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

 

 





In Living Color 48 - A Stitch In Time 1 & 2

Okay,  I was hoping that my last paintings would have been a little larger so I had to try another in my normal quarter size sheet.  This turned out to be a bit more technical and took a lot more time but again I was just having fun.  I started out with the same process as the smaller ones which meant I had to get real creative to fill a much larger canvas.  Here is a sample of the beginning stage which consisted of random shapes and colors.

A Stitch In Time - Step One

 

After filling in all the space and adding a few more details it looks like this.

 

A Stitch In Time - Step Two

 

At this point it is ready for the misting of water and a sprinkling of salt to add an additional effect.  You can see the mixing of colors this creates.

 

A Stitch In Time - Step Three

 

 Once the above step was dry I decided I didn't like the white space that was left and chose to fill every area with different colors that would contrast with the color next to it.  I also found that some of the areas became over mixed and muddy looking so I did some extra layering of color to correct it.

 

A Stitch In Time - Step Four

 

 Now that I was finished it somehow didn't seem complete so after much thought I decided it resembled a Crazy Quilt but didn't have the required stitching a real quilt would.  So out comes the trusty Pen & Ink tools.  Below is a close up of the result.

 

A Stitch In Time - Step Five

 

Doing hundreds of little dashes takes a bit of time but I think the final result was worth it.

 

A Stitch In Time - One

Watercolor

11" X 15 "

 

Now that it was finished I felt it was a little darker than I had hoped for so I thought the best cure for that was to do another painting and be more careful with the misting process.  So I began and completed the painting and got the results I originally had hoped for but found that in comparing the two I really did like the first one the best.  Just like one of Grandma's old quilts.

 

A Stitch In Time - Two

Watercolor

11" X 15 "