simply and deliberately

6x6 warm-up ; Acrylic on paper

I'm back painting... and I'm a bit rusty. (I taught a 3-day workshop in Aberdeen NC last week...Fun!) I seem to be less decisive after I've had a break from working. ...and I just push the paint around and fiddle more. I just made myself a big sign...

SAY IT SIMPLY AND DELIBERATELY. 

Yup... I'm shouting at myself. There is no room for wishy washy in the studio.

warming up

"Hot Climb" 6x6 Acrylic on paper

I start each painting session with a few small "warm-ups"... (I learned this from Robert Burridge's workshop) This is when you can play with colors you don't normally use....They are quick and unconscious works for me... fun to do!

Red Sky

Having fun with these small color studies in watercolor... They are painted on Strathmore "mixed media" paper, which is very smooth and absorbent. It's forcing me to put the paint down and let it be. It's a good exercise for a over-worker like me.

lucky ducks

Little warm-ups with watercolor.... This is the kind of day we're enjoying here in Michigan.... Aren't we the lucky ducks?

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.

Random Word Generator

Morning Tea & Leaves

Happy St. Paddy's Day!
My weekly newsletter is published  the link is here....
Click the link to find out about using a "Random Word Generator" in your painting warm-ups.

Watercolor Warm-ups...

"Pink Tulips 3" (how original....sigh)
7 x 5
Watercolor and pencil on paper

I learned to do these small warm-up paintings at a Robert Burridge workshop. It's such a smart idea.... I have at least 3 going at once (usually more) so when the one I'm working on is wet and needs to dry...there is a dry one in the ready position... You can try out ideas that you wouldn't necessarily try on a larger sheet... a no risk method, that's very freeing.

On a completely different subject...

"Go right through for MSU, watch the points keep grow-ing....
Spartan teams are bound to win they're fighting with a vim!
Rah Rah Rah!"

Go Michigan State and Tom Izzo....
I can hardly wait to watch the game!

Too much TV....

"He Had That Glazed Look..." Acrylic ~ 7 x 5 inches
(detail below)

This is one of the many warm-up paintings I was doing in October and November... Makes me laugh. :)

Quote of the day:
"You can't just wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club."
~Jack London

Winter Warm Up....

"Winter Warm-Up" 5 x 7 ~Acrylic on collage paper

Still warming up with some smaller paintings to put in the Orion Art Center's Holiday Market...

I've barely emerged from the studio over the last month or so....Lots of ideas...so little time... :)

I really do love this discipline of the small warm up paintings before jumping into the larger paintings....A great time to experiment.

More Warm-up Paintings....Mini size

For my Open Studio (November 7 and 8) I'm going to have quite a few of these small mail-able original paintings...Envelope and gift tag will be included in the package. :)

Today, I used this size as my warm-up paintings...though I was having so much fun...I never quit warming up! They are all sorts of subjects... I got a lot of them finished....and I have a lot of them in various stages of completion.


Stargazers 5.5 x 3.5 acrylic on paper... (sold)



Blossoms at Night 3.5 x 5.5 acrylic on paper

Painting Painting Painting some more....

I keep playing with the warm-up paintings...I used a china marker here...Just so you know...the varnish seemed to go over the china marker just fine!

Small paintings in progress....

I've adopted Bob Burridge's habit of doing small warm-up paintings each morning...
limiting color and or subject matter..... experimenting... playing... slapping paint around. They are all 5 x 7 size.... and by doing 6 each day (at least starting) I should have a slew of them before my open studio in November....
Can you guess which one will be called "bite me" when it's done? hehehehe