Leave Some to the Imagination!

I watched the elephants for a long time at the St Louis zoo. This one was spraying dirt all over himself making quite a spectacular show! I had done some sketches from a photo, then a few direct paintings with no pre-drawing, and finally a painting of the elephant integrated into an exciting underpainting or color wash. In the watercolor workshop I attended recently I was intrigued with how Jean Haines would typically leave out at least half of the detail of her subject. Certainly adds to the mystery doesn't it?

 

Posted with Blogsy

Enjoyed painting with a group of  painters yesterday, many of whom I have known since my early days in watercolor.  It was an inspiring show and tell, with everyone sharing their recent art projects and activities. This was from a photo of a peach blossom, which I enjoyed painting from a starting point and using clean water to pull paint into other areas. I then created stems by negatively painting around them with turquoise blue. I added the touch of yellow at the end, which I am satisfied with, as it is not as strong in the actual painting as it is in this photo.  

Cockerel

British artist, Jean Haines, taught a workshop in west Texas last week, one of only 3 stops she made in the states.  I spent most of the time watching her demonstrate her techniques, which was fascinating, and I will surely tell more about her unique style in future posts.  I am having fun practicing what I learned and integrating some of her techniques into my painting style.  Using my own reference photo of a rooster, I painted my "cockerel" onto a lively wash while in this class. 

Waterloo Watercolor Group exhibit

On a springtime walk in the country near my home, I delighted in the discovery of these emerging white blossoms, enjoying the anticipation of dewberries to come and immersing myself in capturing their freshness in my painting.  I enjoyed creating a balance of light and dark as well as a combination of lost and found edges.  

This painting is one of 3 juried into the Waterloo Watercolor Group Fall show, currently on exhibit at the North Hills Gallery.

 
Here I am receiving a Merit Award for Rose Joy at the opening reception for the show. The exhibit is especially interesting this year as the artists wrote a brief statement for each painting, explaining their inspiration for the piece.  I am honored to be a part of such a beautiful watercolor exhibit and such an interesting and diverse group of painters!

The Waterloo Watercolor Group Fall Show continues through December 1 at the North Hills Gallery, 7050 Village Center Drive in Austin, Texas.

The Pearls Before Swine Art Show last weekend in Elgin, Texas featured both 2-D and 3-D art from local and regional artists, with lots of lighthearted humor as well as incredible art work.  You can see the photo gallery from the event at www.elginartsassociation.com. 

I picked some little white flowers from my garden and put them in a blue vase, with the intention of playing with paint and keeping the juices flowing while helping to host the art show last weekend.  I'm glad I started it at home, because at the show there were so many people asking questions, buying art and having a good time, I had time to add only a few brushstrokes!

This little painting is a combination of direct painting to begin the centers of the flowers and negative painting around the white to carve out petals, with no pre-drawing. 

Next Sunday is the opening reception for NEW BEGINNINGS: Waterloo Watercolor Group’s 35th Annual Juried Fall Show in Austin, Texas.  See the sidebar for details.  I would love to see you there!  



  

Hummers 1 and 2

 I started my day yesterday sitting on my back porch taking in the bit of coolness in the air and writing my usual morning pages.  I became engrossed in watching the hummingbirds zoom in and out as they sipped from the feeders my husband so diligently fills. I had thought to get back to a painting I had started a few weeks back. Instead I grabbed my sketch pad and camera and went back outside! I did quick partial sketches, trying to catch the essential forms, keeping my eyes on the birds and not even looking at my pad.  Then I went inside to my studio and painted without drawing, while looking at photos and trying to capture the movement, rather than detail. Here are my first attempts at watercolor impressions of the hummers.  It has been a delightful two days studying and painting the changing forms and colors produced by the quick movements of these little birds!

A Fresh Mess

On Friday I revisited Linda Neuenschwander's watercolor class that I used to paint with every week.  Everyone selected a photo from one of 3 envelopes, marked "Landscapes," "Still Life," or "Flowers."  I drew blindly from the flower envelope.  After a brief demonstration, we all began to paint.  We were instructed to draw inspiration from the photo, and not to try to replicate it.  It was interesting to see the many different styles and interpretations produced by this exercise.  I am posting my attempts at capturing the freshness of a large single peony.  I was not satisfied with my painting and after I got home I lifted some of the purple in the background and painted over it with yellow and blue, which I think created a bit of a muddy mess. Every painting is a learning experience, and this one was for sure!

Rose Joy

I started this one with the background, painting around the flower and trying to work all the areas at the same time, in a workshop with Rae Andrews this spring.  The rose bud was from a photo that begged to be painted.  Allowing the breathing space around parts of the flower seemed to help achieve the feeling of joy spilling forth.

This painting and 16 others are on display at my current exhibit in Bastrop, Texas.  First Friday is a fun event in which many different artists are featured in shops and galleries in an Art Walk along historic Main Street.  See the sidebar for details.  Hope to see some of you there!

Stargazer Mystery

I started this painting with the actual flowers right in front of me, at the same time as the stargazer painting a few posts back. The unfinished painting sat on the shelf after we returned from California until I was able to put my attention on it again.  I knew I wanted to show both mystery and excitement in the way the one very gorgeous flower was peeking out from behind the other.  So I grappled with what to leave in and what to leave out in order to achieve this, eventually striking the balance I was aiming for.  Oh the thrill of trying to create what is in the mind's eye!

A Showy Daisy

During recent travels to the prairies of the mid-west, I was captivated by the beauty and the abundance of the purple cone flower.  As it was one of my mother's favorite flowers and her birthday was this past week, I decided to spend a day painting it. Its fresh countenance proudly displaying itself to the sun filled my brush with energy and a desire to capture its essence.  Made me feel my mother's presence and her love for this flower.  What a showy daisy!

Impression of a Guara

My long time friend Janet from Seattle gave me several new plants for my garden this spring.  One was a pink guara which stands just outside my studio window.  I wanted to capture its free and graceful way of splaying out from its pot and retain its sense of delicacy.  I started with an underpainting to convey the feeling of color and movement I wanted and added just enough detail to bring an impression of the flower out to the viewer. I've been away from the easel for awhile, but I can't wait to paint again.  Hopefully I will be posting more as I get going with a more regular painting schedule.  Thanks for checking out my blog!

Stargazer Welcome

Stargazer lilies bursting forth from a blue vase greeted us as we walked in the door of our son's house in California two days ago.  I painted several versions of them, playing with different ways of capturing their welcoming spirit.  This one seemed to capture it best.  I really love painting actual flowers, rather than photographs, as the presence and aroma of the flower impresses and enlivens my painting.  Enjoy!

The Elgin Art Tour which took place in April was held at various studios across town.  I was painting and showing with fellow artists, Vicki Goodrich and Elizabeth Sullivan.  As you can see we had a garden party!  "Peach Blossom" is an example of one of my newer paintings, in which I was experimenting with the direct approach of painting the center, and negative painting, which formed the edges of the flower.