Beach Boxer

6x4 watercolor of a happy boxer at the beach, painted over the weekend, a quick direct painting on Canson 140 lb cold press paper/Daniel Smith paints.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Evergreen Elegance

6x4 watercolor and gouache on Langton Prestige 140 lb cold press paper, another tree scene I've had drawn for awhile but not decided to paint until yesterday using some pink and salmon and turquoise.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Green and Red Tomatoes

2.5x3.5 watercolor vegetable still life of two tomatoes sharing a single stem.  This miniature was drawn and painted today on Canson 140 lb cold press paper and is an ACEO art card (Artists Cards Editions & Originals).  I like to use complementary colors such as red and green together in a composition for a really energized color burst.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

White Peony

11x15 watercolor WIP is finished now.  Additional greens were filled in the blank left side area, then values checked on white petals.  Each pencil line has a light color to define its edge.  Lastly, stamens were painted in using a #6 round.  This floral watercolor may be purchased directly from me or by visiting my gallery on Daily Painters located in lower right sidebar (PayPal).
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith. 

White Peony WIP

 11x15 WIP watercolor work in progress of a mature white peony and bloom with abstract background begun yesterday on Italia 140 lb cold press soft paper.  The dark background was started in this view before work this a.m.  I'm using a #12 Escoda round brush, a very wonderful new treasure, and no photo reference.  I use a direct painting style of putting down the color I want it to be when dried first and not going back into it.

With this image, more background colors added which look more purple in reality than the poor iPhone photos show.  Now all that is lacking are the left side leaves.  So stay tuned and maybe tomorrow will finish.
Images COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

White Peony WIP

11x15 watercolor on Italia 140 lb cold press soft paper, drawn and begun today as a work in progress.  I first painted this pristine peony years ago and have misplaced my photo so am going on intuition.  The background will be various darks to make its white petals pop.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Basket Case kitty

2.5x3.5 watercolor ACEO on Canson 140 lb cold press paper done today.  This black and white cat named Hamish belongs to another
WetCanvas artist, Ros, in Australia.  I've painted her other cat Jock also.  Hamish likes to get inside baskets and wait for her to come home.  ACEO (Artist Cards Editions & Originals) are tiny miniature paintings that are fun and quick.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Wolves in the Woods

4x6.5 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper drawn yesterday and painted today.  As this month's WetCanvas host in the Southwest/Western forum, I posted subject matter indicative of this area of the country.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Trio of Pears "Tree-O"

15x22 watercolor of three pears, an older one that was a demo for a local art group.  Colors were imaginary letting the paint dictate which way to run and mix in a fun combination.  Title is "Tree-O".
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Pompous Poppy

22x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper, painted wet in wet several years ago.  It is my favorite poppy painting of all the ones I've done and hope it never sells.  It won a signature point for me with the Dallas group Southwestern Watercolor Society.  With its pure whites and abstract background, it really glows in a frame on the wall.
Image is COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.

Shopper - ACEO

3.5x2.5 watercolor art card on 140 lb cold press Canson painted last week, a quick study without pencil drawing.  ACEO (Artists Cards Editions & Originals) are always same dimensions 2.5x3.5 and may be any combination of media in miniature format.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Alliums - ACEO

2.5x3.5 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper, another art card or ACEO (Artist Cards Editions & Originals) otherwise known as miniature paintings. It was done this afternoon featuring purple-pink globe blossoms and green background and foreground.  These tall beauties can get very large blooms and are growing down the street.  I did plant them once at the studio but they did not come up.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Little Lilies - ACEO

2.5x3.5 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper, another art card or ACEO (Artist Cards Editions & Originals) otherwise known as miniature paintings.  It was done this afternoon featuring purple red and yellow lilies.  ACEOs must have all same dimensions of 2.5x3.5 inches or they do not qualify as an artist card.  More of these can be seen on my Daily Painters gallery.Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Lobster Plate

6x6 watercolor and ink line on Masters paper drawn yesterday and painted today in between working on commissions and assisting art students.  This red lobster has a lemon slice in front ready to be squeezed and indulged, and this piece is SOLD.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Poppies - ACEO

3.5x2.5 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Canson paper, done yesterday using no reference, a loose splashy garden of red-orange poppies.  This ACEO (Art Cards Editions & Originals) is available on Daily Painters here in my gallery.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Windy Palm - ACEO

3.5x2.5 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Langton paper done today, an ACEO (Artists Cards Editions & Originals).
Image COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Anna - young girl's portrait

8.5x6 watercolor on pink tinted Color Sketch paper drawn yesterday then painted late this afternoon.  This is Anna, daughter of Kristin who is hosting our June Watermedia forum on WetCanvas.  She has a floral garland in her hair and was attending her school May Day celebration.  I am by no means a portrait artist so please overlook any mistakes.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Bluebird Singing the Blues

3.25x4.5 watercolor on 140 lb Saunders cold press paper, a tiny imaginary scene done today.  The scanner's colors are showing the bluebird having a reddish breast when I painted it orange-yellow or gamboge.  The rest of the branches are true to color.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Windowsill Veggies

15x22 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper, painted wet in wet a few years ago, a still life of bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic and potted herbs in a sunny windowsill.  I painted this again as a demo for east Texas painters and that one has a red bell in front.  Some negative work was done on the plant leaves.  This piece is SOLD.
Image COPYRIGHT 2010 Kay Smith.

Bull Terrier - Miniature

6x6 watercolor and ink line on Masters paper painted today and drawn several days ago of a miniature bull terrier.  Commonly known as General Patton's dog, this breed is small, sturdy and smart.  Patton's dog was named Willam the Conqueror and called "Willie". I've always admired this breed that is so unique in appearance and it would be fun to own one of these terriers.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Tulips and Red Table

22x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper painted several years ago from a floral still life I set up in the studio.  Tulips are silk, not real, stuck in an old grey urn, and the antique table that belonged to my grandmother I painted bright red.  You can see diagonal mini-blind shadows falling across the composition.  This work is SOLD.
COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.

Motherly Love Cats

6x6 watercolor and ink line on Masters paper, painted late last fall but never posted.  In this imaginary maternal scene, mama calico cat holds her gray tabby baby kitten close to her.  He seems totally content in his mother's arms while they both sleep and dream of tuna, shrimp, and chicken...or something...
Image is COPYRIGHT 2013 Kay Smith.

Pool Pups Value Study

9x12 Tombow brush pen on Bristol board 100 lb done yesterday, a value study for a larger commission.  All 3 dogs are my client's rescue animals and the lower right dog is missing his left front leg.  For the full sheet watercolor I'll add a different background but still include a swimming pool.  The dark fellow is part boxer and bulldog while back guy is a golden retriever.  Often for a pet portrait to get to know the animals I will do a value study or small pencil sketch first.  Such fun!
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

D-DAYsies

6.25x6.25 watercolor daisies painted yesterday in honor of 70th anniversary of The Longest Day, or D-Day, when Allied troups stormed the beaches of Normandy.  These fresh white daisies honor all the brave soldiers who lost lives for our freedom and may they never be forgotten.  After painting new gamboge centers I spritzed with fine water mister to cause paint to run.  Background is a mix of dark pigments such as carbazole violet, quin violet, gold, and indigo.  Daisies are featured on this Weekend Drawing Event on WetCanvas and photo courtesy Valri Ary.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Clothes Call

6x16 watercolor WIP (work in progress) finished of five colorful shirts freshly washed on the clothesline, blowing in the breezy sunshine.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Clothes Call WIP

6x16 watercolor work in progress on partially gessoed matboard.  The first image shows my pencil drawing of 5 shirts hanging on a clothesline.  The second shows blue background sky painted with cobalt, prussian, and ultramarine blue and when dry black center tee shirt and turquoise were added.  The third image is far right yellow longsleeved shirt with white daisies and peachy keen and black added to center design on the others.  Stay tuned for the final reveal tomorrow!
Images COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Blue Green Flower

6x16 watercolor on matboard, partially gessoed, finished today.  A cropped flower that could be a wild cousin to the sunflower or even a distant relative to the daisy, this fun and splashy floral is cool with warm accents.  With our hot triple digit heat in Texas and with me planning a teaching trip to south Florida, this one just fit the bill.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Olive Oil Pots

12x9 watercolor of three Greek jars or pots commonly called pitharia.  I painted this over the weekend from a black and white photo version of the colored one supplied by Athena on WetCanvas, using only a limited palette of quinacridone gold, midnight blue, and carmine.  Pitharia are used to store grain, seeds, wine, and oil.  According to Athena, the large pot is dated 1909.  Support used was Canson 140 lb cold press paper.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith

Poppy Thoughts - WIP finished

11x15 watercolor floral on Canson 140 lb cold press paper, finished work in progress with more warm yellows added with Gamboge and Halloween Orange (American Journey).  I did negative painting for stems and leaves by first doing a light value wash over an area, then coming back in with a darker value around the shape.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Poppy Thoughts WIP

11x15 watercolor begun yesterday with a loose pencil drawing on Canson 140 lb cold press support.  This paper lets Daniel Smith's quinacridone coral, indigo, and arylide yellow sit on top and really shout.  Working wet on dry I'm laying warm reds and pinks next to cool tones and mixing indigo with thalo blue and green for very cool foliage accents with green supporting red in a complementary manner.  It will probably look like all my poppy works, but it's a working method I prefer to photorealism! These lovelies were photographed in Wales, so stay tuned for the next work in progress or the final version.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.