Bunch of Beauty

Finished! Two more hours and it is done...I used only a black and white copy of the reference photo so ALL color, including the underpainting, is imaginary. These look good enough to eat!

Grapes - work in progress

Here's the underpainting for a bunch of grapes on the vine, courtesy Dewi on WetCanvas! I used a black & white copy of the photo ref and drew them in about 15 minutes, then a few minutes more to slosh on wet paper arylide, prussian blue, alizarin crimson loosely. I will take it along on my trip out of town tomorrow and hope to finish it in the hotel room. It is watercolor on 9.5 x 7 cold press paper.

Finished Red Bow

A few finishing touches to the background balanced this figure study of Carol. I added darks to the viewer's left as it was too light.

Class Work featuring Sue Ann and Joy Cowan

Here are two of the workshop students from yesterday. The first photo here is my Amarillo cousin Sue Ann who is getting her feet wet learning watercolor. Bottom photo is Joy Cowan of Odessa. Our lesson was on funtastic figures, doing a continuous line drawing of our chosen references. Their supports here were watercolor paper and matboard that had been partially gessoed. This is Sue's first time to do watercolor as she enjoys acrylic abstract work. Both appear to be proud of their day's efforts and we all had fun. NEXT WORKSHOP WILL BE JUNE 2011.

Demo Today's Class: Red Bow

24x18 watercolor on Canson Montval 140 lb block, contour line with watersoluble colored pencil to draw in about 15 minutes, then painted. I used my photograph of a woman named Carol, and this was my demo for the class workshop today.

Watercolor Artist Magazine

Check out current issue of this magazine for watercolorists, page 9, where they have quoted my entry on 'best piece of advice I ever got was...' In the description, I recall Doug Walton's words to those of us who have been studying with him for a long time.

Quickie Peace Rose

8x10 quick watercolor study of one of my last peace roses. The entire rosebush has died and was almost 10 years old with massive fragrant blooms. I was able to do some negative painting of leaves, stems, and buds with this one.
It is SOLD!

Politicians (Repost from August 2010)

Here's the show winner, 22x15, reposted as some emailed me wanting to see the 8 cats again...bottom right is Joe Biden.

Best of Show Winner

Just this afternoon I found out I won Best of Show with my watercolor of cats "Politicians"

in Andrews, TX! If I'd known I would've dressed up...

Fowl Language - Finished Work

Three fine fowl engage in their own language here on the farm, clucking or crowing, they await their next meal. The rooster is on the lookout for any trouble and protecting his hen harem.

Fowl Language - Contour Line Drawing

13.5 x 21.5 with Pigma Micron 01 pen on partially gessoed matboard, rooster and hens courtesy of Sharron/WetCanvas! This was drawn in 10 minutes and the painting can't be more than 2 hours...

Tax Day!!! Jezebel the Cat is Broke!!!

Look at Jezzie sitting in the studio front room, waiting on the Tax Man to cometh. She will have to say that she has NO money. Better get to paintin', kitty, 'cause you owe a lot!

Buffalo Gap

11x15 watercolor on handmade paper, 140 lb cold press, an imaginary landscape called Buffalo Gap. Seriously, there is a town/area by that name and I was just there last weekend. It is by Abilene, TX. This scene was entered into an online challenge this week.

Finished! Self Portrait: Blue Jeanz

22x15 watercolor and gouache on Arches 140 lb cold press paper. I can't see anything else to do to make me look better, LOL! Except this is a much younger version! Now will be thinking of a figure to do for the upcoming 23 April workshop.

Step 6 - Figure

Most of the blouse is done, now to attack the purse/tote bag. Gouache is added to the background and to facial planes, and I'll warm up skin tones with DaVinci's permanent red, an orangey-red. So almost done in this step.

Step 5 figure

Hey, I don't look too bad half dressed, ha! I think the blouse will be done in blues and purples with some white, painted very quickly. The brown bag straps and belt were done with quin burnt orange, Carbazole violet, and quin gold. Skin tone were American Journey Peachy Keen, Apricot, QBO, and permanent rose. Already I can see my left arm is too skinny so will alter that. Hair colors: quin gold, raw sienna, burnt sienna, UB, and arylide yellow.

step 4 figure

With this detail you can see I've put in most of the hair sections and background. Some layering will be needed and I got the stamping too heavy but this can always be addressed in different ways such as adding gouache, acrylics, latex acrylics, Caran D'Ache or whatever.

Next Steps 2 & 3 WIP

Details here of steps 2 and 3 of upper shoulders and head with the vase behind. Don't worry, I won't leave my eyes so startled looking. There's a ways to go yet. I'm just using watercolor at this point.

Next Step WIP Self Portrait

You can see the beginning stages of painting my contour line drawing and the white acrylic stamping. I'll lay colors in with watercolor then if not strong enough will use acrylics and/or gouache.

Contour Line Drawing

Here's a contour line drawing on the back of a failed tulips painting on Arches 140 cold press paper, 22x15. I used a black 01 Pigma Micron pen and began at the top of my head working all around, never letting up on the pen, as you're supposed to do with these type drawings. It is a bit more freer than trying to capture a photorealistic image. I'll add texture next, let that dry, then stamping, painting, adding and subtracting areas until it starts to look like a woman holding her purse. The bleed-over of colors from the tulips does not bother me and this will be a fun adventure in preparation for my 23 April class "Funtastic Figures" here in Big Spring. So stay tuned!

Morning Shadows - Finished Work

It is finally finished and was a long process for me, 22x15 in size, and was worth the step by step. I hope the viewers enjoyed watching this work in progress as much as I did.

Morning Glories Top Flowers Detail WIP

With this view I've provided you can see a detail of the variegated markings on top blue and white flowers. There's a mix of blues, magenta and violets within their coloration. Paints are Manganese blue, UB, Cobalt, and quinacridone magenta. I'm almost done with the painting.

WIP Morning Glories Top Flower

Work on the top glory is slow going, adding its variegated striping and checking values as I go along. To get the right blue hue am having to mix cobalt with the other two colors of UB and Manganese. Stay tuned!

Morning Glories WIP Variegated Bloom

Continuing on to the top morning glory to add its blue variegated striping using cobalt blue, UB, and Manganese. Another glaze done to bottom white one plus the leaf.

More Work on Morning Glories WIP demo

Shadows and glazes were added to the white flower for the multiformed ones seen through its transparent petals. I used UB, Copper Kettle, quin gold, quin magenta, manganese blue. The large leaf needs more darks as its value is too light.

WIP Detail Morning Glories Shadows

The lower portion of the painting can be seen here in a close up detail of the bottom leaf and beginning shadows on the all white morning glory. I especially like the furled bud with its spiral twists. Stay tuned for more.

WIP Blue & White Morning Glories

These images show progression of the background from start to finish done yesterday in watercolor, wet on dry paper. Darks have to be put in first for me to be able to get values correct from darkest dark to medium to light. I've added alizarin crimson and a bit of quinacridone magenta to warm it up as it is pretty cool temp wise with all the blues. As I go along I'm doing negative painting of some curled stems of the glory vines that were not present in the photograph.

Work in Progress: Blue & White Morning Glories

This bottom image shows you that I selected a blue and white morning glory photo taken at Lake Ransom Canyon. I turned the paper vertically then drew in pencil over the acrylic underpainting, but will paint in watercolor. The flowers will not be identical to the photo as I'm not doing photorealism, but fine art. Middle image shows top right background design; background will be very interesting with lots of shapes and other ephemera whereas flowers will be simple. They already have the underpainting to establish a varied pattern of cool blues and whites.

WIP Acrylic Underpainting

After working on acrylics on wrapped canvas there was all this nice juicy paint left, so what is an artist to do, waste it? I think NOT!!! I grabbed a really horrible watercolor done last year and wet its backside putting paint down and letting it mingle. At this wet stage am not too sure what it will be. Hmmm...