A Look Back At 2015

Pink House II.  Watercolor.
Approximately 8 x 11 inches.

All right, let me start this by saying my photo is not fantastic.  It is oppressively gray here (and, it has been that way for night on a week), and it is screwing with my white balance when I try and take pictures.  This photo is close enough that you get the idea of the painting.  It's a very loose landscape in an analogous palatte:  Prussian Blue, Quin Purple, and Rhodenite Genuine (all Daniel Smith) on Kilamanjaro 300 lb cold press paper.

Things of note for the year:

Roadside Barn

Roadside Barn.  Watercolor.
Approximately 10 x 14 inches

In a continuing theme, another barn.  This one is more reality base, which means I used a reference photo taken below on a trip from Columbus, OH back to Cincinnati last year.  I'm using the photo just for the shape of the barn, and a little bit as the suggestion of the landscape.  Once I had the barn organized, I stopped looking at the photo.

I did another painting based on a photo from this same trip, which you can find here.  And, I've been doing lots of barns and buildings lately, just for fun.  I need to take a day trip, and snap some more photos.  

The palette is Quinacridone burnt orange, prussian blue, and nickel azo yellow.  On Kilamanjaro 300 lb cold press paper.

I may still need to dim down the barn.  Will think on that.

I did get called away, mid-painting, so I snapped a pic on my way, you can see that at the bottom.

Blue Barn and Silo

Blue Barn and Silo.  Watercolor.
Approximately 12 x 9 inches

I'm still on buildings. I've been thinking about joining the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge that starts on Jan. 1, 2016.  Formally joining.  Last year, I did a series of paintings informally. If you're interested in what it involves, you can get more information HERE.

This painting, in my opinion, is better than my last post, just because it's significantly better organized.  Planning and practice count for a lot more than I'd like to think.  In this case, because it can be a struggle for me to get what I want, I drew out my plan on the paper before I started painting. I did have one major change:  the original painting included a fence in the background.  It didn't work, so I adjusted as I went.

This is phthalo blue rs, cobalt teal blue, and quin gold on 300 lb kilamanjaro cold press paper.

Let Me In

Let Me In.  Watercolor.
Approximately 6 x 9 inches.

I must be feeling extra messy.  Might be the stress of December.

Cobalt Blue and Quinacridone Burnt Orange on Kilamanjaro 300 lb cold press paper.

I must also be feeling brief!

Wyoming's Holiday One Stop Shop

Limited Palette Barn Study.  Watercolor.
5 x 7 inches.

Calling this a study is a little strong--technically, it's a blank note card on Strathmore Watercolor Card Paper (it's 140 lb cold press paper designed to fold), that results in a card that is 5 x 7 inches with an envelope....

Why would I paint this, do you ask?

Because I need some small things to sell...!

I'll be at our neighborhood Holiday One Stop Shop this Saturday (12/5) from 10 am to 3 pm in the Wyoming Civic Center (1 Worthington Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45215).  At events like these (and I don't do many) I like to bring a bunch of these greeting cards.  (I also sometimes put them up on Etsy.  If you're super interested, you can check some examples HERE.)

eta- to correct the street, doh!  We have a bunch of parallel streets that all start with a 'w.'  Almost a decade here, and I still can't keep them straight.

I sell them for a nominal price--usually, $5 each.  And here's the trick: to make it worth my while to sell them at that price, I need to be able to paint them very quickly.  That kind of fast painting, though, the kind that looks elegant and loose and planned, is frequently what I'm shooting for in my regular paintings.  The cards then, work out to be useful for getting better at painting, since to be able to do that, and do it well......well, I still have a lot of work ahead of me. Still, every once in a while, I get something I really like.

Some other things of note--I need to get a stamp for the back of my cards.  Some day.  It's on my list.

I also need to stop taking photos with my phone after dark.  This picture has a horrible yellow cast that I can't seem to completely shake.

Hope to see you out on Saturday!

Amy

Kitchen Window.

Kitchen Window.  Mixed Media.
Approximately 9.5 x 7 inches.

This devolved into an everything but the kitchen sink painting.  My inspiration was the dwarf oak leaf hydrangeas, which are looking quire lovely outside my kitchen window (below), but I totally lost the shape when I tried to translate my memory into a painting.  You can see some of the hints of leaf shapes in the quin burt orange above.

I think, that in this case, I might have to look at the photo to get the shapes I want.

The final product, is watercolor, opaque watercolor, caran d'ache crayon, and pencil.  Whew.

So, This Is Grapefruit

So, This Is Grapefruit.  Watercolor.
5 x 8.5 inches.

Last week at the fruit market (Country Fresh--if you live in Cincinnati and haven't visited, you should go!)  I found the most gorgeous Texas Grapefruit parked next to a deep purple red apple.  Aha.  I thought.  This would make a most excellent still life, so I bought some.

Well.  I also decided that I should try and clean the paint out of the mixing portion of my palette.....and that was my downfall.  Goodbye grapefruit, and hello landscape.  Grumble, grumble, grumble.  Worse, someone ate the grapefruit and the apple.

Phthalo green, phthalo blue gs, permanent orange deep, hansa yellow medium and a jumble of junk from my palette.....on Kilamanjaro 300 lb cold press paper,

House & Tree

House & Tree.  Watercolor.
6.25 x 8 inches.

It's been a beautiful fall in Cincinnati.  The skies are almost too blue.  The trees did end up putting on a show, and at the beginning of the last week, they got just beautiful.  Especially the gingkos.  For some reason, I always thought ginkgo trees were tall and skinny.  I've painted some before--you can see one HERE.    It turns out, they come more widespread like oaks.

This is a totally made up landscape.  It's almost the same palette as the last gingko I painted--in this case three warms:  quin burnt orange, quin gold, and nickel azo yellow and one cool--phthalo blue rs.  The paper is Kilamanjaro from Cheap Joes. 300 lb cold press.

Red Roof

Red Roof.  Watercolor on Yupo.
8 x 10 inches.

My second crack at Yupo.  In a promising turn of events, the painting started as a landscape and finished as a landscape. More disappointing, it was supposed to involve trees....

I really like the intensity of the color that stays on top of the paper, and love the texture you can bring out.

In this case, I have a whole conglomeration of colors involved, so I can't describe my palette.

I'm looking forward to trying to prepare these to hang--I think I can spray them with krylon and then mount them to a board/cradle which is promising if you've ever had to frame art....!  However, I do not own either krylon, the boards, or the paint to finish the sides of the cradle.  This may take me a minute.....

Evolution of a Painting

Sycamore and Storm Front.  Watercolor and Crayon.
12 x 11 inches.

A while back, I started a tree, that was a combination of watercolor and crayon. You can read about it here.  I didn't throw it away, but didn't think it was even a remotely successful painting. I snapped a picture with my phone yesterday, so you can see where I was when I left it to sit on a pile of art in my basement (below).

Trying Yupo. Or, Where I Produce Amoebas

Yupo I.  Watercolor on Yupo.
Smaller than 9 x 12 inches.

Several years ago, I was wandering on Michigan Avenue near the Bean in Chicago, waiting to meet a friend for lunch, and I wandered into Ultrecht.  I ended up buying a bunch of things (an artist in an art supply store?  come on, of course I'm going to spend money), one of which was a pad of Yupo paper. Yupo, in case you've never tried it, is synthetic watercolor paper.  It's diametrically opposed to regular watercolor paper, which in my case, is 100% cotton.

I tried it once.  It was really.....different.

Then, recently, I've been thinking about it.  I've seen some super interesting paintings done on Yupo, and I wanted to try again.  Voila!  Amoebas!  Actually, I lie, although I know I tend to be flip, I like the painting, and I really like the way the paint moved across the paper.  It takes a lot of paint though. A LOT. And, I'm having trouble controlling the movement and shapes, which I'm going to assume is a practice issue.  This started out as a landscape.  Truly.

Paper--Yupo.  Paint--Daniel Smith Indigo, Phtalo Blue RS, Nickel Azo Yellow, Quin Burnt Orange, and then a touch of Quin Red.

Trees, trees, trees.

Oregon Trail In Fall.  Watercolor and Crayon.
Full Sheet.

I've been messing about with this all afternoon.  I'm not entirely sure that it is done, but I'm stopping for the day.  It is a stand of trees sighted on a street I drive ad naseum each day.  If you have young teens in your household, you can probably relate.  Hate the driving; love the trees.

Some things of note--this is on 140 lb cold press paper, and was buckling like mad.  It is near a full sheet, or nearly 30 x 22 inches (it'll need to be cropped a tad).  I'm using three yellows, three blues and a purple.  That's twice the number of colors I'd typically use, and I'm not sure that was a wise choice.  Then, there's an overlay in the 'sky' with a gray crayon.

Also of note--I set the doofus crayon down randomly and it took me 20 minutes to locate it.  This is not unusual.   Once, I set my keys in the library stacks....it's a chronic problem.

A Series of Small Abstracts

Loops and Whorls.  Watercolor and Crayon.
Approximately 6 x 22 inches.

I know I've mentioned this before, but I'll periodically doodle across a scrap of paper using a very limited palette.  I was doing that this afternoon, using the extra paper from my last painting, the exact same palette, and at the end, I went back over and added some marks and miscellaneous with a caran d'ache crayon in light gray.

I'm trying to decide if I should break them apart, or keep them together as a set....

And the trees turn

Sycamore in Morning Light.  Watercolor.
23.5 x 20 inches

I've painted several sycamore trees over the years--they are about one of the first trees to start turning in s. Ohio, and they always look so majestic.  Here's a set  I painted when I first started working on this blog in 2012.  I think I'm a better painter now, but I'm not sure--it's such a subjective thing.

I spotted this one while out walking my dog--the light is also just gorgeous right now--beautiful in the morning.  I almost walked my dog into another walker, luckily I didn't, since that would have been messy.

It was also nice to paint big again.  It is so fun.  If you've never tried it, take a big piece of paper, a big brush, and just don't let yourself pick up a smaller brush.  It's very liberating.

This is magnese blue hue, quin burnt orange, nickel azo yellow, carbazol violet, and undersea green, all by Daniel Smith on Fabriano 300 lb Rough Watercolor Paper.

Tiny Landscape

Tiny Landscape.  Watercolor.
2.5 x 4 inches

This is one of three very small paintings in the same palette.  This is the only one that I think is done. Here's the whole lot:

The leftmost painting, I think I need to go back in with some line or structure.  The middle one I need to think about....

Cobalt blue, nickel azo yellow, and quin red--all Daniel Smith, on a scrap of Fabriano 300 lb rough paper.

Non-Objective Abstract

Bend.  Watercolor.
6.5 inches square

An experiment to see if I could get something working on the page.

Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Orange Medium (Holbein), Nickel Azo Yellow, Carbazole Violet, and Cobalt Teal Blue.  Daniel Smith Unless otherwise specified on a scrap piece of Fabriano 300 lb Rough Paper (that means there's something on the back).

Coffee with Orange

Coffee With Orange.  Watercolor.
8 1/4 x 9 inches.

Way, way back when I first started this blog, I was working on a bunch of still lifes that I was painting alla prima.  I thought I might go back to that for a little bit while.

This painting was done with three colors--cad orange (a medium), indian yellow, and indigo.  On a scrap of Fabriano 300 lb rough watercolor paper.

I like the bleeds against the sharp edges of the white.  And, I like the composition in general.  My style has loosened more over the last couple of years, and it wasn't all that realistic to begin with.

I don't think I'd pick indigo again.  Sometimes it works as a good dark, but in this case, I think I would have been better off with a different blue.

It was my husband's coffee cup, and he was home today, so when I stepped away for a minute the coffee cup was gone.

Landscape

Cows in Cornfield.  6.5 x 7 inches.
Watercolor

I took this photo while visiting my husband's family in Jackson, MO last winter.  (Technically, it was early April, but it was still doggone cold, so we'll interpret that as winter.)

Above is my interpretation of the photo.  When I told my husband the brownish dots were cows, he said, "Ohhhh...."  Not reassuring.

Paints are: Prussian blue, cobalt, azo yellow, and quin burnt orange.  Paper is 300 lb Fabriano Hot Press.

Daffodils. Confused Daffodils.

Daffodils.  Watercolor & Crayon.
5 x 7 inches.

These daffodils started as a landscape, morphed into an abstract, and then finished out as flowers.  I wanted to mess around with blues and yellows and oranges, but didn't really have a plan, and was working fairly small.....hence the confusion.  They took a while to sort out what they really wanted to be...

Just for an idea, here's where things stood when I finished with the watercolor.  (I hope this link works....)

The painting wasn't coming together, but after I added the crayon, I think it hangs together.  I think it needed the shape and line.  (And, to be cropped a bit.)

Paint:  Manganese Blue Hue, Prussian Blue, Hansa Yellow Medium, Permanent Yellow Deep, and a touch of indian yellow.
Caran D'ache Crayon:  silver grey, dunkel beige, and indigo blue
Paper:  Fabriano 300 lb Hot Press Watercolor Paper

Fall Flowers--Cosmos

Cosmos.  Watercolor and Crayon.
10 x 13 inches.

While I wait for the leaves to turn, I've been looking at the swaths of black-eyed susans and cosmos planted in my neighborhood.  Next year, I'm putting in some cosmos.  They're whimsical and bold. Love that contrast.

I was trying for an all over pattern, but think the painting ended up too structured in the placement of the flowers.  I would say this has a weak composition.

It's cobalt and indigo blue, cadmium red orange, permanent yellow deep for paint (all daniel smith). The crayon colors are light green, white, and golden yellow.  The crayon is really just random marks over the tops so that it looks like feathery leaves.  (maybe... looks like feathery leaves!)

My kids are back in school, so hopefully I'll be posting more consistently.

Almost Fall

Almost Fall.  Watercolor.
6.5 x 9.75 inches

School started early this year, and my boys have been back at it for a week. I associate the start of school with fall, and am anxious to have some interesting colors starting to show up in the leaf canopy. Technically, it's been a wet and cool summer, and everything is still, well, green as can be. But, I'm starting to dream about fall.

Fabriano 300 lb rough paper, prussian blue, quin burnt orange, ultramarine blue, and indian yellow--all daniel smith.

Back to Lakes

Dream Lake.  Watercolor.
22 x 30 inches

I feel like I've been painting water all summer.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I'm ready for a new subject for a while....and as we head into fall, it's probably time to go back to paint some trees.

Here's a completely different version of the same thing.

Interesting how different two paintings can be with exactly the same palette, yes?

All are limited to three colors:  quinacridone gold, phthalo blue rs, and quinacridone red--all Daniel Smith.   All are on 300 lb Fabriano rough Watercolor Paper.

Angela Abstracted

Angela Abstracted.  Watercolor.
6 x 7.5 inches.

Every once in a while, I get a chance to stop by +Manifest Creative Research Gallery and Drawing Center for their open sessions.  It's a nominal cost, and it's good practice for forcing myself to paint what's actually in front of me.  (I don't typically do that, but the mental exercise, I think, makes me a better painter....)  I met Nancy Gamon there--she's got some of her current work up in her Etsy shop--go check her out. It's nice to go with a friendly face since I don't know anyone, and although, everyone's very nice, they're very good artists and it gets a wee bit intimidating.

Anyhow, I take three watercolors (in this case phthalo blue rs, quin pink, and nickel azo yellow), a brush, a towel, and a traveling palette--about the material I'd have if I was painting plein air.

The power was out!  If you live in Cincinnati, you've probably noticed the rain and storms....and, well, the power was out.  They relocated the model so there was a lot of natural light, and then rolled right into long poses.

For me, a long pose, is an excruciatingly long time to paint one piece.  Whew.  Have to work on that.

Here's my favorite of the two pieces I did that visit.

A Landscape Spec Painting, Take II

Into the Calm.  Watercolor.
Approximately 19 x 27 inches.

I've had another request for a large horizontal spec painting, which basically means, no money down, no obligation, and they'll buy it if they like it....

This is my second attempt.  I liked the first one, but they were not as enamored.  Here's the first one, which I never blogged about.....

Working on a spec painting that's a riff on a lake....This would be the first at size. Watercolor, approximately 17 x 29 inches.
Posted by Amy Bryce Watercolors on Monday, June 22, 2015

They're both riffs on a lake--can you tell?

They're also exactly the same palette, even though they have different emphasis on which colors shine.  It's Daniel Smith quinacridone gold, quinacridone red, and phthalo blue rs.  Both on Fabriano 300 lb rough paper

Not a Watercolor Painting.

This is not a watercolor painting....

Ok folks, I'm testing something I just set up on IFTT, so that my blogger posts automatically go over to Tumblr.  I needed a picture.  Thanks for your patience as I try and get it working.

(My kiddos at the Barenaked Ladies concert in MD on Friday night--the BNL were most entertaining.  We all enjoyed the concert.)

If you're ever looking for me other places:

I put finished pieces up on facebook.
Works in progress on instagram and twitter.
Lots of stuff I like (and a little bit of my work) is on pinterest.
And, am trying to get going with Tumblr.

And, a lot of this automated with IFTT.

OK, let's see if this works...

Speed Blog Entry

Chesapeake Bay Study IV.  Watercolor.
Approximately 5 x 7 inches

We're traveling right now, and staying at a cottage on Chesapeake Bay.  While the manly men we're out swimming, I was doing plein air sketches from a downed log.  This is the most realistic of the four I did....and, my favorite.  (It is a gray, gray day, and the sun was just barely trying to get out...the painting looks cheerier than the day, to tell you the truth)

We've seen osprey hunting, and spotted the same bald eagle twice.  Awesome.

Strathmore 140 lb paper (a sketch book), Daniel Smith phthalo blue red scale, raw sienna, and hansa yellow medium.

Is it abstract?

Jackmanii.  Watercolor.
10.5 x 5.5 inches. 

An interesting debate cropped up on a Facebook Group that I lurk in--what constitutes an abstract painting?  The debate had practical application as well--the Group's Admin was deleting posts with art that didn't qualify per his definition of abstract.  One side of the argument was that to be abstract, the art had to be entirely non-representational.  The other side, advocated that by definition, all paintings are abstract because they reduce three dimensional to two dimensional.

I think there's a broad spectrum--if you're a highly realistic painter, just about anything else is going to seem abstract, for example.  Ultimately, though, I think if you're the volunteer Group Admin, you can run your group however you please, and what the Group Admin decides counts as abstract is the definition.  

Anyhow, this is a pseudo-abstract--riffing off the clematis growing in my garden.

300 lb Fabriano hot press
Daniel smith quin gold, phthalo blue rs, carbazole violet, a little cobalt blue, and a touch of crayon.

Blue Roof

Blue Roof.  Watercolor.
4.5 x 4 inches.

Just a quick post.  Things have not slowed down yet--we have a major house project that started last Monday, the boys finished school this morning, and we've been had out of town guests (althoug, luckily, not staying with us.)  It's a major accomplishment to just paint.

Indigo, cobalt blue, and Indian Yellow (I think--my paint box is downstairs.)  It may be nickel azo....
On a scrap of....I'm not sure!  It's some kind of 300 lb paper, probably cold press.

Love A Pear....

Pear Apparent.  Watercolor.
Approximately 12 x 20 inches.

This painting is dedicated to Marilyn Bishop--we're part of the same critique group, and when I saw her last week, she'd done a painting inspired by some pomegranants I painted at the end of last year (call me flattered). I don't think I ever blogged about them, but they were up on facebook here.

The Challenging Part of Spring

To The Light.  Watercolor and Crayon.
5.5 x 9.5 inches.

It's been an incredibly busy spring.  As beautiful as the season is, it tends to be overwhelming. Added to the mix--I started a part time administrative job a few months ago, with a lovely pair of attorneys. Couldn't ask for nicer bosses, and I enjoy the job, but even after a couple of months, I haven't quite adjusted so that I can paint every day.  

Siberian Iris, Redux

Siberian Iris, Redux.  Watercolor.
10 x 6.5 inches.

Spring is sprung in Cincinnati, and the flowers are starting to bloom.  Each and every spring, I get caught in the iris.  It's hard to resist these flowers.  They seem to float.  You can see last year's painting here, and then one from last January here.

The best part about this painting, is that it's on hot press paper (Fabriano 300 lb) and there is not anything but watercolor.  I am going to conquer the hot press, thank-you very much.

Phthalo blue red scale, hansa yellow medium, and quinacridone pink--all by Daniel Smith.

It's not easy being green....

Blue Abstract.  Watercolor and Crayon.
7 x 10.5 inches.

Rats--I thought I'd posted this, and I had not.  It was sitting as a draft.  Here you go, a bit later than I intended....

I know, I know--that's a blatant rip off of Kermit and The Muppets.

I own green paint, I really do, but I've used it less and less over the last year or two.  When I reset my palettes recently, I put out two greens--one is phthalo green and the other is ....I can't remember, but that gives you an idea of how often I use it.....

When I sat down to paint, I was thinking abstract, and decided to try phthalo green, phthalo blue, and burnt umber (I think).  Then I threw in some quin pink.  Then--well it was not looking cohesive.  I ended up adding caran d'ache, and then more opaque grayed watercolors over the top.

It's on Fabriano hot press 300 lb watercolor paper.

Hot Press Paper

Layered Pears.  Watercolor and Crayon.

If you've been reading this blog, you've probably noticed that I've taken a shine to 300 lb Fabriano Rough Watercolor paper.  It is fantastic stuff.  You've probably also noticed that I often use an overlay of Caran D'Ache crayon. Also fantastic stuff.  The two don't necessarily go together, though. Crayon over rough paper produces a texture that is not always what I want in my painting, and even after adding water (the crayon is water soluble, and will spread like an opaque watercolor), you can frequently still see the texture.  See for example, this dusk painting, where the texture is highly visible in the painting.

Red Buds Spotted on the Hill

Red Buds On The Hill.  Watercolor.
Approximately 22 x 30 inches.

I live at the top of a hill.  If you weren't aware, the glaciers pretty much flattened most of Ohio, but stopped just shy of the southern part of the state.  As you travel south through Ohio on the expressways, it is flat, flat, flat, and then with no warning, it drops into hills.  

A Spring Storm Abstract

Spring Storm.  Mixed Media.
Approximately 22 x 30 inches.

Last week, on the way home from the grocery store, a huge storm front came in from the east.  (Now that I think about it--that's unusual, they usually come from the west.)  The trees were just barely starting to leaf out and were that particular vibrant first yellow-green, and juxtaposed against the storm looked pretty amazing.

Now you're probably wondering what the painting above has to do with that--well it started as that storm front, and then took off on its own adventure.  Apparently, my hand doesn't always listen to my brain.  This piece started as a straight up watercolor, then I added some crayon, then some acrylic, more crayon, and finally, I borrowed some opaque watercolors from Barb Smucker for a final layer. I'm still thinking about it.  I think I will add it to my dark and dense group of paintings.

Over The Rhine In Cincinnati

OTR Abstracted.  Watercolor.
Approximately 22x30 inches.

I was just down at the Pendelton Center in Over The Rhine for the first class in a workshop on painting abstracts. The class is by Barb Smucker, and it was a ton of fun.  She offers guidelines, but in the end, it comes down to no holds barred, try anything you want.  We're not working on producing "ART," but are trying various techniques.  Yesterday was all about line.  Black lines.  You'd be surprised about how many different ways there are to make black lines.  She had india ink and brushes and pens and charcoal and paint pens, and oil pastels, and....well, you get the idea.  I made a huge mess, and had a fantastic time.

Anyhow, as you drive down Pendelton St. to get to the Center, you can see a jumble of houses and buildings climbing the hill.  It was hard to resist, so I gave the painting a whirl last night.  I'm not sure I'm done.  Still thinking.  My boys laugh at the amount of time I spend thinking about paintings. They think it is quite over the top.  Still, I have to think on it.  In particular, I'm thinking about the sky line and the horizon line.

Another huge painting.  I don't know what I'm going to do with all these big paintings, but they're sure to paint.

The details:  Fabriano 300 lb Rough Watercolor Paper.  Daniel Smith Watercolors:  Indian Yellow, Perinone Orange, Manganese Blue Hue, Quinacridone Pink and Quinacridone Purple.

Seen Between Columbus and Cincinnati

Ohio Roadside.  Watercolor.
10 x 14 ish

Spring, for whatever reason, tips easily over into a frantic pace.  We barely have time to breathe, let alone sit down and relax.  I'm not sure if that's a symptom of our time, the age of our kids, or some undetermined factor.  But, it can be exhausting, and worse, hard to find time to paint.

Small Studies With Two Colors

A set of four paintings in ultramarine blue and quinacridone burnt orange (Daniel Smith).  All approximately 3 x 3 inches (ish) on Lanquerelle 140 lb cold press paper.  Done just to paint on a beautiful day.  

I find that I need my reading glasses more and more to use the computer, and then I'm torn about whether or not to paint with them.  I started these paintings without my glasses (bottom two) and finished with them.  I just can't decide.

Limited Palette Tulips

You Know It's Spring When....  Watercolor and Crayon
Approximately 21 x 29 inches

I've been trying to work much larger than I normally do--it's a challenge.  I had a request for a large painting on spec, and that's fine--I'd be painting anyways.  Part of the request was landscape versus portrait for size, and that's part of the challenge.   When I have my paint set out, I have to walk around the table to get to parts of the paper.  It's not especially efficient.

I also usually have a little (at least a little) control of my water and paint, and with the large size, it seems like this flies out the door.  Sections of the paper dry before I'm ready.   All of this leads me to think I should paint large more often.

I bought these tulips from Costco--they were bulbs is a large glass jar, and they helped when there was still snow on the ground.  Now things are starting to come up outside--yay!

The painting is on Fabriano 300 lb Rough, in ultramarine blue, indian yellow, permanent yellow deep, and quinacridone violet.  There is a touch of a peach caran d'ache crayon in the tulip bulbs.

And Back Again

Pink House (revised).  Mixed Media.
Slightly smaller than a full sheet!

I finally got my house where I'd like it to be.  It took three or four loop backs and major changes for the entire thing to hang together in an interesting manner.  Call out to  RH Carpenter for her feed back on an earlier version of this painting.

What did I change?  The house grew, the sky went dark.   The foreground went pinker and then darker.  I'm hoping I didn't get the caran d'ache crayon mixed into my paints.  There's a lot more crayon.  I put watercolor over acrylic, which hopefully will not peel or otherwise flake off.  In between, I tried more buildings, trees, a path......)

Part of my issue may be that I am fiscally conservative (you can interpret that as cheap--my kids say the cheapest mom in town), and when I paint so large, in the back of my mind is a chant--you're wasting a sheet, you're wasting a sheet.  I have to let that go.  It ruins the joy of the process.

Huh. The trials of working on a larger size....

Pink House.  Mixed Media.  In progress.
Approximately 20 x 32 inches.

I've been trying to get a full sheet painting organized, and it's a struggle.  I'm putting this up, but it's still a work in progress, and it's already on its third iteration.  It's watercolor, crayon, and acrylic.

I'm not sure it can be saved, but it can't hurt to try.  I think I'm going to back with some warmer colors in the foreground and maybe just over the horizon line.  I only own one acrylic brush, and about three colors, so that's not a huge option....but, I'll see what i can do with crayon.

Tulips to Abstract

Some Assembly Required.  Watercolor and Crayon.
About 12 x 20 inches.

I'm falling behind on my blogging. I have paintings, but I haven't gotten them up online. And, I find that if I don't do an entry right away, my memory is not fantastic for the colors I used. I need more hours in the day, or to waste less time, or both.

I was thinking about tulips when I started this. I have a bouquet of tulips from a friend, and am growing some bulbs that I picked up in costco. They're lovely. (Well, the bulbs have only put out green leaves, but still, lovely.) You can see, though, that the end result is not tulips. A friend said she thought it looked like a Robert Delaunay.   had to look him up, and think some of his work looks like Paul Klee's. Steal like an artist, and all that. I'm taking any similarities as a compliment.

Colors used are Daniel Smith Prussian Blue, Permanent Yellow Deep, and Quinacridone Violet. It's overlaid with three colors of crayon, a medium gray, a very light gray (almost white), and an orange. There's very little crayon compared to the amount of watercolor. It's on Fabriano 300 lb Rough Paper.