I couldn't resist...

Gouache Resist!  Jane Powell, from Random Arts in Saluda, NC posted this tutorial. And I just had to try it. If you have the supplied, which I did, then you should try it. I was so excited when I ran the India Ink under the water and the image emerged.  So fun. You must try it!

Painting at Corse Gallery

I painted this 36x36 at Corse Gallery the other day. It is still there and for sale waiting to go into the trendy new restaurant down the street. I am excited about that--I have never had a painting in a restaurant before. It's a big painting that I started in Alice William's workshop that I just couldn't get to work so I decided to try again before I sent it to the dumpster. I love this vase and I love apples and I love Poppies so---I think it worked. Hopefully it will sell. That would really be exciting.

BIG Piece and a Poppy

My goal is to GO BIG! This is actually a fairly cheap canvas 24 x 36 on sale for 30% off at Hobby Lobby so I felt relatively safe to try something large. I used my spray paints and stencils and then took it inside and stared at it to see what it needed. Big is definitely a challenge and this is really not all that big. it is tiring to go larger because it involves moving around in all sorts of contorted positions to get the lettering and embellishments. I painted the sides black. I am still think about the "Art -rageous" show coming up so maybe I will put this in. I have to stare at it some more. And below is another Poppy.
This Poppy run is more of a Poppy explosion. These Poppies got a bit jumbled up in the excitement of my dash for the paints and I got a bit over-exuberant. I got some new Twinrocker 6x8 paper (yummy yummy!!!) so I am practicing to see if I can get up my courage to do some originals on this paper. I usually get the paper out and the sheet stares at me with those big blank white eyes and I start to do an "art start freak out". Ever had one of those? What is it about blank paper (with the most fabulous deckled edges you ever saw) that freaks me out? Oh yeah, I might mess it up! Well, anyway as Joyce Meyers always says, "Just do it afraid!"

So, we'll see if I can do it. If I don't get up the courage to use the paper then I have wasted it anyway so....go figure!!??

It's a Poppy Run

Well, sometimes I have to run and paint watercolor Poppies too. I haven't run for Poppies recently so it was nice to paint them again. They looked a little scarce just sitting there so I had to put some stamps, punchanella, splatter and write just a little bit on it. This is on 10x10 Quatro watercolor paper which I love love love!! Have a happy day!

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!

Here, above, is the painting that I started with.
This (above) is straight from the website making the aged photograph. Pretty cool, huh!!? And actually that's all you get from the website. Below is what I did in Photoshop.
Here is the piece that I ended up with. I sent it through this website. It's all in Japanese so you just have to guess what the buttons say! Well, actually I think "choose file" might be in English but the rest is in Japanese. Then I added some color with the brushes on the overlay setting in Photoshop and added my calligraphy of Psalm 100 with about 50% opacity. Then I used the overlay brush setting again to color in the Poppies because the aged photograph is more black and white-ish as you can see. I didn't plan to make this actually --it was just one of those serendipity things. I love those magical serendipitous things!

Baby Marc is coming into town today so Nannie (that's me) is VERY EXCITED... and so very blessed....

Poppy Day again!

I was watching TV and drawing in the little journal. I haven't drawn poppies in a while and I missed them. This time I used colored pencils. I keep forgetting just how much I love colored pencils. I love anything and applies color to paper. If is was on a regular sheet I probably would have let the top Poppy bend over to the right or the left but--no room for that is this little journal.

Art Opening Last Night

Last night was the art opening of the "From the Studio Of..." show at the Women's Center here in Jacksonville. It was very exciting to see my art up on the wall along with all the other wonderful art. There were so many different styles from great Jacksonville artists and I feel very privileged to be apart of it. AND...I sold this piece! It's always nice to sell one---even though you feel like you are selling a part of yourself.

Have a wonderful weekend everybody!!!

Poppies in Oil

This is a 9 x 12 canvas that I had painted a background in oil paint over a watercolor painting that I didn't like. Since you can't put acrylic over oil I was committed to oils if I was to put anything on this canvas. So I took a deep breath, took out my Cad Red, Aliz Crimson, Sap Green white and Yellow Ochre and painted. I also used a script stamp for the background. So after I finally took a breath, it turned out pretty good. But it was Poppies--- so I had an advantage. Love those Poppies!

Two BIG POPPIES!!!

Well, I just took a deep breath and painted them big.  These are on 15 x19 Kilimanjaro watercolor paper and adhered to a 16 x 20 Masters Baroque Artist Panel that I spray painted painted black. Painting big is really a different animal altogether but I am determined to not be intimidated by BIG.  And also---the perceived value $ amount is highter---even thought the same work goes into smaller ones. Go figure... 

I will spray these with varnish and they can hang without frames.

Poppy Paintin' Stuff

I thought you might be getting weary of the Folk Art Landscapes so I thought I would throw this in between landscapes. I know, this is a stretch---especially when you don't have anything else to blog!

Poppy Supplies

M. Graham Paints (my favorite)

Black Caran d"Ache water soluble crayon (love these!!)

Dream Catcher brushes (my favorite--but I use others too)

Palette (Bed and Bath Beyond)

Watercolor pencil

Kilimanjaro 300 LB WC paper from Cheap Joe's

sandpaper---this is a technique that Michelle Brown uses. You rub a watercolor pencil over the sand paper and it drops dust that makes great texture

More landscapes tomorrow!

Just a Little Piece of Wood

I wanted to try the Golden Absorbent Grounds again (makes any surface a watercolor surface) so I put a couple of coats on this little piece of wood (2.75x 5.50) I got from Michael's. It worked really nicely although the texture from the wood absorbs the colors and makes some slight absorbent runs but nothing earth shattering. So the answer to that would probably be sanding just a bit just before I painted to make a smoother surface. It's really cute. I like it. Maybe I will make some more. Just love those Poppies--as as you see I haven't beaten my Poppy addiction yet. I did paint a few Irises but I am not sure they are blog- worthy yet. I will have to practice up some more.

Hope everyone is having a joyful and blessed season so far!! I love you all and so enjoy reading your comments and looking at your blogs. You are all so talented in your own ways. xoxo

Poppies in the Green Field

This is one of the last lessons in the Michelle Brown watercolor class. I will miss her wonderful accent and her quirky and endearing personality. In these lessons you can tell that nothing is scripted. She just goes for it with her painting examples and all turn out extremely beautiful. And she is a bit unorganized which only adds to the fun.

The background of this one is the Saran wrap technique which gives an interesting effect. It is one of my favorites techniques to do. This painting is 11 x 14. The Poppies are piling up! I have a true Poppy field right here in my studio!

BUCKY POSIN' WITH THE POPPIES

Bucky loves the Poppies too! He told me he wanted to pose with the Poppies. (If you look closely you will see his treat right there is front of him with the strict command from me to "leave it"!) I think he jumped the gun and ate about 4 or 5 treats before we got the shot.

This is what I call my "Poppy Minima" series. I really like the one on the canvas with the black sides. It's so much fun when you create something that excites you. (It's the "good high" from the art drug!) Actually this was an experimental canvas that actually worked. It was just a regular gessoed canvas with Golden Absorbent Ground brushed on in two coats which makes any surface into a watercolor surface. It worked pretty well actually. The Aquaboard surface (Ampersand) is similar to this surface. But I actually liked it so I didn't waste my money. I hate wasting money on art stuff. ARGGG!!! Here's one thing that I wasted money on--Golden Garnet Gel. It just looks like dirty gritty sand--I thought it was going to be wonderful Garnet specks on the surface---wrong! Anyway--don't waste your money---but if anyone can tell me how they have successfully used Garnet Gel I would be art-ternally grateful! That's a word I just made up---I make up words sometimes. :)

I want to thank Fannie, another fellow artist blogger, who encouraged me to keep up with the Poppy painting until I have painted every last petal and there is not more in me. So encouraging---- and also there is Lori at Elvie Studio, who is a dear dear art buddy who encourages me almost every day either in person or on one or our wonderful phone marathons! She is a great artist---check her out.

AND--of course all the other frequent encouragers, Tess, Brenda, Magdalene, Sherry, Katy, Julie, Kim, Diane, Jane Farr(couldn't get a link to come up), Carol, Jennifer Kathrine. Oh, I hope I haven't left anyone out. And I hope I got all the hyperlinks right. These are wonderful artists who encourage me frequently and even daily on my blog and I know that I am not good at returning the encouragement like I should---0h tisk tisk me! But I appreciate you all so much and everyone is so very talented and gifted in their art form. oxoxox

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!!

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.

POPPIES Again---BUT WITH GESSO

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.

HERE I AM!

This is a trial run. I had to call Apple Care to find out how to do this. So here I am! 

"POPPY GARDEN"

This is the last of my series of Poppy paintings..............HA...fooled you for a minute there!

I think I will paint Poppies forever!  I do think I will get all the Poppy paintings together and sell them on Etsy---I'll try anything---

www.marthalever.etsy.com

This is a 6x6 deep edge canvas that I had painted black over some crappy thing I had painted.  I kept looking at that black canvas and through some green paint over it and distressed it by wiping off some of the paint tp let the black show through. you can't really see it from this picture but it really does look kinda neat with the distressed background.