Mini paintings

In order to enter paintings in our art league's February show and sale each participant must paint and donate six little paintings, 4 1/2" X 3 1/2" which are called "Mini's". I find doing them in watercolor is difficult but acrylic and gouache are easier for me. So far I have done three in watercolor with and orchid theme. This is the first. I decided to paint the background today, and now I'm wishing I had left it white. Oh well, I can always paint others and leave the background plain.

I won't be posting a blog for probably a few weeks because I'll be recovering from knee replacement surgery. I'll be back as soon as I can.

A Workshop with Don Taylor

It seems that no matter how many years you have been painting you can still learn something new. Even old dogs can learn new tricks. That's why I take as many workshops as I can. There are always new things to learn, new products to try. Who knows? I may finally find that magic brush I've always wanted that will take me to those artistic heights of excellence that we all pursue. Not only that, I get to have 3 or more consecutive days to paint in a friendly, encouraging setting. That said, this painting is one I worked on and finished in Don Taylor's workshop. He uses a triad of aureolin, cobalt, and rose madder genuine for his under painting. After that dries, he combines ultra marine with hematite pigments from Daniel Smith for a granulating dark effect. The hematites are non-staining and easy to lift. I lost a lot of my under painting getting in the darks but I think the look of a gloomy, rainy day is sort of interesting. This picture was done with his reference and his help on the perspective. Thanks Don!