Peeling Paint - Update #1

Watercolor Abstract Painting - Update 1

I have developed a few areas and really strengthened the focal point (paint is still wet so is a bit darker than it will be when dry). I am still not sure if it is finished.... I will have to live with it for a bit to see. I may try to create more tension by strengthening one or more small areas just to lead the eye a bit more but not sure if it needs it yet.

Abstract painting is so different from the way I usually paint but it is so much fun and I am learning ALOT as I go. It is definitely not as easy as it looks but obviously that is what makes it interesting :)

Watercolor Statue Painting

This is a painting I did recently but just got around to taking photos of it today.

Watercolor Figure Painting - Under My Thumb

This is a recent watercolor painting I completed of a soon to be first time mother. I tried to obtain a similar likeness to my graphite portraits but with watercolor rather than pencil. This is the second in a series of prenatal paintings, the first is of the father's hands and will be posted shortly. I wanted to keep this one soft and lighter than the father's hands to further emphasize the femininity of the painting.

I loved the shadows off of the thumbs hence the name of the painting and also liked how the belly ring is stretched nearly to the limit!

Watercolor Portrait - Ready or Not

I have been working on this painting at the same time as another one of the same model and I think this one is complete. There are a few minor tweaks I may make but I need to get a bit more distance to be sure.

Watercolor Figure Painting - Walking on Air

This painting is a little different than the previous paintings for my exhibit in March at Place des Arts. I wanted an etheral feeling to her as she just seemed so calm and peaceful yet so full of movement.

Studio Lighting

I am nearly finished two more paintings in my series for the exhibit at Place des Arts in March. I have been really getting a great deal of painting done lately due to late night and early morning painting sessions, who new there were all these extra hours in the day ;) I recently purchased a couple Ott Lights and they have made a world of difference in my lighting set up. During the day my studio has a south facing window so light is not a big issue most days but at night they are a must.

I still need to mount them to something somehow, or should I say my husband needs to. He did offer, he really needs to think before he speaks ;) I am hoping to have the lights set up so that they can be above me and slightly behind me yet still have them mobile so that I can easily adjust them for taking photos of my finished artwork as well as for taking reference photos of still life's.

Watercolor Figure Painting - Into the Blue

This is a figure painting that I just finished for my upcoming exhibit at Place des Arts in March.

I have never painted water before and I am quite happy with the way this painting turned out, both the water and the flesh tones. I tried to caputure the peaceful anticipation of being engulfed in water, warm of course ;)

Watercolor Painting - Pride

This is the reference photo for the next painting that I am painting for my exhibit. I love the close up on the eyes and the way the scarf surounds her face.

I found the photo on MorgueFile from a wonderful photographer, Luis C. Tejo. More of his work can be seen at MorgueFile, this photo is at http://www.morguefile.com/archive/?display=53669&

This painting will be in color rather than monochromatic to add a bit more variety to the exhibit and just for fun and a change of pace. It will be 11 x 14" on Arches watercolor paper.

Watercolor Figure Portrait - Lazy Days

This is another painting I started for my solo exhibit at Place des Arts but did not get a chance to finish due to commissions. I had painted it in January but when I was putting the finishing touches on the background I had a major accident!

I had used masking tape to get some nice crisp lines but did not push the tape down enough and the paint leached onto the figure. Only small amounts but enought to totally wreck the painting, ugh.

So I painted the figure again in sepia rather than cobalt blue as I had originally done and left the background light and with a bit of texture, which I think looks better anyway. I liked the cobalt blue but I like the sepia more so it all worked out for the best in the end :)

Watercolor Stretching Boards

So I have been experimenting with different methods of stretching watercolor paper and have come back to the support that I originally had but was not using properly, isn't that always the way!

The first method I had tried was using the drawing board, soaking the paper and then taping it onto the board with the gum tape and then stapling to corners. While this was the most consistent method, it was also the most consistent with keep the paper smooth. The tape works well but is a real pain to get off the paper and board once the painting is completed. Later I found a foam board that worked very well for this but the tape was wrecking the board when I removed it.

I then tried to build myself a paper stretch, well I had my father-in-law build it...anyway, it worked very well. But, always a but, I found the texture of the paper so tight that it made the paper much rougher than I am used to. Which would be great for landscapes I am sure and very wet in wet painting. No matter how much water I threw down, the paper seemed to go back into shape and buckle very little.

Then I heard about foamcore or gatorboard and that you could just use 3M masking tape to tape the paper down and then peel it off. I tried a foam board that was 3/4" thick but was not dense enough so it warped the paper a bit, but still worked well. I was working very dray though and the tape still lifted off in areas. When the painting was finished, I misted the back lightly with filtered water and lay it between paper towel and foam boards and then weighted down with books for 2 days and the warps came out very nicely.

I then read, on the package, of the board that I had purchased years ago and had been using gum tape and heave duty staples on that if you just use regular office stapler, that is all you need. Of course it works like a charm :) It is just a dense foam core or gator board but it is all I could find in Canada locally. It is called Incredible Art Board and is available at Opus Art Store and can also be ordered online. I purchased the larger size for the full sheet of watercolor and used it for my latest commission and it was a pleasure to work with. Very light and sturdy which is really nice as I tend to move my paintings & drawings around alot when I work.

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait - Update 1

Things look a little funny right now as there are still spots of masking fluid glowing a yellowish ting but I thought I would post an update anyway.

I do not usually use masking fluid but thought it would add nice depth to the foilage once the painting is complete. The areas where the masking fluid has been removed will be painted in, some areas as flowers and some as vines and foilage. The area on the left will be wisps of fur that will also be touched up using both negative and positive painting to shape the fur. Leaves will also be painted in loosely overtop of the wash to give the suggestion of foilage and add depth.

I have started the underpainting of Kelly's fur using sepia in different dilutions to give structure to the fur. This golden retriever's fur is quite light in some areas and very rich in others so I think there will be a nice contrast in the fur once the glazes are added over the underpaintings. I will be away from the studio for a week, gasp, so this will likely be the last update until I return, I am getting separation anxiety already!!!

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait

This is a reference photo for my current commission which is a memorial portrait for Kelly, a much loved Golden Retriever who recently passed away. The portrait will be 22 x 28" painted in watercolor and will be a surprise gift for her people from a friend. I have started on the sketch and am looking forward to painting her surrounded by all the flowers.

Watercolor Still Life of Nautilus Shell

This is a still life painted in watercolor of a nautilus shell. I can still see the curves in the shell everytime I close my eyes, I think they have been etched into my brain I starred at them so hard! It was fun to paint though and a nice change from what I normally do.

Watercolor Figure Portrait - Reach

I thought I had posted this but looking back I did not, funny because it is my favorite in the series! It is a monochromatic figure portrait done in sepia watercolor and is currently on exhibit at Place des Arts in Coquitlam BC.

Yorkie Dog Portrait in Acrylic

This is a painting I did recently of a yorkie dog. It is not a commission so it was just for fun. The expression was so funny I had to paint it. I have always loved dogs and used to have a boxer for many years but I am getting a soft spot for the smaller dogs the more that I draw and paint them!

Group Exhibit at Place des Arts

http://www.placedesarts.ca/content.asp?ChapterID=2&SubchapterID=3&PageID=8

The group that is exhibiting the Suite E Life Drawing group that I belong to. There are a ton of very talented artists in the group so when I moved to the area I was so excited to be so close to such a great pool of talent not to mention weekly live models!

I was also very excited (I get too excited about art ;)) to see one of my paintings used on Place des Arts website as it is my first real exhibit since I quite my day job (the one that supports my art addiction) to pursue art full time.

If you are in the area the opening exhibit is March 20 from 7:30 - 9 pm and there will be free appies and all of the artists will be there.

Newborn Baby Watercolor Portrait

This is the start of my latest painting. It is of my own baby boy fighting sleep but losing the battle. It is going to be done as a monochromatic painting in watercolor. I really like the effects of monochromatic artwork whether it be black and white as with pencil or graphite drawings or a single color.

Watercolor Nude Figure Portrait

This is another watercolor nude figure painting monochromatic with sepia. I am working on a series for an exhibit proposal for a local gallery in Coquitlam, BC. I have not given this one a title yet as still tossing around ideas:) I really like the monochromatic look and feel whether it be black and white or as in this case sepia.

Watercolor Nude Figure Portrait

This is the latest monochromatic painting I have done using sepia watercolor on Arches coldl-pressed watercolor paper. It is 11 x 14 and was painted using many thin glazes of watercolor to build up the depth and details.

I am working on a series of painting using the sepia for a monochromatic effect similar to black and white for contrast but with the warmth of sepia.