This is not a new creation (I have been gone all weekend) but it is one of my favorites. I have also been busy uploading my gallery of images to the Zazzle site. Now I have lots of images online to buy. The web site gallery is www.zazzle.com/marthalever.

Please visit!

"ITALIAN NIGHT"

Another drawing from the drawing class. I am beginning to really enjoy drawing.  I am getting more confident. You just have to do it! 

 Just draw it and quit whining!  (I am talking to myself)

"SUNFLOWERS IN A VASE"

The first is the line drawing and the second is the acrylic painting. Enjoyed creating both of them. Not sure about the glass vase --I need to practice painting glass. It's hard. Stephanie, my drawing teacher, suggested that the shadow might be too bold and some light source might be needed on the right hand side. I agree! So I will work on it more tomorrow---and possibly change the green on the bottom part to another color. Or---maybe start it again with other angles since I have the still life set up. The painting is actually much brighter in real life. I needed to curve and brighten it in Photoshop.

"TOMATOES"

Ok well, this is what I have done today and if I am to post something everyday then---I have to post. I am taking a drawing class and am learning about shade, shadows, proportions etc.  If anyone is thinking they would ever like to paint anything they see---well, then you have to draw. So for today, it's tomatoes in a brown very wonderful bowl (which didn't work with the watercolor).  So the first is the drawing and the second is a watercolor of the printed first one. Not very successful as a watercolor. Some drawings just need to stay a drawing---period.

  But...Maybe I will try to paint it in acrylic---or maybe oil tomorrow.  We'll see what the muse says.  :)

"ANGELS UNAWARES"

This is another background I did but I just used regular watercolor rather than FW inks. I made a rectangle on watercolor paper with painters tape and layed in the color. This is always fun. I love peeling off the tape to see crisp borders after it dries.

I wrote this layout of Roman letters many years ago in a Master Calligraphy class. Again, I used PhotoShop to combine the background and the lettering that I have saved as a file on my computer.

The Roman letters are difficult to write with the corrrect spacing, pressure and consistency but this was a successful layout and the letters were pretty good.

I love this Scripture and used it a lot.

Makes you wonder doesn't it???

"FLOWERS REFRESH!"

AHHHHH.... I do love painting these little watercolor pots of flowers. Again---instant gratification for sure. No need to worry about shades, value or proportions. At least for today anyway.  And the lettering was fun too---

This is a background that I did with FW inks.  I scanned all these backgrounds I did with the FW inks (you might see more) and I can print them and letter on them. This is actually lettering that i did previously of this verse that I love and combined it in Photoshop. I love Photoshop. I feel sorry for any artist that hasn't tackled the steep learning curve of Photoshop. It is a must---in my opinion.

"THE HEAVENS DECLARE"

I had an idea which I will try to institute at least while I can. I am still going to paint but my real love is for lettering so I have decided to pick out a verse from my daily Bible reading in Psalms and attempt to make a little calligraphy piece and post it everyday. We'll see what happens. I get antsy doing the same thing everyday---that's why I am a "mixed-up media" artist! 

I scanned a background I had painted on Yupo paper.  In PhotoShop I cropped a portion that looked interesting and printed it on Arches  Text Wove paper.  Then I can write on it with watercolor or gouache.  This is written with Dr. Martins Hydrus watercolor from the bottles.  I have never written with this watercolor but it works great. I will use it again. The size of this is 2 x 5. It would probably make a good bookmark.

"A LITTLE FLOWER"

Ok, well... I was having some calligraphy withdrawals. This was just about a 10 minute piece. No layout-- just write---and no warm up either (I can tell).

And I have to admit--the flower is a stamp. I lay on magic marker color and spritz with water then embellish with a sepia pen.  It's a fun little instant gratification thing which I like. 

I tried to paint another pear today but failed miserably. I ended up just laying on color with a pallet knife to make an abstract.   That's actually very fun. 

 Maybe I will photograph it and post it later today.

"PEPPER 'N PEAR"

This is an 8 x 8 oil painting that I just finished. Pears are hard to paint for some reason.

You would think that the pepper would be harder but not for me. I am feeling a bit better with the oils and I will continue to press on.  I might do some flowers soon.

I didn't get a chance to sketch a thing on my Charleston trip because it was just too hot!  I did get some great pictures that I will attempt to paint---perhaps.

"POPPIES"

I actually did this painting several months ago but wanted to post it. It is on a 5 x 5 canvas board and it's acrylic.

I am very excited today. I just learned on YouTube how to make a grid on an image I want to paint and print it with the grids from PhotoShop. Then I will use the transfer the image onto the canvas by using the grid method. That is how I painted the still life for yesterday's post but I will try and post some things that I have painted by the grid method---perhaps...

I will be going to Charleston, SC, for the weekend and I am taking my watercolors and my journal. I am planning to draw some of the wonderful buildings and scenery and watercolor them.  If I am successful...perhaps I will post them when I get home on Monday.

"STILL LIFE"

This is a 16x20 oil painting I finished up last night. I followed Tom Brown's CD instructional book  and this is the result. I love his paintings and the way he paints with such chunky strokes.  His web site is

www.tombrownstudio.com

I really enjoyed painting this because his directions were clear and easy to follow. Who knows what this would be left to my own devices!  But this is a very good way for me to learn about oil painting. I have other instructional books from his CD and I will do more. If you want to learn to oil paint--I would highly suggest to look into his site.

"GERANIUM POTS"

This is acrylic on a 5x5 canvas.

"COPPER POT OF FLOWERS"

This is a 6x8 oil painting. I have been out of town so I haven't painted in a couple of days. I painted this one last Monday.  I like the oils also but still think I like acrylic better.  I will continue to paint with both until I feel that I am getting comfortable with one or the other---or maybe both.

"TWO LEMONS"

Since I will be out of town and won't get to paint for a few days I thought I would go ahead and post this painting I did today along with the other posting for today. It is the study of lemons I guess. This one was from a still life I set up in my studio with a light coming from the right side-- which I see that it might need some more highlights on that side. I'm learning.

This is a 5x5 acrylic.

"LEMON JUICY FRUIT"

I painted this lemon half at 10:30 last night. Actually I had previously posted it earlier this morning with a purple background but my drawing teacher, Stephanie, suggested I soften the color so here it is---back to my favorite background---blue!

It's a 5x7 on canvas board. 

"ORANGES AND GRAPES"

I am working through Tom Brown's workshop in a book and this is a section of the still life that I am planning to paint. He uses oils and I used acrylic. The oil paints and acrylic paints have the same name but the colors are different on the canvas. I will try the whole still life in oils from his workbook and maybe I will post it next week. It has a white vase and more leaves.

By posting my paintings I am not suggesting that they are great paintings---it will be a reference for me as I hopefully continue to paint and improve.

6 hours later:

I just looked at this painting and realized that it really is not good at all. Maybe the light is going in the right direction and the left hand orange has some pretty good highlights on it but the painting looks like it is floating on a plank at night with the moonlight shining in it. I am trying not to be too negative because to improve I have to paint some crappy things. I guess I didn't have to post it. Just as my previous acrylic teacher says---"what do you like about your painting--nothing negative please?" Well, as I said maybe the highlights are pretty good and I learned that grapes are not complicated actually.

So, hopefully the next painting will be better.

"LONE LEMON" and "SEARCH ME, O GOD"

This is a 5x7 acrylic on canvas board. I think for me I just need to paint and paint and paint and get familiar with the process. I like the oil paint also but I am leaning toward the acrylic so far as my favorite.  This was a real lemon and today I am going to cut it in half and paint it. We'll see what happens. 

I also always try to write something in calligraphy. This was just a scrap of paste paper. I love to do calligraphy on scrap paper. I guess the pressure is off since it is a scrap. I just wrote it out with no planning.

 This is one of my favorite Scriptures. It is my prayer.

"THE VALUE OF AN APPLE"

Here is an apple that I painted with acrylic. It is a 5x7 on canvas board. I had painted the apple in watercolor but since watercolor does not do well at all with canvas board I decided to paint over it with acrylic trying to bring the values darker as it moved from the left shaded part of the apple to the highlighted part on the right. It seems that I choose the same colors each time. I should venture out next time and try and different color background.

I was talking to my very good friend and artist pal, Lori ,and she commented about how hard I say everything is to paint. We discussed this feeling that I have and she has suggested to me (she knows me very well) maybe the reason that painting sees so hard for me is that I am trying to emulate other painters that I see and admire and I am not being successful at painting their style. I have a style of my own that I need to embrace. I need to quit comparing my paintings with other paintings which leads me to the feeling that mine is inferior. She is so right. And actually I enjoy painting and yes, sometimes it's hard,especially in the drawing stage---(drawing stage!---well, that's another matter altogether!)

So I will just paint and enjoy it and just see what happens. So here is the apple.

"THREE POPPIES"

Ok, it's 11:00 PM and I should have long put up my paint brush and told the muse that's enough for one day---- but I just had to paint something today that I felt better about. Since my oil painting couldn't scan because it was wet---and the camera battery was empty--I painted these Poppies in acrylic at 10:00. So far I think acrylic is easier for me.

But so much for one day...

"I HAVE CLOTHED MY THOUGHTS IN WORDS"

Today I purposed myself to oil paint by painting a simple pear from still life. Well, a pear apparently isn't simple. It was terrible---so I went on to a lemon---from memory and, well,  not much better. Then I decided to paint a pot of geraniums from a picture that I got from Wet Canvas images. That was a little bit better. I would have posted it but my camera battery was dry.  Too bad..........

so here is a little ditty I did recently--watercolor---and calligraphy------AHHHHHH.......