HANDS AND PETALS

Well, I wasn't satisfied with the hands on this...so wiped it all down again (it's on gold gessoed paper so you can do this without problems) and started over. I really want to carefully shape them and make them look real. I am getting there, using opaque watercolors to build up the lights and darks.

Still some fiddling needed...so before I overworked it and ruined it and had to wipe it all off again, I put it aside and did more work on the Dancing Petals painting. This is it, stage 2.

I've been scattered lately...unable to focus on one thing for very long so switching back and forth from paintings to ATCs to reading in my latest art magazines. Here are some ATCs I doodled while sitting on the sofa watching TV. I'm not crazy about them - they seem childish to me...not artful enough. But maybe it's just a way to get the energy out without working on a painting. I think I need to put the Pitt Brush pens down and go to colored pencil or watercolor pencils instead to get more values and depth.

As you can see, they all are still in the heart theme.

READY FOR A CHALLENGE?

Katherine Cartwright has a great Twenty Minute Challenge blog now based on her own 20-minute challenge paintings she does while travelling. Take a look - if you really want to push yourself and your editing chops, try it! I think I might...and remember, you can paint small so maybe ATC size or 5 x 7 or similiar size would work...what could we create for this? Your own room, your office, yourself?

http://www.twentyminutechallenge.blogspot.com/


Check it out and have fun! And do catch up on Kathy's blog posts for the last few days - they will give you plenty to think about when it comes to your art and your direction!

SATURDAY'S MODEL, JULIE

I had only had a chance to draw Julie one other time when I was attending the Open Figure Sessions at Manifest Gallery's Drawing Studio. It was fun then. It was a bit less fun this time. Why? The pose really threw me (Charles says he is going to build on the poses each week so they are going to get more difficult as the 10 weeks continues - oh boy!!!). The twist in the torso, the left leg coming towards me and the right leg less foreshortened was what I spent the majority of the time working to get right. I wish we had 6 hours to work on a pose, not just 3...but maybe next time I am the only studen who shows up, I'll suggest that! (It was a gorgeous Indian Summer day - warm, sunny, brilliant! - so the other students were playing hookey.)

Sorry I did not have more time to capture Julie's face more adequately.

Julie has the greatest hair - wild, curly, reddish-blonde hair with streaks of color added in yellows. I would love to have the personality to carry off that hairstyle :)

SATURDAY = ART DAY

Saturday was definitely an art day, beginning with my Life Drawing class in the morning/afternoon. Then a rush home, a quick lunch and change for a trip over to Mt. Adams to see the Viewpoint Show with my sister. We walked around the room 3 times, coming back to our favorites - although it was hard to choose. Then over to Art on the Levee in Newport to see the TriState Photo show there.

The Viewpoint show was strong, with many really good images in oils, pastels, acrylics and watercolors. The watercolors definitely held their own in the show and I was glad to see so many watercolors got in this national juried show - so congrats to everyone who got in!

The Art on the Levee show was great in a wondeful venue - a large gallery that has a number of regular artists showing and more focussed shows from others (which was the TriState Photo group). There were some great photos from all of the members and a few newer members joined in and shared their work so it was fresh and new to someone whose been to many of these. My sister and I also enjoyed walking around, me snacking on some pretzel nibblers and she with a glass of wine, viewing all of the artwork in the gallery.

If you get a chance, do take a trip over to Art on the Levee and the Viewpoint Show (Viewpoint is only open weekends 2-5 pm but AotL is open every day, I think).

So where are the photos? Well, sorry, didn't get any. But I might get some of the Viewpoint Show when Jerry and I go today to see it (he hasn't seen it yet) in order to showcase members of the GreaterCincinnatiWatercolorSociety, and will add those to the GCWS minutes next week - the link is on my sidebar. And I still have to get a photo of the drawing I did in class of my favorite model, Julie (although I didn't do her justice, I know, I sure appreciate Charles' help in getting me to work out the shapes until, finally, they began to look human again).

DANCING PETALS - STAGE 1

I drew this is tracing paper and then put it over my watercolor paper and traced it on, changing the composition a bit here and there. Began working with color.





Just 2 colors so far: Cobalt Teal Blue and Cobalt Blue. Painting each petal individually, wet-in-wet.



Half sheet (15" x 22") Fabriano Artistico 140 lb coldpress.

REWORKING OLDER THINGS

Well, I haven't been inspired to paint - I've been inspired to walk and take photos of the gorgeous trees but I know I can't paint them - so...



I pulled out some old and not-so-old stuff that didn't make me happy and I thought I'd take some time and rework them a bit to see if I can improve them.





The yupo portrait of my grandmother was already sealed with acrylic spray so I had to use alcohol and do some scrubbing to get her face off - then tried again. Now I think she looks younger but I wasn't happy with the blotchiness before so...done...I think!





The geisha hands is an older one, on gold gessoed watercolor paper. I wasn't that happy with the hands and since I should be practicing hands more, I thought I'd try to make that better. Using my own hands (looking at them in somewhat of that position as I paint), I am working towards getting them closer to looking human (even if her fingers are much much longer than mine and her skin is much much younger - when did my hands begin to look so old???!?). This is still a work-in-progress as I try to shape and model the hands more - and do something about those nails (I had them bright red but that was too much and blended in with the umbrella so wiped them off again and got this pinkish look...maybe I'll try to get the color back to the gold gesso...or give that one some more thought). I also should try to find that original photo I was using because I seem to have lost it somewhere in my messy art room.







I have begun a drawing of another macro hydrangea but it's not looking good - must work on the composition more.


I've been doing a few little ATCs while sitting watching TV in the evenings, too, but not much to share - I seem to be uninspired there, too.

SUGAR MAPLE FALL

Yesterday evening I looked up the hill and got this view of a neighbor's sugar maple competing with the glow of the setting sun. I need to walk up the street and take a "real" photo of this tree!

I see I also captured another neighbor's black cat - she was pouncing and watching the ground so trying to catch some insect or maybe a vole under the ground...

MY NEW PAINTING: RADIANCE

My artist friend, Marilyn Bishop, closed her show at Caribou Coffee yesterday. I met her and her husband, Jack, there to help take down the show and pick up my purchase.


This is a watercolor monoprint/monotype called Radiance.

Isn't it gorgeous?? I think I'm going to hang it in my computer room over the computer so I can look at it a lot! It's matted and framed in black which really makes it a strong image.

Here it is on the wall above the computer (sorry about the glare - had to take it with a flash).

LIVE MODEL WITH AND WITHOUT WATERCOLOR

Doing a few more watercolor washes on her...still more to do.

And the drawing from class Saturday morning didn't go as well - I used a Lyra soluble graphite pencil (very thick thing) and it didn't erase well so need to work on lightening some of that dark stuff. The model got started late and we had several breaks and talked through them about art and modeling, etc. so less than 3 hours on this one - which is my excuse for not doing the feet. Yep, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! I may work on this a bit more this week - maybe not. It's not easy once the model is gone to get the shapes but maybe that's what all these anatomy books are for?!? ha ha

ANOTHER FRAMED HYDRANGEA

I liked the way Bowman's Framing did my painting, Am I Blue?, that I took another hydrangea and had him do this one, too. Same matting and framing. You can't see it but there is a violet coloring mixed in with the brushed metal frame that matches the violet in the painting exactly - too cool. This one is just for me to hang on my wall.

(Sorry about the reflection but you get the idea.) Had a heck of a time getting the blues and violets correct in this one - my camera doesn't know what to do with that much blue/blue-violet/violet color!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

LIVE MODEL - WITH WATERCOLOR

I took the sketch of the live model done in my first Saturday Life Drawing class, traced the outline of the body onto tracing paper and then traced that onto watercolor paper...then I added a few light washes.

It has a ways to go before being completed but I think I'll add washes slowly and see if I can build up more definition. (And seeing it this way, I see the bar bends and definitely needs to be straightened.)