New WIP: Parliament Building Carving II - The Lion King

I've been working on a painting of a second Canadian Parliament Building carving. I am calling it, at this point, The Lion King. It's certainly a lion, but with very human eyes! It's on Fabriano Artistico 140 lb CP paper and is about 14" X 14". I am fairly pleased with it so far even if I used more darks than usual in the botton sections - I am always afraid that layers of darks will look too heavy or chalky.

The picture was taken inside with a flash...the colors are not absolutely exact: the top portion is less red IRL than it appears on my monitor.

I hope that you will let me know what you think of this so far....

Have a great week.

New WIP - Small Parliament Hill Carving

I have started over the small painting of the Parliament Building carving. It's only 8"x8" and the face is probably smaller than 4" high. I am using Fabriano 140 lb SP  - not stretched, not adhered to canvas or wood panel - just plain approach this time:-)

So far, I like it better than my previous effort. I still have to remove some masking and paint around the nose before I start the more colorful background. The face will remain mostly unpainted as it is now with just the deep shadows.

I hope that you like this start.
Happy Sunday and a great week to all of you.

New WIP: Coconut Palms

Already Sunday evening! The weeks go by so quickly.
This week I started a new watercolor painting in the spirit of the summer and the heat wave that we are having in Ottawa, Canada: coconut palms from the Bahamas.
I am having fun with the colors of this painting - I certainly don't want everything to be yellow or green, so I am dropping a riot of colors here and there. This is not a commission, so I feel very carefree about it:-)
The large coconut at the front is still in its initial stages.  I am showing only part of the painting at this point - I may decide to crop it from my original sketch of 15"X 19".  I thank Li Newton for the beautiful reference picture.

I could not resist from making more earrings this week. I love working on them. Here is the fruit of this week's labor:

The first pair below is called " Carribean" and is probably inspired by my working on the coconut palm painting:-)

Next, another large pair, with more subdued colors, but with nice textures, called "Desert Glow":

The next earrings are small and delicate and are called " Summer Sky":

The last pair for this week ( yes, I worked on these earrings for hours and hours) called "South Seas" has a very unique texture! I added layers of medium between layers of paint, found a way to make some of the paint bubble a bit. I wish I could do the same on a large canvas...Food for thought:-) \The first image is closer to the aqua color of the earrings

 But this second picture of "South Seas" may provide a better idea of the texture under the glossy surface.

 I will be showing my jewelry also on Fine Art America...Do check the jewelry there...there is something for every taste and every purse:-)

As always, I really look forward to hearing from you and I wish you all a great week!

Pierre, the Green Man -WIP part 2 + fun mixed media

"Pierre the Green Man" is progressing. It is slightly more than 50% done.

Since this is a commission, I really want to get the best resemblance to the original carving. Here is one of the photos that I am working from...

Do you think that I am close enough to the original on the left hand side of the painting?

 Working on commissions make me tense, so to relieve tension I have been doing some fun mixed media: here is one that is almost finished of an Inukshuk.

It's 8" X 10" on a 1.5" cradled board; it has an acrylic background with texture and design of tissue paper, molding paste, metallic foils, metallic paint.  I think it's cute:-)

WIP - Giant Cherries almost completed

I am still working on my giant cherries: the painting is on watercolor paper adhered to an 18" X 24" wood panel and will be varnished for display without glass.
I still have work to do on the shadows and on the tablecloth and lace...I am getting a bit tired of this one; I have struggled with it since I have realized that this surface is better for small cells than large washes!
Nevertheless, at this size, I like the impact the cherries make.
Next time, on this surface, I am simply going to try acrylics!
In the photo below, the colors are not entirely true: for example, the shadows under the plate are more grey than blue and they are actually much darker. I will try getting a better picture tomorrow in better daylight.

What do you think?

I hope that you are having a great week.

WIP-Whimsical carving part 2

Life has certainly been getting in the way of my painting:-)
 This painting  - of a very whimsical, joker-like carved head that I photographed a few miles only from my house- should have been finished last week. But as you can see, I still have lots and lots of work left on this...although the right hand side will have some unpainted areas.   I have been putting in a few shapes every day and it looks like a puzzle at the moment. Hopefully, it will all come together eventually.

This is on Fabriano Artistico SP 140lb. It is very white...with hindsight, a less bright paper may have been preferable.
I still have not decided if I will varnish this painting and adhere it to a 16" X 16" birch panel ; this would mean cropping off at least an inch horizontally and vertically.  This option would be less expensive than having the painting matted and framed...It will be easier to decide I suppose once the painting is finished and can be assessed.

What do you think?

New WIP and update

I have started a new painting. It's 12|" X 16" on CP Fabriano Artistico, my new favorite watercolor paper. The painting represents a metal knocker on an old Venetian door with the paint flaking off...
The knocker has the face of a lion, one of the main symbols of Venice. I was attracted to this picture by Ruth Archer ( used with permission) because of the great textures of the door; I have my own reference of what I think is the same door, but in my photo, the knocker is not shown entirely. My husband thinks that the lion looks rather diabolical:-) It is still too early to tell, but I hope that he is wrong...My artistic objective is not to scare anyone:-) I hope that you like it so far.

I have a busy week coming up: appointments, framing, painting, sitting at the Foyer Gallery on Thursday and getting ready for the Nepean Fine Arts League  3-day winter show starting Friday.

Have a great week!

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.

Gate Keeper - WIP part 3 - still a long way to go

I have been working slowly on my Venetian Gate Keeper. I find this painting quite complex to paint - there are so many different textures: 3 types of marble, stone, rusty ironwork. Furthermore,  the strange perspective is making the painting rather difficult to read as I am working and I keep having to double check where the shadows should be:-) I am gradually getting used to the Canson Arches artboard; the paint dries very quickly on it and I thought that the same would apply to frisket - not at all! I came very close to remove some paper along with the frisket which still retained some moisiture:-(


All in all, I am really enjoying painting this old guy and I am getting fairly fond of him.  The painting is 16" X 20"  and there is still a fair amount to paint or refine. I will try to get it finished this weekend if I don't have too many distractions and if I am disciplined :-)

Have a nice evening!

New WIP, Canson Board and NYC trip

I am currently working on a new WIP, another Venetian mascarone. I am calling this one "The Gate Keeper" ( there will be ironwork on the bottom right corner that resembles a gate). My challenge /learning for this painting is the use of Canson Watercolor Board: Arches 140 lb glued to a rigid backing. This is the surface that Krista Hasson has used ( most successfully!) in her latest paintings.

The reference for this painting is again one of my own photos from trips to Venice.The composition is probably not too orthodox - the oblique line on the left hand side cutting the corner is most likely  a composition "no-no", but I really liked the angle at which the mascarone (the carved head) is presented. There is not much to see yet: I have painted most of the hair, I have started the beard...the eyes and the nose will be the scary part:-(  

It is 16" X 20" on the Canson board. Do I like this surface? Not sure yet...it is certainly not the same as regular Arches 140 lb...it dries very quickly and I have had to change my usual method of working - I don't seem to be able to blend as easily - During the first hour that I worked on this surface, I kept getting hard water lines. Nevertheless, I like the rigid support. How will I frame this if it turns out ok? If I am brave, I will varnish it and frame it as an oil or acrylic. If  I feel less adventurous, I may try to mat it and frame it as a regular watercolor...I am not sure if the thickness of this board will have an impact on the matting  ( if the matting is larger than the board, will there be a visible difference in thickness where the board ends?)

Unfortunately, I won't be able to work on this piece during the next few days. I am flying to NYC to visit my daughter:-) The weather is not supposed to be too great over the weekend, but that won't matter. I am planning a trip to Dick Blick that I just loved last fall when I was NYC. 

Wishing you a great evening!

Bronze Orchids - WIP part 2

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I have done some more work on my bronze orchids. I decided that I did not want to spend hours putting in the small blades of grass and little leaves under the orchid on the left-hand side; consequently, I have started to simply fill this area with dark green as part of the background. This section is not yet smooth and will need a few more layers.  I was impatient to add the red on the orchid in that same corner...I like that part. In other areas, I got carried away and added some purple, some turquoise her and there even if these colors were not totally logical there:-).

We had a small earthquake today in Ottawa. I am sure that a lot of people immediately thought of Japan and got very scared. 

Have a nice evening everyone!

First 2011 Post and Update 3 Fuschia WIP

Amazing...we are already getting used to saying "2011" instead of 2010, but Y2K seems almost like yesterday. How time goes by quickly!  Another good reason to plan our activities for the new year...if we don't know where we want to be in 12 months, how could we ever get there? In the next week or so, I will sit down and set my goals and priorities for the coming months.

I already have two resolutions concerning my artistic activities:

1. regain the risk-taking attitude I had when I first started to paint in watercolors.

Rhonda and Mollie commented on my last post and suggested that I use more colors. This made me realize that lately my work has not shown the bold use of colors that could often be found in my early works...Have I become too cautious and am not taking enough risks with color? After all, it's only paper and each painting should be a chance to push our own limits a bit more...
2. learn something totally new.

I have signed up for an online class called "Texture Town" which deals with creating textures in acrylics. I have  purchased some of the supplies and have watched most of the videos, but I have not yet started any of the exercises. I intend to start in about two weeks and hopefully I will have something to show on my blog soon after.

Meanwhile, I have worked some more on my Fuschia WIP and, as per resolution # 1, have added more colors especially in the leaves area - mostly violets and some blues as well as almost invisible hints of pink ( yes, I am still being careful). Does this improve the painting? I am not sure at all...is it now too busy? I think that up close it is more interesting....what do you think?

Please note that there are still some unpainted areas at the top. The next WIP should show the finished painting.

Happy New Year and Fuschia WIP update 2

Happy New Year  to all my blogging friends! May 2011 be full of joy, good health, great friendships and super painting! Thank you for your continued support and encouragement. I appreciate them more than you could imagine.

To finish the year, I am posting an update of my Fuschias' work in progress. I like the little bit of work done on the flowers where I have practiced my glazing, but am not too happy with the leaves that I have probably overworked. What do you think?

I will work some more on this today if I can to be able to start the New Year with a new painting.

All my best to all of you.

Celebrating a New Beginning! WIP - Hydrangea _Part I

 

Today is a most special day for me: it is the first day, officially, of my retirement and it is, officially, the first day of my new beginning as a full-time watercolor painter! To celebrate, I worked on a new painting, branches of hydrangea ( instead of working on my Venetian Pool Party started over a week ago). Here is part I of this WIP - hopefully the firstWIP of many for the month of December.

So far, I have only put in the dark background, the leaves, the stems and I have started on the darkest background petals. Overall, the flower clusters will be mostly light pink with a touch of mauve. The challenge will probably be to keep a unified look to the painting. It has been raining here all day and I took the picture indoors with a flash; consequently, the colors are probably a bit off.

As always, I love to hear from all of you!

Love that lace wip 4

I have started the stems, although I still have a bit of work on the cherry tomatoes... Since I never know how much painting time I will get during the week ( at least until Dec 1st :-) I decided to post my Sunday night update. The picture was taken inside and the color is not quite true.

Do you think that they look more like cherry tomatoes now?

Have a great week!

Love that Lace WIP -part 2 and news

I have worked a bit more on the lace portion of this painting. I think I am trying to postpone the moment when I have to put some red paint on those tomatoes:-)

However, I soon will have a lot more time for painting....Here is my big news: I announced at work today that I was going to resign and retire as of 30th November... On Dec 1st, I can become a full-time watercolor artist:-)

Pink Peony -Wip Part 2- the leaves

Finally, here is an update of my Pink Peony: I have now completed - for the time being anyway- the background and the leaves.  I have tried to keep the light mostly on the right hand side. I hope that these leaves don't look too overworked.
 What do you think?
I can't wait to start adding some color to the petals.

Pink Peony WIP

I have been having a lot of fun looking through all my recent photographs of peonies. It's now time to get down to work and use at least one of these photos as inspiration for a new watercolor.

 I intend to use many glazes to achieve a rich dark background as in the previous two peony paintings below.However, this time, instead of painting a white peony, I have chosen a soft pink one. The bloom was past its prime, but at least there was a bit of sunshine and shadows on this one.

Below you can see the work in progress on Arches bright white 140 lb CP. The size is approximately 11" X 14".

The first photo shows the work as I am leaving it tonight: the background is almost finished. It's black and dark green...The green may not show very much on certain monitors. The flower and leaves are covered with either liquid or film miskit.

 The second photo shows the drawing with the miskit. I spent more time than usual on this drawing: I worked on it during a two-hour train ride yesterday:-) I removed many leaves that were on the photograph..I will see if this was a wise decision of not...

I hope that I will find the time after work this week to complete this painting. I need a small painting for a show starting Sunday.. I will keep my fingers crossed that this one will be good enough. Otherwise, do you think the previous peony would do?

Have a great week.

Work in progress...no title yet

In my previous post, I showed the picture below that I am using for a new watercolor in the "Memories of Venice" ( or, if you prefer, " Yes, it's yet another Venetian door!" :-)) series.

This painting will undoubtedly be quite different from my previous ones: I will not focus on a close-up of the door, but will show most of the facade; the colors in the reference are rather drab and subdued ( but I probably won't resist the temptation of adding lots of color.); the humble facade does not speak of past Venetian splendor.  However, the shadows under the hanging laundry are so attractive.
..
I already feel that this will be a challenge for me...Especially for that reason, to push myself to go ahead with this, I will post my progress...It may be slow because of current pressures in my full-time job ( You see, I am already coming up with excuses :-) . The WIP may bore most of you, but believe me, it's going to take a lot of courage on my part to publicize  my artistic struggle...What if the result is only good for the bin???( nail biting, heart pounding, finger on the delete button etc....!)

Without further ado..and with a deep breath..., here are the first stage of Memories of Venice VI.

Stage1:   The sketch is done on Arches 140lb CP, approximately 16" X 20". I have masked the sections to remain white ( around the door, the laundry) and the ironwork on the windows. I may have made the sketch too dark ...I wanted it to show in the picture.
As usual, I am starting with a pouring technique for the background, using three primary colors. Oops...where has the gray facade gone???? Ah well...

I hope that you will stay tuned for an update later on this week.
Take care.