Still life with lemons

It's been very busy lately since this is "season" here in South Florida. We have our sales and shows while the snow birds and tourists are here. It's a window of opportunity. I had three shows to get ready for since February first. One was a show and sale where I sold 4 paintings and also received 2 awards. That felt really good! Yesterday's show garnered another award! That has left little time for painting since I was also a worker bee at these shows. In addition, our local art league is having a yard sale this week end and I started to clean out some boxes of things in the garage. One of the things I found was this little art glass vase in the shape of an elephant. I couldn't part with it so I decided to paint it in a little still life at our regular Thursday morning class. I love yellow with blue so the citrus was a easy choice to go with it.

                     Elephant Vase With Citrus  Watercolor 6 1/2 x 5 1/2

Numbers 29 and 30

Feathers

Watercolor, 5 X 5

I finally got time to post my last 2 paintings for the 30 in 30. The blog finished on January 31st but I wasn't finished with the 30. I'm a little nuts about picking up found objects and these feathers were found. Maybe one day I'll do a collage and put them in it. In the meantime they were fun to paint. I tried to get the fuzzy, downy part at the base of the feather to look that way by making the background really wet. I think the one on the left is probably from a morning dove and the other a mockingbird. 

                                                           Green Parrot
                                     Watercolor 6 X 8 1/2

As I look over my 30 paintings I see that I have painted more birds than anything else. Birds are interesting subjects, they come in all colors, sizes and settings. I guess that's why I like painting them. I've enjoyed painting consistently over the month of January. It will be harder in February because I have so many shows and sales the attend to. I hope I'll be able to continue to work regularly, though, and post on Leslie Saeta's blog again. She is encouraging artists to post one or two paintings a week each week end. After doing 30 in 30 it should be easy!

Sail Away and Sunset Stroll, 27 & 28

Sail Away

Watercolor, 11 X 7 1/2

Painting number 27. This idea I found in a magazine illustration that I thought was charming and whimsical. It was fun to try to render it in watercolor. This is the last painting posted in the 30 in 30 blog. Thanks to Leslie Saeta for encouraging so many artists to get into their studios and paint. 

http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.com 

Sunset Stroll

Watercolor 10 1/2 X 7

We do have these wonderful sunsets on the Gulf of Mexico this time of year. Don't we all dream of walking on the beach at sunset with our favorite fellow or gal? 

Even though the official 30 in 30 blog is finished, I still want to finish 30 paintings and I have two more to go. 

Sunflower, #26

                                                  Sunflower
                        Watercolor over Textured Acrylic on paper, 10 X 12

I'm caught up! This is my painting number 26 but it's posted on day 29 of the "30 paintings in 30 days blog". The blog has one official day left but I will have 3 more paintings to do to complete 30. This has been challenging but fun. I had to push myself on some days. Some of the paintings were quick and sketchy but the important thing was that I painted every day and that's a good thing. I don't think I've ever painted 26 days in a row before. I'd like to develop some of the ideas into larger, better paintings. 

This painting done on one of my gesso backgrounds was fun to do. I'm getting to like the textured gesso for a background more and more. It's a very forgiving surface to paint on and I think it makes for an interesting painting.

Ambience, #25

                                                   Ambience
                                  Acrylic and Collage on Canvas, 8 X 8

This is Number 25 for day 28 of the 30 paintings in 30 days blog. Since I started 3 days late I will not be able to post my last 3 paintings on that web site, but I plan to finish the 30 paintings anyway. This one is another one that I did in an image transfer class. The canvas has been painted and had different texture elements on it. Then the image transfers and other collage pieces are added to make what I hope is a cohesive painting. The black lines are a combination of collage and black pen. I like the image transfers because they allow the background of the painting to show through.

Image Transfers in a Painting, #24

 

                                            Time Watcher,
                              Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, 8 X 8

I've been taking a class on image transfer the last three weeks and although this  is not strictly a painting, it has image transfers and collage elements, I'm still counting it as my painting #24 in the 30 Paintings in 30 Days. The background was acrylic over tissue paper for texture. The woman and the clock were image transfers on gel skins, the script and lace are collage. 

Sunset Wash, #23

                                            Sunset Wash 
                                       Watercolor, 15 X 11

I'm learning things as I go along in this daily painting. Sometimes I like to paint on the back of another painting. The back of this painting had a piece of another kind of paper glued to it. I found that this affected the ability of the paper to hold the water and for the paint to blend as I was accustomed. Also, the push back that the water usually does to the paint along the water line didn't work as well, either. I really had to force the issue in order for it to work. I decided to post it anyway, it's not what I wanted or expected but it's what happened.

After Chiuly II, Number 22

                                After Chiuly II, Watercolor 11 X 7 1/2

I love the abstract quality of the insides of the blown glass bowls by Chiuly. This one was magenta with blue. He puts a layer of white between some of the glass layers; that makes the bowls have so much depth. It's hard to capture that in watercolor but the abstract design is fun to try to duplicate. 

My Cup

                                  My Cup  
                                      Watercolor on acrylic 11 X 8

This painting is number 21 in the series of 30 paintings in 30 days. The background was started months ago waiting for just the right idea to come for a subject.The background is gesso over an old watercolor painting. Putting the curly ques on it reminded me of steam from a cup of hot coffee or tea. Cups always remind me of the Psalm verse that I put on the painting. I used gold background to emphasize the value of God's word. Sometimes that's how a painting is conceived, one thing leads to another. I call it intuitive painting. 

Paintings Number 19 and 20

                                                             Sara, Sitting 
                                         Watercolor, 11 1/2 X 7

I just had to do another painting of our cute little grand-dog, Sara. This time she is sitting and waiting for whatever a dog waits for. Food, attention, a toy. She would probably like to snuggle into a lap the best. She has different features for a dachshund, a little more hound like around the head and chest. And her eyes are large with very dark lid linings that look like she's wearing eye liner.

Three Amigos

Watercolor on Acrylic, 10 X !0

Yes, there really are three pelicans in this painting. If you look closely you can see the neck of the third pelican in between the outer birds. Most of the brown feathers in the center are the third pelican; it's head is completely covered by the bird in front. 

The acrylic on the paper has been textured after it was painted on a watercolor background. This gives the painting depth and interest. The subject is then painted on top in watercolor.  Ten more paintings to go in the 30 Paintings in 30 Days, although the challenge will be finished before I am since I started a few days late. I'm going to try to finish 30, though.

After Chiuly #18

                                                          After Chiuly
                                                     Watercolor 7 1/2 x 11

Chiuly's Blue Bowl, Interior

Over the Christmas Holidays we were able to visit the Chiuly Glass Garden in Seattle Washington with our daughter and son-in-law. The arrangements of blown glass objects, the colors, the lighting were all a feast for the eyes. There aren't enough adjectives to adequately describe it. I took many pictures with the idea of interpreting some of the works, especially the colors in watercolor. I'm pretty happy with my first attempt, I like the way the colors ran but I need to find a darker blue that will react to the water in the same way that the pthalo blue does. This painting is  #18 in the 30 Day Challenge.

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Heron, #17

                                                          Blue Heron
                                       Watercolor 5 1/2 x 3 3/4

One of my favorite subjects to paint is the blue heron. They are common here and in many parts of the country in ponds, lakes, and seashore. They can be found anywhere there is water that they can wade in and find creatures to eat. I love their elegant necks and graceful movement . They are a delight to watch and to paint.

Painting #15, My Set Up

 

                                                     My Set Up
                                              watercolor 6 1/2 x 9

This is just a small potion of the set up on my painting table. The essentials are the water, brushes, spray bottle, tissues and of course the paints are off to the side. I couldn't quite get them in. I have a little paper with instructions for figure painting on my wall in the back. Until I started painting my set up, I didn't even notice it and I don't think I've used it since I put it up there. Maybe that should be my project for day 16, put some figures in my paintings. 

Bouquet, Number 16

                                                     Bouquet
                                     Watercolor, 7 X 9 1/2

It's getting harder to get these little paintings done, life keeps getting in the way. One thing it's done for me is that I don't dilly dally, I get in there and get it done without a lot of pondering about color and whether it should be this or that. I just get the brushes and paints out and try to let the right brain take over. For the most part I think it's working for me.

Pretty Parrot #14

                                                   Pretty Parrot
                                         Watercolor 9 X 7

I loved painting this bird. I started with new gamboge on the breast feathers but it wasn't quite gold enough so I glazed it with quinacridone gold. The dark for the beak and under the chin were mixed with pthalo blue, alizarin crimson, with a touch of yellow. The blue is cobalt with a little turquoise. There are a few touches of quinacridone orange. The background is just a loose wash of sap green with some burnt sienna. A light spritz with  water creates the texture.

Young Burrowing Owls, # 13

                                        Young Burrowing Owls
                                      Watercolor, 5 X 5

I'm getting caught up with the 30 day challenge by posting two paintings today. This little painting is of the little owls that make their home here in Southwest Florida. They are an endangered species due to development where they like to nest. They dig their nests underground during the dry season, which is now. When the young hatch and are big enough, they like to come out of their hole in the ground and stand watchfully. They get used to humans coming around and snapping their picture. We even have a Burrowing Owl Festival which will take place in February. Birders from all over the world come to take the bus tour around the city to see the owl nests. The owls cooperate by coming out or their nests and look at the tourists. I wonder if they have a list to check off for each nationality of human they see. 

Island House, #12

                                                    Island House
                                         Watercolor, 5 X 7

Yesterday I sat outside beside a boat ramp and painted the little house across the canal. The island has canals that lead to the bay and out to the Gulf of Mexico so there are lots of fishermen who like to launch their boats or better yet, own a home with a sea wall and a dock. This little house didn't have a boat at the dock so maybe he's gone fishing. This is number 12, my submission for yesterday in the 30 day challenge, now I have to find a subject for today.

Rooster, #11

                                                               Rooster
                      Watercolor on patterned acrylic background, 8 X 10

I'm enjoying painting on the patterned backgrounds. The gesso allows for the watercolor to absorb a little but still be removable. The background is gesso tinted with some acrylic paint, the patterns are made with stamps that I have made with craft foam sheets and mat board. I think my rooster needs another leg to stand on, or maybe he has it tucked up under himself.

Beautiful Florida Sunset, #10

                                                    Beautiful Florida Sunset
                                         Watercolor on paper 7 X 10

Sometimes the sunsets are just spectacular, it must be the moisture in the air  from the Gulf of Mexico lingering in the sky so that the sun can do it's magic. I take pictures often and this time I painted one. Usually the palms appear dark, almost black in photos but in life they are really not that dark. So, dig out some of those photos you've taken of sunsets, get out your paints and have a little fun mingling the yellows, pinks and blues into a beautiful sunset. The variety is never ending.

Sara, #9

                                                             Sara
                      Watercolor on paper textured with acrylic, 7.5 X 5.5

This challenge has really gotten me out of my comfort zone and into trying some things that I don't ordinarily paint. I haven't painted many animals except for birds. I thought I try this little dachshund named Sara who belongs to my son's family. She has an unusual coat for a dachshund since it's white with tan markings. This turned out to be more of a cartoon or caricature, but still has a freshness that I like.