Category: 2014 Paintings

When do you finally stop, and call it done?

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I think I’ll call this one done.  How do you know you are “finally” done?  I don’t think you ever really know.

For me it is when I  feel like it is close to my vision for this painting.  I like to have it just be somewhere I can see it. Stepping back often while creating helps, in the process of deciding it is done.  I started with a picture, a resource for this painting.. about half way the picture goes away and the painting takes on a life of its own!

Seriously this does not look like the original picture used.  But I am happy with the painterly feel to this  “possibly” finished painting.   I say possibly because you can always go back and add, scrub out, rework an area.  Below are the Steps as being painted over this week .  The pictures show the progression of this painting.  4 steps before the final painting shown above.

Learning to stop ,or to even go far enough is difficult for many artist. I am no exception and I am famous for over working and becoming so attached to the original resource I am using that it becomes very stale and over worked and stiff. I’ve had to work at pushing myself to let the painting be what it is meant to be. Sometimes the art directs which way it will go. Which means I have to let go my original vision. I still have a hankering to doing a more realistic painting of this flower, which is a project for another day. Thank you for stopping by. 🙂

 

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AH..Finally have my painting corner all fixed up!!

I’m all set up and ready to roll.  My helper “Turkey” is making sure everything is there for me.  So Lets just say the upstairs bedroom did not do the job.  It was very  dark and very cramped.  Hated to go in there.  I moved it all downstairs.. set up a big table so I can spread out.. yeah.

Paint palette used a mixture of Windsor red/ Aureolin /  French Ultramarine and cobalt blue..  this is it!  Still keeping in mind working with mouse colors.  I think this is why I choose this white flower to paint those “grays” but finding it is harder than it looks.  I’m virtually new to this even though I use to paint about 10 years ago.

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I know this painting so far looks very soft in color but it is very  yellow in real life.  The yellow is very washed out in the picture.white flower 015

Painting number two using the same picture for inspiration but going its own way.  Very blue/purple with some yellow, I had hoped it would be more realistic like the picture.  I guess painting “white” is not as easy as it looks. lol.  I’m going to focus on these two and just go with it.  Maybe once the back ground is added it will look better.  After wards I just may give it another try.   To see if I can get that perfect greyish color to make this white flower look as it should.

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So What Do YOU Do to get your creative juices going?

When time passes without creating we get rusty, we get afraid to put paint to watercolor paper. That perfectly white paper… ugh don’t want to destroy it!  (This is a group shot scroll down to see each individually up close)group shot

This has been the case for me this year. So to just get things going again I pulled out my zentangle kit and started to mindful scribble and incorporate some watercolor to give it a bit of color. They are not big and or time-consuming it is just enough to focus on something. Start it and finish it, these little scribbles are only 2 x 2 inches in size.The Big D

How fun it was, in the past I only did ink and pencil but to incorporate watercolor was the punch I needed. I think this will be something I pursue in the future in a large design. For now, I’ll just enjoy the quality of this meditation in art. Zentangles typically have no “plan” you just block off areas and add lines and squiggles. So it always interesting to see where you end up and the journey there. Always fun, this is just what I needed to get rolling again.. Back to the “mouse colors” with a Zentangle here and there.. So what do you do? would love to hear from those who do arts or crafts. Have a great week!

You are a star!

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Mouse Colors: learning

Well, let me share something with you.  I “thought” I wanted to paint glass bottles..  I started and realized I was way out of my league.   What a mess!  Such an advance painting project for an essentially  a beginner.  Although I painted regularly years ago and did ok.  It is very much apparent to me I need to get my watercolor  knowledge back.   So I carefully put away my glass bottles…  and pulled out my painting palette to experiment .  I’m keeping it to just 6 colors at the moment.  I also pulled out one of my favorite books by Jeanne Dobie “MAKING COLOR SING”.

Today just sharing my “experimentation” with my 6 colors… She has a chapter describing luminous grays.   By mixing your one of your primary colors with their compliment you can create these most gorgeous grays.   This is just experimenting, and as I look at this loose painting it  probably could use more detail.. It is suppose to be a mountain  scene, ( I’ve included a close up view of the top of this painting)   I followed her example to work on my mixtures.  It is a beginning..  trying to get what is in my head down on paper.  I figure every time I paint it will help, and I will learn.  Watercolors can easily turn to muddy colors so easily So I’m in great need to figure out how NOT to do that! .. I want beautiful colors..

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This  picture just shares the mixtures done today  along with my mixtures of mouse colors.   These grays are not neutral by any means, they actually have colors to them, they can be cool , warm, greenish, reddish,blueish,  at any intensity needed..

This is what has pulled me to watercolor is the gorgeous luminosity,  I don’t want to simply copy a scene I want to create a scene from reality.  Make it artistic if this makes any sense.

DSCN7487 Let me show you the picture of what I wanted to attempt… took lots of great pictures to do later!! What was I thinking??? lol  Someday I’ll go back to it.

Dusting off the Watercolor Supplies

Dusting off the Watercolor Supplies

It has been a very long time since my watercolors have been put to use. This weekend I was determined to get back to it! After Destroying at least 4 pieces of not so good watercolor paper.. I finally settled on this small 8″ x 10 ” landscape. Its a fantasy lake along a woodland scape. Fun to just get the paint flowing again and controlling or not so controlling onto paper. I think I’ll sign it and go to my next.