Happy New Year

SENDING YOU MANY BLESSINGS FOR 2012!

Pears in Paradise

Hi Y'all. I have been enjoying my vacation but I have been painting like crazy even though I have been out of town. You know I can't put a paint brush down!

21 Secrets  will be available for purchase on January 2nd but it doesn't begin until April 1.

I will teach you how to paint flowers with a credit card. I will show you how I cut my card for pedals and leaves and we will use the easy value system to make our flowers pop!

If you sign up by clicking my button on the right side of my blog roll then I get "credit" for it.

Sending thanks to you now if you do that!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Merry Christmas

I am going to take some time off for Christmas and will return in the new year. 

I hope you all have a very blessed Christmas!

Bye for now.

Mother of all Pears

Yep, it's a big pear for sure. I think this is 18 x 18. I sat "her" on the front porch to show how big she is.
 I added some scrapbook papers first and then added the cranberry-ish background color all over. Then I drew out the pear with some sidewalk chalk (that was the closest thing around at the time) and started to layer on the color.  It took quite a while. For some reason painting a pear in different colors, like blue, is pretty easy but when I start to paint a "real" looking pear it gets harder.  But I love pears. There is something just wonderfully lumpy and whimsical about them. And if they are ripe--they are just about the yummiest thing ever.

Here is a journal page I forgot to post the other day.

Also--> Check this out! 
I will be teaching how to paint Credit Card Flowers in the upcoming "21 Secrets" workshop.
It looks like it's a great group of artists this go-round!

Saturday Pears

You know how much I love pears so I thought I would torture myself a little bit this morning and paint from a "still life". My lighting was not great but I just needed a reference. I taped it off, drew it out and started painting. I do love watercolor and I think I have gotten the hang of painting a pear. The secret is laying in the shadows first as I indicated on my last post.

I threw in a little table salt on the blue

and used one of my favorite stencils from Mary Beth Shaw.

My stencil was actually smaller than this link I have added but that's the stencil that I love. I probably should get it larger too.

Here is another pear with many layers of glazing. I added in a purplish shadow first and then starting the glazing process. I never understood the glazing process very well until I took Karlyn Holman's class. Now I understand. It's all about harmonious transparent watercolors. Pretty simple once my pea brain got it.  I also used the same stencil and grundged it up a bit. 

She swears by Arches 140lb cold press paper and I love it too. But I was here at the house with only Arches 140 hot press. It is much harder to work with because of the waterlines it constantly makes.

I need to bring some hot press home with me.

I love pears...

Just doing a little pear paintin'

I love to paint pears whether it is with watercolor or acrylic. This is watercolor with some writing and doodle-y lettering with it. I learned a new technique about the shadows today. They are laid down first in the contrasting/complimentary color that the pear will be, let it dry then paint the pear. And lots of fun. I learned this technique from http://www.karlynsgallery.com /Karlyn Holman at Art of the Carolinas. She is my new favorite watercolor artist. Check her out. She is fabulous. Maybe I will do a little tutorial project class on pears sometimes. They are so fun.

Wood Icing Flowers

This is a 5x7 on watercolor paper and acrylic. The texture is made with Wood Icing and a flower stencil. I really was very pleasantly surprised how the texture added so much interest. Maybe I will try this bigger.
All of these florals are painted first with just a messy all over background then the floral shape and vase is negatively painted. My brain is still trying to adjust to the negative painting because I have always painted positively. The trees are all done this way also.  It's a fun way to paint---when it works! Some of the time it doesn't.

Credit card flowers and journal page

I collaged some scrapbook paper first but not much of it showed through. Sometimes I put it down first just for the texture it gives and maybe some might show through. This was another late "nighttime" creation in the art closet here at home. 

It's a bit cheesy but I think I must like cheezy sometimes.
I will be teaching this technique but I am not sure if I am suppose to say where yet.
I will show you how I do it and you will "slap yo momma" as to how easy it is.
(My momma used to say expression so to all you non southerners--please excuse me)
I think that maybe we will even make a little mini masterpiece like this one but I haven't filmed it yet so who knows.

And here a journal page in my big journal. I haven't journaled recently in
my big journal. I am going to need a new one soon.