Purple Stripes - Mini Watercolor # 3

"Purple Stripes" - Mini Watercolor Painting

This cute little purple and white tulip is # 3 in my mini watercolor series. This one was a lot of fun. That purple was a lot of fun to mix up and is so pretty!

I was initially planning on doing 50 of these little paintings, but I'm not sure if I'm going to continue to do them or not. I'm enjoying them, but they don't scan well and I'm always disappointed by the way they look on the computer. I can't express enough how much better these look in person. That being said, I think I'll save these little ones for the gallery.

I do have plans to work on some larger watercolors and will hopefully begin working on them soon. The to-do list is just too long! :)

Have a great weekend!

Purple Tulip Commission

"Purple Tulip" 5 by 7, Commissioned Watercolor Painting

I was so happy to paint this custom painting for one of my collectors. She has three other of my watercolor tulip paintings and wanted another, in a different color, to add to her collection. I'm very pleased with the way this painting turned out and I think she will be too.

I enjoy doing custom paintings so if you have something in mind, just let me know. :)

Tulip in White

"Tulip in White" 5 by 7, Watercolor Painting

Available Here SOLD

I actually completed a new painting! It's been 2 months, I can't even believe it. If I hadn't gotten married I would say that going 2 months without painting is unacceptable. :) At least I had a good reason.

Anyway, I'll admit I felt a little rusty with this piece, but I enjoyed it. Getting the shade of those shadows was a challenge. I also used a piece of 140lb watercolor paper that had been stretched on a piece of gatorboard for several weeks and I had some issues with it. I used Winsor & Newton paints on this piece and the size is 5 x 7.

If anyone is interested, this painting is available in my Etsy shop for $50 plus free shipping.

It's good to be back! I've missed you all! :)

Open Tulip & 200th Post

"Open Tulip" 8 by 10, Watercolor Painting

Ah, it feels so good to be painting again! I was worried that my hand wouldn't heal properly and that I would need surgery. It's not 100% healed, but I am able to write and paint so I am happy. :) And this is my 200th post! Blogging has been a great way for me to share my art with everyone and to receive feedback as well.

I actually started this painting before I hurt my hand and it was difficult to get back to it after almost 2 weeks. I usually like to finish a piece within a day or two so this was a bit of a struggle to get back into, but I'm pleased with the way it turned out. I originally began this painting thinking that it would end up in the gallery. I'm not sure quite yet. Have to see how it will look framed. I used all Winsor and Newton paints on 140lb cold press paper.

Have a nice afternoon!

Red & White Tulip

"Red & White Tulip" 2 1/2 by 3 1/2, Watercolor Painting

This little mini painting is part of a small series that I'm doing for the gallery. I plan to do 4 or 5 of these along with 4 or 5 larger pieces. I've actually never painted this small before so it was a bit of a challenge, but it was fun! I have some 8 x 10 mat boards cut to 2 1/2 by 3 1/2, so I thought doing some mini's and framing them would be a cute idea. Plus, painting smaller means having to charge less and I think it's important to have a range for people to choose from.

I have so many different projects that I need to start working on. I have these new pieces I need to work on for the gallery, we're having a "For The Birds" event at the gallery next month and I need to paint a few pieces for that, Randy Higbee is having another 6 x 6 inch show and I'd like to submit a few pieces, plus painting challenge pieces for the month. Yikes! I better get busy!

A little side note, Paula Ford posted an interview that she did with me on her blog yesterday. If you're interested, click here to read it. Thanks Paula! :)

Tulips

"Tulips" 4 1/2 by 7, Watercolor Painting

Available Here

Well here is another watercolor painting. I'm thoroughly enjoying using my watercolors again and I plan on dedicating more time for them. This painting almost didn't make it.. I was removing it from my gatorboard and accidentally ripped it! Luckily it was a little rip and I was able to trim it a little.

This painting is available in my Etsy shop for $50 plus free shipping! I've got a little tulips in watercolor series going here. :) I think a still life in pastel is next.

Also, don't forget about the "Painting a Day" event that Laura Trevey is hosting on her blog this month.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Red Petals

"Red Petals" 5 by 7, Watercolor Painting

Available Here

I am having a lot of fun with my watercolors. My previous watercolor, (Shades of Pink), took about three times as long as it should have because I had a difficult time keeping my paper wet. My studio is in the warmest room of my home and it's very dry. I would wet a small area of my paper and by the time I reached for my paint, the paper was already starting to dry. It was ridiculous. So, I decided to take my watercolors out to my old studio (the sunroom of my home). I have a big drafting table out there and it wasn't as dry.

I thought you might like to see a photo of my set up today. I know that I'm always curious about other artists work space.

Here you see everything I needed to complete this little watercolor painting. I actually really enjoyed painting there today, with all the natural light coming in. The only downfall is that it's Winter and it's much colder out there.

This painting is available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

Also, Laura Trevey is hosting a "Painting a Day" this month and allowing us to post recent works on her blog. Click here for more information.

Shades of Pink

"Shades of Pink" 5 by 7, Watercolor Painting

Available Here

I know what you're thinking, does that really say "watercolor?" Yes! I have been itching to take out my watercolor palette and I finally did this weekend. Sometimes I just miss mixing my own colors and using a brush.

I had a lot of fun with this painting but I forgot how tedious watercolor can be. I spent a lot more time drying the piece than actually applying paint. I've probably only painted a handful of watercolor paintings in the past year. One of my goals for this year was to dedicate more time to my watercolors so that's what I plan to do. After completing this piece I realized I need a lot of practice! :)

Just a little side note, Laura Trevey is hosting a "Painting a Day" on her blog this month and allowing everyone to share their daily paintings. Click here for more information.

Loosening Up

With all of these pastel paintings that I've been doing lately I've been longing for my watercolors! Needless to say I put the pastels away this morning and pulled out my watercolor palette. It was so great being able to loosen up with this painting. I love to paint intuitively with watercolor, and I haven't done it in quite a while.

But I have to say that doing this painting really got me thinking this morning. I've been feeling slightly pressured to pick one medium and one painting style. Other artists suggest that you cannot be taken seriously if your paintings are not done in the same style and with the same medium. I am kind of all over the place as far as mediums and styles go. I don't think that I could just choose one. I love what they all have to offer.

So I decided that I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing. Art is supposed to be fun, and it wouldn't be if I couldn't try new things all of the time. I suspect that after a while I will get comfortable with one medium or style, but until then I'm going to continue with my creative journey the way I have been. Hopefully you'll come along for the ride! :)

Bowing Down

"Bowing Down" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

Available for purchase here.

I began this little painting yesterday and got to finish it this morning. The painting surface is Ampersand Pastelbord, and I completed the painting using soft pastels and pastel pencils. I've had this photograph for a while, and I've just been waiting to paint it.

I've been painting all day, outside in the hot sun. Unfortunately it wasn't this kind of painting. My Fiance and I were re-staining our deck. We have to do this about every 2 years. We ran out of stain with about 6 boards left. Oh darn, looks like we'll have to finish tomorrow! :)

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Creativity Boot Camp Day 1

"Ivory" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

"Ivory" is my response to Day 1 of Creativity Boot Camp. "Ivory" was the prompt word of Day 1, so I decided to name my painting that as well. If you haven't heard about Creativity Boot Camp, it is a 2-week intensive online course designed to expand your creativity, no matter what your creative outlet is. It began yesterday, but I was unable to fit some painting in, so I started today. I plan on going at my own pace because my life is crazy busy at the moment. I have finals and final projects due within the next two weeks.

After having completed actual boot camp, 7 years ago (for the Air Force) I thought this Creativity Boot Camp would be a piece of cake! The truth is however that pushing yourself in any way, whether it's physically, mentally or creatively, requires hard work. It's going to take a lot of effort and discipline on my part to participate and stretch my creative muscles. But I'm really looking forward continuing this and growing as an artist.

I need to give credit to Mary Carroll for the photograph that she graciously allowed me to use as a reference for this painting. Thank you!

Sunny Day Tulip

"Sunny Day Tulip" 5 by 7, Watercolor and Pastel

Sunny Day Tulip is the painting I thought I had completed yesterday. I went back to it this morning and just built up the darks a little more. This is a 5 x 7 painting on Pastelbord (in watercolor and soft pastel). I've never used water on Pastelbord before, so this was certainly a new experience. The entire background is watercolor and watercolor pencil bits. The tulip was done entirely in soft pastel. For an experiment I think this turned out pretty good! :) Having the watercolor background really made this painting easier to handle. I didn't have to worry about accidentally resting my hand on it.

I actually have several other tulip pictures that I took along with this one and I think I might do a tulip series. This was just too much fun. I'm contemplating putting this on Etsy. I always have a difficult time parting with my original works, but I suppose if I want to make money I have to, right? :)

Day 6 - Painting Challenge

As you can tell, no painting today. This is a photograph that I took on Sunday at the local park. I was completely struck by the beautiful colors of the tulips. They were probably the prettiest pink I have ever seen. I look forward to painting some of these flowers.

I was looking over how much school work I have this week, and I was overwhelmed! I have midterms and big assignments due this week. Don't they know I have a birthday Friday? :) Something tells me they really don't care! :) So, I have A LOT of work to do, and I don't have any time to sit down and paint. I hope to get back to painting by the weekend, or next week at the latest.

Today's Quote: "Chase down your passion like it's the last bus of the night." Glade Byron Addams

Day 3 - Painting Challenge

Well as you can probably tell this is not a painting. I decided to substitute for a photograph today. Sunday's are usually pretty relaxed for me, and I decided to go and take some more pictures today. This tulip is one of my favorites. We ended up taking our dogs to the park today and as soon as we got there I noticed all of these beautiful flowers. I had to rush home and get my camera before the sun fell. I got some great shots, and we had fun too! :)

Happy Mother's Day to all of you Moms! I don't have children, but I feel like my two dogs are my kids! And I certainly love them as if they were :). I hope you all had a great weekend.

Today's Quote: "Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever." ~Author Unknown