Rose #1 is Finished

I finished up the painting this afternoon. Now, for those of you that are thinking, "it's very pink!" I will agree with you. It is a very pink painting. I planned it that way because I have a very specific purpose in mind for this painting, but I don't really want to blab about it here until I get some more done in this series.

Starting a New Painting

Finally! It feels like it's been eons since I've painted anything. Here is what I started working on today. It has promise.

Younger version of ’Mona Lisa’ to be presented

I found this article on MSN today.  I am really curious to see what they find out about the painting.  What do you think?  Could it possibly be a legitimate Leonardo da Vinci painting?  

Younger version of ’Mona Lisa’ to be presented

Super Saturday

I was asked by the women's group at my church to teach a painting class for a Super Saturday event.  I have taught private lessons a couple of times, and it wasn't really my thing, so I was pretty nervous to teach a class of fifteen people.  On top of that, we are going to be moving to a new home this weekend, so the timing wasn't the greatest.

In spite of my hesitation, I said yes, and I am so glad I did!  It was a wonderful experience both for me and the women taking the class.  The fact that it was a volunteer opportunity was a big bonus for me.  I didn't have to worry about making sure that everyone "got their money's worth" from my class.  Almost all of my students were beginners, and some of them had never painted before.  So it was a good chance for me to experiment with an actual class rather than just an individual.

I decided to keep things simple and teach a project rather than the basics of design.  That way, the women would each have something concrete to take home and show their husbands or friends.  I received a lot of very positive feedback from most of the women.  Some of the responses I received was that the class was "relaxing", "fun", and "really enjoyable". 

Some of the women expressed interest in learning more about painting, so I felt like I had done my job!

I wish I had remembered to take pictures.  I took my camera, but forgot about it once I got teaching.  You will just have to take my word for it that we had a good time and that everyone's projects turned out really amazing!

Watercolor Rose

I have been experimenting with pen and ink and watercolor lately.  I have to admit, that I just love the results!  First, I draw the flower by hand, lightly, with pencil.  I then go over that drawing using my Micron ink pens.  I make sure to have the lines wobble a little to give it some character and make it look not quite so planned out.  Once the drawing is completely dry (it only takes a minute to dry, but I have made the mistake of NOT waiting before), I pull out the watercolor paint and add splashes of color. 

This was my third painting of a rose that I created this way.  The first one was pretty horrendous.  The second one was better, but I was trying to be trendy and I painted it a turquoise color.  Everyone thought it was a tree.  So I decided to stick with the bright red that I love so much and I gave it a third go around.  This is the finished painting!  I love it.  The third time is the charm, I guess ;)

Fonts

Call me weird, but I love fonts.  I just bought this one called Flower from DaFont.com.  Isn't it gorgeous?  I can't wait to find a use for it.  I just know that it is going to be perfect for a project one of these days.

For the Kids' Room

I thought of the phrase “There is nothing in this world more beautiful than a daughter” a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to create something for my little girls’ room, and I felt like the opportunity presented itself when those words popped into my head.  I drew the daisies in pen and ink first, then painted them in bright watercolors.  I spent a lot of time holding the brush as far away from me as possible while I was creating the splatters, but I got pretty messy anyway.  I scanned the painting and made all the adjustments I wanted and added the text at the top.  I can’t wait to get this up on the wall!