Thursday, December 31, 2015

Old Texas Vehicle

5.5x8 watercolor and ink on Strathmore Visual Journal for watercolor sketched yesterday and painted today.  I used Micron 01 pen in this 50s era vehicle from an old photo the year my parents married.  Fallen leaves scatter across the road with white picket fence in the distance in this rural scene.  There was another digit in the license plate that I left off.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Party Pigeon - a reworked watercolor


8.5x11 mixed watermedia of a pigeon looking to party over his rooftop for New Year's Eve.  This is the AFTER version.  Below is shown this work in progress where I sketched the bird with black felt tip pen on top of the failed disaster watercolor.  The couple was not real.  Now I think it is a much more interesting painting.  Gouache and Montana acrylic markers were used on top of the old watercolor. Support is Italia 140 lb cold press paper.  It has been awhile since I reworked any existing paintings.  Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.






Work in progress with this middle view showing a lot of the pigeon's body painted.  I knew it would be difficult to cover the man's black hair with gouache, watercolor, or pastel, so opted to use acrylic markers.

BEFORE version 11x8.5 titled Be My Valentine.  As ugly as he is, I'd not want to be his sweetheart and she is no prize either.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Cow Moose

15x11 watercolor on 140 lb Arches cold press paper, another recent moose wildlife with an imaginary landscape.  In this one, I placed a cow moose in foreground in front of a vast lake with western mountains in distant background.  A cloudy sky hovers over the land.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Monday, December 28, 2015

Snowy Cabin

12x10.5 watercolor on 140 lb Kilimanjaro cold press paper done last week or so in the series of lodge and wildlife art.  An imaginary cozy cabin in the snow, you can see the sky is trying to clear and the birds are out flying or seeking food.  A set of tire tracks marks the foreground and that with the birds marks the only signs of life in this winter landscape.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Moose Moment

18x12 watercolor done last week on 140 lb cold press paper, an imaginary winter woodland scene complete with a bull moose and snowy evergreen trees.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Saturday, December 26, 2015

December Pigeon

12x9 watercolor done today in about 45 minutes, a quick pencil drawing followed by loose wc. I grabbed seldom used in years paint such as Payne's Gray, cobalt violet and blue, then made sure lots of water was in a large round brush. It is done on 140 lb cold press Canson paper.  Splattering was done when paint dried.  He's featured on current Weekend Drawing Event on WetCanvas! as hosted by Susan.
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.

Friday, December 25, 2015

Little Snowbird

7.25x5.25 watercolor on paper of a little fat bird decked out in his Christmas wool toboggan mufflers.  Note his various colored legs and feet.  This work is SOLD.
Image is COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2015.

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Snowman in Turquoise Cap

5.5x8 watercolor on paper (Strathmore Visual Journal) done a few days ago, an imaginary snowman holding his red Christmas ornament ball.  Merry Christmas tomorrow everyone!  This work is SOLD.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Artistic Santa

10.25x9 watercolor and ink on paper.  The sketch was done last December for a larger watercolor titled Santa's Workshop but didn't paint this initial work till now.  One of my brushes was used as a model for this imaginary figurative scene.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Praying Snowman

5.5x8 watercolor on Strathmore Visual Journal for watercolor done a few days ago.  This fellow has about fallen over and looks as if he is praying for more snow.  This work is SOLD.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Monday, December 21, 2015

Wine O'Clock

15x11 mixed media on Arches 140 lb cold press wc paper done today.  It is currently featured on WetCanvas in the Weekend Drawing Event hosted by Christine in Australia.  I used charcoal pencil to sketch over a poured watercolor primary colored background.  My intention was to paint poinsettias but saw the wine bottle, glasses, plants, and chair and thought the still life set up was more interesting.  Caran D'Ache NeoColor II wax crayons used for accent colors at the end.  Some realism, abstraction, and imagination here.  The mosaic table's broken tiles were outlined around sections of paint already there from the underpainting, then enhanced.  Now they might resemble cheese wedges.  Not a great painting but a fun one.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Mountain Moose in Velvet

11x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper done earlier in the month along with other wildlife and woodland scenes for hunting lodge art.  It comes in handy to have a passion for animals and an imagination for different landscape settings along with wildlife refs.  As I don't feel I do scenes well it helps to combine landscapes with animals.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Frosty Morning Cabin

12x9 watercolor that is today's work.  All the trees and end of log cabin are imaginary and were drawn yesterday then I put in pale washes diagonally across the sky using Prussian blue.  Background trees had to be softer and out of focus. Aspens and other foreground trees painted last as was the frozen water in immediate foreground.  By trial and error I did stumble upon a neat trick to painting masses of leaves that works better than anything.  Just lay your rigger (script liner) brush fully loaded across damp or dry paper and twist it; don't use its pointed tip.  It will be horizontal, almost flat.  I have been doing more lodge and mountain themed works so stay tuned for wildlife coming soon.  This is painted on Canson 140 lb cold press paper.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Friday, December 18, 2015

Bean's World

10.25x9 watercolor and ink on paper, an on location sketch done last Friday when I was off and decided to eat there.  Bean's World at 100 Main Street boxcar, was my first studio opened on Thanksgiving 1995.  Entrance door is to the left that isn't visible; green wall is the back kitchen area.  The coffee shop cafe serves delicious food, has an outdoor deck plus another boxcar and a yellow caboose.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Bold Bird

4x6 mixed media on paper done today, a quick ink sketch with Lamy Safari pen and grey Noodler's ink.  I had less than 30 minutes to do it so applied watercolor first followed by Montana acrylic marker on the background.  The bird is imaginary as are its bold colors.
I used a card insert from Lakeside Collection gift catalog.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Santa Kitty

6x6 watercolor and ink on paper of an imaginary orange tabby cat wearing his Santa hat, anticipating Christmas next week.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Old Mangerton Shed

11x14 watercolor of an old shed, photo courtesy WetCanvas RIL.  It is painted on 140 lb cold press paper.
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.

Monday, December 14, 2015

Frozen Pinecone

5x7.5 watercolor and ink on Moleskine for watercolor sketchbook done weekend before last and featured on WetCanvas.  With their weekend drawing events each participant has 2 hours to select from 16 photos and then do a painting.  Snow shadows were a nice abstract pattern over the background; limited palette of quinacridone burnt sienna/gold and ultramarine blue.  Image courtesy Li Newton/WetCanvas.  Pigma Micron 01 pen used to sketch cone and needles.
COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Pompous Pigeon

9x12 mixed media on paper, another common pigeon most people overlook.  I sketched him using Staedtler Calligraphic duo pen, then used watercolor, Caran D'Ache NeoColor II metallic crayons, and Montana acrylic markers.  Paper is Canson and is a sheet I put behind other works thus all the little marks.  When dry I spelled the bird's name by ink stamping background and foreground.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Snowbank

12x6 watercolor and white wax crayon on Strathmore 140 lb cold press paper done last week.  I made random vertical lines with the crayon then added different neutral colors greyed down for trees.  Negative painting was done for branches and other tree branch shapes.  Reflections in the frozen ice foreground was a happy accident I didn't intend on having but I liked its effects.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Friday, December 11, 2015

Cockingham Poppy

15x22 watercolor of a very large open poppy photographed when visiting England in 2010.  Later that year I painted one of the photos. The blooms were at least 12 inches across, pale mauve, and just stunning.
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Mums and Daisy

22x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper I painted awhile back from some greenhouse nursery photos I took in Midland, TX. This work is SOLD.
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Red Mailbox

9x12 watercolor painted over last weekend, a mailbox in red with Christmas holly, evergreens and pinecones with a bit of snow.
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Party Puss

8x5 mixed media (watercolor, acrylic marker, Uniball ink) on paper done today.  Cats in Christmas costumes are popular and they look so miserable and not joyful for the Christmas season.  This one was featured on one of the catfood TV commercials.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Monday, December 7, 2015

Mighty Mushroom

5.5x8 watercolor and ink (Micron 01 pen) done this weekend on Strathmore Visual Journal for mixed media.  I featured the mushroom online for our monthly Watermedia challenge on WetCanvas.  Lots of detail that I love not only in the background but underneath the exaggerated fungus plant, just a myriad of multiple mazes.  It is so fun to explore these microcosms; so much going on at the tiny level most people don't care to see or examine.  There are pine needles with their three prongs scattered about here, leaves, twigs, and parts of other botanicals and even a small insect underneath its umbrella.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Stag in Snow

12x9 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper.  I've made the trees and snow background up but saw plenty of male deer or stags since going to the mountains last week, plus lots of elk.  I will attempt to paint more elk.  A very large herd can be seen off Hull road in Ruidoso, NM.  This buck had quite a large rack.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Reindeer with Bird's Nest

8x5.5 watercolor and ink on Strathmore Visual Journal for mixed media, a quick sketch of a happy reindeer parading around with a bird's nest on his antlers.  On the paper I had put wet teabags so you can see some areas with teabag imprints. Black India ink was used when dry to add line and emphasis on this whimsical piece.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Friday, December 4, 2015

Blue and White China with Roses

22x15 watercolor on 140 lb hot press paper, a still life set up of gold vases and blue and white china.  Fresh roses set this one off so it is a sunny more cheerful piece than the snow scenes of late.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Snowman Profile

7.5x5.5 watercolor painted recently for a special artist friend Bonnie in Apopka, Florida.  I hope she likes this cute fellow for her Christmas card.  This work is SOLD.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Snowy Street

9x12 watercolor which is today's work on Canson 140 lb cold press paper.  Using a brush only in this winter snowy street scene, I began with the house dark areas then on to the trees.  Midtone shadows were last.  This will be featured on the Landscape forum on WetCanvas; reference library photo that I cropped foreground and some trees from both sides for a closer view of the house.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Don't Dodge Christmas!

8x5.5 watercolor and ink (Micron 01 pen) done today on Strathmore Visual Journal for mixed media.  This pale green Dodge truck is loaded down with gifts, snow, and a wreath on its front grill headed your way for Christmas!
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Monday, November 30, 2015

Climbing White Roses

22x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Saunders Waterford that I finished yesterday.  These climbing white roses were by our front steps and I snapped several photos when they were blooming at their peak then painted them.  Not happy with the mid section it was reworked and more negative leaves, stems, and thorns added.  My favorite part is the rosebud upper right.  It was painted wet in wet.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Icy Onset of Winter

8x4.5 watercolor and white wax crayon on Saunders 300 lb paper done today when all was icy outside.  This imaginary scene shows frosty trees along a riverbank with snow visible in the middle ground and foreground.  Colors used:  Periwinkle, raw and burnt umber, sepia, Mint Julep, indigo, burnt sienna.Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Freezing Female Cardinal

9x6 watercolor done today from female cardinal outside our windows.  The red birds were visible in the icy snowy conditions, seeming to shiver although they were not.  I keep food for them and frequently they are seen on our patio feeding off the ground.  This work is on 140 lb hot press paper.  Two opaques by American Journey were used:  Mint Julep and Periwinkle in the background area.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Friday, November 27, 2015

Smiling Pug

8.5x5.5 watercolor and ink (Faber-Castell black Pitt pen) on Masters sketchbook paper drawn yesterday and painted today.  This smiling pug belongs to Li Newton (WetCanvas) who is hosting this weekend's drawing event online.  Participants have 2 hours to choose and finish a painting.  I liked her pug's crooked nose and cute grin.
*Check out Pugs Home you can see HERE
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Lilies and Tulips

15x22 watercolor on cold press paper with rice paper on top for a different softer look.  This composition was drawn from life and I featured it on this month's Florals & Botanicals forum on WetCanvas! where the subject was lilies.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Pigeon Shadows ~ Happy Thanksgiving & 20th Anniversary Brushworks!

9x12 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper drawn and painted today, just a common pigeon with his orange feet exploring downtown.  I liked the long shadow and the tree shadows.  Twenty years ago on Thanksgiving day 1995 I opened my studio at 100 Main and named it Brushworks.  My DH stated at the time that art would never go over in this small town so I have proved him wrong.
Happy Thanksgiving to all friends, family, and customers and happy anniversary, Brushworks Studio Gallery! We are giving thanks to everyone who has supported me through the years. 
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Lunchtime Sunflower and Bird

7x4.25 watercolor and ink line, sketched with Micron 01 pen, another magazine card featuring a bird, a woodpecker, eating sunflower seeds.  I used gouache in a few spots and repositioned the bird's left leg at a better angle.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Monday, November 23, 2015

Vintage Vealmoor TX Mailbox

15x11 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper finished today.  From my photo taken where Vealmoor, Texas highway intersects with caliche road to my mother's, this rusty rural route holder of mail now houses only birdnests.  Three or more other mailboxes in better condition are to its right.  Precariously bolted to wood on top of metal piping, this vintage victim of time and weather is full of interesting texture.  As this weekend's drawing event host on WetCanvas, I posted the photograph along with 15 others, and so far I'm the only one who painted it.  Across the highway looking east is pasture for cattle grazing and cotton farming.  To the south the highway connects to US 87 to Big Spring, the crossroads of west Texas.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Chicken Pen

22x15 watercolor on Saunders Waterford 300 lb cold press paper painted wet in wet.  These two chickens I photographed while visiting Luckenbach, a Texas town south of here.  Remember Waylon Jennings made famous his country western hit named after the place. It is an older work that is SOLD.
Image is COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Caleb in Striped Shirt

8.5x6 watercolor on ColorSketch paper drawn yesterday and painted today; he is my youngest nephew's son and just celebrated his third birthday.  In my photo he was eating and had crumbs on his lips so I omitted those.  Reference photo included in this weekend's drawing event on WetCanvas! and took me the full 2 hours allotted time.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Friday, November 20, 2015

Love Stands Alone poppies

22x15 watercolor on Kilimanjaro 140 lb cold press paper done last week, a commission of red poppies for a couple's anniversary.  I added the lone white bloom to signify marriage between a man and a woman and/or bridal purity.  Several of my poppy photo refs were used but the picket fence that denotes the home is imaginary.  Every analogous red, orange, and pink on my palette was used. 
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.  This work is SOLD.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Flying Heron Nest Builder

9x12 watercolor on 140 cold press paper begun yesterday and completed today.  This was for the Animal & Wildlife monthly challenge on WetCanvas; photo courtesy fellow artist Robert Rongier of France.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

White Petunias

6x8 watercolor on 140 lb paper, an older floral drawn from life using a hanging basket of white petunias.  The background was painted a salmon orange and it seemed to complement and compliment the green foliage.  This work is SOLD.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Horse HaHa

12x9 watercolor and ink line drawing (Micron 01) on wc paper I did today.  I had made marks on it to test new acrylic markers and had put the sheet under smaller works.  The dark blue on the halter lead is part of the marker tests and has white gel pen marks as I was testing those also.  Splattering was done when almost dry on the horse's head for the dappled coat.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Arizona Landscape

4x5.5 watercolor and ink on paper, a magazine card from Southwest Art, that was begging me to paint a scene.  So I used one of my many cactus, yucca, sagebrush, and other desert photos taken in Arizona around Tucson and Phoenix.  Pen used was Pigma Micron 01 and some opaque watercolors and gouache were also put to use today on the saguaros.  A white gel pen used for depicting old, dead branches in foreground.  It is a sunset scence hence the deep shadows and orange glow to the land and its inhabitants, those icons of lore.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Dobermans

11x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Canson paper done today as part of WetCanvas! Weekend Drawing Event.  Participants have 2 hours to choose and develop a painting.  Reference courtesy Joanne Nemeth.  Her photo had only two dogs and the head of a third one but no body, so I drew the far left Doberman in reverse.  The middle dog is a reddish brown color; they remind me of the ones we had thru the years of my first marriage to John Bumpers.  On the far right Doberman I cast his left eye downward.  Now there are 3 happy fellows cavorting along the water's edge.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Perfect Pink Hollyhocks

22x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper of tall pale pink hollyhocks from my yard.  A lot of negative painting was done in the background.  I love to paint hollyhocks, those old fashioned heirloom guardians of the garden.  This work is SOLD.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Dry Desert Icons

30x22 watercolor on Kilimanjaro 140 lb cold press paper painted earlier in the month. I have painted this southwest landscape mission more ...