Week 7 - Pansy

Pansy

This week went by so fast, the time just flew by.  This next week is looking to be about the same speed, fast.  Times like this are both good and tiring.  Boredom is not a friend of mine, so time going quickly is wonderful, but it does leave me a bit worn out when I come home to relax and create.  The good news is, I have many different ideas already piled high.
I take quick walks around my office during the day, very short 3 minute breaks to clear my head and move.  This last week the flowers blooming have caught my eye, Pansy's.  They are bright and cheery flowers.  Spring is not here yet, but it is coming and these bright flowers are reminders of the beauty of springs bright blooms.
This water color I used the primary colors and mixed the purples.  I like the depth of color mixing the purple brings out.  The next pansy I paint I will focus on other areas, but this one I wanted bright and fresh like spring.   Have a great week, take the time to see the beauty around you.

Week 6 - Light House

 

  

  

This week the art will have to be photography.  It is not my strength, but I do love to take lots and lots of pictures, usually they are kept to pain from.  These will be a part of that arsenal of artistic pieces to inspire and just to be painted.

Today was a glorious day, it was filled with wind and water, both of these put a fire in my soul.  I love the ocean, and today the sounds and smells were intoxicating.  The winds were blowing, but we were not tossed about in a big messy blob.  The light house was a hike, and my legs were rubbery climbing back up those three hundred steps, my hubby practically ran up the stairs.  He is very strong, and has long legs, I was left behind to climb at my own pace, it was fun. 

Next week I plan to create two pieces of art, in different mediums, in hopes of catching up from the piece of art I would like ot have created for this week.  Vacations should be relaxing, and inspirational, this one was both.
Remember to frame your photographs as if they are the piece of art themselves.  It is easier to create fantastic art from great photographs, and maybe you will learn that you have a knack for photography as well. - Live Life Loud!

Week 5 - Purple Rose

 

Purple Rose

This week I have not felt well, and this piece was the closest to being complete.  The deadline came upon me fast this weekend.  I am still working on color saturation and yet not over working the piece.  I will be painting this flower again as I think there is more to show, more depth that has not really come through on this one.  I do like the pinks and purples in the petals though, I did not want to get a flat look with only a few shades of purple.  There was so much more color in that rose.  Originally this flower was given to my sister by a very young admirer, years ago.  It was such a lovely bud though I begged to take pictures to be able to capture it in paint.  Thank you my sister and young admirers everywhere, young love is a beautiful inspiration.  Roses are a classic flower, and I will continue to do more.  Have a great week and paint the things you love!

Week Four - Tree of Creativity

 

Tree of Creativity 

(9x12) Ink & Acrylic on Canvas

This tree was a last minute decision, and it was finished just a few minutes late, hopefully it will still be accepted.  If they check their email tomorrow and are not sticklers about the time stamp on the email.  I really enjoyed doing this piece, but I also really got frustrated in this process.  If it could go wrong, it did.  I was interrupted many many times, and then when I did have uninterrupted time I blew a fuse and fought with paint that really didn't want to dry quickly at all.
I must say, deadlines really make me push myself to get things done.  Airbrush is a fun way to paint, and yet it can be very time consuming. I tried to hand paint the tree over the ink back ground, but the ink was lifted up every time I tried to lay the paint over it, so airbrush was the way to go.

Here are some of the in process pictures, just to give you an idea.

This is the back ground, which was a process in and of itself.  More on that in a later blog.

Using the template to lay down the colors.

Finished it up with the dark highlights.

Hair dryers can be such a great help when under a time crunch, but do not forget to clean your equipment when you are done.  You should never be in such a hurry that you do not clean your equipment.  Hardened paint destroys brushes, and airbrushes alike.   

Panda & Old Beggar - Week 3

Panda - this is the final version this week.  His body still is not what I'm looking for, so I will be painting him again.  I will post pictures of new paintings of the panda as they improve.  But he will be one I will work on matting and framing properly, this is a whole art form in and of itself.

Here are two other panda's one of which was painted on the wrong side of the paper.

This guy just needs help, but the look in his eyes is rather endearing in a pathetic way.  The ink was too light on him, and the body was shaped strange, but the ink flowed pretty nicely.

This is what happens when you paint on the wrong side of the rice paper.  There was a lot of bleeding in the paper. Another lesson to remember regarding water, keep paper towels by your side so you can dab off excess water.  The runny ink is not pretty. 

There are those who think that Chinese brush painting is easy, this is not true.  There is a reason that the masters spend life times working on capturing bamboo, and other subjects.  When painting in this medium it is very important to use good quality brushes.  The ink is permanent, paint in old clothes and have lots of sheets of paper to keep painting even when you do not get the image right the first time.  There is no correcting mistakes, no lifting the ink, no changing the lines once the ink is on the paper.  The simplicity is deceiving, there is a careful balance of ink and water, very deliberate strokes and then just knowing how move the brush with your arm instead of your wrist.  If you hesitate in the middle of a brush stroke, the ink shows it.  I love to paint like this when I get to wrapped up in the details on other pieces of work.  I can just paint, and start over again if it turns out awful.  These will not be posted on Fine Art America until I feel like they are better.

This weekend I finished another piece for a friend, The Old Beggar.

I'm not sure who took the photo, so I will not be posting this on Fine Art America either, but he is complete.

Drawing's still get me twisted in knots, trying to make it perfect.  He is not perfect, but he is complete.

So, the lessons for the week: use heavy duty drop cloths, paint in old clothes, use good quality brushes, and keep painting until you like it.  Simple beauty does not always mean it was simple to create.

Three White Flowers - Week 2

"Three White Flowers" Pastel on Fabriano paper

Here I am at week two, and I've completed a project I had begun a while ago.  Some of the before photos will be included in this post, so you can see the evolution of this piece.
I have not been a lengthy writer on this blog since the main purpose is the art, but this week I felt like saying more.  Art is judged by a variety of things, composition, color, use of the medium etc.  This piece was created in a rather unorthodox manner, and the pastels are layers onto water color paper primed with a purple gesso paint.  I've been experimenting with many mediums and different ways to utilize the mediums, this particular piece will only be one of two.  I will be using other paper to pair with pastels, something that allows me to layer better.  The "Lacey" effect is on purpose, I wanted more interest in the flowers than just painting a lifelike piece.  I hope it moves you, or captures your attention for a while.

Flowering Cactus

Flowering Cactus 

Water Color 10" X 7"

Here is the first piece complete on my missing to complete one piece or art each week this year.  The actual flower was mainly white with just a stripe of pink on the petals, so this piece enhanced the color without making a brilliantly colored flower.
To view this piece without the watermark you can go to Fine art America and check it out there.  I'm sure that I will repaint this piece at another time, just to see what else I can pull from it.   I will be working more in water color to see how much I can improve this year in this medium, I tend to paint very light in color. 


Available for sale @ http://fineartamerica.com/featured/flowering-cactus-dawn-marie-black.html?newartwork=true