NEXT!

This is the rose I've decided to do next.  It's from my buddy's back yard in Tucson.

I've got the drawing done, and the first wash of color.  And I'm already afraid that it's too dark.

I love painting white flowers, because there's so much color in the shadows, but I'm afraid I've already overdone.  

Just have to wait and see how it turns out when I'm done....

The whole picture

Gonna take another baby step here.  I have two pictures of roses that I want to paint in watercolor.  I want them to be companion pieces, even though they are different.  So I've been racking (wracking?) my brain to figure out how to do this.

One of the things I am learning is that you have to think ahead to see your piece finished, and possibly, even framed, before you begin.  Then you don't have that moment toward the end, of "Oh, I wish I'd done this or that."  Of course, by that time you're too late.  

So what I'm going to do is paint the roses in watercolor, then paint the backgrounds a dark color, then fade to black.  I'm going to dry brush the edge with black acrylic, so it looks sort of rough.  

 When I frame them I'll use the same frame size and shape, and place the piece on top of the mat, so that you have mat, rough white edge, then the dry brushed black, and then the rose.

Everybody confused?  That's OK, I think I've got this one.  I'll show them to you when I'm done.  


My table tiles should be out of the bisque kiln today.  I'm going to go over (after the dentist, ugh) and get them glazed so they can be fired with the next batch.  Can't wait to see them! 

Tomato, tomahto

I took this picture last week when I was putting stuff away after grocery shopping. 

I did a watercolor years ago, with cherries in a colander, and it came out great.  I'm thinking I would like to do this one, but I'm wondering if I can carry it off in acrylic. 

Nah, I liked the concept in watercolor too much. 

Can you tell I'm casting about for my next project?  I think this might be it, though.  I just love painting with red. 

Completion of complicated work

One of the hardest things for me to do is recreate something complicated like this photo in an artwork.  It's like I can't get my brain around everything that's going on. 

So what I do is eliminate, simplify and change.  It makes it easier for me, and it "reads" better when it's done.  

I got rid of many of the flower buds, changed the dead cactus pad in the center, and used some, not all of the prickly pear pads.  

I finally finished it this week.  What do you think?  The client saw it just before I got done, and she was very pleased.  I had gotten the feel of the picture, which is what she wanted.  



Thorned Jewels



Running out of time

In the summer or fall every year I do a new artwork for my Christmas card.  And I just realized it's almost the end of September and I haven't even started!

Actually I do know what I want to do, and I even have the photos from last Christmas for reference.  So I guess I'd better get started, huh? 

I'm going to do a watercolor of one of my favorite flowers, an iconic symbol of the holidays to me, the amaryllis.  I'll try to chronicle my steps, so you can see how I progress through it. 

Which picture do you like:  left or right? 

Changing the Media Changes the Message

I was going for something softer, looser, while keeping the basic shape of the design in the fabric sample for the client.

So I switched to watercolor paper, 300 lb. cold press for texture, used watercolor instead of acrylic paint, rounded some of my lines, and outlined in a soft brown pen instead of the stronger black. If you click on each you can see the differences. The one on the right is softer, more childlike, which is what the client wanted.

I think it was a successful change, don't you?