No. 9--The last roses of the season.

No. 9--The last roses of the season.  Watercolor.
About 12 inches square.

No. 8--Ragweed

No. 8--Ragweed.  Watercolor and Crayon.
Approximately 10.5 x 8 inches.

There weren't a lot of flowers available in my yard, so I ended up with a couple of droopy ragweed blooms.  It may not be ragweed--it's an OH native that blooms in the late summer, you can see a picture and a first cut of the painting on Instagram here.  I got a bit from one of my boys' second-grade teachers when she subdivided a bunch from a small plot at their elementary school.

I need more vases.  I'm only 8 into my 100 bouquets, and I am wishing for another vase! You can see where else this one has made an appearance here and here.

Daniel Smith watercolor--ultra marine blue, hansa yellow medium, pemanenty yellow deep, and burnt umber.  Plus some crayon over the top.

No. 6--Butterfly Weed

No. 6--Butterfly Weed.  Watercolor.
Approximately 13 inches square.

No. 5--The Demo

No. 5--The Demo.  Watercolor.
Matted to 20 x 24 inches

Last month, and that probably gives it away that I'm way, way, way behind on my administrative type tasks, I visited the Colerain Art Club to give a demo.  This was my first ever talk while painting in front of a knowledgeable crowd, and they were incredibly kind since I was so nervous and panicked. I used to paint and talk when I painted with a group, but now I typically paint by myself.

You can see some iterations of this piece in my practice painting, and then my first final version. Then I decided to go back with some opaque watercolors and lighten things up in the background.

Two days later I went and did a show, and then collapsed in a heap and didn't paint for a while.

Anyhow, because I took this painting along with me, it's already matted.  It's fairly large.

Tulips Revised

Tulips Revised, Watercolor & Crayon.
Approximately 18 x 22 inches

I originally painted these tulips in 2015, and if you're an artist, you probably know that to some extent, paintings are never done.  There's almost always one more thing....

Anyhow, I had this out for a show, and it was bugging me, so I went back in with some Van Dyck Brown to enrich and deepen the background.  And, if you ask me it looks better cropped down.

Look at the previous version and tell me what you think.....

No. 3--Redbud Branch

No. 3--Redbud Branch.  Watercolor.
Approximately 15 inches square.

The eastern redbuds are blooming in Cincinnati.  It seems early, which very well may be since it's been an extraordinarily warm winter.  I love this tree.  We've planted two here, and had planted two when we lived in Oklahoma.  I wish I knew if the trees were still going in OK, or if the subsequent owners took them out.  They were still very small when we left, so I wouldn't be surprised if they're gone--I'm sure they resembled scrub brush, and they'd never gotten big enough to bloom.

One of the things I like most is how the trees provide such a burst of color, but when you get up close, the blooms are tiny clusters.  Barely there.  When there are a lot of trees they look like a ribbon of color.

A note about brushes.  My very favorite brush at the moment in an Isabey 1 inch flat pure kolinsky sable.  I use it 99% of the time, and for some reason, they appear to not be available anywhere....hmmm.  I took my brush on a field trip last week (see here) and hadn't put it back yet--so instead, I did this painting with a squirrel mop brush.  I'm a loose painter to begin with, and going to a mop brush forces me even looser.  It's fun.

Quin Burnt Orange, Quin red, and Indanthrone blue on Fabriano 300 lb rough watercolor paper.

No. 2--Daffodils Abstracted

No. 2--Daffodils Abstracted.  Watercolor.
Approximately 12 x 10 inches.

Fearlessly marching ahead with #100bouquets.  Rather than making things up, I'm continuing working from set still life.  You can see my set up HERE.  (I tried embedding the instagram post, but that did not work, and I had to start from scratch twice.  Enough of that.)

You'll notice that I'm not super tied to the set up, which is my preference.  My style is definitely free-for-all, with lots of bleeds and mixing on the page.  I was also stymied by the fact that I took my model photo with my nose to the counter, which is not how I want to paint.  The point of view of the painting and the photo are different.

I don't own that many vases, so you'll be seeing them repeat.  This vase is from Neusole Glassworks, which is located in Forest Park.  The daffodils are from my front yard.

I'm not just painting flowers.  (That would be boring!) It just happens to be what I've been blogging about.

Paint:  Carbazole Violet, isoindoline yellow, lemon yellow, cobalt, undersea green, all Daniel Smith.
Paper:  Fabriano 300 lb Rough

No. 200 and No. 1--Orange Flowers From Kroger

No. 1 Orange Flowers From Kroger.  Watercolor.
Approximately 30 x 22 inches.

This is my 200th blog post.  I'm metaphorically patting myself on the back!  I never imagined where I'd be when I started this blog about watercolor in October of 2012 .

I've met some fabulous people electronically (Rhonda Carpenter and Laura Starrett, I'm thinking of you), and painted and painted, and painted.  I think I'm getting better.  I'll check back in another 5 years.

My paintings are getting more and more abstract, so logically, I'm starting a project that's literal.  #100bouquets. I'm taking this up after following Lauren Everett Finn's similar efforts.  This is my first, and it's on a full sheet.  I figure to take about a year to get this done, although I reserve the right to take more time.  I like to paint flowers, but they all just froze, which doesn't bode well, and I tend to get distracted.

Fabriano 300 lb rough watercolor paper.  Daniel Smith, quin burnt orange, quin red, isoindoline yellow, nickel azo yellow, and phthalo blue rs.

Coneflowers

Coneflowers.  Watercolor & Crayon.
Approximately 12.5 x 10 inches

Flowers In a Blue Pot

Flowers in a Blue Pot.  Watercolor (with a touch of crayon)
Approximately 12 x 8 inches.

I haven't been painting a lot over the last month or so.  Painting block?  Busy?  Distracted?  Maybe a combination of all those things, but technically, I just haven't been able to explain it.

I'm going to try and get back to it more consistently, so here for your Monday enjoyment, is a floral watercolor.  It started as clematis (which are blooming outside my kitchen window, and I've painted before), but morphed into something else.

It's phthalo blue rs, indigo, quin pink, and quin gold.  Plus a touch of green crayon in a few spots in the top of the painting.  On Fabriano 300 lb rough paper.

Siberian Iris

Siberian Iris 2016.  Watercolor.
About 15 x 9 inches.

Every spring, I end up painting Siberian Iris, which are blooming in my garden (sometimes, I cheat and paint them before they start to bloom....).   You can see previous year's paintings HERE, HERE and HERE.

This particular version is a little stark, if you ask me, but I was actually looking at the iris as I painted them.... Usually I look and then go off and paint without revisiting reality.  I love that as an artist reality can be extremely fluid.  Sometimes, though, it's a good exercise to try and capture a little more of the garden.

Phthalo blue rs, hansa yellow medium, and carbazole violet on Fabriano 300 lb rough watercolor paper.

Why I Paint--Part II

With Spring Rain.  Watercolor and Crayon.
Approximately 8.5 inches square.

The Annual Spring Bouquet

Spring Bouquet.  Watercolor.
Approximately 9.5 x 7 inches.

Day 26--30 Paintings In 30 Days. Flowers From Kroger.

Flowers From Kroger. Watercolor.
Approximately 9.5 x 12.5 inches.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Bouquet Abstracted

Bouquet Abstracted, Watercolor.

I mentioned last post that my computer is dead as a doornail, and that I'm using my gracious husband's until I decide what to do.  I've got a work around going, but am missing (really, really missing) gimp, which is a free photo editing program, that is a good alternative to photoshop.   I am using pixlr to do my editing (because I can use the web, and do not need to install the program on this computer).