Rooster Fun!

Rooster With A Checkered Past
Gouache on Aquabord. Sold. 

Artist Note. 

This is a painting that was in a
Rooster show
almost two years ago.
Decorative and fun to do!

I have almost finished
transferring
"art stuff"
from my home studio
into my downtown studio.
One more weekend should do it.

I have been listening to old episodes
Of the Savvy Painter Podcasts.
The one on Gamblin paints
link below is very interesting
Podcast

And for those who follow
Jillian Morrow
on Shifting Light
 will enjoy this great interview
Podcast with Julian

I hope you enjoy
Savvy Painter. 
There are
Some really interesting
interviews on there.
AND
The amazing
Carol Marine is the juror.
for their upcoming competition 
information HERE

Valentine Nest - gouache.

Valentine Nest

6x6in gouache on aquabord  $110. SOLD

Artist Note.

I am still on the 

valentine/love theme.

I love bird nests. 

They are truly a passion of mine.

I collect them and 

I marvel at them.

I paint them for my own pleasure

in all media and viewpoints.

Even so, this one is 

a bit different for me.

An imaginary nest.

I tried to make the nest 

look as if it was floating

over a diffused background.

The heart shape stands for love

The broken egg is symbolic

of a new life started 

from that love.

The idea for a nest shaped 

like a heart happened

when I saw this nest

I think the heart shaped 

interior was created by the

compression of the branches.

Anyway - it spoke to me.

I started off with exploring

some ideas with 

watercolor on Yupo 

It is a fabulous surface

to work out ideas on

because it is so forgiving

and lends itself easily

to make changes.

My first sketch

  I wondered what less color

would be like

so wiped away the background 

and left a border

Next I thought I would try 

for an abstract shapes

thinking tree bark

Still not speaking to me so I 

wiped it all off leaving 

the interior eggs,

Cleaning up even more

with paper towel

and took it down to a heart

with eggs.

From exploring through 

these ideas I had a better sense

of how I wanted to 

my nest to look. 

The background not as bright

 as the blue and not as 

geometric as the bark one.

I realized I had never altered

the interior -

the broken egg shell was

 important

so I went with keeping 

it as the focal area.

Then I painted it on the 

aquabord...not as forgiving!

Watercolor Pleasure

Trio

6in x6in gouache on Aquabord 

Painted just for me!

Artist Note.

From my nest collection... 

a little jewel 

with a turquoise strand 

woven through it

 adds a touch of color

against the neutral 

grasses and twigs.

I added Chinese White  

to my watercolors to add 

the body I like.

Aquabord is perfect for 

this, and takes a protective

wax finish beautifully.

My daughter and a friend 

are in to help celebrate

my birthday so I will be

having too much fun

to reply to any comments!

I know you understand.

Rooster With A Checkered Past

Rooster With A Checkered Past

7x5" gouache on paper  SOLD

Painting in a decorative style.

Artist Note

This was for an invitational show 

I had previously 

committed to be part of. 

 It had a rooster theme.

" Something to Crow About" 

This was painted at the last moment

and the mere fact I painted

something I could use 

 I credit to the solid advice and 

sharing I received from some 

wonderful, caring artists 

regarding my call for help in 

my last post.

The comments are quite

 remarkable in their candor and 

genuine desire to help

by sharing of their own 

experiences.

It allowed me to see that 

many others fight through it 

what ever it is -not a block

in the usual way because 

painting is still fun,

but equally insidious in the doubt

it creates about the future.

Following much of the advice, 

I changed my focus

and media and just painted with 

no wipe-offs.

The Rooster was number 3.

It was so different from my regular 

work I did not have to be

judgmental about  it.

Another tip was to get away from

my regular routine, sooo...

we went on a trip for Easter. 

I still had to 

paint in the car... can't not do that!

But instead of painting the landscape 

like I usually do

I took along a plant a friend had given 

me and painted large.

This was on the way there.

The glove compartment came in handy!

I painted different flowers of the way back.

I will show those in the next post.

Once again a HUGE thanks to all those 

who took the time to send helpful advice 

either by email as well as the blog. 

I do not know how 

long my weird state will last, but at least 

now I do know 

and trust that it will pass and I will 

still have my passion for my art.

I am so truly grateful for the 

amazing artists who blog.

I am blessed.

Spider Mum - Watercolor Workshop. Day 15

Spider Mum

13x17in 

mixed water-media on rag paper.

Different for me I know.

This is a workshop painting and is still 

not finished. I may have to do some tweaking 

after I have time to look at it.

Artist Note.

It was an exciting and very busy day.

The instructors are

two award winning sisters

who have a mission to free

artists from the constrains of 

the traditional, and introduce

new methods to achieve 

creative fulfillment.

Their motto is 

COURAGE LOOKS GOOD!

Today, the first of two days out of four,

were with

Nancy Frost Begin

(Click her link at bottom)

The painting above was worked on top 

of an old painting which we had varnished.

I went freely into it with

great inspiration after watching Nancy's 

amazing demo using gouache.

She applied it in a certain way and then

 moved some around with various tools

allowing random areas of the original

painting to show through. 

This created beautiful abstract areas. 

My flower would look dorky on a regular

background, but I feel this method

provided some oomph!

Tomorrow we try another exciting method

involving tempera paint and permanent black ink.

Check out Nancy's amazing work 

Nancy Frost Begin

Painting in the Car - Tips.

A Decorated Nest

6x6in Casein. Gifted.

My daughter gave me this nest earlier this year.

The bright blue coated wire,

woven into the nest, had caught 

her eye as she was doing yard work.

 I have been wanting to paint it so

 I took it on the trip to paint when we drove 

through a long, boring area.

Before this happens though we go 

thru a really beautiful area called the Hondo Valley.

Some of the Wyeth Family 

have lived and painted there.

My goal, as I pass through, is to capture

shapes and colors only. It is impossible 

to get a finished painting, but easy

to look ahead and gather enough

info to maybe use in the studio. 

Besides...time flies by when I am painting!

On the way there...

snow on way back...

Looking ahead gave me time to get basic 

shapes quickly blocked in.

When we got closer I could see tree shapes

and I scrubbed those in as we whizzed 

past at over 75mph. 

(Memory painting becomes important 

when my hubby is at the wheel!)

I found a wonderful water holder which does 

not splash around during bumpy areas.

The lids are attached (bliss) 

It has two chambers - quite marvelous!

And the lid allows the inevitable

sloshing around without spills.

It fits in the pochade box below.

(See the nest peeking at the side.)

the watercolor container

see HERE

This box is a treasure for travel.

see HERE

mine holds a 6x8 board but different sizes

are available.
Shown is a sable travel brush
(with a metal handle)
I rest the box a lap tray. One of those with a
cushion on one side. Comfy and stays put.

I will show the snow study in the next post.

Solitude - 30 Day Challenge

Solitude

7x5in gouache on paper  NFS

This the first for the 30 Day Challenge.

I have not decided if this is finished or not.

It was a very quick sketch 

Artist Note.

I did not join the last two Challenges

because of my previous Challenge experience.

My fault entirely.

It was pressure I placed on myself 

to do all thirty...on time!

I found my quality suffered and the creativity 

which was there at the start, quickly diminished.

So why do this one then?

Because I had encouraged some other 

guild members to do it,

assuring them it does not matter if

they do not complete one a day, 

and feel I should 

 at least accompany them on their journey.

So this time, if life gets in the way and I miss

a day, it's okay...

I will not march myself into the tower of London!

The Challenge has become so large that 

there is no way I can get to see all the artists.

Not enough time.

Thats a shame because I hate to miss out on 

 seeing someone's work I may like. 

I think I read  there were over 

600 artists from 17 countries.

I encourage you to click on the link to see

all the paintings. (You have to scroll down.)

30 day Challenge

Good luck and lots of enjoyment to all participating.