Jan.31,2011

These are 4 small (6.5"x7.5") drawings I did of my versions of the Green Man. I used watercolor washes, drew with color pencil and highlighted with acrylic paint. I used Crescent watercolor board..which was fun to use. It tends to bend when wet but not too much. The colors stayed bright and it has enough tooth to make using Prismacolor pencils easy!
I have another 16"x20" Green Man I am working on. I saw some carvings in Oxford and it piqued my interest in this ancient symbol. These were fun and quick. I am going to try to incorporate Celtic designs in some drawings..they are very complicated to me but it should be a challenge.
My best friend for the past 30 years..she is such a lovely person, is having a mastectomy today. She has been doing chemo for several months and now they are doing a radical surgery then radiation for a few weeks. She is younger than me and has raised a family of 7 children. She has never wavered in her friendship and can always be counted on. Her and her husband have had several health problems over the past 3 years. It seems a plague coming down on them..yet she never loses her smile and willingness to do for others. I should be more like her.
So today as I headed to my studio..God and I had a conversation. I am not always sure of my beliefs but I know she believes in God with all her heart..so Lisa..be well..I am thinking of you.

Ukulele weeps by Jake Shimabukuro

Jan. 27,2011

Some birds I did..watercolor ATCs

Jan.25,2011

Today..I find it difficult if not impossible to do art. I feel like a slacker..I would rather watch Oprah than go to my studio. I always thought I had a good work ethic..but it seems to be lacking now. What to do...what to do

Jan. 22, 2011

Today..the fat clouds were blown across the mountain tops, I want to ride a cloud.

Jan.20,2011

A Sad day..we lost our Raven at 2:30 am. She died from complications of Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency. She was a sweet girl. I have had a German Shepherd with me for 38 years. This is the first day I have not had one living with me in all these years. Thank heavens for the crazy pugs. They make you smile.

Jan.15,2010

I just have to say..hope I don't hex them..but the Pittsburgh Steelers are awesome!!!

Jan.13,2011

I call this photo " A Wrinkle in the Morning Sky"

This is what I finished today..color pencil and acrylic on canson artboard. 6.5"x16", Angel Fins and Betta Veils.

Jan. 10,2011

I finished this drawing today. It is called Goldfish Tails and is color pencil and acrylic highlights on black Canson artboard. It is 6.5"x16" and I have 2 more to finish. One will be of veil tail Bettas and the other will be angelfish. It was fun to do and the prismacolor pencils were nice to use on the artboard. Usually I break leads and then get frustrated by using the color pencils.I needed to use the acrylic paint for highlights because the black artboard made it difficult to highlight with the pencils. Anyway something to do while watching TV. I realize that if I didn't watch TV I could get a lot done but I like to watch in the evening and as long as I am drawing..I feel time not wasted!
Finding myself still watching sappy family movies..a guilty pleasure I had to admit to.
I don't want to be one of those people who says "I only watch Public TV and I do watch a lot of it..but I do like sports and movies too.
A pretty sunset is happening now and it is cold..but clear! Have a good evening/day!

Jan. 6,2011

Started 2 paintings. The oil painting is an idea I have had for a long time. Years ago we went up to Canada and after seeing Lake Louise we headed west to BC. Along the road we saw a black bear running with the deep woods to his north. Then camping in California we encountered a lot of elk. The figure will be my youngest son Thomas as he looks today. It started out pretty bad. The colors were awful and I was uninspired. Then I thought I wanted to lighten and brighten things up and knew I would add more paint tinted and brighter to the dark shapes. I started to add patches of lighter and sometimes darker blue to the sky and it morphed to me adding the same elements to the tree shapes and now the figures. I want them to shimmer. I want it to be fun and not real. I want it to be colorful and whimsical. I am showing 2 details and one of the whole painting. It is far from done. I foresee lots of colors added to deepen the darks and really brighten the lights. It is approx. 16 inches by 32 inches. Since it is board support I can really use a lot of paint. I had considered sanding it down and starting something else but I am stubborn. No masterpiece but a different sort of use of paint for me. I really don't like pointillism..but I suppose this has elements of that. but with a start of large dark shapes.
The watercolor is huge. Bigger than a full sheet of 140#. I cut some off a large roll of Fabriano. That is a pain..I have to move everything out of the middle of the studio and use whatever I can find as weights to hold the curling paper down so I can cut it!. Since it is 58 inches tall it is so cumbersome.
I will never buy a roll of watercolor paper again! Unless someone can give me an idea how to cope with it.
I started out just adding wet paint to wet support. Some salt, plastic wrap and let it dry for a few days. I like turtles and the large shape in the center kind of looked like one. I added the leaf shapes and think I will find more by painting around negative space. I wanted to see if I could do the dot thing on a large scale and see if it would hold up as well as it did on my tiny paintings. You know that does not always work. Of course it means a lot of dot making so this one will take a while. I want to keep the fresh bright colors of the watercolor medium and so I don't want to do too much glazing except to bring out the found shapes of leaves etc. I know I tend to keep many of the figures and the dots at the same value..but that is what I like to do..we shall see if it works on this humongous painting!!