Blessings Are Everywhere.

Blessings Are Everywhere

watercolor on Yupo

Sold

First, let me wish you all 
a grateful and peaceful

Thanksgiving

Every 7 years it falls on my birthday

and this year is THE one.

My daughter will be doing the cooking!

Artist Note

I painted this one in the car going

to and from the dentist. 

A trip of an hour each way.

It was almost finished 

by the time I got home

(as you can see in the car photo.)

I spent another hour tweaking it

in the studio. 

I really, really like it,

partially because it is 

totally from my imagination.

Pulling on my memory of shapes

and movement of the birds, etc

It is larger than 

my usual daily paintings 

and when matted and framed

I hope it will continue to please me.

Steps

to start...

I deliberately used a staining blue

and took it right across

the page and then lifted it off leaving 

a light blue foundation.

Next, using a big brush I 

placed puddles of 

yellow pale

transparent orange oxide 

and transparent brown oxide

then fractured into them.

I lifted off the shaped of the birds 

with a paper towel and water.

I then began the details...

the fun part, but also what takes

the longest and is the most absorbing

with all the decisions to be made.

Valentine for a Friend - Yupo

 Valentine

6x7in Alcohol Ink /Yupo  NFS

Artist Note
Continuing the Valentine theme.

I am busy painting my Valentine Cards
 for close friends.
In the one above I only used
two colors - red and orange,
 plus white.
I have no idea how the greenish circles
appeared - honest. I happened when I
dropped the orange on top
of the red.
Obviously the
white mixed with the red
produced the pink!

The biggest surprise was the raised white
area within the heart.
I was trying to cover up
a splatter error I had cleaned
off and it had left a slight stain
 I love the texture.
Don't know if I can repeat it.

Hearts became a well known series for
Pop Artist Jim Dine.
I did own one of his early ones...
 a lovely watercolor, and enjoyed
it for a few years before
trading it for another painting.

I was lucky enough to go on an
artists tour to see his
apartment in Los Angeles
in the early 80's and he was into
painting Robes as well as Hearts.
The robes were HUGE.
I  loved the way
he had framed them and
had them hanging in his
own place.

Pop Art is a fun period to
look  back at,
I have two links if interested.
First one showing diversity of his work
The second one below the art image
shows some of his hearts

click HERE
https://www.artsy.net/artist/jim-dine


Jim Dine's (b.1935) Untitled
Three hearts.
I love this one.

Poal Webb's post on
Jim Dine

My First Alcohol Ink Painting - Koi.

Koi.

9"x9"

alcohol ink on Yupo NFS

Artist Note
My first time with the alcohol inks.
I found the inks powerful
in saturation, luminous
and tricky to work with.
I can see the benefits of
experimenting especially on
the Yupo paper.

Last week I joined
some  painting
 buddies on a trip
to Santa Fe to paint the
aspen leaves turning gold.
Aspen???
Guess what interested me more...
remembering I have been involved
with a series from the
waterlily pond?
Yep - my mind was still
on the water reflections and fish.
Funny how I couldn't just
be attracted to anything else.
A series is a series!

For those of you who have
never been to
Santa Fe
 there is a gallery
with a magical sculpture garden.

Formally known as the Fenn Gallery
It is now the Nedra Matteucci Gallery.
I have been visiting there for many
years. Look how gorgeous it is.
(click to enlarge).

I did do a plein air of the aspens
up by the ski area.

And loved seeing all the 

Chamisa  (rabbit grass)

in full bloom.

I encourage you to treat

yourself and

explore the link

Nedra Matteucci

 Gallery

 I am going to enjoy catching up 

with everyone's blogs.

Mums for Mother's day - Watercolor

Mums for Mother's Day

9x12 watercolor on Yupo NFS

Artist Note
My very special mother loved
this soft color of the classic
 chrysanthemum.
Long gone, she remains very much
alive in my grateful heart and mind.

Wishing all mothers a very happy DAY.

Tulip Study on Yupo

Tulip Study

9x12in watercolor on Yupo Paper

unfinished

Artist Note

These beautiful purple tulips 

caught my eye because I had been 

using the color magenta with the 

Phthalo Blue limited palette.

Although I really like the top part 

of this painting

I am going to put it on one side

and think about how to solve the 

lower area.

I am warming up on Yupo 

to try painting 

CROWS!!!

Watercolor - Pansy Study

Pansy Study

8x7in watercolor on Yupo paper NFS

Artist Note

I have been trying to figure out how to do '

the pansies on this slick Yupo paper. 

For those of you who do not know what it is like,  

visualize a thin sheet of smooth,

white, flexible plastic. 

The stuff is great for abstract and 

non-representational art because 

the paint floats on the surface. 

The mingling of colors happens beautifully.

Flat areas are quite doable and 

 neat edges are formed where a puddle ends, 

but try to do a more impressionistic style 

of layering and it looks pretty messy 

right off the bat because

the darn paint lifts off when you don't want it to.

BUT 

that is also exactly the beauty of using it

...to be able to lift the paint cleanly off 

to get back to the white.

Here I slightly stained everywhere but 

the main white pansy first and lifted off 

smaller white areas - trying make sure 

that nothing 

competed with the focal pansy.

Anyone with any hints out there?

New Mexico Window

New Mexico Window

51/2in x 8in watercolor on Yupo paper  SOLD

New Mexico windows  and doors
have been a favorite theme for me.
This window is a new find.

Artist Note
I consider door and windows almost
like a still life within the landscape.
The light may change, but not that quickly
and being able to
get close up to study them is a real pleasure.

Side Entry Nest - day 30 in the challenge

Side Entry Nest

11x9" watercolor on Yupo Paper NFS

Day 30

Artist Note.

A friend gave me this wonderful

nest recently.  

He knew that the nest was no 

longer occupied and he thoughtfully

included the tree branches which 

supported it rather than

destroy it's structure.

I love the "side entry" type nest, but this one 

tragically came with two tiny

skeletons in the interior.

Unanswered questions.

Were they too large to have

been recently hatched?

Or were they the parents?

I will be very respectful 

in my handling of them 

and their lovingly made home

If you can use your imagination

 there are two leaves up on the right

near the opening which I painted to 

form an abstract shape suggesting

a bird flying towards it.

This is the last painting

for the challenge.

I will do a wrap up of my experience 

tomorrow.

Watercolor Changes - day 29 in the Challenge

Sunflowers and Pomegranates

13x10" watercolor on Yupo paper

unfinished

Day 29

Artist Note.

On yesterday's post I mentioned how I had just

been given some fresh pomegranates and

would like to TRY adding one to this painting.

It is on Yupo and it's plastic surface makes it easy

to lift off a previously painted area  See below

I formed the shape I wanted with a 

damp paper towel. I also removed the sunflower

 resting at the bottom of the jar.

Next I placed the actual pom in the position

I thought would be best

Naturally... and I know you will ALL understand this...

other changes then started to happen. 

It seems pretty impossible to make a change 

without the eye noticing all the other areas

 effected by the new shape and color.

Also it is a sunny day and my set up

appeared much brighter.

One back pear disappeared.

The jar became slightly wider

A cooler blue was added - so much for 

limited palette! Other colors and shapes

changed too.

(I do enjoy a warm and cool of each primary.)

I sharpened up some edges 

and softened others.

Below is the one before the changes

I have to live with this new version for a while

to see how I feel about it.

I do know I am glad that I tried the pom addition.

Bit more energy.

Watercolor Floral - day 28 in the Challenge

Watercolor Floral

12x9" on Yupo paper

Unfinished

Day 28

Artist Note

I am trying new colors and a 

truly, truly

limited palette with watercolor.

One red - one blue and one yellow.

I have experienced continual cloudy days and

I find it has really

affected my color vision.

It also has provided me with a deeper understanding 

of the old master's paintings 

when brown was 

dominate in the background.

 Candlelight was their major source 

of illumination at night and on 

rainy days I now feel I understand

what it was like.

Explains a lot!

I have been presented with more fresh

pomegranates and think I will remove

the pears in this still life and 

put at least one of the poms in. 

That is the beauty of Yupo.

Wipes off clear back to the white.

I will show you tomorrow what it 

looks like with the changes.

Early Light - day 10 in the CHALLENGE

Early Light

9x7in watercolor on Yupo  

Day 10

A friend's sunroom is the source of

this painting. It faces southeast

and is flooded with light in the mornings.

Her plants go crazy and put mine to shame.

Artist Note.

Yupo is not the easiest of papers to work

with. I admit I am more comfortable with it 

than when I first started, but still find it a 

tricky surface to get used to. 

I love the watery appearance so it has 

been worth the time experimenting and learning

all about it.

I am gathering 

quite an arsenal of techniques and will 

share them when I know they are solid.

Watercolor and my Stress-Buster Guest

 Roses and Pears

10x8"watercolor on Yupo

This one has been piddled with for quite a while.

Doing little bits in between doing other things...

like having a lovely friend visit me.

Artist Note.

I have followed the work of Lisa Graham 

for a couple of years now.  I have always been drawn to her 

artwork. They are unique, personal and usually 

tell a story I can connect to.

I loved and admired the way she took care of her mother

who was seriously ill. Over time, some personal

emails were exchanged and the friendship

became a delightful part of my life.
A magic moment happened last Christmas
when Lisa sent me a
glass ball stuffed with bird feathers
(link  feather ball )
I was so excited I painted it in the car
on the long trip to my daughters house

I had already invited Lisa to come, stay 

and paint with me, and, after her 

mother passed on a month ago, she
managed to do just that.

We painted together,  and of course, 

laughed and cried together. I had nursed my mother

so could could relate to much of what she was feeling.

Lisa discovered on her trip that there are 

lots of adobe buildings

and many blue doors in New Mexico

She enjoyed a toboggan type ride

down White Sands steep dunes

before doing 

a plein air painting of this area below.

Then we drove less than an hour to that 

strip of blue mountains ( you can see above)

where the large cloud cast its shadow on this

view from Cloudcroft, NM

9,000ft up and you can see the white strip

of White Sands where we were, in the distance. 

We enjoyed the cooler weather, light rain

and the hospitality of a good friend,

Anne Spier, who baked us choc chip cookies

before we headed back home to Las Cruces,

and more painting days...

Lindy, I thank you for joining us and brilliantly

thinking of adding the trip to Cloudcroft

Lisa bought me a favorite painting

as a house gift. She knows I love birds.

It is to be treasured.

Thank YOU, dear  Lisa

Your trip made me very happy.

To see more of Lisa's work

click here  Lisa Graham

Watercolor - Teapot and Pears

Teapot and Pears

7"x 5 1/2"  watercolor on Yupo  

Artist Note.

I  wasn't thinking about standard sizes 

when I cut my Yupo sheet into small 

pieces . I wanted to have enough to to freely

experiment on. Now I am in trouble with myself 

because I like this one. 

I have waxed it and love the finish the matt

surface - the colors still have a beauty

to them. Best of all -  it does not have to go under glass.

Going to keep this one for a while.

Watercolor Weekend - Peonies

Peonies

12x9in watercolor on Yupo paper

Trying something larger and different on the Yupo. 

Artist Note.

Still busy, busy...BUT

I saw these peonies in a garden while walking with a friend and 

went and knocked on the door. When the gentleman understood why 

I wanted one to paint, he got a cutter and persuaded me to take a few.

Naturally I had to paint them pretty quickly, and already the 

pink ones are really droopy. 

I am deciding if I should go further with this making it 

more dramatic with some pattern.  

I really enjoy trying 

different approaches with Yupo.  I can wipe out any 

part I want to and start fresh. Very liberating. I also find Yupo

a completely different and difficult surface to work on. 

Only using it twice a week at weekends means it is 

going to take a long time to learn what I can do with it.

Watercolor Weekend - Adobe and Garden

Adobe and Garden

7x9in watercolor on Yupo paper

Artist Note

Still playing around with watercolor on the Yupo paper.

It was painted plein air and dried very quickly.

Using the fracturing technique added some excitement 

for me, as unexpected areas of paint reacted in different ways.

I "puddled" the paint in places and liked the fine line

it left at the edges. 

Maybe this summer I can

spend a bit more time experimenting with painting

on the Yupo. I like the idea of mounting it to a board

so it can be framed without using glass.

Nest With Dryer Lint

Nest With Dryer Lint

6x8 watercolor on Yupo Paper NFS

This nest is loaded with lint from the dryer, It is woven between the 

twigs, horse hair and grasses. What a beautifully soft

place for the babies to emerge into.

Artist Note.

This one is another painting done on the trip to the dentist.

It was painted by memory of a particular nest I have.

The Yupo lends itself very well  to this type of technique 

- just a few areas of detail with  lots of washes.

I am finding it is best to do the washes FIRST.

I place a few drops of oxgall into the water.

and let the wash dry before going back in with an 

almost dry brush for the details. 

Easy to lift off an area for light spots, but I also did opaque areas for lint

on top of the washed areas.  I went into a dark color next using a rigger

I had a very light touch and a flowing consistency of paint.

Still learning the "how to" of Yupo.

Yupo Floral

Yupo Floral

6x8in watercolor on Yupo paper  SOLD

Another trip to the dentist and I accomplished three

small paintings this time - two bird nests, and this floral.

All three from the imagination.

Artist Note.

This is what I call a decorative piece. 

I did a basic cartoon of  flowers with a rigger brush, 

then added light washes of several lavenders and soft greens.

Next, I anchored the design with a strong abstract design 

going from orange mixed with red and green (to tone it down)

 into even darker brown shades.

I lightly drew lines with the rigger to add some

 interest to the flowers. 

Working on Yupo is challenging but I am learning to 

take advantage of the run, drips and movement on the surface.

When I compare this to my previous post of apple blossoms

I can understand how surface quality may be used to provide 

an artist with a personal style. This particular technique lends itself
to more of the abstract and decorative aspects of painting. FUN!