In Living Color - 22 - Tropical Fish

While going through our photos on the computer I ran across two paintings I did back when we first moved to Florida that I had forgotten about since I had given them away.  These were done using my first box of water colors that Gary gave me and I was very inexperienced at the time.  But since they are part of the paintings I've done I felt I should include them.  The first is from a note card that I saw and liked.  It doesn't show the best technique but I really liked the colors and might try something like it in the future now that I have a little practice under my belt.

Tropical Fish  - Watercolor

 



As I recall this next painting came from a picture in a library book on art.  I love this style of painting and again might try my own version of it in the future.

 

European Hillside - Watercolor



The Word 16

O Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you.  Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.
Isaiah 33:2

In Living Color - 21 - Magnolia

The next painting in line was a Magnolia.  I really liked the cartoon Therese presented and was quite excited to begin.  As was routine Therese began her painting while the class watched to learn how and were to begin.  With this painting we were learning the process of painting white which turns out not to be much white at all.  We started with the flower then proceeded to work the stems then on to the background which once started must be continued until finished so that lines are not formed.  Fortunately I was able to work the background in sections by the separation of the stems so it was not an entire background that had to be done at once.  Still this was a challenge for me and needless to say I was the last one in the class to complete my picture which took about three months compared to the one month the rest of the class took.  One of the issues that I had was layering the background to get the depth and darkness required.  Seemed that each time I tried to add another layer I would lift the one in place which I then had to correct and start over.  Very frustrating!  But at last I finished and below is the painting which is now framed and hanging in our home.

Magnolia
Watercolor
15"X22"

My Favorites - Mountain Flowers

This picture was taken while on a trip to Utah last summer.  We were driving through the mountain range of Fish Lake while it was snowing and found these beautiful flowers blooming when we reached the bottom.

My Favorites - Mountain Flowers

In Living Color 20 - Beach Scene

Our next painting was a beach scene that gave me both pleasure and pain.  The cartoon that Therese presented had Adirondack chairs sitting on the beach but I had taken a picture several years earlier and decided to use the chairs and umbrella in that picture instead.  Sand, water and clouds were not new to me so this was a chance to see what improvement I could make in those areas.  The tree branches is where the pleasure came in.  I had not done palms before and it was fun learning the process of layering to give it both depth and light.  The chairs and umbrella were a bit of a challenge but nothing note worthy.  Now comes the pain....the shadows.  I chose a grayish color to make the shadows and then was told by Therese that shadows should have purple in them so off to the palette to see how I could fix it.  I made a mix of purple and started to paint over the existing shadow but to my dismay I had mixed the color to dark and was now stuck with a way too purple shadow.  Some colors will lift easily and others will not and by now you probably know I used the will not color.  So try as I may I was not able to correct the issue to my liking and just had to call it good.  If I ever decide to frame this picture I will probably crop as much of the shadow out as feasible without jeopardizing the scene.  Once again a great learning experience.

Beach Scene
Watercolor
11"X15"