March 23, 2013 March 24, 2013

I have been playing with my watercolor crayons. I have been doing studies to see how the colors mix and behave when wet. I always have trouble working with green because its hard to get a range of values. I did not get a wide range of values but this was just FUN to do. It is on 5″ X 5″ Liquid watercolor paper. This one has multiple layers of crayon and I learned that each new layer can wash out the vibrant layer below and you loose texture with each new layer.

Green Study using Caran d’ Ache Crayons

Next I tried a study using analogous colors of blue. I love the results. The first layer was done by spraying the drawn on colors and using shrink-wrap to give texture. After this was dry I floated a small pour of paint over the center area. When I saw the results it spoke to me of a frosty winter morning. This is on 5″ X 7″ Liquid watercolor paper. Learning – don’t forget to leave some white!

Blue Study – Frosty Morning

Finally, I decided to work with reds and pinks and oranges and yellows. I’ve had difficulty capturing the vibrant, glowing Indiana autumn so that’s what I wanted to do with this one. I worked on 9″ X 12″ Arches CP paper. Here are the results.

Red Study – Indiana Autumn

So, I am learning and playing and enjoying and going back to my childhood, crayons in hand! What fun!

 

April 22, 2012 April 23, 2012

Good Morning to all my blogging friends. I have been going through a very dry spell lately – buried in one final tax return and administrative responsibilites for the docent program. I have not felt creative, just tired and worn out. When this happens, drawing or coloring seems to help rejuvenate me. Yesterday I decided to use a set of celtic stencils to create a postcard for my granddaughter who is out of town. I colored it with my Sharpie markers. I chose the colors carefully – green is her favorite color, blue is my favorite color, yellow is her mother’s favorite color and red represents her grandfather (not my husband – other side of the family) who is also suffering from cancer. I hope it looks interesting and cheerful. Like a family, all overlapping and woven together!

Celtic Design Postcard

 

September 17, 2011 September 21, 2011

I am trying to build up my stock of ATC’s so I have enough to give my rather large family at Christmastime. My latest subject is flowers and particularly geraniums. I’ve been walking around my yard with my camera shotting marigolds, geraniums, zinnas, tomatoes, anything that looks interesting. I’ve switched back to watercolor and am trying to paint shapes rather than individual petals. So far, so good.

Red Geranium - ATC

I do not normally do an underpainting for the ATC’s but in this case I did. It turned out pretty well…much better than a plain white background.

February 8, 2011 February 9, 2011

I am reading The Art & Life of Georgia O’Keefe by Jan Castro for the docent bookclub at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. We have three O’Keefe’s on display, including her fabulous Jimson Weed. She is one of my favorite artists and I love her floral paintings. I am caregiving for my brother-in-law, who just had knee replacement surgery, so I had time yesterday to complete a semi-copy of one of her oils. I have always liked the drama in this painting.

Red Leaf (ala O'Keefe)

I did not have the materials with me to do an actual copy so I started with a photograph from the book and then just worked on my own. I painted it in my wet media sketchbook and used my aquabrushes and a pan set of 12 watercolors. I also used colored pencil and watercolor markers. I am doing a lot of mixed media work right now and am going to have to start using the better materials in my studio to get back to watercolor painting. I can’t get the crisp line with these portable materials but they are great for what I’ve been working on. Finding the right “tool” is always the key to success!

 

January 23, 2011 January 24, 2011

Big day yesterday of trying to paint while watching football. I have not created an ATC (artist trading card) for several months so I decided to do one with a poinsettia as the subject. I painted it using the aquabrushes and the S&W pencils for the first step. I created a gray (grisaille) underpainting. I have never done this and did not really know how it would work but it turned out OK. There was more texture and detail than you can see in this scan.

Poinsettia ATC - Step 1

I painted the ATC in layers starting with the aquabrushes and watercolor crayons. I could not get deep, rich color so I embellished with colored pencil, marker and even a few strokes of Winsor Red.

Poinsettia ATC

I have learned to use whatever it takes to make the painting “right”.

January 13, 2011 January 15, 2011

During January I’ve posted two just completed paintings of tulips. I thought I would show you an older painting of tulips. This is my first original painting of tulips and, as you can see, I must have a thing for the RED tulips.

Red Tulips (2008)

I thought you might enjoy seeing how my work has progressed in two years. This particular painting found a very happy home with a local photographer who, unknown to us, had taken a photo of our dogs at the Farmer’s Market, modified it to look like a painting and then left it for us as a gift. I wanted to thank him so I matted this painting and gave it to him with a BIG round of applause and thanks. He told us later his wife was thrilled with my painting so it worked out as a win-win for everyone.

January 1, 2011 January 2, 2011

I have finished my Three Red Tulips watercolor…for now. I am putting it under a mat so I can see if it needs additional work. I am pretty happy with it at the moment. I am going to paint this a second time making two changes. First I want to work with a pastel palette and intend to make the tulips pink or yellow…probably yellow since I will learn a lot by painting shadows on yellow tulips. Second, Wric recommended that I paint the tulips (the main objects) before the background so I don’t struggle to make the objects look “up to” a dramatic background. I am going to follow that recommendation which I thought was very smart (gave me a duh moment!). So it will be paint tulips, mask tulips, paint background, remove mask and work entire painting. Thank you Wric for the recommendation!

Just a comment…the image I’ve included is scanned. When you see the actual painting the color transitions in the leaves and stem are smooth, not delinated like they look here.

Three Red Tulips - Final

Thoughts for 2011…I want to spend time focusing on landscapes this year – both realistic and abstract, both watercolor and acrylic. I want to continue my attempt to learn Sumi-e but with more dedication this year. I want to improve my skills as I learn from and am inspired by my fellow artists. I will continue to experiment with techniques, subjects and materials they explain so generously.

December 28, 2010 December 29, 2010

I finally started the painting I wanted to do of the three red tulips. I did not get very far (our waterheater had to be replaced this week!) but I have completed the background and am happy with the darkness and drama of it.

Three Red Tulips - Step 1

I used Frisket Masking Film to mask the flowers. I like this technique if the shape is simple. It lets me really lay down my darks. I am very timid without the safety the film provides. Something to work on!

December 10, 2010 December 12, 2010

Last Wednesday night Ken and I attended the Holiday Celebration held by the Southside Art League of Indianapolis (SALI). Great food, absolutely wonderful and frequently hilarious conversation and an artist art swap. We were all supposed to bring a 5″ X 7″ unframed piece of art. Each artist selected a wrapped artwork and I was very pleased with the artwork I selected. It is titled Three Red Tulips and is an 8″ X 10″ oil painting by Stanley Austin. Stan said this is the only floral he has ever painted so I was surprised it found its way to me. I hope you enjoy his beautiful painting as much as I have. I think I may try it in watercolor – simple, soft and cropped close. Thank you, Stan!

Three Red Tulips by Stanley L Austin

November 18, 2010 November 19, 2010

On October 20th I posted a painting I was working on. I was really having trouble with part of it and have been thinking and working on it off and on for several days. I think I have taken the painting as far as I can right now. I still don’t know if it is finished but for now I am calling it complete. I hope that, with all the work and rework, I have not lost the lovely glow of Indiana in the autumn.

Indiana Autumn