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

Goals for the new year, and a viewing of pieces in private collections

I am not generally a writer when it comes to my art, I feel it is much more important for people to view the pieces and let them speak for themselves.  Today though it seems a good time to start with goals for the up coming year, not resolutions as those are too easily broken.
I have only begun to paint and create again, so I have not done to many new pieces and have not developed a clear direction up to this point.  This decision will not work any longer, I must have a clear objective.  From my readings on the expectations of galleries it seems that many artists produce at the very least 2 - 3 pieces of work a week.  My goal this year is to increase my productivity to 1 - 2 pieces a week.  This goal may be small in comparison, but it is larger than I have accomplished in previous years.
I have four pieces of art that are laying in my make shift studio, waiting to be finished.  I do plan to complete two of them this weekend, and of course I will capture them in photographs and post them here.
I have three different collections that I would like to build this year.  One of these would be my abstracts with nature objects and bright colors, I enjoy these pieces very much.  The second group will be my adventure series which will include an Ice Climber, Mountain biker, and White water rafter, etc.  The third group will be the desert flowers and cactus, these do not share any one medium but only the subject matter.  I'm open to other portfolio ideas if anyone chooses to leave a comment.  For now I will leave you with some pieces that are in private collections, have a great new year.

Breakfast 

 Carousel Horse

Wild Flowers

Emmet Kelly Jr

Dreams

Elk in Moon

 French Clown

Grey Girl

Sadness

Safe Harbor

Promenade

Plumeria

The Climber

  The Hiker

To see other pieces that are available please check out my account at Fine Art America 

There are others which have yet to be posted there, you can leave me a comment regarding them and I will gladly assist you in any way I can.

To view a slide show of other pieces I have created: IDrawandpaint

Silhouette Cactus

Silhouette Cactus (9" x 12")

Acrylic Airbrush on Canvas Panel

I planned to create this as a Christmas present, but it took more time than first anticipated.  I used multiple acrylic paints on this piece, including Galleria and Lascaux.  My preference are the Lascaux paints, but a deeper red was needed than what was available in my selection of Lascaux paints.I only have a small starter set, in order to determine if I like them, which I found that I do.

The back ground texture was added into this piece to reflect the needles on the cactus.  The bright highlights were the last detail that were not originally planned on, but were needed to make it complete.

Pencil Sketches

Cactus with Butterflies

Graphite pencil 15" x 18"

Carmen

White colored pencil on black board 16" x 13 7/8"

Circus Elephant

Graphite pencil 7.5" x 10.25"

Lady at the Foot of the Cross

White colored pencil on black board 23" x 22"

White Roses

White colored pencil on black board 18.75" x 17"

These are a sampling of pencil drawings that I love.  My favorite is still the White Roses, I love flowers of all types.  Pencil drawings are a labor of love for me, and I take time in completing them.  It may be a while before I post more pencil drawings.

The signature on Carmen is actually the singers signature.  I had friends who knew him and got it signed for me.  I was excited to have that particular autograph, it's the only one that I have like that.  I'm sure that pencil drawings will never become my signature piece, but I do like to branch out and express myself in different mediums all the time.  These are the more conservative artistic voice.

Desert Flower

Desert Flower
Soft pastel, Canson paper

This piece is just finished tonight, and none to soon. It will be a Christmas present for a family member.  I will be framing it tonight.
I was trying to get the highlights right, and then the back ground to have some interest but nothing that stands out.  The flower being the focal point.
I never seem to paint the desert flowers with the traditional pallet.  I like to bring out colors that are hidden deep within, and let them shine.
I plan to add two other pieces from the desert here soon.
I like the Canson paper, but I think I will keep trying different types of paper with the soft pastels until I find a perfect fit.

Chinese brush paintings

I am sorry that I have not posted for a while. I've been under the weather, and now the holidays are upon us.  Here are some Chinese brush painting pieces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love painting floral pieces.  Roses are especially a favorite to paint.  One day though I will paint some animals in this medium.