PRACTICE POPPIES

I have been practicing. I am not sure what happened to the Lavender ones because they are a bit cloudy. I am thinking that the Cobalt Violet wasn't completely transparent. One thing you need to know about working with watercolors this way is that they really need to be transparent. Then the underneath layers will show through. You need to check each color you use over a painted ink or black acrylic strip and see if any watercolor remains over the black strip. This is good to know! Michelle Brown has certain colors that we are working with now which are transparent. She uses Windsor Newton and I use M. Graham so I had to check the M. Graham colors. Most are the same in transparent qualities.

I have this "need" to paint and create stuff. Remember Tom Cruise in "Top Gun"--- the need for speed?--well I have the "need" to create art. (I know---that was a poor comparison). It's like a drug to me---sometimes it's a good high and sometimes it's a not so good high. Not that I know about drugs because I have never taken any. I guess that's why art is my drug of choice--good or---not so good!

Blue Poppies

I am not wild about these Blue Poppies. I am trying to move out of the "Red Poppy box. It's fun to paint the red ones and the backgrounds are really fun. We have learned lifting, negative painting, glazing, texturizing with fingers and other objects, and some other things too. Fun!

Michelle Brown Class Poppies 2

We really do have so much to be thankful for! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! God is good!

Here is another watercolor Poppy picture using all those great techniques for lots of layers. I am loving these backgrounds. Hopefully I can move into another flower but for now, it's POPPIES!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

This is an oldie but a goodie. I probably did this 10 years ago but it was just after I had taken the year long intensive calligraphy class with Reggel Ezell so if you look at the calligraphy--it's not bad. It's actually about 14 x 14 so it is rather large. It's nicer in person because there is 24 carat gold dots all through it. But anyway, I love the Psalm. Tomorrow I will get back to the Poppies. I hope everyone has a blessed day!

Hope you enjoy our little vlog--Zach was at home still asleep!

Michelle Brown Class Poppies

I am working more on the backgrounds. She shows us some really great techniques for backgrounds!  I am loving her class. I will post another one tomorrow with these neat backgrounds for the Poppies.

MAKE A WISH

This is painted on 11x 14 Ampersand Artist Panel for Oil and Acrylics.

I want to fine more of these surfaces. It is a very nice board with 1 1/2 inch sides. Really nice surface for the acrylics. I actually I had on my gloves and put the paint on with my fingers to get texture. Then I just started adding stuff---punchanella, stamps, stencils, more paint. I painted the girl on 140 lb watercolor paper with acrylic and pasted her on. Her dress is collaged with tissue paper. I tried to darken around the edges so she wouldn't look so much like she was collaged on. I think it is ok--you can't really tell unless you really look up close. Then I held my breath and wrote the lettering with white gouache with a nib. It worked great. I will spray it with varnish to adhere everything. I like her freckles.

More Hobby Lobby Poppies 8x8

This panel board is really neat. The wood sides are stained and it has nice hooks already on the back ready to hang. This one was 50% off and very cheap. I couldn't have bought a blank canvas for what I paid for it. I will be on the look out for more of these. You can collage or paint over the image on the front. Actually the girl a couple of days back on Nov 11 was painted on one of these also but I used oils and acrylics for her.

Poppies--White Background

These two pictures are different even though they look the same. I am still playing with Michelle Brown's online class and am constantly amazed with her techniques. Here are two more pictures of my beloved Poppies!

Another Background

It's just a background that I really like taken from techniques from the Paulette Insall Organic Dimensions online class. I like the nice colors and I did hand letter the top in gouache. I don't have a plan for it yet.  I just lettered the top to see how the gouache would do on the acrylic---and it does great. You can't letter gouache (opaque watercolor) over watercolor though. It will spread. Not good for lettering!

A "DREAMED UP" BACKGROUND

Sometimes I dream about art; what I will do the next day, what will I paint or letter. There is a piece of scrapbook paper that I love that I am dying to find out how they gave it the distressed look. So I dreamed about how I would do this and this is what I created from what I dreamed. Sounds crazy, doesn't it?---but I actually dreamed about how to do it. Even in our dreams we can be creative! (...hope you don't think it was a nightmare!) It looks pretty much like the paper. This is on a 9x 12 stretched canvas. I don't know what I will do with it so I will just let it sit for a while until---maybe I dream about what to do with it!

Hobby Lobby Poppies

I bought this canvas at Hobby Lobby because of the checkered border. I collaged and added paint over the existing image and painted the poppies in acrylic. This one is 12 x 12.

She Loves Poppies

This one was very hard to paint. I painted her face in oils and it was such a struggle. I admit I had to smooth her out a bit (ok, a lot) in Photoshop. I do like oils although I sure don't have the hang of it yet. I will try some more portraits in oil ---maybe--- after I unwind from this one. The Poppies are in acrylic as well as her green dress. The background is collaged and she is painted on an 8x10 x2 panel board that I bought from Hobby Lobby on half price and collaged over the image on the front.

Calligraphy Class at the Red Door Studio

This is the first graduating class of the first calligraphy class at the Red Door Studio. Rynda, my art buddy, taught the beginners class and they all did so well! We are so proud of them.

Here are their final project pieces.

ANN HERBERT

BETTY LOU HYATT

CINDY ZEIGLER

Donna Downey Challenge

This was a while back when Donna Downey sent out the challenge to use all our circle cutters and she would pick the winner. This one didn't win but I meant to post it  cause it's kinda cute.  All the flowers are my kids, Zachry, Macaulay, son in law, Marc, and the grand baby to come.

POPPIES Again---BUT WITH GESSO

HEAVENLY SOUND

It's really funny about doing these different pieces. This one started out really bad---background was bad, her face was not good, didn't know what it needed--- then it kinda came together and now I actually really like it. That is my calligraphy in the background and the birds singing and the sound of God's Word is surely a heavenly sound. So---there you have it!

MEDITATING

This is painted with oil and it is 12 x 24. It is one of the largest paintings I have ever done.  I know it is the largest in oil. I used the water mixable oils which might have been a bit easier since you mix with water . It can be watered down like acrylics but I really haven't gotten the hand of blending or layering colors. Anyway, it was fun. I even used rubber stamps for her dress and the background and that works really well. I will try and do more larger pieces. 

Folk Art Angel

This is a small canvas that is 8.50 x 12 inches. Her wings are Biblical Scripture from an old Bible I bought at  a sale for $3 so I don't feel bad about using the pages because all the pages are falling out.  I enjoy painting these folk art looking paintings.  I will probably do some more. Tomorrow I will post a big angel that I did. She is 12 x 24. That's really a big size for me. I am trying to paint larger paintings.  Oh, and the painting for tomorrow I did in oils! Don't know what got into me but I enjoyed it. I will explain more tomorrow.

FOLK ART?

Well, I am not sure if it is Folk Art. I need to do some research on what Folk Art is. I know what it looks like but it would be interesting to read about the history if it. Anyway, it was fun to paint. I am "folk arting" an angel now and I will post her tomorrow.

ARTIST INSIDE YOU

In painting a face a day I do see that the faces are getting to look similar so I think I will try to change it up a bit---but this might be just how I paint them. I could do some children. Their eyes are bigger and wider and the faces are rounder. We'll see what happens.  I love painting these faces and putting in the quotes and Scripture. It's fun.  This one is all acrylic and no Shiva oils. There are some watercolor crayons for the shadows. Then the really fun part comes---spraying the varnish! It deepens the colors and adds a sheen.

And----- check out my sweet friend and art buddy, Lori's, blog. She has done something really sweeton her blog in honor of my birthday. What a precious friend she is. We have known each other since our beginning calligraphy days about 15 years or so.  We have traveled an art journey together that I wouldn't trade for anything else. Love ya, Lori.

DO NOT BE CONFORMED

This is one of the canvases I started yesterday. You can zoom in to see the Scripture. It is a good one---one of my favorites. In most of my paintings you will see a butterfly. Butterflies symbolize metamorphosis and in the original Greek language of the early Bible, the word for "transform"in this Scripture is the same as our English word for metamorphosis. I am not a Bible scholar but I do know this. That's why you will see butterflies in my paintings---for transformation. So---be transformed!

Hey.... it's my birthday...:) I have transformed into another year old.

"Tilty-headed Girls"--Getting ready to Emerge

I decided that I would do some backgrounds and get the "tilty-headed" girls ready. That's what my art buddy, Lori's, sweet husband, Walther, calls them. I am really going to try very hard to not let them look like any other tilty headed girls out there. The tilty-headed girl police is always watching. I think these will be angels anyway and I will probably add some sort of Scripture which makes them different right there. I do appreciate all the instruction I have had from books and online workshops. I am always trying to develop my own style make it mine but sometimes things will look similar.

With that in mind, here is an interesting quote to ponder:

"No one has ever looked at Matisse's paintings more carefully than I, and no one has looked at mine more carefully than he."

--Pablo Picasso

PS--Maybe I will tilt the head on the fourth canvas the other way---that will be different!

HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS

I am trying to use all of my supplies! This background is Adirondack Color wash spray which is a product that I really like. The colors are intense and it sprays a fine mist. I sprayed the canvas with water then sprayed several colors of the color wash---then Saran wrap. I had to put workable fixative because the color wash will move when rewetted. I am not sure if this will give a close up because I right clicked from my Flikr account to insert this picture.

MORE POPPIES and a Doodle

Hope you bloggers aren't getting "Poppy Weary" here at my blog. I am doing the online watercolor class with Michelle brown and we are painting Poppies using different background techniques and methods of painting watercolor. Hopefully I can move on---but for now--POPPIES! Also I added the doodle just for something else interesting to see. This doodle was done with colored pencils on black paper. It is really fun to do and maybe I will draw a Poppy on black paper. Remember, I am addicted to Poppies. I guess I need to go to Poppy rehab for withdrawal.

NEAR GOD'S HEART IN A GARDEN

"The Kiss of the Sun for pardon,

The song of the birds for mirth,

One is nearer God's

Heart in a garden,

Than anywhere else on earth."

Dorothy Frances Gurney

This is the collaged canvas that I showed yesterday. I worked all day on it but not sure if I love it. Don't know why. Sometimes, things aren't just quite right and I can't put my finger on it. Maybe Mattie Lou created this---then, if so, --- it's just right. I actually think she did. No offense, Mattie Lou, I just didn't recognize you for a minute there.

Mattie lou is my little child artist inside. No, I am not on medication for this. It's an art thang...

Election Day!

I was able to fix her!  In my little "vlog" below I was lamenting over her. But here it is, 2 hours later and she has been saved. Yea for Photoshop!

RUTH-From the Old Testament

I've been doodling in my Bible in church again. Hopefully people are thinking how conscientious I am taking all these notes! I was listening-- and I actually listen better when I doodle.

This is Ruth in the field. She has her bag over shoulder as she is gathering the grain. I imagine that she is very beautiful and very young. Her husband has died and she and her mother in law, Naomi, have come back to Israel in the hope that Naomi's inheritance can be redeemed. Ruth was a Gentile and could have had light skin with light hair.

Boaz has seen her in the field and admired her---and she has seen Boaz. She is thinking about him here and remembering what Noami, her mother in law, has told her she must do. It is a beautiful Biblical story---one of my favorites. It has a very happy ending.

YELLOW POPPIES !!

I got really brave and painted them yellow!