My Favorites - Shark Tooth Mushroom

OK, so maybe it isn't a Shark Tooth Mushroom but it definitely reminds me of one. 

My Favorites - Christmas Angel

 MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND MAY THE COMING YEAR BRING YOU BLESSINGS FROM THE LORD, JESUS CHRIST, OUR SAVIOR.

The Word 30

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them , and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.   Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Luke 2:8-12

My Favorites - St. Augustine Sunrise

I was able to join Gary for a business trip he made to St. Augustine, Florida and was fortunately up early enough to capture this beautiful sunrise.

St. Augustine Sunrise

The Word 29

However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

1 Corinthians 2:9-12

In Living Color 56 - Stained Glass Peacock

Wanting to try another Tiffany style painting I found this one and just fell in love with it.  So the journey begins.

Tiffany Peacock Image

Here is the first stage of the painting and it always amazes me how much it doesn't look anything like the original.

Finally I got all of the feathers finished after spending weeks of mindless blending.  By the time I reached this point I thought I might need therapy.  It was very much like the last Tiffany I painted trying to keep your place from one area to the next working off a small version of the original.

At this point I have completed all of the area that will require the leading and have begun the process of painting the black lines that surround each and every patch of color.  I really will need therapy before this is over.

At last in spite of the mind numbing repetition and completion of the body the peacock is finished.  What a glorious day and I just love it.

Stained Glass Peacock
Watercolor
11" X 15"

My Favorites - Florida Sunset

Here is another beautiful Florida sunset!  I loved the formation of this one, so powerful.

In Living Color 55 - Moonlight Rose

My newest adventure finds me back in the gardens where I find beauty that only God can create.  This picture was taken during one of our many trips to Winter Park, Florida a town not far from where we live.  It is a quaint little town that we love to visit, as any artist would, when they have the annual Art Festival.  This rose was so beautiful that I just had to try painting it.

With the cartoon made and placed on my paper (Arches 140# cold press) I wasn't sure where to begin but thought outlining the petals would help me get the vision a little easier.  I found that once I did that I just needed to continue working inward as you can see in this series of photos.

At this point I felt like the rose was complete and if not I could adjust it as the remaining portion starts to filled in.  What would a rose be without leaves? Unfinished.... so leaves was the next step to tackle, which is not my favorite project but it needed to be done.  Below are the steps taken to complete this part.  You might notice that in this set of photos it looks like a different rose in each picture but this is due to taking the shots after each session and not following the same process to take each picture.

With the rose and leaves complete it was time to fill in the background.  I wasn't interested in using the background from the photo and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do so it was time to put this painting aside until I could figure it out.  I often come to this point while doing a painting and have learned that patience is the best way to keep a good painting from going bad.  After weeks of pondering I finally came up with a solution I felt would be perfect.  The solution came from a painting I saw in a magazine that would complement the rose and  allow it to stand out.  This stage was done by applying many layers and letting the color build up with each layer.  I wanted the effect of having other flowers and leaves in the background by using complementary colors but forcing them back using smaller clusters and a deeper value to achieve this.  Once this was complete I checked the values of the entire painting and made adjustments as needed.



Moonlight Rose
Watercolor
11" X 15"

The Word 28

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Hebrews 11:1, 3

In Living Color 54 - Dr Holoway

Last year was a trying time for me when I went to my doctor and he informed me I had need for a surgery I would never have expected.  Arrangements were made for me to meet with another doctor who would perform the surgery and a date set up.  After completing the operation and all but the last visit required behind me my loving husband and I thought it would be nice to give the surgery doctor a thank you gift for a job well done.  Being an artist it felt fitting to do some kind of art work for him and since I had recently painted my self portrait one of those rare ah-haa moments came.  Now how to get a photo of him that I could work from.  Easy, just google his name and low and behold the perfect image appeared.  I have to admit he was rather surprised!

Dr. Holoway
Acrylic
8" X 10"

My Favorites - Icy Delight

Looking through some of the photos I took while living in Utah I came across one taken in a local canyon during the winter.  Florida can be a rather HOT experience during the summer and this picture looked so refreshing to me.

In Living Color 53 - Self Portrait

I like working on more than one painting at a time rather than one from start to finish.  I find that as I work on a painting I will run into an area that I'm not sure how I want to paint it or just get frustrated and need to put it aside for a period of time.  If I reach this state on each of the paintings I am currently working on, and I have, I will try to throw a small project in to distract me.  This painting is one of those projects.  After seeing the paintings of Andy Warhol I thought it would be fun to do a self portrait in that style.  Taking a picture I had  I ran it through PhotoShop effects and got a two-tone picture I could use as a cartoon.  Then using acrylics and a canvas I made this painting.

Self Portrait
Acrylics
8" X 10"

The Word 27

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

My Favorites - Angel's Trumpet

One of my favorite plants is the Angel's Trumpet mostly because they have such stunning flowers.  Recently I was able to find one and bought it on the spot   They are difficult to come across since they are know for being poisonous and some use the flowers to get high on.  Don't understand that one!!  This photo just shows two of the seven flowers that bloomed after we got it into a lovely pot and in a sheltered area.  The flowers are about seven inches in length and they start as pale yellow and by the end of the day turn coral in color.

 

In Living Color 52 - Pastor Larry

Out of all the paintings I have done so far I think this is the one I spent the most time on deciding whether I wanted to paint it or not.  One of the ladies in the art group I meet with each week decided it would be fun if each of us painted the same photo using our own style and medium.  Now usually I am up to trying something new but this photo was a portrait of our Pastor and we were going to present them to him as a Christmas gift.  No pressure there!  Well four of the ladies got started and had worked on them for a few weeks while I was still deciding what I wanted to do.  At last I decided why not give it a try, if I didn't like the finished painting I just would not present it.

Here is the photo that we started with.

Pastor Larry

Of the four that had begun Margaret decided to do a graphite drawing, Marge was working in acrylics after the Brito style, Bonnie was also using acrylics in what I dubbed as 'dabbelism' and Trish was doing acrylics in two-tone.  Everyone was working on a 8" X 10" canvas which also gave me reason for pause since I hadn't done much with acrylics on canvas and didn't want to begin with a portrait. But it was fun watching each week to see what was produced by each lady.

Below is a recent picture of the group of ladies I meet with.  Since this painting was done we have added a couple and lost one to other commitments. 
Top row left to right:  Janet, Bonnie, Billie, Marge and Paulette
Bottom row left to right:  Angie and Margaret















Once I completed the cartoon I decided I had to do watercolor on watercolor paper and would then mount it to a canvas so that all the paintings would be unison. 

I started with the shirt even though it is wise to leave blacks until the end of the painting so you don't accidentally cause it to bleed into the lighter colors if you drip water by accident.  I then moved to the first layers of skin tone and with just this much done I was really nervous about the end result.

 

Knowing that I needed to eventually paint Pastors eyes and didn't want to practice on the original painting I did a small sample and then made notations as to what changes I would make on the painting itself.  Using this sample I was able to lay it on top of the original to see how it would come together....well sort of.

 

With that little exercise done I went for the real thing and got brave enough to work on the mouth as well.

 

It was now time to work on refining the details and adding more layers of paint to even out the skin tone.  Keep in mind as you view the photos that each one is taken at a different point in time under different lighting conditions so they won't be consistent as far as color goes.  With this sitting I worked on adding the brows, refining the eyes and ears and unfortunately adding some wrinkles, or should I call them life lines, along with completing the overall color of the skin.

 

 I now felt I was finished with his face and decided not to try to improve anything since I have found that when I do I end up with mud from overworking the colors.  From here I had two areas to complete and since I was dreading the thought of how to paint the various layers of the hair I went for the background.  Actually I really didn't know how I wanted to do the background either so I played around on another sheet of WC paper until I came up with a simple but colorful example.  For this effect I painted wet on wet blending various colors as I moved around the paper.  As I completed each section in the movement I added a sprinkling of salt to give it one more dimensional effect.

 

Okay, now I don't have a choice, I need to paint the hair.  So again back to the practice sheet to try various colors and methods.  I came up with my best efforts and started with the lighter colors and continued layering until I was done.  This photo will give you an example of what the Pastor might look like when he reaches his fill of wisdom many years down the road.

 

Pastor Larry Linkous

Watercolor

8" X 10"











A Pleasent Surprize!

So far in my art history I haven't taken the opportunity to enter any of my art into competition. Earlier this year I decided to put two floral watercolor paintings in the Space Coast Birding Exhibition art show.  I was a little nervous but excited to enter to see what might come of it and to walk through and see some of my art hanging with all the others.  I didn't win anything but enjoyed the experience and it gave me the confidence to try again.

Last month our local college, East Florida State College, presented an art show for the community to view and in which I could participate.  Several of the ladies in my art group entered their work and I decided to join them.  So, I packed up two watercolors and a graphite drawing to enter.  They would be on display at the library on campus for three weeks with the awards being presented on the 30th of April along with a small reception and the presentation of the grand prize winner.

 

 

Gary and I decided to wait until the night of the reception to go view the art and see if I might have placed in either of the two categories I entered.  Much to my delight I had a second place ribbon hanging below one of the watercolors here.  What a blessing to have the judges admire my work and consider it worthy of a ribbon.

 

 

 



The Word 26

Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes. Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 17:7-8

In Living Color 51 - Stained Glass Iris 2

This painting is going to look familiar to those who have followed my blog for a while as you can see from entry In Living Color 30 here.  When I painted the first Iris I followed the instructions to a tee but always wanted to try it again in a warm color and here are the results.

Stained Glass Iris
Watercolor
11" X 15"

My Favorites - Nesting Time

I had a very special surprise this past week when I looked out my bathroom window and saw a Cardinal making a nest in the gardenia bush just outside.  Imagine, my very own 'birds eye view' to watch the miracle of birth.  Over the next few days the mom would sit for a while then go about her normal business until all the eggs were laid.  She now sits full time but every now and again she leaves and I took that opportunity to run outside and snap a picture of the nest.  Once the eggs hatch I hope to get a few more shots as the babies grow that I can share with you.

In Living Color 50 - Tulips

This painting is another study of one of the works of Birgit O'Conner who I've used as a teacher in the past.  I am drawn to her work and find I like to paint using her style which seems very much like Georgia O'keeffe.  The last two of her paintings I've studied and painted are In Living Color 34 here and 42 here. 

Tulips from Lesson Book

 

 

Tulips - Step by Step Process

 

The first step was to determine which colors to use from my palette then get started.  Here is the beginning stage, the first tulip.

 

 

Once I felt comfortable with the painting I moved onto the second tulip.

 

With the tulips complete it was time to do the stems.  The technique to achieve a rounded three dimensional look was tricky, especially the one on the curve, but I finally came up with something I was happy with.

 

 

The last step was to complete the background which took a bit of  time just to  determine how I wanted to do it.  I decided on an all dark look which is a little different than the original that I was working from but I really like the outcome.

 

Tulips

Watercolor

11" X 15"



 





The Word 25

The Resurrection

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.  There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.  His appearance was like lighting, and his clothes were white as snow.  The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.  The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.  Come and see the place where he lay.  Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee.  There you will see him.'  Now I have told you."

Matthew 28: 1-7

My Favorites - La Caille Restaurant

This picture was taken on the grounds of the La Caille restaurant in Sandy, Utah.  It is a great eating establishment which I've only been to twice but enjoyed both times.  The grounds are beautiful and are often used for wedding receptions.  Quite often you will see peacocks strolling around.

My Favorites - La Caille Restaurant

In Living Color 49 - Rock Painting 1 & 2

Being a Grammy has its benefits and one of those is being able to spend some one on one time with your grandchild.  We had an overnighter with each of our  two older grandsons living here in Florida and when Eli the second oldest was here we had art time together.  Eli loved my cat Solomon so I decided to paint a picture of Solomon on a rock for him.  Now this was the first time I had ever painted on a rock and wasn't sure how to begin. I started by finding a rock painting of a cat that looked like my Lynx Point and making a copy sized to fit the rock.  With the outline in place the painting started.  This did not do my Solomon justice since he was such a beautiful cat and I decided that if I ever did this again I would use my own photo and figure it out from there but none the less Eli loved it.

Grandson Eli

Rock Painting
Solomon

 

Now the older grandson Miles was actually the first to stay over with us but we had different activities planned with him which did not include rock painting.  When he saw the rock that was painted for his brother Eli he also requested I paint one for him.  He asked for a Solomon rock but I thought he might want something more suited to his liking so in asking he decided a Bald Eagle was in order.  With a little experience under my belt this one came together a lot better and Miles was pleased.

 

Grandson Miles

 

Rock Painting

Bald Eagle