Oh No!

I've become a boring blogger!!!! Life just has a way of sneaking up on ya. I haven't painted since May. My art room is very neat and organized. Surely this is just a passing dry spell. Perhaps with cooler weather coming in a few months, and DD going back to school soon, I'll get back into the groove ( do people still use that phrase?).

This Years Mother's Day Card

Well guess what? I let Mother's day slip up on me. Had some company. Forgot to paint the cards. What a horrible daughter I am! So I did the only thing I could......make a computer card from a previous painting. I bought some textured printer paper, so it actually looked pretty good. Both mothers seemed pleased, so all is well.

Made In The Shade

Qinacridonered's Anenome, originally uploaded by quinacridonered.

If you're a spider that is! It would be interesting to paint, eh?

Stained Glass Irises

This was a fun, no pressure exercise from the Step-By-Step Guide To Painting Realistic Watercolors by Dawn McLeod Heim. I think this is one of THE best books I've ever purchased for learning watercolors. The photos are great, the info is easy to understand. This painting was a practice in color mixing, controlled washes and charging in color. Unfortunately, this book is out of print, but I found it on half.com.

For my birthday, my son sent me the Possum Palette from Cheap Joes. What a cool idea for not wasting paint! Sometimes, I think my hobby is collecting watercolor paraphernalia, not actually painting.

Be Blessed, Y'all!

Faces To Paint

These are the faces this dog lover wants to paint! Could it be any sweeter? Oh I know all you dog lovers out there think your baby is the cutiest! Actually, as a totally certified dog lover, I do fall in love with every dog I see. Unfortunately, my hubby will only allow me to have 4 dogs. Ain't that sad??? Now, if only I could find a great how to book on painting dogs in watercolor.

Trying To Get Back To Normal

The past week has been a horror to the people of our community, state and country. Our local University, Virginia Tech, was the site of a massacre that our nation has never before seen, and I pray never sees again. My daughter has many friends that attend Tech. I'm so grateful that they're alright.

My cousin works in the trauma unit and was there when the first victim arrived. One of my own doctors was on call and treated a victim with a fatal gunshot wound to the head. I don't know how our health care professionals can deal with the tragedies they see on a daily basis. They deserve our praise.

The students returned to classes today, but things won't be "normal" for a long, long time.

My prayers go out to all the families who suffer loss, to the surviving victims, and to all students and staff. May God's healing power and love cover all.

Please continue to pray for our nation's youth.

More Than I Can Chew

This is the Macro Floral Demo from WetCanvas. I'm kind of at a stand still. My assumption was that it was wet in wet, but it's wet on dry, a technique I haven't attempted yet. So, I'm at square one until I can familiarize myself with this method. Argh! This is on an Arches block, and I can't use it until I've finished this painting (cuz I like the way the block keeps it nice and flat while painting). So I guess that leaves me with doing small paintings on my smaller blocks.

Hmmm.......must get some more blocks.......must get some more blocks

Dogwoods

I'm afraid my centers are too dark, but I enjoyed doing this tutorial by Susan Bronsak. You can get it from her site, listed here on the right. I think I might just have a desire to try Botanicals. Hmmmm.....we'll see.

Be Blessed, Y'all!

Rainbow Manikin

This was a fun tutorial from Susan Bronsak. I love to watch the colors blend, as if by magic. That's what watercolor is to me; magic.

Birthday Card for Mom

My Mom has a black cat and a white cat, hence the subject matter. Some day, I hope to paint her Yorkie.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Kaleidoscope Palette

This idea for a group exercise came from Susan Bronsak, of the Paint Doodles forum ( the original idea is from the book Art Escapes by Dory Kanter ). I have to say, it was the most fun I've ever had painting! No rules, no copying someone's demo, no pressure to be "up to par". The techniques used are dry brushing, washes, salt, masking, glazing, scraping, lifting and sponging. Talk about practice!

Paper is 140# Arches cold press, colors by W&N.

Thanks for looking!

Magnolia Tutorial

This is from Rod Webb's Tutorial.
The Paper is Arches 140# cold press, colors use are W&N FUB, Alizarin Crimson, Raw Sienna, Burnt Umber, Light Red, Paynes Gray and Sap Green. I was surprised that the FUB and Alizarin Crimson separated on me. Susan told me that FUB is a granulating pigment. Ah... I have much to learn.

What shall I do next????

Happy painting, y'all!

Stella Tut Complete

Yay! I finished my Stella. Here she is:



I used Arches 140# Cold pressed, W&N Aureolin, New Gamboge, Burnt Sienna, Olive Green and FUB.

This tutorial is from Susan's site, on the right. She explains everything very clearly. Great for beginners, like me!

Be Blessed!

Stella D'Oro Tutorial

This is a tutorial I've been working on from Susan Bronsak's site. Her directions are very clear and easy to follow. I wish there were more of these kinds of tutorials out there. So many say "for beginners", but really aren't. There are also several forums that seem to welcome beginners, but no one ever posts beginner looking stuff. I feel like my paintings are kindergarten stuff in comparison. Susan told me that I've gotta walk before I can run, and that's great advice. I just feel like everyone else never walked first.

I know, I'm whining. This is my private pity party, lol.

Watercolor Christmas

This has been the Christmas to satisfy the artist in me! Just look at all these watercolor goodies. Surely, I will learn something now!!!