in the paint, drew onto my wet paper.  Where there is water, the paint runs - where there is no water, you get a beautiful contour line.  My college life drawing professor, Dr. Running,  taught this technique some 54 years ago at Bowling Green State University. He was great! You never know what you are going to get because you have no idea where the water is going to take the paint!  It is a real ADVENTURE!

The Sentinel

This daily painting of bluebirds is 8" x 6" and is painted on hot-pressed 140 lb. Arches watercolor paper.  I wanted some practice in painting birds and really like the way the male is standing guard over the female. 

Tim and Peggy's Bouquet

The source for this painting is a bouquet that my brother and sister-in-law gave us for our 50th wedding anniversary.  It was beautiful and I had to paint it.  This was a quick painting - 1 1/2 hours and I tried to keep it loose.  After loosely painting it, I defined it with a blackPigma Micron pen.  The painting is 7" x 6 " and is painted on 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper.

Tulip Magnolias

This is the finished painting of the tulip magnolias...it is small and is painted on 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper.  Tomorrow I deliver my paintings to the gallery where my solo show starts Friday night, so I have not had much time for things like cleaning house, ironing, cooking, etc.  Things should change after Friday. :)

Tulip Magnolia WIP #1

I have had a busy day preparing paintings for my solo show that starts this weekend.  I have to deliver my paintings to the gallery on Wednesday, so things have been hectic.  I did have some time to start this little painting for my daily 'creation' - another evening should finish it.  It is 5 " x 7" and is painted on 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper.

Analogous Landscape

This is my daily contribution to my blog, but it is also a painting  for the Watercolor Workshop January project.  The members are to paint their version of a painting submitted by Kathy Nesseth using 3 analogous colors.  I selected yellow orange, orange and red orange for my three colors.  Analogous colors are colors that are next to each other of the color wheel.  This painting is 8" x 6" and is painted on 140 lb. Arches cold-pressed watercolor paper.

  Below is the painting which we were to use as our source material.

Glory in the Morning

This is my post for today - morning glories - the source photo was from Vicki Greene - a Watercolor Workshop artist from Florida.  Thanks, Vicki!

This small painting is painted on 140 lb. cold-pressed  Arches Watercolor paper.

Pamela's Truck - WIP #1

I worked on the drawing for the watercolor of this wonderful vintage truck painting yesterday and today. My friend Pamela Baker is a wonderful photographer and she has graciously allowed me to use her photographs as source pictures.  What a treat!!!   The size of the painting will be 22" x 15" and is on Canson Tientes 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper.

I am drawing the truck by using grids- both on the photograph and on the watercolor paper.  The drawing is done with a 2B pencil.  This is going to be a really exciting painting for me!  The truck is awesome, as you can see in the photograph above the drawing.

Three Oranges - The watercolor version

Since I had the still life set up for yesterday's still life, I decided to do the same subject in watercolor.  I will have to say that the oranges look more like oranges than indescriminate fruit like yesterdays...The painting was 9" x 12", but I cropped it to 8" x 8" and it is painted on 140 lb. cold pressed watercolor paper.

Three Oranges

I painted today with a good friend, Michelle, in my studio.  Michelle set up a still life of three oranges and a white bowl.  Yes - a white bowl!    We had a great afternoon painting together.  The painting is 6" x 6" and is painted in oils on a canvas panel.

California Sky

While watching the Rose Bowl parade New Years Day, I was amazed at the yellow morning sky and the grey mountains in the background.  So - for todays post I decided to do a quick watercolor sketch trying to catch the feeling of those colors that struck me that morning.  This is a 1/2 hour painting - the colors from my memory and the scene from my imagination.

I am going to have a solo show from January 14 through February 26 and have been very busy getting ready for it.  The next few days are going to be hectic, so, though I will paint daily,  my daily posts will be drawings or watercolor sketches.  Hang with me blog readers, and I will be back with paintings soon.

Analogous Dancers

The January Project for Watercolor Workshop is to do a painting in 3 analogous colors.  I chose red-violet, violet and blue-violet.  The painting is 12" x 9" and is painted on 140 lb. cold-pressed  watercolor paper. 

This  painting, like an earlier one from last week,  is also of Makeda dancers.

The Copper Tea Kettle at Forever Antiques

This is the finished painting of the copper tea Kettle. I finished it this afternoon. The finished size is 12" x 9" and is painted on 140 lb. cold-pressed  watercolor paper.  As I mentioned in the first WIP of this painting, it is painted from the photograph taken by my friend Deb Holmes, an excellent photographer.  The kettle was photographed in an antique shop.

The Copper Tea Kettle WIP 3

This is the 3rd "in progress" post on the copper tea kettle.  As you can see, the pot itself is complete and I was getting ready to paint the drapery underneath.  I should have posted this yesterday, but woe...I forgot!