Sketchbook: Halloween Pumpkin

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Sketchbook: Halloween Pumpkin

Acrylic

I enjoyed painting the Fall Garden so much, I decided to put a Pumpkin in my sketchbook for my own enjoyment.

Palette #1

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Palette #1

6.5" x 4.5" Acrylic on Canvas Paper

Available

This week has given me small time slots that have allowed me to get a lot of things caught up...including finally cropping the painting I made from the palette leftovers months ago! (See July 12, 2008) This is what came from that pretty palette I couldn't bring myself to throw. I love all the texture and colors in this. It almost looks Reef like.

Entered My First Juried Show as a Painter

Today I entered my first juried show as a Painter. I really enjoyed entering juried shows when I was Sculpting, and had even won some awards. So I am ready to see where I stand with the paintings at this point. I may be jumping the gun, but I won't know until I try. Getting into shows, is a good way to judge your work. Then if you are lucky and the judges give out sheets to give you their views on your work, you learn even more. Bearing in mind of course it is all subjective. :) After much deliberation, I entered the Field Series, as I felt they made a nice cohesive presentation. I am so excited. I think the thrill of the anticipation is half the fun. hehe.

Lani's Apple

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Lani's Apple

5" x 7" Acrylic on Canvas Panel

OK, well the purpose of this blog is to document my growth...the good and the bad...the steps forward and back. So that is why I am posting this apple. This is a lesson Lani gave me, where I had to paint an apple in 20 strokes. Now that I have done it once...I want to go back and do it again, as I now know I need to think out the sequence of strokes so make the most use of my 20 strokes. Great exercise to make you think about color values and about how and where to use your brush.

Wildflowers: Field Asters

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Wildflowers: Field Asters

4" x 4" Acrylic on Wrapped Canvas

Available

Wildflowers: Black-Eyed Susan

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Wildflowers: Black-Eyed Susan

5" x 5" Acrylic on Wrapped Canvas

This week I will be hosting the WDE. It has really been fun finding photos to donate to the ref library for my friends to paint or draw. I will be so busy hosting, I doubt I'll get too much done as far as finished paintings other than some smaller ones, so I plan on spending the week finishing up the odds and ends that need to be done to past paintings, such as glazing, varnishing, etc. I have learned so much from the artists on the WDE...and if I can pay that back by giving them nice images to paint, then I feel good about that.

Sketchbook: Birthday Rose

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Sketchbook: Birthday Rose

Watercolor and India Ink

I am so proud of myself. My drawing skills seem to be coming back as I drew this pretty quickly and easily off one of the Roses my Husband gave me for may birthday.

Sketchbook: Christmas Cactus

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Sketchbook: Christmas Cactus

WC and India Ink

I have never seen a Christmas Cactus in Bloom, so thought Gail's photo would be fun to try and paint. I used watercolors and India ink.

Neon Guitar

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Neon Guitar
6" x 10" Acrylic on Unstretched Canvas
Available

I had fun playing with this one. I grayscaled it. Then plugged in Neon colors where certain values of the gray showed. I also cropped it to be long and narrow which I really like.

(WDE Photo Ref by Gail..RubyRedDog2)

Autumn Muse

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Autumn Muse

7" x 10.75" Acrylic on Unstretched Canvas

Available

This painting literally came out of no where. LOL. I think I had an art angel on my shoulder, as it is unlike anything I have painted before, and it came so quickly and easily. When I finished it, my husband and I stood there looking at it for quite some time. I love this painting. It is so vibrant and alive. And it is not anything I would normally have attempted, nor is the palette one I would normally have wanted to put together. I am not an orange person. Which makes the presence of this piece even more amazing, and has me wondering just who was the Muse on my shoulder.

(WDE Photo Ref by Gail..RubyRedDog2)

Fall Garden

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Fall Garden

6" x 12" Acrylic on Canvas Panel

Available

This was what I came up with from the two reference photos we were given for the October Different Strokes. I had a really hard time finding a crop or combination of the two images I liked, but when I elongated the grouping on one, and thought about how I could add my own touches, the painting just went together like it was meant to be. A hard one to immediately visualize, but really nice to feel I more than met the challenge and came up with a nice little painting. Again, since I am posting in arrears, I am going to post this on the day it was actually finished.

(DS photo refs by Elizabeth)

Sketchbook: Evergreen

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Sketchbook: Evergreen

I have been spending the week working on a 16 x 20 sequel to Golden Harvest, and perhaps from all the tree studies I have been doing lately, I painted a couple really nice evergreens on that canvas. So I thought I would attempt to put one in my journal before I forgot what I did. AND...it took me a month, but it occurred to me that I could paint with acrylics in my journal. I mean why not? I paint with them on watercolor paper all the time. So this little tree is in Acrylic.

Turtle and Koi

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Turtle and Koi

7.5" x 8" Acrylic on Unstretched Canvas

Available

This was a really fun and interesting painting to do. While the subject is not one I would normally choose, I had fun with all the colors and working out the movement pattern of the animals. I also experimented with a couple of different washes in the water, and am toying with the idea of maybe doing one more a little darker. So I would call it a possible work in progress.

(WDE Ref Photo by EP)

7 Strokes

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7 Strokes

7" x 9" Acrylic on Canvas Panel

Available

This was my first homework assignment from Lani. I erroneously thought she said to cover a canvas in 8 strokes, and thought I would do her one better and do 7. Turns out I had a LOT more strokes I could have used. LOL. oh well, that will teach me to listen better. I used a different color for each brushstroke. It is considered a stroke until you lift the brush. I started with the Magenta...and um, made a stroke and not thinking lifted my brush. oops. But I love that little bit in there. I think it's kind of eye catching.

Picasso Quote

"There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and intelligence transform a yellow spot into the sun."...Picasso

Happy Birthday Robyn!!
You are definitely one who can transform a yellow spot into the sun. :)

Above The Fridge

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Above The Fridge

7" x 8" Watercolor and Ink on 300 lb Arches

Available

This was created for the "Kitchen Corners" project Shelley Lane, started on WetCanvas, where we were to paint the corners of our kitchens. I have a small kitchen with lots of ledges over the cabinets, and lots and lots of knick-knacks. So the hardest part of this challenge for me was deciding which ledge to do. I actually had to stand on a chair to take a picture to use to paint this as it was so high. This is the ledge above the cabinets over my fridge.

Toys

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Toys

This is a Digi Photo. A Photo that you take and redraw, or paint, or texture or whatever all on the computer, to "digitize it.". This was a challenge the host of the week's WDE set for us, and though I have never done this, and was fumbling a lot...it is kind of fun to now see it on it's own. It almost looks like a picture from a storybook.

It was a fun and different kind of project to keep my mind occupied, until it was time to go bring the furkid home from the hospital.

(WDE Photo Ref EP)

Sketchbook: Tree Study

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Sketchbook: Tree Study

I was waiting for my puppy to get out of surgery at CSU, and decided to spend the time working on a tree study from Terry Harrison's Watercolor Book on painting trees. This is a full page entry in my journal so is about 5 x 8 inches in Watercolor. CSU called about the time I was finishing the painting to tell me my little guy had made it through the surgery well.

Sketchbook: Blue Shirt

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Sketchbook: Blue Shirt

This is a little painting I did with watercolor and ink in my new sketchbook. I am late to the party, but I just discovered these wonderful watercolor sketchbooks that are acid free, archive quality...and claim even Picasso used them. Hey, if they were good enough for him. hehe.

(WDE Photo Ref by Angie Rowe)

Looking Up

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Looking Up
5.5" x 5.5" Watercolor on 140 lb Arches
Available

This shot looking up through a Palm Tree was one I had to try.

(WDE Photo Ref by Angie Rowe)

Photoshoot: A Day In The Life

I joined a project on WetCanvas.com called "A Day in the Life". On October 4th, 2008 we were to take our cameras, and rather than take great photos...instead shoot the activities of our day. At the end of the shoot, we were to pick the one photo we thought was the most representative of our day. As I do a lot of driving, the stock market had begun crashing, and it was obvious the world was changing...this was my shot. It is fun now to look at it, and compare the current gasoline prices. This was regular unleaded by the way.

Time passes so quickly...

I've been sick the last couple of weeks...But I did manage to get in two really amazing photoshoots at Rocky Mountain National Park. I captured what I think are some wonderful photos for my upcoming hosting of the WDE, along with an Elk shot that is what my son calls a "million dollar shot" to maybe paint one day. Well worth the sprained ankle it cost me. :)

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I started and killed a lovely mountain scene. I was truly in love with the ref picture. I got it started in something of an abstract mode to help me with colors..and from there it just went down hill...getting worse by the day. sigh. I guess that just happens sometimes. I think I read that the late great Bob Kuhns only felt 40% or so of his starts were successful. So even the great artists of our time have "those" days too....or a week as it were.

And perhaps most importantly during this time, I asked Lani Vlaanderen if she would consider teaching me, at least as much as she could that can be translated from oil painting to acrylic...or those things common to all good art. She agreed which just thrilled me. I truly enjoy our time together and am learning so much it is amazing. She is not only a teacher, but is proving to be a wonderful mentor and friend.