Apple Blossoms

Out of season, but  I wanted to paint some flowers because the fall days have been rainy and gray recently. So the apple blossoms seemed like a  logical choice since I had just painted the apple.

Red and Green Apple

Haven't been painting as much as I would like. There was a family vacation and other family commitments that took precedence over painting. Being away may mean it will take a while to get back into the swing of things.

Orange Poppy

This painting is 9" x 12" on Fabiano Artistico Extra White 140lbs watercolour paper.

Succulent

Succulents seem to be a new popular plant fad lately. I have always like them especial this variety. I use to have a terra-cotta strawberry jar with several of them sticking out all of the side openings and the top. The common name for them in the mid-west was "hen and chicks." It was fun but time consuming to get the "bloom" look on each leaf. 

Peonies

I would have been thrill with the result of this painting a month ago. But since then I have been aiming for a result that comes closer to a photorealistic painting. This one fell short. I will try it again but first I need to practice multi-layered petal flowers. Plus shadows on hot press paper are much harder for me to achieve than on cold press paper. The paper also pulled away from the pad so there is rippling. The paper is Fabriano Artistico extra white 140 lbs. (300 g/m) hot press12" x 18" (cropped to 12x16). I like the brighter white as compared to Arches creamy white.

White Cosmo

I decided to try this technique on a small (7x7) piece of Saunders Waterford cold press 638gm paper. It was part of a sample packet I bought in 2008 and never used. Since the cosmos bloom has a rough and crinkled surface I thought it might work for this painting. It worked fine but I don't think is was kind to my 000 brush. The weight of the paper was wonderful for this style of painting where I am constantly applying and reapplying paint to small areas. I may pull the painting back out and add a colored background at a later date. 

Peach

I have painted peaches before but in a much looser style. Trying to get the "fuzzy" texture was interesting and time consuming. I need to paint a few more peaches before I will be satisfied with the results. That said it is always fun to try something new, particularly, when I learn from the process. Plus I find that if I let a painting sit for a day or more, when I return I see it with new eyes. This allows me to evaluate the image more objectively and decide if there are any changes I need to make. So I will check back on it in a couple of days.

Pear

I have always liked painting pears. This one is a watercolor in the new realistic style I am trying out. Think I am liking the results. It takes longer, hours instead of minutes. And I usually work on it over a couple of days. The main difference is that I have been doing sketches where this is really a painting.

strawberry finished

This strawberry was much more difficult than the rose for me. Lots of tiny areas to adjust. I learned a great deal from painted the strawberry. So I think I will continue working in this style for awhile. May pick an easier subject for my next try, a pear. Then I would like to do some flowers.

Strawberry, started

I began working on this "portrait" of a strawberry yesterday. It is developing very slowly. I am studying techniques for botanical illustration. This method is so very different from the way I usually work with watercolors. Hopefully I can finish it up tomorrow or Friday.

Rose

My watercolors are painted fairly loose. But I wanted to try working more realistically. Originally I was disappointed in my results and put this painting in my flat file. A couple of days ago I saw it again and felt it was ok for a first attempt at a new style. Therefore I decided to have a go at the strawberry. This is a much slower manner of painting than what I am use to so I probably won't be posting as often unless I post the stages as the painting develops.

Cherries

Cherries are in season in my area. I picked these up at the local farmer's market that sets up everyday Wednesday afternoon at my church. They were painted more like acrylics with lots of pigment and as little water as possible. The basket is more than a little wonky but I like the colors of the cherries.

Watermelon

I am back in my gouache sketchbook. Watermelon, is there anything more descriptive of summer? I worked this sketch more like watercolor; more water less pigment, so I could get the green and pinkish red bleeding into to white.

Little boy and girl

These two little ones were just to cute not to give them a try. This is the last page of this sketchbook and the end of my Imaginary Trip to Selby Gardens. Always fun to finish a book and place it on the shelf. I have pulled another one out to use for watercolor and general sketching. Also have primed some canvases and boards. Am thinking about trying acrylic plein air painting. 

Lady with Purse

 This lady did not look this grumpy just serious. I like the darker background which gives some depth to the sketch. The proportions aren't quite right but only by practicing can I improve.

Lavender Field

There were several poses of this same lady in a field of lavender. So I did 4 gesture sketches of the hard working lady.

Man with bookbag 2

There was very little color in this guy's outfit, mainly variations of gray. His hands look odd but they were both in what I consider a yoga meditation pose, index finger touching the tip of the thumb.

Man with Bookbag

This one worked out well. I wish I could say it looked just like the young man but can't. But it does look like a person which is rewarding.

Two Gardeners color

The two gardeners with a bit of watercolor.

Two Gardeners

This sketch is one I would really like to go back and add some watercolor. Even though the flowers weren't showy, the watering can were bright colors.

Pointing Lady with Watercolor

Here she is with watercolor added. There was much more going on in the photo but I decided to eliminate a lot of the chaos.

Pointing Lady

This lady was indoors pointing at something out of view. It would definitely profit from a revisit with some watercolor. She looks like she is floating and needs some grounding.

Leaf blower with Watercolor

I went back into the brown ink drawing of the gardener with some watercolor.

Leaf Blower

The subject of our last week of the Imaginary Trip to Selby Gardens was Everyday People and Objects. I had just received my Platinum carbon pen converter and Noodles brown ink. So I had great fun playing with them. My first image was a gardener using a leaf blower. May go back in with some watercolor. I tried to keep my pen on the paper as long as possible before picking it up and moving to another place on the page, a modified continuous line drawing.

Potted Geranium at Selby Gardens

This sketch is from the week on Contained and Maintained. This isn't where it was at the end of the timed session. I went in a couple of weeks later and punched up the darkest values.

Koi

This guy was fun to paint. It is a subject that really gives itself over to the character of watercolor.

Water Patterns

I have always like koi and would like to have my own koi pond. But I have a couple of friends that have them and there is a bit of work trying to keep them alive.

More pattern and texture

Have no idea what the name of this flower is but found it intriguing. Never have seen one in real life and figure it must be tropical.

Selby Gardens - week 3

The third week was a study in pattern and texture. I like the idea of the pre-drawn blocks then fitting images to put in each one. In one way it is a challenge, another it makes it easier to select a subject.

Up Close and Personal

This is the second sketch from the first week of the Imaginary Trip to Selby Gardens. Alway enjoy Laure's classes.

Selby Gardens

This is my first page from the Imaginary Trip to Selby Gardens. There is also a title page based on Laure Ferlita's design but mine is so close to her design I didn't feel comfortable posting that image.

Three Tomatoes

I have been painted just not blogging. Besides trying to paint in gouache, I am taking an Imaginary Trip to Selby Gardens with Laure Ferlita and a Craftsy class on mixing acrylic paint. I alway enjoy Laure's class but this time I chose the independent learning option. I do miss seeing everyone else work and getting critiques but life seem to be full of family crisis these last few months. Something we all face at different times. So taking self-paced classes on the internet allows for "me" time whenever I can fit it into my days and nights. I signed up for a regular class locally, (well kinda of locally, an hour drive from my studio). Of the 6 classes, I have only made the first 2 but hope to make the last one this Wednesday.

Pinecone

A gouache sketch of a small pinecone I picked up on a walk with our dog Jake. 

3 galic bulbs

I am continuing on my journey to learn to use gouache. Up until the last month we have subscribed to Blue Apron. That meant that in every delivery we received one fresh garlic bulb. We love garlic but a weekly garlic bulb was more than we could use up so I have a bowl full of partially used garlic bulbs in our refrigerator. I am not complaining because the fresh bulbs were so much better than the old dried up versions we can get at our grocery store. So here are 3 of them.

Goal setting and reviews

I usually set my yearly goal before or shortly after New Years Day of the beginning year. This year I didn't. But our aging dog and family issues took precedence over art. It happens. So now I am trying to get my painting drive back. Those issues still exist but I am trying to make time for some joy in my life which comes from creating. I don't have to create great art, masterpieces or even good stuff, it is just the process of creating that brings joy. Now, I don't mean I don't enjoy having a project turn out well but my true joy comes from the doing. I have been working at trying to fit art back into my life by taking a workshop in person, signed up for a class, and am taking an online workshop. Hoping to get back in a groove and daily sketching and painting but every time I start another issue seems to pop up I need to handle. So maybe starting small, the gouache sketchbook daily will get me moving and help me establish a direction and goals.

2 Pears

Pear 1

I couldn't sleep so I got up a painted a pear in my sketchbook. I labored really, really labored over this painting/sketch. It shows. There must be 4 to 5 layers of paint on this poor, sad, flat pear. Then I threw out my water, cleaned my brushes and start to go back to bed but I wasn't sleepy yet. So I got fresh water and tried the second of my two pears I bought at the grocery store.

Pear 2

I added more white and yellow to the green on my palette. Both pears were started with a Pentel Brush Pen. On this one I left a lot of the ink showing. Mostly there is only one layer of paint on this pear with a couple of areas having 2 layers. It looks fresher and much more interesting. I was about to give up on gouache after that first pear but think I will force myself to do one paint/sketch with gouache in this sketchbook each day until it is full.

Lemons

Another gouache sketch. This wasn't a problem with the lemons but looking back I think I tend to go too dark with the darks. Probably this is because I come from a watercolor background and the pigments usually dry much lighter than the color you first put down wet. This concept becomes a habit so I need to really work at going lighter in gouache as well as acrylics. My next goal is to figure out a way to show the texture of the lemon skin. I painted these just as smooth as the peppers, which they aren't.

Mangoes

After having so much fun with the peppers I went back into the refrigerator and pulled out 2 mangoes to paint. As stated in my sketchbook, "Mangoes are hard". I am not sure why but I found them much more challenging than the peppers. Go figure.

More Gouache peppers

This was my second try at painting peppers in gouache. I wasn't happy with the previous pepper or this one so I decided to just draw a pepper and put in a gouache background.

Once the first two were completely dry, I decided to work back into them. I was thinking I didn't have anything to lose they have turned out so sadly. Once a got a couple of additional layers on them I was happier with them. I often find I am tempted to stop painting too soon.

Gouache

This past week I got out my Schmincke gouache set, pulled a commercially made sketchbook off my shelf, and played around. I have done very little painting in gouache. When I start working with a new medium I have to remind myself not to expect too much but stick with it for a while. The sketchbook I am using has paper similar to the Moleskine sketchbooks. It reminds my of the manila file folders. It is not absorbent. I used a larger version of the sketchbook for my 50 small paintings in acrylics. In that book I did tape off a 6" square and paint a layer of gesso on each page. In one I just jumped right in with the gouache. I may experiment on some watercolor paper to see if that is actually a better surface. But for now I want to stick with the gouache until I fill this sketchbook. I call it a sketchbook but I think it is a craftbook used for creating mix media art books. 

I am learning to use more paint and less water, more like acrylics than watercolors. Plus I find it works best for me to put down a layer, let it dry then come back in with another layer. So far it seems to have all the drawbacks of watercolor and none of the advantages of acrylics. But maybe as I work with it longer I will get to know the medium better.

End of the Year 2016

Here are my 2016 completed journals. There are only 7 in this stack. I have one general sketching that still have some blank pages in it and my on going journals for acrylics, lettering, book binding, and oriental brush painting. Last year's stack was more impressive. Anyway here they are bottom to top, left to right, The Lady and the Unicorn (a general sketching journal that I rebound with an assortment of print making paper in 2012); My International Fake Journal Month Journal, Shift in Place; Acrylics notes and sketches for paintings fall 2013 to May 2016; my Taos journal I bound and used for the LavenderSage art Retreat 28 August to 4 September; Polishing a Sketchbook Skool klass October - November 2016; Nesting, a book I rebound with watercolor paper in August 2012 and sketched birds in from July 2015 to December 2016; and finally my sketchbook for the Sketching Now Buildings, an online class by Liz Steel, Oct-Dec 2016. Seems like I should have more but if I do I don't know where I would have hid them. Hopefully I will sketch more next year.

Here is my finished painting count.
Watercolors: 5
Acrylics:14
Oriental Brush Paintings: 8