My journey into the world of creating art.
Saturday, September 6, 2014
30 Paintings In 30 Days - Day #5
Wasn't feeling overly inspired yesterday. Started one painting and totally hated it and trashed it. Decided to work a little on calligraphy instead. Took more practice strokes and overall time to paint this symbol than any of the paintings I have done over the past few weeks.....
Thursday, September 4, 2014
30 Paintings 30 Days 2014 - Day #4
I actually painted twice today.
For the first, I saw a painting online that I liked . I only had a few minutes before I had to leave to pick Aubrey up from school, so I decided to give myself a little challenge.
I wanted to see if I could come up with my own interpretation of the painting with my preferred palette of colors in 10 minutes. This was the result.
I did not have the time to be as careful with the tree as I normally would, so that was probably my biggest disappointment. There was a time though that I could not have even gotten something like this in an hour though, much less 10 minutes, so I will take it. Definitely a fun exercise that I should not have gotten away from doing.
The second painting was the one I had planned for the 30 Day Challenge. I have been experimenting with flowers lately. A few weeks ago I tried a loose bouquet, and tonight I wanted to try a bouquet in a glass vase.
Ehhhh. Learning experience. 'Nuff said.
For the first, I saw a painting online that I liked . I only had a few minutes before I had to leave to pick Aubrey up from school, so I decided to give myself a little challenge.
I wanted to see if I could come up with my own interpretation of the painting with my preferred palette of colors in 10 minutes. This was the result.
I did not have the time to be as careful with the tree as I normally would, so that was probably my biggest disappointment. There was a time though that I could not have even gotten something like this in an hour though, much less 10 minutes, so I will take it. Definitely a fun exercise that I should not have gotten away from doing.
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| Watercolor Tree on 6x9 Paper |
The second painting was the one I had planned for the 30 Day Challenge. I have been experimenting with flowers lately. A few weeks ago I tried a loose bouquet, and tonight I wanted to try a bouquet in a glass vase.
Ehhhh. Learning experience. 'Nuff said.
 |
| Watercolor Flowers on 6x6 Paper |
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
30 Paintings 30 Days 2014 - Day #3
Today was a blah day. Not enough sleep last night combined with a lingering feeling of just general "down-ness" made it a little difficult for me to get into choosing a subject for today's painting.
So I visited the folder I keep in my Dropbox of photos and other paintings for inspiration, and I saw a photo of a tree I liked. I remembered that when I originally put in in the folder I had planned on painting it as a springtime cherry tree.
Needless to say, I was not in a springy mood tonight, so I decided to go with fall colors instead. Hey, at least I did not opt for full-on dreary winter!
The original tree was by itself in a field, but since I had gone with the plain tree last night, I decided to add a few more simple elements to the composition and sketched in the mountains and a little fence to give it just a few more lines to draw the eye.
I briefly considered some buildings off in the distance but decided I was too tired to go there, and Lord only knows what kind of disaster I would have turned them into anyway.
I was prepared to very unhappy with the end result. Goes with the mood I guess. But now it is photographed and up on the shelf where I put all my latest work. Sitting here in my chair and viewing it from across the room, I like it.
From a distance, its hard to see the little flaws that normally drive me nuts. From a distance, it looks like a scene I would like to step into. A tree I would like to sit under on a cool fall day and get lost in a good book.
Sometimes our days and lives are like that, aren't they? When we are all up close and nitpicky, they seem so flawed, and its easy to let our mood take a nosedive. But if we take a few steps back and view them with some literal and figurative distance, sometimes we can see them for just how beautiful they truly are.
Now, I just need to remember that the next time one of these moods hits!
So I visited the folder I keep in my Dropbox of photos and other paintings for inspiration, and I saw a photo of a tree I liked. I remembered that when I originally put in in the folder I had planned on painting it as a springtime cherry tree.
Needless to say, I was not in a springy mood tonight, so I decided to go with fall colors instead. Hey, at least I did not opt for full-on dreary winter!
The original tree was by itself in a field, but since I had gone with the plain tree last night, I decided to add a few more simple elements to the composition and sketched in the mountains and a little fence to give it just a few more lines to draw the eye.
I briefly considered some buildings off in the distance but decided I was too tired to go there, and Lord only knows what kind of disaster I would have turned them into anyway.
I was prepared to very unhappy with the end result. Goes with the mood I guess. But now it is photographed and up on the shelf where I put all my latest work. Sitting here in my chair and viewing it from across the room, I like it.
From a distance, its hard to see the little flaws that normally drive me nuts. From a distance, it looks like a scene I would like to step into. A tree I would like to sit under on a cool fall day and get lost in a good book.
Sometimes our days and lives are like that, aren't they? When we are all up close and nitpicky, they seem so flawed, and its easy to let our mood take a nosedive. But if we take a few steps back and view them with some literal and figurative distance, sometimes we can see them for just how beautiful they truly are.
Now, I just need to remember that the next time one of these moods hits!
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| Fall Tree Watercolor On 6x6 Paper |
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
30 Paintings 30 Days 2014 - Day #2
Wasn't really sure what I wanted to paint today, so I started looking back through old paintings to see if there was anything I wanted to change a little bit. One of my most popular little trees (meaning someone actually repinned it on Pinterest) was one that leaned to the left, so I decided to see if I could give it maybe a little more depth and life.
I ended up with the tree below. The dreaded bloom monster reared its ugly head again. Maybe one day I will slow down enough to keep the monster at bay, but I'm starting to think its going to be one of my many curses.
Its not a huge change from the original painting, but I think it does have a tiny bit more "life." So I'll give myself a slight "mission accomplished" rating.....
Watercolor on 6x6 block paper.
I ended up with the tree below. The dreaded bloom monster reared its ugly head again. Maybe one day I will slow down enough to keep the monster at bay, but I'm starting to think its going to be one of my many curses.
Its not a huge change from the original painting, but I think it does have a tiny bit more "life." So I'll give myself a slight "mission accomplished" rating.....
Watercolor on 6x6 block paper.
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| Lone Watercolor Tree |
30 Paintings 30 Days 2014 - Day #1
My family and I spent Labor Day Weekend at the beach. It was our first beach trip since 2011, so it was great to feel the sand underfoot and breathe the salty air!
How could I spend that much time at the beach and not attempt to transfer some of that beauty onto paper?
This is my attempt to do so. I have a hard time with perspective, so I removed a lot of elements from the scene in order to keep things as simple as possible, a common theme with my paintings.
Watercolor on 4x6 block paper.
How could I spend that much time at the beach and not attempt to transfer some of that beauty onto paper?
This is my attempt to do so. I have a hard time with perspective, so I removed a lot of elements from the scene in order to keep things as simple as possible, a common theme with my paintings.
Watercolor on 4x6 block paper.
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| Myrtle Beach |
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Quick Lunchtime Paintings
Today and yesterday I set aside a few minutes to try and get back into the swing of painting. It's not really that I haven't been painting regularly - I have. But I have been working on improving my small orchid paintings, so that's pretty much ALL I have been painting.
Wednesday I went with this little bouquet of flowers. Originally it was going to be a little more complex, but I decided once I got started I liked it simple with lots of white space.
Today I went with a cherry tree branch. I really like cherry tress and I have painted a ton of little ones. I decided to "zoom in" today and concentrate on just a couple of branches.
I have thoroughly enjoyed myself, and i am very much looking forward to next months "30 Paintings In 30 Days" Challenge!
Wednesday I went with this little bouquet of flowers. Originally it was going to be a little more complex, but I decided once I got started I liked it simple with lots of white space.
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| Bouquet Of Flowers - Watercolor |
Today I went with a cherry tree branch. I really like cherry tress and I have painted a ton of little ones. I decided to "zoom in" today and concentrate on just a couple of branches.
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| Cherry Tree Branches - Watercolor |
I have thoroughly enjoyed myself, and i am very much looking forward to next months "30 Paintings In 30 Days" Challenge!
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Bamboo In Color
The artist that inspired me the most to want to be able to paint myself is named Michael Kopald. He had a gallery in Lexington, VA where he created some absolutely stunning brush paintings of bamboo. Amie and I just happened to walk into his gallery back in 2003 and I was transfixed by the beauty of his work. I couldn't afford $800 for one of his small paintings, so I left the gallery dreaming of learning to create one myself.
Last night one of his paintings popped up in my newsfeed in an advertisement for a showing in Lexington this weekend. I have an obstacle race and can't go. Boo. It did give me an idea though. Aubrey has always asked me why my bamboo paintings are all in black. I told her I don't have the traditional inks to do the colored paintings. Thats true, but I also just don't feel comfortable with color for bamboo.
Today I decided what the heck. I grabbed one of my favorite greens, Hookers Light, and mixed some up. I played around with the same basic bamboo stalk in two different sizes, 9x12 and 12x16. I like my leaves better in the small painting and the bamboo better in the larger one.
Leaves are always going to be my achilles heel. I just. can't. relax. when its time to paint them and they ALWAYS turn out stiff. Its ok though - one of these days I am going to have a breakthrough, and my doggone leaves are going to flow!!!
Anyway, Aubrey loves them ("you used color Daddy, you used color!") and that's all that really matters to me!
Last night one of his paintings popped up in my newsfeed in an advertisement for a showing in Lexington this weekend. I have an obstacle race and can't go. Boo. It did give me an idea though. Aubrey has always asked me why my bamboo paintings are all in black. I told her I don't have the traditional inks to do the colored paintings. Thats true, but I also just don't feel comfortable with color for bamboo.
Today I decided what the heck. I grabbed one of my favorite greens, Hookers Light, and mixed some up. I played around with the same basic bamboo stalk in two different sizes, 9x12 and 12x16. I like my leaves better in the small painting and the bamboo better in the larger one.
Leaves are always going to be my achilles heel. I just. can't. relax. when its time to paint them and they ALWAYS turn out stiff. Its ok though - one of these days I am going to have a breakthrough, and my doggone leaves are going to flow!!!
Anyway, Aubrey loves them ("you used color Daddy, you used color!") and that's all that really matters to me!
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