Monday, March 30, 2015

Tulip Sketch

Tulip Sketch/ watercolor/ 10.5 x 4.75/ $55
Purchase here
This is the first watercolor of tulips using the lessons I learned from the Reid workshop a couple of weeks ago. Mr Reid is a master of clean, fresh color and washy but not washed out paintings. He uses just the right amount of water in the brush, on the palette placed onto dry paper that can be prewet by the leading brush edge.

I would like to work on a vase of these while they are in bloom.

















This is one of Charles Reid's watercolors recently shown on his Facebook page.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

White Ibis

White Ibis/ 6 x 8/ oil on board/ gifted

This is a painting inspired by my recent trip to Charles Reid's workshop. Theses birds arrived each lunch hour and sat in the branches across the waterway from us. I changed the water from the swampy brown to sunny beach.I was fortunate enough to also find a favorite fishing area of green herons, blue herons, pelican and egrets...

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Happy Spring!

Happy Spring/ oil on gesso board/ 6 x 8/

My spring tulips and daffodils are up. There are enough that if the weather is nice, it might be possible to paint them outside..

This is a little painting on a gesso board.
 I have been working lately on canvas boards and the slick surface had its challenges. I started with a limited palette of titanium white, cad lemon, cad red medium and ultramarine blue. To add some color, however, I added caribbean blue and naphol red toward the end which allowed for brighter greens and more presence to the tulips. Happy Spring!!


Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Pair of Apples Study

Pair of Apples/ oil on canvas board/ 6 x 8/ revised

I am working toward integrating my foreground abstractly into my background in alma my paintings. This is an oil that accomplishes that for me.

The design of this little painting required a small adjustment (see below). Although I had originally blocked in two apples of different shapes and colors, they morphed into twin shapes. I think the small change in size adds interest.









Here is the same painting before a small modification is the right apple size.

Monday, March 23, 2015

Warming Up

Egret Study/ watercolor/ 4.5 x 10/ $55
Purchase Here
I have been absent while I attended a workshop lead by Charles Reid. Of course attending the workshop meant time packing and re-packing my supplies so that they could fit into a carry on suitcase, which meant that clothes had to be removed and resorted. Once home, I then had to catch up from the travel and so finally, a week after the workshop, I am "warming back up". So what about Charles Reid? Watching hime paint was just a delight. In person, seeing the amount of water in his brush, in his palette and the speed (actually the slow meticulous application of each stroke) was just wonderful. Interestingly, for watercolorists he uses the sable brushes he describes in his book. However, he uses them to really carry water to his paper: sometimes presetting an area with the belly of the brush so that the paint will flow into this area or handling a large passage with the brush splayed like a mop. AND he uses Holbein watercolors which reconstitute to be wet and juicey  just by spraying with water...very cool.

This is a small warm up (glad to be home).

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Purple Finch

I am working on small loose paintings of my friends from my bird feeders. This is a "purple" finch. However, he is quite red in color.
Short post today, too many "things to do" on the day's list...