My Favorites - Christmas is Love

Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year and a time to reflect on its true meaning which is the Love of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  May you all have a blessed Christmas this year!

My Favorites - Christmas is Love

The Word 11

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.


Matthew 11:28

Just Black & White 14 - John & Wendy

Today, unfortunately, I will be adding another unfinished work for your viewing.  Prior to starting with watercolors, while I was still working with graphite drawings, I decided to start what I had planned on being a series of portrait drawings.  This series was the engagement pictures of the three oldest children.  I started with John and Wendy since John was the first son although they were actually the last to get married.  Here is their engagement picture that I worked from.


John & Wendy - Engagement Photo

First I needed to start making the cartoon that I would work from.  I used the grid system for this and drew each detail square by square.  For this process see June entry Just Black & White 11 .

Once the cartoon was finished I transferred it to the drawing paper.  I used Arches hot press watercolor paper because it has a very smooth surface to work on with a more professional finished look.  Here is the cartoon.

John & Wendy - Cartoon

I spent many months on the portion I completed with the most time being spent on getting Johns hair just right.  I should have waited until he had a buzz it would have been easier.  Anyway I did complete the most important and difficult areas and the rest of it should be a piece of cake in comparison.  I'm not sure at what point I will get back to it since I am finally feeling like I'm making good progress with watercolor and don't want to interrupt that process.  I do plan on completing it and also plan on doing the other two children as well.  I just hope I live so long.  Here is my unfinished drawing.

John & Wendy - Unfinished Drawing

I believe it was from this drawing that I received the comment from Louise that I was a photo realist.  I guess I'm inclined to agree.

In Living Color 11 - Fruit & Vegie's

I wasn't quite done working with fruits and vegetables and in the process of doing a few more I had several new challenges.  Let's start with Cantaloupe.  

Cantaloupe - Still Life

Can you imagine trying to paint all those veins on the skin.  I couldn't but Louise had a great way to do it.  First I put a wash over the entire skin area of the cantaloupe with the color I wanted the veins to be.  Now the fun part.  I took a white candle and drew all the vein lines onto the area just painted once it was dry. To complete this area I put the final washes over it and only the unwaxed portion picks up the final colors. In the waxed area you get a mottled look due to the texture of the paper causing the wax to rest only on the raised area where it repels the paint.

Cantaloupe - Watercolor

Next in line was Eggplant and Green Beans.  Gary and I don't eat egg plant but I loved the color and thought it would make a nice contrast and compliment to the green beans.  

Eggplant & Green Beans - Still Life

I didn't really learn any new techniques with this one but found it a challenge to get the reflection of light on the eggplant and also put on enough layers of paint to achieve the deep color without removing the previous layer .

Eggplant & Green Beans - Watercolor

Last but not least was the Strawberries and Eggs.  Okay I know that eggs are not a fruit or a vegetable but it was what Louise wanted us to try.  The purpose for this painting was to show the reflection of the strawberries on the white of the eggs.

Strawberries & Eggs - Still Life

Now the challenge of this one was not in painting it but in being able to draw the picture and start painting it in a three hour class.  Knowing that I wouldn't accomplish that I decided to draw the still life the night before at home so I could start the painting when I arrived at class.  I would still need to have the still life set up in the classroom so I set it up for the drawing and when I finished I taped the eggs in place and put them back into the refrigerator.  The next day I just had to take the dish with eggs in place and add the strawberries when I arrived.  As you can see in the picture above the eggs were sweating due to going from cold area to a warm room.

Strawberries & Eggs - Watercolor

Louise gave me a wonderful complement by asking if she could use copies of my completed eggplant, strawberry and fox fur pictures to show her students in another class she was teaching  how it helps to learn the skills of drawing prior to painting.

Again, unfortunately, all the above watercolor pictures were framed prior to taking pictures so the picture quality is not the best.

Pen & Ink 5 - Limpkin

After doing several small pen & ink birds I thought it was time to get serious and try something larger (11X14) with more detail.  I looked through my collection of bird books and found a picture of a Limpkin that would be appropriate and began the enlargement process this time by freehand drawing versus the grid method.  


Pen & Ink Reference Photo of Limpkin

It is amazing how much time you can spend making dots, lines and the like on a project of this size but found it to be worth the effort in the end.  The photo of my finished piece was taken post framing so there was a slight reflection from the glass but I learned a good lesson regarding taking pictures prior to framing.

Pen & Ink Drawing - Limpkin

My Favorites - Light Show

A couple of months ago Gary and I took a trip to Washington DC to see and experience all the good things about our government.  At the end of our tour through the Smithsonian Museum of Art we experience one last piece of art in the form of a light show as we took a slow stroll on the moving sidewalk.  It was amazing to watch and although this picture doesn't do it justice it does add a touch of beauty just as it is.


My Favorites - Light Show

In Living Color 10 - Glass

Next in line was glass which I found to be very interesting but challenging.  How on earth do you create a three dimensional transparent object using flat white paper and color.  So not to make it to easy on myself I decided to try three different pieces in no less than three different colors.  What was I thinking!!  I scrounged around the house and came up with these three items and set up the still life.  Out of the three the green piece is the one I was sure would be next to impossible.


Glass - Still Life

As it turns out once I started painting I found that the green piece was the one I did the best.  I wasn't real happy with the way the other two finished mostly because I kept overworking them trying to get the shape and perspective correct.  All in all it was a good learning experience and maybe some day I'll try it again.

Glass - Watercolor

Now if glass wasn't hard enough it was time to move onto something even more challenging.  Fur or hair as it is sometimes referred too.  I had the perfect subject.  When I was a young girl, and I do mean young,  my mother had two fox shoulder wraps which I inherited and have kept all these years. I know that this might upset some people but I didn't harm them I just inherited them and don't mean to offend anyone.  They made a great subject to paint and here is a picture of the two.

Fox Shoulder Wraps

Now I didn't want to paint both of them and there was someone else in the class that didn't know what to paint so I decided to share.  I chose the one on the right.  Kay my classmate painted the one on the left but never completed her painting since she couldn't quite get use to have it staring back at her with one eye.  Unfortunately one of the eyes was missing.  Here is the still-life, no pun intended, of the one I painted.

Fox Shoulder Wrap - Still Life

Painting fur one hair at a time was like watching grass grow but believe it or not I like the detailed work and didn't mind it.  Here is the finished picture.

Fox Shoulder Wrap - Watercolor

The Word 10

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.


Philippians 4:6

In Living Color 9 - Lace

Louise was on a roll at having us learn new techniques so after metals we moved onto lace.  I wasn't interested in doing a picture of lace so I set up the still life so I could practice lace and try using salt in the area where the fabric lays under the lace to see what effect it would have.


Lace - Still Life

Using salt gives a very interesting effect to the watercolor.  After painting an area and while the paint is still wet but not soggy you sprinkle salt onto it.  The salt absorbs the moisture and once it is dry and you brush it off it will leave different patterns in the area painted.  Using different types of salt such as table salt or rock salt will leave a different degree of pattern.


Lace - Watercolor using Salt

It was fun and maybe someday I'll do one for real.

In Living Color 8 - Metals

After spending time doing fruits and vegetables it was time to try something new even though I did return to do more produce a little later.  Next on the list was the art of painting metals.  After looking around the house to see what might be interesting to paint I came up with the following.


Metals - Still Life

The coffee pot was one belonging to my mother and the copper pot is one I picked up to simmer potpourri.  I thought doing two different metals would be a fun challenge.  It was a challenge but unfortunately I didn't completed the coffee pot.  I still need to do the coffee pot if only to say that I did.  Here is my next unfinished work.

Metals - Watercolor

My Favorites - Cactus Flower

When Gary and I moved to Florida we stayed in a condo in the area near where we were going to build our house.  It was a great neighborhood and I enjoyed going for walks when the weather permitted. In a yard at the end of the street we lived on was a very large cactus which came into bloom during the spring.  It was such an amazing sight to see.  The flowers only bloom at night and would usually start to wilt by early dawn so you had to catch them in the early morning if you wanted to get any good pictures.  They are called Nightblooming Cereus and you can find more information here.  This is going to be one of my future paintings.


My Favorites - Cactus Flower

In Living Color 7 - Vegetables

After several trial runs with fruit and vegetable still life's I decided to try a new arrangement of several different vegetables.  So off to the store to see what I could come up with.  After making my selection I went home and set up the still life in an arrangement I thought would make a balanced picture. Next I took several pictures since I don't paint quickly and when working with fresh produce you might end up with your picture changing on you as you paint if you don't.  Here is my arrangement.


Vegetables - Still Life Photo

When I was close to the finish Gary came by and took a picture of the progress.  Aren't husbands wonderful.


That's me painting!

I finally finished and here is the results.  By this time the beet was beat!


Vegetable - Still Life

By the way I didn't paint the background.....it's just how the picture came out when I put it on the blog.

My Favorites - Aren't They Cute!

On another early morning trip out to Black Point I was able to capture this shot.  Can you tell by now that I like birds?  These are Snowy Egrets.

The Word 9

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.


1 Corinthians 2:9

In Living Color 6 - Apples

Louise was an amazing teacher and one of her attributes and rules for herself and others was to never put your hand to an other's work.  Rarely did she show you how it was done but instead talked you through it.  In doing this it forced the student to think it through and learn by trial and error.  As we moved forward it was time to work on still life subjects.  Louise made a suggestion then each student was responsible to bring to the class and set up a still life to paint.  Apples was the first subject and we could choose any way to pose and paint them.  For my first try at a still life I was pleased with the apples but less than happy with the shadow I placed under them.

Still Life - Apples

Next came the pepper, I decided not to add the shadow.

Still Life - Pepper

On to onions and garlic which was a challenge making it appear transparent.  I did do somewhat better in adding a shadow.

Still Life - Onion & Garlic

We learned a new technique with our next subject.  After putting the first wash of color on the orange we lightly rubbed a wax candle over the area where light would be reflected on the orange.  The watercolor paper had a slight texture to it and would only grab the wax on the upper layers.  As the remaining layers of paint were applied the paint would repel from the waxed area leaving only the first layer of color showing through.

Still Life - Orange

After working on the various pieces above I tried another still life at home using a few vegies.  Unfortunately I still had trouble with the shadow.

Still Life - Vegies

The Word 8

I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.


Psalm 121:1-2

My Favorites - Oregon Coast

It' so fun to look through pictures taken in the past.  As I was looking I found a picture taken on our honeymoon of the Oregon Coast.


Oregon Coast

In Living Color 5

Today I was spending some time going through old photographs and discovered a few I'd taken of a piece of ceramic I painted back in 1985.  At the time I painted it I was single and dating a guy named Rick.  He is what I would refer to as a Mountain Man not only in looks but also in his way of life.  One of the activities he liked doing was panning for gold so he took me to a stream up in Idaho and let me try it first hand.  With this experience in mind I found this piece of ceramic and painted it for him as a gift.


Mountain Man Ceramic Painting

Rick was know as Hard Rock Rick and so on the bottle at his left I labeled the contents as Hard Rock.

Mountain Man Ceramic Painting

My Favorites - Water Lilies

As I was driving home one day from my art class I noticed a pond covered with water lilies so stopped to take a few shots.  Luckily the yards in Florida are large so I could walk around the pond without intruding on the owners.


Water Lilies

The Word 7

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.


Psalms 19:141

In Living Color 4 - Color Value Charts

After spending a fair amount of time working in pencil and pen & ink several students, including myself, talked Louise into teaching us the art of watercolor.
Our first assignment was to get to know our paints and there values in a way similar to that of the graphite pencils which meant making a color chart.  The first step was to paint a short strip using full color then dip our brush tip into water and paint another strip after the first one.  By dipping the brush in the water it would slightly dilute the color giving us a new value.  We continued this across the paper until the original color was very pale using each color we had on our pallet.


 Color Value Charts

Our homework for that week was to do a VALUE painting.  We could chose any subject to paint but were allowed to use only one color.  I chose Paynes Gray to give it a black and white affect.  This is known as a monochromatic painting.  I was a bit skeptical as to how it would work but went for it and here is the result.

Monochromatic Painting - Chicken

The following week we continued down the same path only this week we were allowed to use three colors.  I used the Paynes Gray along with Yellow Ocher and Alizarin Crimson.  In using these colors we were allowed to mix them in order to come up with various shades.  Here is the result.

Tri-colored Painting - Chicken

Last but not least we were allowed to use as many paints as our heart desired to complete the last of the series.  Here is the result.

Multi-colored Painting - Chicken

My Favorites - Ice Cream

It is officially Hurricane season in Florida.  In 2004 right after Gary and I moved here, Florida was hit with four hurricanes.  Frances was a BIG one and we left town until it was over.  While hiding out in Savannah we found a cute little ice cream shop to sweeten the experience.

Pen & Ink 4 - Birds 3

Since I really enjoy doing pen & ink and love birds I decided I'd try doing a couple more drawings similar to the two I previously completed.


Pen & Ink Drawing - Nesting bird

Pen & Ink Drawing - Baby Bird 

The Word 6

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles: they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31

My Favorites - Dancing Birds

On another trip to the Black Point Bird Refuge I was lucky enough to capture a couple of birds trying to impress each other in dance.  Although I'm not 100% sure, I believe the birds are Snowy Egrets.

The Word 5

Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.


Psalm 25:4-5

Just Black & White 13 - Betty

It’s time to meet Betty.  Betty was my neighbor and became a good friend.  We first met when I was cleaning out the rain gutters at the condo we were living in while our home was being built.  She saw me and jokingly asked if I would do hers as well and was a bit surprised when I picked up the ladder and walked over to her yard.  From that day forward we became very good friends.  Betty was in her eighties and had a unique personality.  She was not afraid to speak her mind and most times you had to take her with a grain of salt.  I learned a lot from Betty during the time we spent together since she was very well read and enjoyed the cultural events that both Gary and I love.  This picture is one I took at her eighty-seventh birthday party and knew I had to put my pencils to it.

Betty Montrose

Betty was a very independent lady living on her own, driving her car, playing pinochle with a group of ladies weekly and doing all she could to keep active.  Unfortunately time caught up with her and her health started going down hill.  I was blessed to be there to help when she needed to go to the doctors office and hospital visits.  This picture is the black and white I worked from in my drawing.

Betty in Black & White

Betty’s family didn’t live here in Florida and she finally had to be moved to Minnesota to reside in an assisted living facility close to where her son lived.  We continued to keep in touch but Betty finally passed on to a better life.  I miss her still and want to dedicate this drawing to a very special lady.

My Friend Betty

My Favorites - Red, White & Blue

Two years ago my husband Gary was able to get a pass to take us to a Shuttle launch at the Kennedy Space Center, Pad 39.  It was an opportunity we couldn't pass up and we were able to get closer to the launch site than the news media.  Although I wasn't able to get very good shots of the launch itself, I did get this shot three minutes into it.  Checking with Gary, my very own rocket engineer, I was told this is called an exhaust plume.  I thought since tomorrow is July the 4th and this coming Friday is the last Shuttle launch and the plume was red, white & blue, it was a fitting picture to post.


Shuttle Exhaust Plume