gifts

I gave a gift... and received a bigger gift.
I painted a watercolor of our daughter-in-law's bridal bouquet for Christmas. She was absolutely delighted, and touched, which in turn delighted and touched me.
A happily tearful, big hug was one of my best gifts Christmas morning. :-)

Cristina's Bouquet ~ 12x12 ~ watercolor

wip (work in progress)

Can you tell that I'm way more excited about the one on the left?  Need an "about face" on the one on the right. Drastic measures are in order to keep me interested. :-)

here kitty kitty

"Here Kitty Kitty"  12x12  Acrylic and oil bar on Canvas Panel

I don't have a cat. I have never had a cat. But I do really like cats. How long do you think this bouquet will tempt him before he needs to swat it?

Add caption

Woke up this morning and decided that the kitty paws could use a bit of a shadow...and added a couple of dotty stuff on the far left to repeat the white dotty stuff... Hardly EVER go back once it's signed, but couldn't leave it be.

icelandics

#68 Icelandics~ 7x5~ Acrylic on collage

Still pretending it's spring here in the studio. :-)

poppies squared

#65 ~ Poppies Squared ~ 11x11 ~ acrylic on collaged paper

Another Poppy painting... And I have one more larger one in the works... I'm liking the unpredictability of the crinkly paper and the watery acrylic. It shoots about in somewhat unexpected ways.

Icelandic Poppies 1

#64 Icelandic Poppies... 7x5 ~ acrylic and collage

Having some fun now!

Forsythia

#62 Forsythia ~11x11 ~ acrylic and collage on paper

Went a little bigger today... Wish I had some branches here in the studio... Frustrating to only have reference photos to use.

sweet pea two

#57 Sweet Pea Two~ 15x11~ acrylic and collage on paper

Here in Michigan, we are dreaming of seeing signs of spring. I have lots of these florals in various stages of completion, all over the studio. If I sniff really hard, I think I'm smelling sweet peas.

sweet pea one

#56 Sweet Pea One ~ 11x7.5 ~ acrylic and collage

Last week, I went out with some of my friends from the old "hood. Jill asked me about one of my challenge paintings that was of sweet peas. I drew a blank at first... then a few moments later thought of the painting she was referring to. I'm pretty sure it was this one. When I painted it, I wasn't thinking of any specific flower, but after she said "sweet pea" I realized, Oh Yeah! I love sweet peas. My sister grows (and fights with them) every spring.

Perfect subject to do this experiment with. I painted (too quickly... i was excited) some sweet pea shapes with watered acrylic onto water color paper. Then I painted more watery acrylic  sweet peas on a crumbled sheet of soft transparent paper. (I have a roll of it from somewhere... maybe my mom's sewing pattern making paper?) Let them both dry then glued the crumpled paper on top of the painting. I love how it veiled the previous painting... and it took the paint really interestingly after it dried and I added a bit more. I love me a new technique.

Wallpaper 2

#41 Wallpaper 2...  5x7 ... pure watercolor

More patterning... started with the blooms, and then filled in with the leaves. I think leaving the white of the paper gives it sparkle... I'll have to remember that. :)

Green Thumb

#38 Green Thumb... 5x7 watercolor

Still working in pure watercolor... no drawing, just trying to let watercolor be watercolor. :-)

Tangled

#40 Tangled... 5x7 watercolor

I've been painting patterning.... no particular thought in mind... just starting and following my nose. This mindless sort of meandering with paint is a somewhat zen experience.... This is the sort of thing I never make time for, and it's so beneficial. Another plus for doing a challenge. (6 paintings a week for a year)

ranunculus

#39 ranunculus  7x5 watercolor

Because I'm limited to watercolor at the moment... I'm enjoying getting back a couple of watercolor skills...

• light hand with glazes
• transparency
• lifting
• patience (ha!)

I've just about caught up (6 paintings per week for a year).

Wallpaper

#37 Wallpaper... 5x7 Watercolor

Still finding my watercolor legs...
Along with my 6 paintings per week for a year, challenge... I'm posting January's paintings over at Leslie Saeta's blog.... She's organized a "30 paintings in 30 days" challenge... There's some fantastic stuff going on in there!

Hot Stuff

#27 Hot Stuff  7x5 acrylic and colored pencil

I spent all day yesterday, painting. And I have nothing that I want to show you. Some days are like that... luckily not too many of them. It's painful to watch. Hopefully today will be different. This is one that I hadn't posted from last week. Thanks goodness I have a few waiting in the wings for days like yesterday. :-)

Bauble Blossoms

#22 Bauble Blossoms, 7x5 acrylic and silver tape

I had a huge home depot size roll of dryer vent silver tape left over from our new dryer installation... I call it new art supplies. I imagine it showing up in places for a long time.... foil with a sticky back. Love it. Used it in 3 places on this one... with a bit of paint pen on top. Easy peasy silver foil technique. ;-)

watercolor...nothing quite like it

I'm down in Rochester through next week... No acrylics here at the condo... traditional transparent watercolor only.... well... not counting the colored pencils and oil pastels. I'm having fun getting reacquainted with watercolor. I just love how it does it's thing.

Midnight Bouquet

I had started this one as a demo for my Acrylic 101 class at Crystal Lake Art Center... and finished it last week. Kind of a fun color combo. The painting started on a purple and magenta background, and I think that's why the colors seem to glow. I just put this one up for sale on Etsy if you're interested.

Sight for my color starved eyes....

Crystal Gardens, Frankfort MI

Bopped around the garden center yesterday.... in 2 layers of coats and hat and gloves. I was rewarded with this trailer full of spring time glories.... My eyes did the cartoon "BO-ING" thing. They just didn't know what to make of all that glorious color. AND... after I purchased a couple of things...they gave me a free Easter Lily.... How about that...  Thanks Crystal Gardens!  Happy Easter to you too!

daffodils that are glad they are inside

Closing in on finishing... The flowers seem to be saying "nah nah nah" to the creatures out in the cold.
At least that's what it looks like to me. Having fun with this one. Really enjoyed the subtle color temperature change in the snowy part.