Relax!

It was “rewarding” to complete a page in my Alphabet Journal this week…

But then I “realized” that there was something missing! 😮

“R” you wondering WHAT that is?!

Well, while I was preparing for my weekend “retreat” at the lake, I discovered a “remarkable” feather…. so I got out my bird feather book:

And in my “research” I discovered the identity of the “Rare” bird from Wednesday:

I hope this gives you a smile today!  🙂

Relax and enjoy your weekend…

Cheers Friends!

One Red-Hot Radish

I purchased some radishes at the store this week so I could draw them as they do start with the letter, “R”!

I decided to paint one of them with my Rembrandt watercolor paints and pasted it in my Alphabet Journal:

It was so much fun that I decided to paint another one and splatter some paint around my handmade art journal:

I hope you splash some paint around this weekend!

Cheers! 🙂

Painting Progress

I’m making progress on the two acrylic flower paintings on canvas that I started last week that you can find, here.

I’m adding details with soft pastels which is a fairly new medium for me.  But first, I added a layer of Liquitex clear gesso over the acrylic painting.  It is like a pastel ground.  It dries clear but feels a little like sandpaper to the touch.  Without it, the pastels aren’t as vibrant.

Here is my liquid lava one:

And the more subdued one:

I’m not sure if they are done.  I will let them rest a few days to see how I feel about them.  If I am done, I will spray them with a fixative.

Take time to smell some flowers today – if only in your imagination!  🙂

A Single Rose

A rose speaks of love silently, in a language known only to the heart. – Anonymous

My husband and I recently celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary.  Every year he buys me a bouquet of beautiful roses.  I am always very touched by his thoughtfulness.  🙂

This rose I have growing in my yard.  I painted it in watercolor last year.  I love how the shadows dance on the leaves and petals in this photo.  Maybe I will try painting it in acrylics and adding collage to it this year.

It seems kind of complicated to me though so I could use your painterly advice!  Thanks friends!

And may you have a Sunny Sunday!  🙂

Wine And Flowers

I recently completed a mixed media painting that I’m calling, “Wine and Flowers.”

I discovered during the process of completing this painting that some paintings must “age” just like a bottle of fine red wine.  It was a long process to get to the point that I was satisfied with it.  The size is 16 x 20 inches on canvas.

I thought you might enjoy seeing my process.  I started by covering the canvas with 2 greens using Liquitex Heavy Body Paints.  I then drew a quick sketch with soft vine charcoal and just started adding to the shapes with Golden Fluid Acrylics:

I found that it helped me to buy a few flowers for inspiration even if I wasn’t painting them exactly.  It was fun to add a few drips for what I call the syrupy stage on the left.  Next, I added some collage papers as you can see on the right.  I used my gelli-printed deli papers for my collage and glued them with Liquitex Matte Medium.  I added collage to the flowers, the wine bottle, the flower vase, wine glasses and the bowl for the grapes.

This painting was an experiment to add collage papers in between my layers of paint.  Unlike my last painting that I added all the collage papers at the end.  I then added more paint to soften the collage papers – below, left photo.  Then I got a little crazy and decided to add some white paint because the painting was looking like I didn’t have a good focal point – too many colors!

I call this state the “ugly stage” because it is when I add many layers to find the right balance in my painting – much like a winemaker blends the grapes together to create the ideal wine.

As you can see I first added more paint and then more collage papers to the above photos.  I also tried to consider what direction my light was coming from which I decided from the right – even though this is not an still life, I think it helps to direct the eye.

It was still looking pretty wild so I added a light yellow house paint sample to the background and a purple to the table.  I then scrapped off the paint and scratched into it with the end of my paint brush as you can see below on the left.  This was a totally spontaneous experiment and I loved the result!  I added two colors of Golden fluid translucent paints to warm up the painting as you can see on the right:

It now has an Oaxacan feel to me that I like.  So I added a little more collage to the vase, grapes and wine glass stems.  (Using part of a map that I previously gelli-printed).  In addition, I added details with soft pastels and soft vine charcoal.  I added a few highlights with white charcoal pencil and signed my name.

To finish it, I added several layers of Krylon Low Odor Clear Finish.  It seems to keep the vibrancy of the soft pastels the best.

Now you can see why it took me several weeks to complete this painting.  I think it’s time to celebrate with a glass of wine!

Cheers Friends!!!  🙂

Beyond Doodles!

When I was in Oaxaca, we took  a trip to San Martin Tilcajete to see a village of woodcarvers who made exquisite alebrijes, (Spanish pronunciation: [aleˈβɾixes]) which are fanciful hand-carved wooden sculptures made out of soft copal wood.

The hand-painted patterns were amazing on these fantastic creatures!  It required a steady hand and good eyesight to create such stunningly beautiful designs such as these finished pieces:

I thought you might enjoy seeing how they were made by these very skilled artists.  First the soft copal wood is carved using a machete, a chisel and a knife  – such as this carver using a knife:

Details of bulls that were carved and waiting for the next step:

Once they are carved, the cracks in the wood are filled with a putty.  These have been sanded and are waiting to be painted – you can see samples of the copal wood behind them.  There are male and female trees with different scents and softness.

The sculptures are painted a base color(s) before the patterns are meticulously hand-painted.  It was wonderful to watch them steadily paint such amazing details using vibrant colors with skilled hands:

I thought this bull was fantastic:

We got to try our hand at painting a small animal – here is my rabbit on the left – not easy to keep a steady hand!  So I purchased this small lizard that someone else created…

One of the many things that impressed me about this place was the beautiful gardens that surrounded the artisans:

It was a paradise of beauty in itself – so many colors, shapes and patterns:

I hope you enjoyed my little tour!  And if you would like to find out more about the alebrijes, check out this link from Wikipedia at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alebrije

Happy Doodling!  🙂

 

Big Bold Blooms

I finished my first flower painting yesterday from an online class I’m taking from Lynn Whipple called, “Big Bold Bloom Wild Painting.” It is a 5-week class that ends next week but I’d really encourage you to take it if you like painting flowers.  Lynn’s enthusiasm is contagious!

Here is my finished painting on a 24 x 30 inch canvas:

It is the first time that I have ever painted flowers this big and I absolutely loved it!  It is amazing how great it looks in my dining room, huh?

I thought you might enjoy seeing some of my progress photos.

I started by creating an underpainting of bold shapes in muted colors and then drew a rough sketch with soft vine charcoal:

I’m using Behr house paint samples from Home Depot which is a fabulous idea from Lynn Whipple.  I also used some of my Golden Fluid Acrylic paints in my next steps:

It was fun to add drips and splatters!  I then painted a soft gray color around the flowers, added a tabletop and some soft pastels:

I continued to tweak it until I was satisfied with it.  I then sprayed it with a fixative which did darken some of the pastels but I am still very pleased with it:

I’d love to hear what you think!

Happy Spring!  🙂

Blue Rain

Grab your umbrella, friends!

I was trying a new technique with one of Picasso’s blue period paintings…

But this lady looks like she was caught in an unexpected downpour of blue rain!

Some days I just have to laugh!  😉

Happy Puddle Jumping!

Painted Leaves

Last year I did a leaf study of autumn leaves in watercolor that I previously posted.  You can see it here.

I wanted to try it again this year!  Below is my photo of 3 leaves that I used as my reference:

And here is my watercolor painting:

I need to go back and add a second coat of watercolor paint to my Maple leaf but overall, I am pleased with my results.

Happy Creating!  🙂

Quick Flower Sketches – Part 2

I hope you enjoyed my quick flower sketches from yesterday!

Today, I sketched an arrangement of “Peonies and Orchids” in charcoal:

I then painted it with my fingers and acrylic paint:

I thought it needed a little something more, so I added a few color pencils for definition:

It has an oriental feel to me.  What do you think?!  I’d love to hear from you!

Happy Painting!  🙂