Day 30: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

This is it!!! The painting for day 30...a transparent watercolor, 9" x 9" on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico cold-pressed watercolor paper!

This is taken from the source photo by Janet Roberts - thank you very much, Janet, for sharing your beautiful photo.

Doing a painting a day is not always easy, but it wasn't as difficult as I anticipated.  I will have to admit that I am relieved that the time is over because I have some projects which I want to get started.  Over-all, I enjoyed the 30 days - I feel that I learned a lot. Thanks for sticking with me.  

Day 29: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

Well, here we are at day 29 - one more to go!

In today's work I went back to my first favorite painting subject - that of painting vintage trucks.  This painting portrays the front of a 1938 Chevy pick-up truck.  I am partial to the 1938 trucks since that is the year I was born. (smile!)

This painting is done on 100 lb. printmaking paper and is 6"x10".  It is painted in transparent watercolor.

Day 28: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

Another view of the flower from yesterday - different view, different colors, different center, different approach.  This is also painted on 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper - it is approximately 4" x 6."

This is day 28 - only 2 days to go!  We're winding down...Yahoo!

Day 27: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

Day 27 brings us a transparent watercolor floral which is painted on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico cold-pressed watercolor paper.  It is 5"x6".  Three more days to go!

Day 26: 30 Paintings in 30 Days -Artistic Conscience

I feel that I have to address the fact that it is my opinion that artists have a moral obligation to not only create pleasing works of art, but to reflect and bring attention to society's ills.  Art is more than matching a painting to a sofa/couch... all artists, visual and otherwise, need to perform as a moral compass and create awareness of the things that are wrong or evil with society with their art.  Now, I realize that I can't, as one person, cure all society's ills, but, if I can even help to develop an awareness of inequalities or sickness that exist, than I must.

For some time I have been hearing of the gang rapes of young women in India with little justice afforded the women.  This collage is my attempt to promote some awareness of this awful problem.

Todays art work is a mixed media collage done on illustration board with acrylics, a leaf from India, and newspaper articles.  It is approximately 14" x 9".

Day 25: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

Day 25:  This is a transparent watercolor loosely based on a photograph from the Paint My Picture website - I have taken many liberties and have not really tried to do this as a realistic portrait, but to depict emotion and feeling not really in the original photograph.

This painting  is 9" x 7" and is painted on 120 lb. printmaking paper in two colors - sepia and burnt sienna.

Day 24: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

Well - day 24!  Only 6 to go - the 30 days went fast!  Todays painting is a study in reflections, a transparent watercolor that is small, 3" x 5" and painted on 140 lb. Arches cold-pressed watercolor paper.  The source photo for this is from Yod Barros  in the Wet Canvas photo image library.

Day 23: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

I did another watercolor for day 23.  This is transparent watercolor on 140 lb. cold-pressed Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper.  It is approximately 9" x 7".  This comes from a source picture from Lee Smith on the Wet Canvas website.  Seven days to go!!!

Day 22: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

On day 22 I have gone back to watercolor, my true passion.  This is a still life painting of pears on 140 lb. Arches cold-pressed watercolor paper.  This painting is 7" x 9"  and is from a photo by Clare on the Paint My Picture website.  Thank you, Clare.

Day 21: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

I decided to do an oil painting for day 21...this painting is 12" x 9" and it is painted on a canvas panel.  I love to paint "portals" and this doorway is located in a city on a day of light rain and drizzle.  

Well - 9 more days to go on this challenge - it has been fun and revealing in that I wasn't certain that I was up to this challenge.  It has gotten easier as the days have gone by and now that the end is in sight, I feel very good about this last month and the daily painting experience.

Day 20: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

Day 20, has another small transparent watercolor on YUPO paper.   This is a small, very loose, almost abstract landscape.  I based it, partially, on a photo by Susan Roper, a friend who has wonderful photos on her Flickr site.  She graciously has given permission to use her photos as source photos.  This painting is 6" x 8".

Day 19: 30 Paintings in 30 Days - The Happy Snowman

Day #19 brings us The Happy Snowman!  This is a lesson from the blog of Debi Watson   www.debiwatson.com.    You can find the directions on her blog.  This example I did for today's painting is 12" x 6" and is painted on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico cold-pressed watercolor paper.  Thank you Debi for sharing your creative mind and talents with us.

Day 18: 30 Paintings in 30 Days - "Obama"

I decided to work on YUPO paper again today and since all the news is about the inauguration, Obama became my subject for the day.

I started by covering the paper with areas of indigo, burnt sienna, yellow ochre, and sepia and after allowing it to dry, I start my painting by drawing directly on the YUPO with a damp paintbrush, lifting out my drawing with the paintbrush.. I probably should have drawn with a pencil first, because there are "problems" with the structure of his face.

After laying out the drawing with the brush, I then laid in areas of color with a lot of wet paint and allowed it to blend and run.  I achieved the effect I wanted, but am unhappy with the drawing.  This painting is 7" x 12" and is painted entirely on YUPO paper with transparent watercolor. Now I will spray it with a fixative to keep it from smearing if it gets wet accidently.

Day 17: 30 Paintings in 30 Days: Lamanie Collins, Teaching

For day 17 I decided to do a watercolor portrait.  This is a painting I did on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico cold-pressed watercolor paper from a photo from the Paint My Photo web site.  The photo is of Lamanie Collins, Teacher, by Li Newton.  The painting is 12" x 9".

Day 16: 30 Paintings in 30 Days- "Cover The World"

A small piece I did this morning on YUPO paper for todays project.  I call this "Cover the World"...it is approximately 6" x 6" and is transparent watercolor on YUPO paper with Sharpie marker detailing.

Day 15: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

I did a few reflections for Day 15.  This painting is transparent watercolor, 8" x 8" and is painted on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico cold-pressed watercolor paper.  The source photo was taken by Yod Barros and is from the Wet Canvas reference library.  Thanks to Wet Canvas for their wonderful library filled with royalty free, creative photographs which are posted by artists for other artists to paint from.

Day 14: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

I call this painting for Day 14 "Winter Deluge."  This is painting is watercolor and white acrylic on YUPO paper.  YUPO paper is such fun to paint on - the paint has a mind of it's own and goes everywhere.  I used mostly indigo watercolor with a touch of sap green.

Day 13: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

My painting for day 13 is a floral transparent watercolor.  It is painted on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico cold-pressed watercolor paper.  The main colors were quinacridone rose-violet, sap green, burnt sienna and sepia.  The center is a naples yellow background with a mixture of the violet and yellow for the shadows.

Day 12: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

This is a paintings of my dog Tara, a Shetland Sheep-dog. This is her alert pose (when the Black Lab next door, Bear, is outside, behind his fence, as Tara is. You can be brave behind a fence!  She has been in our family for 10 years and is our self-proclaimed watch-dog/protector - she thinks she is vicious and is really just a pussy-cat...the sweetest little dog ever. She might alert us if someone were around- Shelties are great barkers!, and then take the invader throughout the house on a tour.

This painting is done in transparent watercolor on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico cold-pressed watercolor.

Day 11: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

For day 11, I did a small poured painting using my still pretty Christmas poinsettia as the model.  This painting is painted on 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper.  I am now more than 1/3 of the way through this challenge.  So far it has been a lot of fun, although it is a challenge.

Day 10: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

The painting for day 10 is another landscape which is taken from a photograph by a friend, Susan Roper in Glacier National Park in Montana.  The painting is approximately 9" x 12" and is painted on 140 lb. cold-pressed Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper.

Day 9: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

My offering for Day 9 is a watercolor of a "falling down barn" in Logan County, Ohio.  I previously did a view of this barn from another angle - it fascinates me...first of all the colors are awesome because I took the photographs as the sun was going down which washed everything with a beautiful glow and I have tried to capture this effect in this painting.  

I love old "falling down barns" because the negative spaces created by the missing boards are so dramatic and I love to paint those dark negative spaces where the boards have fallen away.  Also, only a little of the original red paint is remaining on this barn - just enough to give it a warm glow along with the sunset.

This painting is approximately 9" x 12" and is painted on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico cold-pressed watercolor paper.

Day 8: 30 Paintings in 30 Days..."Menagerie"

Day 8 is all about Zentangled inspired art...The composition was laid out lightly in pencil and then the zentangles were put in with an Espresso fine point pen.  The final "icing" on the "cake" was the color added with Prismacolor pencils.  This is greeting card size - 4" x 6" and was created on a Strathmore blank greeting card.

Day 7: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

Day 7 brought out the oil paints again...this is a miniature oil painting 3" x 3" and it is painted on a stretched canvas given me by my friend Patty Magoto.  She also gave me the small easel on which it is displayed.  This is taken from a photograph by Janet Roberts, a Watercolor Workshop member and friend who lives in Tenerife in the Canary Islands.  Her flower photos are wonderful.

Well, only 23 days to go! Whew!

Day 6: 30 Paintings in 30 Days -Free Brush Painting

My painting for Day 6:

Yes!  More Leaves..After viewing Rhonda Carpenter's blog "Watercolors and Words", I was encouraged to try some painting directly onto the paper instead of drawing first with a pencil.  This painting is 3" x 5" and is painted on 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper.  As you can see, I am really painting outside of my "box." which is usually tight and controlled.

The weather here in western Ohio is still too cold for me to consider plein air painting - although the temperature is in the 30's and the sky is soooo blue!  Beautiful!  The snow is melting and I can now see green grass peeking through the snow in a few places where the drifts were not as high.

Day 5: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

This is my painting for Day 5.  This is a painting of my 2 years old great nephew, Jaxton, who was enthralled with the i-pad.  I call this " I-Pad Imp!"  The source photo was taken by his father.

The painting is painted on an 8" x 8" canvas panel and is painted in oils.

Day 4: 30 paintings in 30 days

This is the painting for day 4...it is a transparent watercolor and is 8" x 5".  It is painted on 110 lb. printmaking paper.  The watercolor paintings on this paper tend to be tighter because the paper doesn't encourage good washes because the pigment soaks into the surface of the paper very quickly.  It is good, however for dry brush techniques, which I used on 2 of the leaves.

Day 3: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

This is a small watercolor I did today of an autumn scene done primarily from my imagination.  The size is 7" x 5" and is painted on 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper.

Day Number 2: 30 Paintings in 30 days

This is my second  painting for the challenge 30 Paintings in 30 Days.  It is also the second challenge painting for the month of January for Watercolor Workshop where we are to use our non-dominant hand to paint a photo selected by the group.  This painting was done on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico cold-pressed watercolor paper and is small - 7" x 4".

Left-Handed Painting

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The projects for this month involve painting with the non-dominant hand.  This is painted from the photo provided by Watercolor Workshop.  It is interesting because last year the same provided photo was also the project of the month and I painted it in my traditional style.  As would be expected - this version is much looser than the first, (which is somewhere in my archives).  Because I didn't know how this would turn out, I made the paper very small (for me) - it is 4" x 6" and it is painted on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico cold-pressed watercolor paper.

I am also taking part in 30 paintings in 30 days challenge on the blog of  Leslie Saeta: www.lesliesaeta.blogspot.com. and I plan to use this as my first painting of the month.