Something fresh in this heat wave

Cherries and Lace II

This is the hottest summer in Ottawa in the last decade at least. The heat and the humidity make me feel really lazy...even though we have air conditioning.  I wanted to paint something quick, fresh, easy.  So, here is a small 8" X10" watercolor of cherries and lace on Arches CP.
I still have a bit of tweaking to do: one of the three cherries on the lace has too much white; there is some white space between two of the cherries on the plate; on the left hand side, on the plate, the highlights are too lined up.
I like the overall painting, but would change a few things if I redid it: I would probably try to improve on the highlights on the plate ( I followed my photograph and used some grey and it looks too flat. I would probably add more color. The top right portion of the lace is too blue - I painted that tonight...l never like what I paint at night.
I hope that you like this little painting and that you are not suffering from the heat wherever you are.

The Silent Venetian - A Mascarone

I have had the pleasure of a  visit by my son for the past 10 days and during this time had very little time for painting.  Now, it's back to work!
I consider my latest mascarone painting finished, at least for the time being. I really enjoyed working on it, but I feel the need to move on:-)

I have already cropped the picture a bit at the top. In matting and framing (20" X 24" frame, matted to 14" X 18", I may crop a bit more. The colors are not quite right on my monitor...there is more golden sand color in the face, I would say.

This should make a great companion piece to my "Gate Keeper", another mascarone. The title " The Silent Venetian" is still only tentative - it does not quite convey the nobility of this face.

What do you think?

Red Bubble has just featured this painting ( Satruday, 23 July). Thank you, Red Bubble!

Great News!

I am so thrilled to announce that I was juried in today as a member of the Foyer Gallery situated in the Nepean Sportsplex.

This is an artist-run gallery operating under the auspices of the city of Ottawa.  Shows change about every 3 weeks throughout the year. There are group shows, shows of up to 4 artists and members may have a solo show every 2 years or so.

I will probably hang my first paintings in the gallery in early Fall.  Wish me luck!

Red Bubble and other updates

 Since my latest painting, the Venetian mascarone, is not yet quite finished, I thought it would be timely to post an update of my recent Red Bubble  activity.

First, my Gate Keeper was featured  yesterday in the Time Gates group.

 

My posterized portrait of Abraham Lincoln, done for a Daily Paintworks challenge, also received a feature about a week ago in the group Freedom to Shine.

My clematis, Garden Kaleidoscope, finished in the top ten  yesterday out of 129 entries in a "single flower" challenge.

As you may have noticed in my side bar menu, I have very recently joined another online gallery. Since last December, I have been a member of  Daily Painters International Art Gallery and of the  Artists International Gallery. Now, I am also a member of the Daily Paintworks online gallery.

It is very hot and muggy here in Ottawa, Ontario. I hope that you have nice painting weather wherever you are:-)

WIP Part 2

I have made a bit more progress on the mascarone "Watching Over" ( tentative title:-).
The picture was taken outside this time.

Let me know what you think of it so far.