Am I Out-Horsed with This Painting???

I started off with some glazes of a cool orange and aureolin on the petals.

Then I decided I needed to mask to get an even background. BOY!!! Did I ever need the masking!
This is after two washes - aureolin and burnt orange, then thin burnt orange and  quin. violet.

Ultimately, I had to do about five washes of black. As the brush was leaving faint streaks, regardless of how gentle I was, the last wash I applied on sprayed- wet paper, and did it much like a pouring. That technique gave me a smooth black background. Now I am going over some of the petals with a thin violet glaze for shadows. It's about ready for some intense yellows and oranges now.
The size is 13 x 19 inches.

Reference photo
I was coming home from the library one summer evening, and these glorious dahlias caught my eye. I had to stop, ask the home-owner's permission,  and take some photos.

Thank you so much for dropping by! Your comments are most welcome.

Out-Horsed

   This a term in "rider-ese" that indicates that the rider is asking for trouble. The horse is too powerful, has too much movement, not adequately trained ... the list goes on. When you are out-horsed, you feel like you are sitting on a powder keg of explosives, and someone has just lit the fuse. I've been there. My second horse was young, relatively untrained, had a lot of movement, and an attitude. I have the broken bones and scars to prove it!
   I am feeling the same way about my new camera. I had been using my sister's [she of the Boxer fame] camera, and was happily plugging along. Then she needed it back to take photos of her new Boxer. I had to get a new camera. I couldn't really afford it, and it has functions that I will never use, but there it is - out-horsed again!
  Complaints aside, it is a dream to use, but somehow I inadvertently pushed the wrong button, and I have been studying the manual, trying to figure out what I did, so I can re-set it.

Thank you for "listening". My grump is done.

I DID IT!

I finally got organized to create  a paypal site on Gallery at the Farm page. Here, you are able to securely purchase beautiful cards created from some of my paintings. Take a look, and let me know what you think. If there is a specific image you would like re-created, please let me know.

Thank you for dropping by! 

The Queen of Touch-ups Strikes Again ...

11 x 4 3/4 inches

12 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches

For both sheep paintings, I did a wet-in-wet wash with a thin violet mixture on everything except the sheep. This was to bring out the white of the sheep, and add more cohesion overall. 

8 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches
I worked on all the large berries and leaves , adding more to their shadows.

I feel I've done my time with small paintings for now. My comfort zone in painting is when I work on something at least a quarter sheet in size. I am planning something big and bright and floral. Stay tuned!

Thank you for dropping by, and your comments are always welcome!

My work on the snowberries is done ... or ... a lot of work for a small painting

Since the last post, I started to add the shadows ...

...  and worked on the leaves

This picks up the warmth better ...

... and this one gives a better idea of the greens, but [again] neither one is like the real thing.

The colors I used throughout the snowberries painting were aureolin, quin. gold, quin. sienna and phthalo blue.  All was done wet-in-wet, with a bit of direct painting and some softening and lifting.

The framable size is  8 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.  or   22 x 22 cm.
If you love it, and can't live without it, the painting is available.

Thank you for dropping by, and your comments are always welcome.

Can't Work on Just One Painting ... or ... Another Seasonal Watercolor

I've masked, and done a w/w wash of phthalo blue with quin. violet. I am  trying to start with brighter colors - they can be dulled and darkened later.
The paper is 13 x 9 inches, Arches 300 lb. CP.

More masking of background tree boughs, and more dark blue ...

Here, I've removed the mask, and started on the lamp post.  I have dry-brushed along the length of the post to give the impression of snow, and done some of the leaf-style detailing at the top. The glow of the light I have done w/w with aureolin and quin. siena.
I've always loved The Chronicles of Narnia series of books. One of my favorite scenes is this lamp post near Mr. Tumnus' home. I have tried to give the lamp post an organic, tree-ish look, and will try to get more mystery and depth the background forest.

Thank you for visiting! Your comments are always welcome.

Another "Seasonal" Work in Progress ... Snowberries

I've masked the foreground image. I use quin. siena, aureolin and phthalo green in a w/w wash, dropping on the pigment.  Then I put on some saran wrap to get a pattern.  You can vaguely see some of the pattern under the later green washes of phthalo blue, quin. gold and quin. siena.
The painting is on Arches 300 lb. CP, and the size is 9 x 9 inches.

I've done a lot of darkening washes with quin. siena mixed with phthalo blue.

Now  starting the leaves ...

The snowberry is a bush that grows wild here in wooded areas. In September, it puts out small white puffball-type berries the size of the end of your thumb. They are very striking against the rich, dark green foliage.

Thank you for dropping by! Your comments are always welcome.

I've Got Cards ...

I have found some fabulous ink-jet paper for cards. It looks and feels lie watercolor paper, and takes color beautifully. The paper is 250 GSM, or 90 lb/square inch. The size is 7 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches, 16.5 x 14 cm.  As I was printing cards to take to the gallery today, I thought it would be good to offer them here, too.
I am offering the cards [with envelopes, of course] at $4.50 each, with $1.00 for shipping and handling. or 5 for $20.00. Please leave me a note if you are interested. And yes, I do have paypal.

Thank you for dropping by! Your comments are most welcome!

Flying by the Seat of My Pants ... or ... No Reference Photo

Not wanting to waste paper, I decided to experiment with something drawn from my imagination.  At the cooperative gallery, cards sell well. Christmas is coming [ack!], and I have to get something somewhat seasonal for a card idea. I came up with this - some sheep heading home through the snow.
I did a drop-blobs-of-paint very wet wash at the top [using cobalt blue, quin. violet and a bit of quin. burnt orange], and a very thin wash on the left side [cobalt blue and phthalo blue].   

I removed the masking, and did some shadowing and detail work on the sheep. For my liking, the background trees were too dark, and there was no cohesion.  

So I lightened the trees, and added a wet-in-wet wash of phthalo blue and quin. violet. I think that has integrated the painting well. All that is left is some more detailing on the sheep and shed.
The paper size is 11.5 x 5.5 inches, and it is Arches 140 lb. CP.

This is the second part of the experiment - trying a similar idea on the Fabriano. The paper size is 13 x 7.5 inches.
Again, I started with a very wet application for the background, using quin. gold. alizarin crimson, quin. violet and cobalt blue. The left was done as in the previous painting.

The background needed some trees ...
Another w/w application of quin. violet, quin. burnt orange and cobalt blue.

To achieve more unity, this received the same treatment along the left side with quin. violet and phthalo blue.
So far, both paintings seem to be humming along nicely.

Thank you so much for dropping by, and your comments are always welcome!  

Rose Is Done

I took this photo yesterday, when we had about 2 minutes of almost- sunshine. The colors are much more true-to-life.

Today, I just put a w/w wash over the leaves on the lower right, as the whites seemed to distract from the rose.  Signed and finished!
The framable size is 13 x 9 inches.
$125.00
Please leave me a note if you are interested in purchasing the rose.

Thank you for dropping by! Your comments are always welcome.