White Flowers

I really like this one actually. It's a 5x7.
I am reorganizing my studio to make the back sun room just for painting. I put the big easel out there but doing this involves a complete reorganization of all the supplies that were out in that room. This is a huge job and I have been working on it for several days. I have to leave it for now because I am off to Greenville this morning for a week to see Macaulay, Marc and Morgan while Daddy Marc is out of town.  I should be back sometimes next week. I am hoping everyone will have a wonderful rest of the week!

Green Pear

"It's not easy being green," said the pear.
Actually I think that was Kermit.
Well, that's just the first thing that come to my mind about this pear 'cause I paint so many of these so just what is there left to say? Ok, here's something... I actually painted this pear with Windsor Yellow then added some Antwerp blue to turn it green. No green paint on this pear.

This was that...

I finished up this painting so it could go into my spot at the Women's center. I like the way it turned out. Good thing I like green! Maybe some green-loving person will buy it.

Art of Your Heart

I write this little saying all the time because it is just so true for me. It is so amazing to me how different (and better) my art is when it comes spontaneously and serendipitously straight out of my heart. Most (99%) of the art I post on my art du jour blog is created this way.  I have had to do many commissions and other art on demand throughout the years and although I love my art and love to create it, if it is "on demand" from an outside source I feel that it is forced and contrived. I don't think the viewer can see (I hope not!) it but I sure can.

This was written quickly with my new fabulous Pentel Pocket cartridge brush fountain pen. I also got out my Pan Pastels for the sun and one of my favorite stencils. I should do that more often because that was awesomely fun!

So today was quick and fun = art du jour!

More in the Pear-ology Series

Painting pears definitely makes me happy. This is another piece of 5x7 Twinrocker paper with the fabulous deckled edges. Ok, gotta go now and do my happy dance. :))

CalligraFUN in Orlando

I just can't tell you how much fun it was to teach CalligraFUN to my fellow scribes. They are all such a talented bunch as you can see from the images. They had great success and I am so proud of them!

OK, I think I am ready now!!

CalligraFUN Samples

I am teaching CalligraFUN to the Scribes of Central Florida on Saturday and I have been really busy getting packets and samples ready for them. They are a great bunch of talented people so it should be lots of fun!
Here are a few examples I have created in the last few days to show them.

Cinco de pears

This is how I practice glazing the pears. It is just on a scrap strip of 300 lb Arches paper. I never waste any scrap of this paper. I can always paint something on the scrap and make a "snippet." I love the 300 lb and even though it is much more expensive I try to watch for sales and buy it then. Dick Blick is usually the lowest but Jerry's Artarama and Cheap Joe's are great too. 

My try to paint the pears so they will appear to glow in the light. A lot has to do with the paint colors too. Here are the 3 main colors I use:

Windsor Yellow---Windsor Newton

Quinacridone Gold--Daniel Smith (WN has a good one too)

Quinacridone Burnt Orange--Daniel Smith

I also mix up a shade color.

Reds in Water

Here is another 5 x 7 "Burridge" style floral which I love to paint. They are getting easier, 

at least for the 5x7s. 

I am certainly collecting a big stack of these! 

Pear on Pink

This pear is on a 5x7 sheet of St. Armand's paper. I am trying different watercolor papers and still my favorite is Arches 140 lb cold press. There is nothing much better than that for watercolor. Fabriano is good too but I think that Arches beats it for watercolor.
As I told you I am on a "pear tear" so you will see lots of pears in the coming days. I try to paint one everyday. I plan to do them in watercolor and acrylic.

Abstract 1

I have always been very drawn to abstract art but some abstract art is hideous (to me) but some is very pleasing to my eye. So with that being said, from time to time I delve (again) into the abstract area and try my hand. This one is on a 10x10 piece of 300 lb Fabriano paper. It's ok but I am still going to try to be a bit less busy. I guess I don't need to throw everything plus the kitchen sink into every piece. But I will say that I did enjoy painting it and watching it change and go in different directions. The focal point is guilded with 22 Karat patent gold leaf. So easy to do.
So, the question is, which way does it go?  This way...

Or this way...

Hummm..I really don't have a clue. I painted it turned the top way but turned it all around when I painted. I guess it can go anyway.

Repeat Pattern Blocks=FUN!

During one of my Pinterest wanderings where I sit and drool and become glary-eyed and sometimes go into an eye-candy coma (don't laugh you know you do it too) I saw this site. You might have seen it too. But I have gone crazy doodling these repeat pattern stacks. There is a help sheet in the site so you can do it. It is extremely easy and so fun so... go do it!

You'll thank me for it later!

Three Illusion Pears

I called these pears "Illusion" pears because they are in the Illusion Floater frames that I got from Jerry's Artarama. They are a really great way to display different size canvases and it really makes a big difference.  They come in silver, gold, black and white. I absolutely love them.

I thought I should take a picture of the 3 pears before they went into the show at the Women's Center here in Jacksonville. They are on the curb outside of the center. These were really fun to paint. Hopefully they will sell. These are 5x7s.

More on Twinrocker

I have been saving this Twinrocker paper and actually I probably shouldn't gesso over it and paint with acrylic. It is great watercolor paper so maybe this is the last time I will use this for acrylic. I do like the deckled edges though.

New Flowers for a New Year

I have been down with a nasty old cold and coughing thing since right after Christmas but I have gotten up to paint when I would have an upswing. I painted this yesterday. I got some new paints (to add to the warehouse of other paints I have!) It is Australian Sienna Structure Acrylic by Matisse.  I know that I could easily mix this color it's nice to have it in a jar. It comes pretty dark in the jar but mixes down to almost a lemon yellow. I love it.

Since I have been in my "pear phase" I haven't painted in flowers in a far in so long I was afraid I had forgotten how.

This one is on a 6x8 sheet of Twinrocker 140 lb watercolor paper. I love the deckled edge.

Hope everyone is well and feeling creative!

Also, here is something I thought was really funny!

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.

When all else fails... simplify

Well, I just couldn't stand it. The painting in my previous post was bugging me so much that I just had to paint over it. I know simplifying sometimes works so as I was painting over all the flowers this kinda caught my eye. Maybe I will just add the stems and call it done. I have fiddled way to long with this one.  Maybe add one more flowers to make it an odd number????---there I go fiddling again. See ya later painting.

More paintings...

This was the last of my beveled canvases that I have had for a long time so I am glad I finally used them. This was a floral that didn't get painted over but it got worked and worked and finally after adding the white over the red flowers I liked it even though as I am looking at it online my light source is wrong. Maybe I will fix it and repost it later. I have to let them sit for a few days and see if it is finished. I am still working on glass. It's pretty tricky.

These are called drip trees and Bob Burridges taught us to do this in his landscape class. They are fun to paint.  Not much control here. That's what I think is hard about Burridge's painting style, It's controlled chaos. So far I have the chaos part perfected. I might try some more of these. This one is actually a big one.  I added some Nova Color fluorescent paint to the edges of the trees to make it have intense backlighting but I don't want it to look like it's a forest fire. It might be too much so again, I have to sit with this one for a few day and decide later whether to tone it down.