Spring Flowers; Peonies

I've been trying to paint the peonies that I saw this week. They were the single petal type and remind me of poppies. The first ones I painted are tight and hard edged, which was OK but I long for a looser style. Nothing gets me painting loose like Yupo, so I threw some paint on some Yupo and think the first results are quite fun. I may play around with it some more and if I do, I'll be posting any additions that I make.

A Different Strokes Challenge

I'm just getting into painting again since the "transition". I wanted to enter the Different Strokes Challenge and today was the final day to submit an entry. I had to get my brushes going fast. Sometimes if you don't sweat it too much things work out better. That was the case today. I had a picture of a bull that I always wanted to paint but didn't know about what background would be interesting. The Challenge provided me with a perfect background for my black bull. Is he an Angus? I don't know, he was all by himself on a ranch in Wyoming, and he wasn't too happy about it. He stopped complaining long enough for me to take the picture. I think the farm picture is Pennsylvania, maybe he'll be happier there.

Transitions

This is a drizzle rooster I did awhile back. You drizzle a glossy acrylic outline and when it's dry you can wet the paper and add the color. It's a fun process, especially with chickens.


We've been in transition the last couple of weeks. We pack up and leave Florida's hot and steamy weather for something more moderate in Minnesota. People call it the theater of weather. You can get it all in just to span of a few hours. Some years a summer in Minnesota can be as hot and humid as one in Florida, but that is unusual. I hoped I could paint something during the down time of traveling but it just didn't happen. Now that we are settled in, groceries bought, bags unpacked, laundry done, I can get some organization going in my painting area and get back to blogging.

Brush experiment

I had to sit and mind the gift shop at our local art league (http://www.capecoralartleague.org/ )and to pass the time I decided to try the brushes I bought several years ago that have water in the handle of the brush by Aquaflow. I thought they might be handy for painting in confined places where you might not want to have a cup of water. It was frustrating in the beginning because I'm so used to rinsing my brush frequently in water; with this brush you have to squeeze it to flush whatever pigment you are using out of it before going on to another. It's nessesary to have something absorbent handy to catch the drips and to wipe the brush; papertowel or sponge work well. I painted on a postcard sized piece of w/c paper trying to keep in mind a confined space. It's no masterpiece but it gave me some insight into painting with these interesting brushes. The Aquaflows have a valve in them that keep the pigment from being sucked into the water in the handle which was a problem with another brush that I had. I'm thinking that I might even be able to do quick sketches while riding in the car on long trips.

The Humble Onion

I had a little painting session with some friends today. While they chose to do landscape paintings of the area, I chose the humble onion, three of them. My friend's husband is a wonderful gardener and here in South Florida this is the harvest season while the rest of the country seems to be just thinking of planting things. He had an abundance of onions, and they are an interesting subject with their dried tops and papery skins.

New York Street Scene

What a fun painting Karen Jurick had for us to paint this dsdf session. The canyon of New York City with their colorful, ubiquitous taxi cabs. I had one more strip of yupo, so I had to paint it on that. I love the result of the wavy edges and the way one color oozes into another. It's a small painting, only 15 x 3.5 inches, so I could only do a sliver of the whole picture which you can view at http://www.differentstrokesfromdifferentfolks.blogspot.com/ You can also see all the other fabulous painters' renditions of the same picture. It's really fun to see the creativity that takes place on that blog.

Watery Sunset

I think I've finally come to the end of my long, narrow yupo paintings. It's time to move on to something new. But I have one more to post. It's 26"X5", so it looks small on the uploaded picture because of it's length. I like the way the sun puddled into the water on this one. Sometimes the sunsets do have the feeling that the sun is just dipping down into the water and you don't know if the sun will overcome the water or the water the sun; and then, it just disappears. Perhaps I should do one more painting with a "green flash".

More Art In Bloom

I think I need more photography classes. For some reason my camera was very confused taking pictures at the museum. So many of my photos were blurry. It seems that my camera didn't know where to focus even though I tried my best to direct it. But this painting of the boats lined up on the shore and the flower arrangement lined up in little boat shaped vases was really nice. Another favorite.

Art In Bloom

While we were in Minnesota we took advantage of an annual exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) called Art In Bloom. Floral arrangements are made to resemble different works of art. My favorite was done of a painting of a steamboat. I love the baby's breath in the smoke stacks.

Yellow Daffodil

I've been in Minnesota for the week end and have once more experienced the variety of weather they call spring up north. We had rain, wind, cold temperatures, sun, fair skies; in other words, the whole enchilada! We went to the Minnesota Arboretum in Chanhassen to see spring in all it's glory. We saw daffodils, tulips, magnolias, crocus', all shapes and sizes of trees leaves, from small buds to several inches. It was glorious and many pictures were taken.

I just had to paint a daffodil and then I came up against the problem of painting yellow flowers; what do you use for shadow color? I used a purple which I knew would turn to brown on the yellow, but blue would turn green and red would turn orange, etc. I'm not totally satisfied with the outcome but if anyone who paints in watercolor has a solution I'd love to hear about it.

Sunset, Sea and Sky

This one is a small one, 14.5 x 3.5 inches. It was painted on Yupo. One reason I like Yupo is that the pigment stays on the surface and dries there; doing so it remains vibrant. On ordinary watercolor paper a lot of the pigment is absorbed and it dries at least 20% lighter. If you don't go strong with the color the first time you have to glazed more color onto it.

A Sunset Turns Into A Flower

In my last post I said that the pigment on wet Yupo would continue to move as it dries. I was going for another Sky, Sea, Sand painting with a sunset and discovered that the Quinacridone Red that I used actually pushed the blue almost off the paper. Then I added a Quinacridone Gold and it really pushed. I was left with this big blob of mostly pink in my sky that didn't look remotely like a sunset. But it did look a little like a Lotus blossom. So, with some editing after it was dry I refined the flower and I think it's quite nice. I added some yellow to the now dry blue in puddles to resemble the flat leaves floating on the water.

Sand, Sea, Sky Series

I'm back after some break time on the beach in Sarasota, actually, Siesta Key. The sand there is the most amazing sand you've ever seen. They say it is almost all quartz that has been ground down into fine sugar consistancy by the water and wind. It is almost as white as sugar as well.

I was inspired to do some paintings on Yupo of just the sand, sea and sky. My sand needed some color to it, though. I have one of this kind of painting over my kitchen sink and people never fail to comment on how much they like it. Maybe it's the simplicity or the memories of time on the beach. Whatever it is, I enjoy the way I can get a really watery look on the yupo paper. I wet it first and then brush in my pigment and keep manipulating it until it looks like what I want. It must then dry completely before I can move it and the exciting thing is that the pigments will continue to move until it is dry. If you are a control freak do not try this. After it is dry I can come in with a wet brush and edit if I wish but once I change it there is no going back to the original.

Diana's Companion

This is the new challenge from Different Strokes From Different Folks Blog. It's a photo of a statue of Diana's companion, from Greek mythology, not British royalty. Someone must have modeled for the sculptor before he sculpted, don't you think? So, I'm imagining the subject before she was cast forever into stone. I put her in flesh and as I was painting the dress (?) I thought, "Hmm, and I complain about bra straps." I had a devil of a time with the legs, the knees especially but I think I have them in the right place, now. It's funny how the mistakes I had made really showed up in the photo and I had to fix it and take new photos. I didn't think I would like this subject but I really got into it and enjoyed the process. That's what I like about DSFDF, you paint things you may not even consider painting otherwise. To see the original photo go to http://differentstrokesfromdifferentfolks.blogspot.com/

Date with a Grape

Every year I am asked along with my pastel painting husband, to donate a piece of art to the American Heart Society Ball. They have a silent auction for many items as a fund raiser. This year I've decided to donate this painting, A Date With a Grape. I think it would go well in a wine bar, wine store, kitchen or dining room. Some of the vines on the bottom were made by blowing on the wet paint with a drinking straw. You have to be careful not to blow so hard that you get dizzy. Grapes are fun to paint with their lovely orb shapes and shadows. I hope my painting gets a good bid and raises some money for the Heart Fund.

Purple Orchid

My friend who was visiting from Minnesota bought me an orchid plant one day. I have wanted to paint it so I took it to class last week and worked on this painting. I don't know why I get so tight; I guess I'm concentrating on the shapes and colors and forget to render it in a more watercolor fashion. Perhaps I will take it to class again tomorrow and have a "do-over". This is one of the times in life when a "do-over" is possible, unlike so many other times when we wish we could have a "do-over" but we can't.

Betty

I've put it off long enough. I have done all I'm going to do to the portrait of my friend Cathi's mom. This is from a totally candid photo taken of her a year or so ago. I liked the knowing look she is giving, like she has seen it all. I'm not sure if the portrait is finished, I just know that, for now anyway, I'm not going to do anymore on it. Maybe some day in the future I'll pick it up and decide that more needs to be done and I'll know what it is. Sometimes paintings are like that aren't they?

Beach Girl

I painted this to post on differentstrokesfromdifferentfolks.blogspot.com . The original photo had more people in it, but I elected to paint just the girl. In my mind she is looking wistfully out on the ocean, perhaps just a little timid about getting into the water that looks so inviting. The smooth beach reminds me of Daytona Beach in FL. The reflections there are always great and I love taking pictures of people on the beach there. I would like to know where Karen Jurick got this shot, somewhere along the Atlantic perhaps. It's just a reminder for all you northern folks that summer is just around the corner.

Whimsical Piggy

OK, it's Sunday, time for something whimsical. Several week ends ago, when I was painting at the Gallery, I found a picture of a pig in the newspaper. I thought it was a cute pig as pigs go. So how could I not paint him? Or maybe it was a she. Who knows? Anyway, today I added the fuzzy hairs that were backlit on the photo which was in black and white. I love that because then I can paint my piggy any color I want, so permanent rose (pink) and colbalt blue were the colors of choice with a nice orangy-gold background. Perhaps I should name him Porkchop, (groan).

I hope you have had a restful if not whimsical week end.

A workshop challenge

I had a challenging workshop for four days last week. I think I'm still recovering. I prefer to paint loose and wet, this workshop was just the opposite. I know, I know, why would I do that to myself? I guess I thought it would be good for me to learn something that I wouldn't normally try. It was a portrait workshop. I think I did OK on the projects that we had to paint; it was certainly a steep learning curve for me. I'm posting my attempts if the two portraits that were done by everyone in the workshop. The young girl was done the second day (her face got sort of orange), the old woman the third day of the workshop. The fourth day we painted a picture of our own; I may post that later, we'll see how it turns out.