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!