My Favorites - God's Painting

Here is another beautiful sunset taken in Titusville.  I think it goes nicely with The Word today.

My Favorites - God's Painting

The Word 19

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.

Psalm 19:1-2

In Living Color 32 - Cute Little Bird

I have always loved birds and over the past couple of years I have done a few paintings of them.  Some of the paintings I have also used pen & ink in the process.  Here are a few.

Birds

Cute Little Bird
Pen & Ink w/ Watercolor
8"X10"

This was the first pen & ink drawing that I used watercolor with and decide not to paint the bird but just the foliage. 

 

Prothonotary Warbler

Watercolor

5"X7"

 

 

Cerulean Warbler

Pen & Ink w/ Watercolor

5"X7"

 

 

 

Pine Grosbeak

Pen & Ink w/ Watercolor

8"X10"

 







In Living Color 31 - Trumpet Vine Flower

I decided that watercolors didn't have to be large and could be used for something other than hanging on the wall so I started painting cards to send to family and friends.  I was able to buy a box of blank cards made of watercolor paper with envelopes included.  Here are a few of the ones I did.

Cards
Watercolor
5"X7"

Trumpet Vine Flower
This one was taken from a portion of a painting I posted earlier.

 

Vase of Flowers

You might also recognize this from an earlier posting.



Girl with Apples

This painting was more of a drawing.  I had a set of watercolor pencils that I had not used and wanted to see what kind of results it would produce.  I think I like using the paints with a brush best.

 



Lone Tulip

A good opportunity to practice doing backgrounds.



 

Happy Birthday
This card is one of my favorites to do and it is always fun and colorful.

 



 

Butterfly

I have an idea for a painting I want to do in the future that will include a butterfly so I did this card to see what the one I chose for the painting might look like.

My Favorites - Trees

Believe it or not this picture was taken last summer.  We drove up into the mountains of Utah and it was lightly snowing at the top.  The trees had not yet come into leaf even thought the ground was covered with grass.

My Favorites - Trees

In Living Color 30 - Stained Glass Iris 1

While at the library one day I found a really great step-by-step watercolor book with several paintings I thought would be fun to paint.  The book is Step-By-Step Guide To Painting Realistic Water Colors by Dawn McLeod Heim.  She is a very detailed instructor with easy to follow techniques and I found it quite easy to do the painting.  To date I've only tried one project from the book but I learned a lot and love the painting.  I liked the book so much that I found one on line and bought my own copy.  I look forward to trying a few of the other techniques that she teaches.

Stained Glass Iris
Watercolor
11"X15"

The Word 18

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

Deuteronomy 31:8

In Living Color 29 - Portrait Practice

Still having a desire to do a portrait I decided to try one, of a picture in a book, for a little practice before trying my granddaughter Grace.  I had fun painting it and it certainly looks like a person but I need to work on refining the process.

Portrait Practice - Watercolor

 

After the above practice I found a picture of Grace that Gary had taken that I liked and gave it a try.  I am not at all satisfied with the outcome of either painting but at least I tried and I will try again in the future.

 

Grace - Cartoon

 

Grace - Watercolor

 

I am so amazed at how much layering and detail a portrait requires and I find that choosing a photo with the correct lighting would be a plus in defining the facial features. 

In Living Color 28 - Morocco

After Gary and I took a trip to Morocco it was only fitting to do a painting of it.  Actually our trip consisted of a drive to the Epcot center here in Florida and was done in a day but was fun just the same.  This scene once again gave me the opportunity to try several new techniques.  It consisted of many different layers and textures I had to figure out since I was doing this painting on my own and not with the help of an instructor.  In the original picture there were many people wandering in the street and I decided to cut them out and make up a few of my own.  That was a challenge that I've not done before and as you can see I still need to work on people for any future paintings.  All in all with the exception of the people I like how most of it turned out.

Morocco
Watercolor
11"X14"

In Living Color 27 - Laundry Day

A while back I repainted my laundry room and while doing so I thought it might be fun to create a painting that I could hang in there.  So with a bit of inspiration and a sheet of drawing paper I pulled out the paints and started creating.  I was and am happy with the outcome but I have never taken it from the first stage to a full sized painting using watercolor paper.  I would still like to do that someday with a little tweaking here and there but I have so many others that I am currently working on that I think it will be awhile.

Laundry Day
Watercolor
9"X12"

My Favorites - Natures Art

This photo was taken during a trip to Washington DC in the museum of Natural History.  It is of a sliced section of a gemstone.  I thought it was so beautiful and looked like it could be a painting.  I might just try to paint it one day.

My Favorite - Natures Art

The Word 17

In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

Psalm 33: 21-22

In Living Color 26 - Boat

I'm not sure it's even worth showing this next painting since there is so little of it completed but in order to move ahead to future paintings I will.  This was the next painting in line that Therese worked on with us and the drawing was different than the photo it was taken from.  I got started but as you will see didn't accomplish much and I haven't taken the time or effort to go back to it.  First because I am not the best at working up a painting without an original photo/picture to work from and second because everything but the boat was unavailable to view.  Some day I will attempt to complete it just to say I did.

Boat- Original Photo

 

 

Boat - Watercolor

In Living Color 25 - Daisies

Here's another painting taken from a picture in one of my art books of a vase of flowers that I wanted to try.  This one is very small about 3X3" but cute.  Will probably use a large matting when I frame it.

Daisies - Watercolor

After I finished the above painting I wanted to see what I could do by creating two paintings of flowers that I just made up.  Believe me some days are better than others and results are not the best but they belong in my works so here they are.