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. 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.

Day 12 of 30. Tea and Lemons

Tea and Lemons.  Watercolor with a smidge of crayon.
Approximately 9.5 x 8.5 inches.

Almost half way through the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge, and I'm 12 for 12.  Whoop, whoop! I'm proud of myself. You'll notice that I don't blog in detail about most of them.  You can see the entire set so far on instagram.

The one drawback to instagram is my phone's camera, which is not fantastic.  In low light or miserably cloudy days, the colors on instagram are off despite my best efforts at correcting them through limited brightness adjustments.

Anyhow, like the colors and messiness of this.  Quin pink, hansa yellow medium, and manganese blue hue on Kilamanjaro 300 lb cold press paper.  There's a touch of crayon for line in the mug and along the edge of the cutting board.

I have not been doing a ton of still lifes--out of 12, this is my second.  Bonus, I sold my apples. (Another whoop!)

Enjoy the day!

Day 2 of 30: Three Apples

Three Apples.  Watercolor.
Approximately 7 x 10 inches.

For the third January running, I'm participating in 30 paintings in 30 days.  It's hosted by Leslie Saeta, and you can check out the artist participating here.  I highly recommend it if you need some kind of push to get going.  It's an excellent exercise.

The painting above is from Day 2, and is the 5th painting I've done using the palette of quin gold, phthalo blue rs, and quin red.  You can see an example of one on my blog here.  Others are on Instagram.

This is also the 2nd still life I've done of late.  I usually paint without any reference, but every once in a while I need to loop back through a reality based painting framework to revisit shapes and composition.  I'm not sure it helps, but I struggle with getting almost too loose otherwise.

Here's to a great start of a New Year, cheers!

The Annual Spring Bouquet

Spring Bouquet.  Watercolor.
Approximately 9.5 x 7 inches.

Still Life On Yupo

Pears on Yupo.  Watercolor.
Just under 11 x 14 inches.

Can you save a painting? Maybe.

Upside Down Creamer.  Mixed Media.
Approximately 8 x 8 inches. 

Still Lifes--Two Pears and an Orange

Two Pears and an Orange.  Watercolor.
Just smaller than 9 x 12 inches.

I had to take a little break.  After finishing 30 paintings in 30 days (ok, for me it was 24 paintings in 30 days, but still a super productive month) I had to get ready for a show, and then I was so tired, I just needed to breathe for a minute.

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

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

Day 4--30 Paintings in 30 Days. 4 Red 1 Green

4 Red 1 Green.  Watercolor.
Approximately 10.5 x 12 inches.

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.

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.

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 A Few Painterly Resolutions For 2015

Three Oranges.  Watercolor.
Approximately 8 x 11 inches.

As 2014 closed, I looked back.  Today, it's the first day of 2015.  Since it's a clean slate, this post is about looking forward and setting a few goals.

Oranges and Grapefruit

Oranges and Grapefruits.
Watercolor.  

Yesterday, I got together with a group of fellow artists for critique.  It wasn't the whole group, but Marilyn Bishop, Rama Desai, Nancy Wisely, Sherry Stoffer, Margie Carleton, Diana Marra, Andrea Chemero, Barb Smucker (fearless leader and organizer), Roxanne Brett, and Taylor Bush were able to be there.  Many of them aren't online, but if they are, I've tried to include links.  A lot of them read this blog--big grin.

Before Coffee

Before Coffee.  Watercolor and Crayon.
10x8 inches

I set up a still life, and then it went all abstrac-tish on me.  I'm not sure why, either, which as the painter, I'd sure like to be able to articulate why I'm doing what I'm doing.   

Starting to Plan for 2015

SOLD:  Pear I, Watercolor and Crayon.
A 5x7 inch greeting card.

I have just over 2 years worth of posts on this blog, and this will be my 82 post. If you're a reader, you've probably noticed that I primarily write about what I've been working on (and why).  I'd really like to start mixing it up a little bit more by devoting a post or two a month to other things.

Some of the things I'd like to talk about? First--other artists! There are people doing some incredible, inspiring work all around the world; I get bored talking about myself (honestly, I don't like to talk about myself, period.); and, it can be fun to learn about other artists' processes and work.

Secondly--stuff around the web--useful tools, things that I'm doing, and things that I've learned. Why? Well, partly because this blog serves as a record for me (admittedly, it's kind of public). But also because I think readers may be interested. Maybe not... Your eyes may be glazing.

I'm going to start with a change I just made to my blog. I added a blog list. I owe a huge thank-you to Laura, over at Laura's Watercolors--she listed me as part of her blog list, which has led to a lot of visitors for me.  Go look--her animal paintings are especially lovely.  You'll also see Jane Blundell, who does some very interesting color studies, and Carol Marine, who is a daily painter. I'll add more over the next few months..

Anyhow, stay tuned.  I'll see what I can get organized.  In the mean time, here's a little work by me that's gone off to a new home.

Two Pears And An Apple

I had a full sheet set out this morning, and could not decide what to paint.  I pulled two pears and an apple out of the fruit bowl and fridge (the apple), and set them on the opposite end of the paper.  It's a study in yellow, blue, and purple.  The painting is alla prima (no drawing) and I started by establishing the shapes with the yellow (indian yellow) and then adding more definitive shapes and shadows.  It's approximately 14 x 10 inches on Fabriano 300 lb rough paper.

At one time, I was doing a lot of these still lifes, which you can see here and here.  Lately, I haven't painted as many, but I probably need the discipline of the shapes and values.  Watch for a few more.    

From the Kitchen Table to the Window Sill

About the time I started writing this blog, I posted about a series of still lifes I was painting  from objects I set out on my kitchen table.  Every once in a while, I'd loop back around and do another still life.

Then I just got away from still lifes.  I've been working on getting my paintings looser after several years of getting tighter.  And, as part of that, I've been trying a lot of imagined or abstract paintings.

But, yesterday my neighbor gave me a bag of tomatoes, and I set some out on the window sill. They are an intense orange red against the white and blue gray of the window balanced against the green outside.  They shout (almost scream) end of summer.  I had to try painting them.  The painting is alla prima, in just a couple of hours, and measures about 11.5 inches square. 

And, just in case you're wondering...did you know there is a whole class of paintings called "Widow Sill Paintings?"  And, there's a whole movement called "Paintings In A Day?"  I've hit two milestones!