Saturday, October 5, 2013

My Latest Watercolor: Autumn Barn II


Autumn Barn II
Watercolor - 11 x 14
SOLD

I love autumn and I love the colors that come with it.  Cool weather, warm colors, hot chocolate, pumpkin patches, and Thanksgiving.  What could be better?  Not much.

I received a commission to paint an autumn barn scene in watercolor and this is what I came up with.  Watercolor is always a stressful medium to work in because it is so difficult to control.  However, I have found that I really enjoy the surprises that happen when you learn how to manipulate the paint.  I love the bright colors that come out in the fall, and I really wanted to capture that in this painting.  Looking at this makes me really excited for the next few months!

What is your favorite thing about fall?

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

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.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

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.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

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

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

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!

Monday, September 17, 2012

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 ;)


Thursday, July 12, 2012

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.