Donkey Dots

6x6 watercolor and ink (Pitt grey pen) on Masters sketchbook paper painted yesterday from an earlier donkey drawing.  Colors in this were simple:  Raw umber, arylide yellow, cad orange over existing ink.  Splattering was done when dry.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Beach Beauties

5.5x8.5 watercolor and ink (Micron 01 pen) on Masters sketchbook paper done today as an exercise with Sketchbook Skool's Boot Kamp.  We were to quickly do at least 12 people in a crowd but all I could squeeze in of these beach babes was eleven.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Eye of the Horse

10.25x9 watercolor using brush only done very loosely about a month ago in my sketchbook, using no reference.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Pink Girl

13.5x13.5 mixed media (acrylics, India ink, oil pastels) on pink matboard done today.  After doing so many self portraits for Sketchbook Skool either from life, photos, or imagination I decided to put eyes in with India ink then develop the rest with no reference.  Instead of a brush I used an old credit card to scrape areas of wet acrylic and to layer.  So this is not me, just an imaginary pink girl! Total fun playing with paint.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Purple Irises

8x5 watercolor, ink and collage on paper finished today.  Yesterday I drew these glorious purple irises, aka flags, which grow in my side studio yard.  After the ink line with Micron 01 pen I collaged sentences from a novel for all the white or lightest value areas, then painting was last.  Today was spent correcting values and adding iris veins in most of the petals.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Cherry Tree and Red Bird

12x9 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper, an imaginary fantasy scene.  I used another scrap sheet I place under watermedia to catch drips and brushstrokes as an abstract background.  The symbolic tree, leaves and round flat ones were added next then the bird shape last.  Already there were some of those shapes.  I liked the pink and pale green colors behind the drips and runs.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Unicolor Jay Bird

5.5x8 watercolor and ink (Pitt pen) on Strathmore Visual Journal for mixed media drawn yesterday and painted today.  This fellow is enjoying the start of Summer season.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Contented Cat

6x6 watercolor and ink (Pigma Micron 01 pen) on paper that I did awhile back of a lazy part Siamese cat sunbathing on an old diving board; I couldn't find where it was ever posted.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2013 Kay Smith.

Hibiscus Hummingbird

11x15 watercolor painted yesterday featuring red and yellow hibiscus I had bought.  Before long this little fellow was buzzing around to get a taste of nectar.  Hummingbirds seem to know when you have flowers that they might enjoy.  As yesterday was the first day of summer I thought everyone might enjoy seeing a hummer.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Cheesy Cow

6.5x9 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press done yesterday.  Back to cows being weird.  I used transparent pyrrol orange (Daniel Smith) line over a paper used for putting behind other watermedia.  The greens and yellows went well with a cow I thought and made a nice abstract.  Probably I'd never think to do this if I'd not taken 3 semesters of Sketchbook Skool.  They encourage you to stretch and try to get outside your comfort zone.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Corner of the Garden

10.25x9 watercolor and ink of a garden corner I've decorated with metal watercans, pots and potted plants.  Using Pitt pen, I sketched the items first then put in darks followed by midtones and lights last.  My red geraniums this Spring are especially lovely. This one was done last week when I had time on vacation.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

White Carriage Horse

8x5 watercolor, collage, Tombow brush pen on paper done today.  The horse is featured on WetCanvas weekend drawing event in which we have only 2 hours to draw or paint our chosen reference out of 16.  First I drew him with Tombow black ink and decided to add sentences for his main mane and forelock out of an old novel.  These were collaged on.  Watercolor added to background of mixed blues and a little pink for his nose and upper lip area.  Mostly I used quinacridone burnt orange + ultramarine blue for a mixed brown. Total time was an hour.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Passion Flower

9x12 inks on paper (140 lb Canson) done this afternoon.  I started with acrylic inks then used 2-3 colored India inks since only got the primaries.  Probably I have thousands of floral photos and will not live long enough to paint them all.  So this summer that begins Sunday I'll try to do more from those.  This is a macro view of purple and white passion flower, brush only, and it looks quite an abstraction.  The top white petal was inadvertently painted over so I used white India ink and did a calligraphic line there.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Baby Birds

4x5.5 watercolor and ink (Micron 01 pen) done today on a Watercolor Artist magazine subscription card.  I liked the turquoise blue border and the cover image of a tree seemed perfect for these five baby birds.  I've extended the tree down then crossed branches and twigs over to outside edges.  These babies don't have their eyes open yet but are clamoring loudly for something to eat! Mama bird is not around; she took off when she saw me approach with camera in hand, afraid I'd disturb her nest.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Aussie Bird - Kookaburra

5.5x4.5 watercolor and ink line on paper done recently.  The paper was a sheet I put under other works in progress to prevent discoloration of sheets under other ones.  It has a nice abstraction so I cut out a portion and sketched the kookaburra then colored him. You can imagine seeing tiny trees in the distance.  This bird was featured on a recent WetCanvas forum.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Sunflower vignette

15x11 acrylic inks on 140 lb cold pressed Canson paper, brush only-no pencil, done this afternoon.  It is my first time to use FW brand; I only bought 3 primaries plus black.  This medium is pigmented and lightfast as well as water resistant.  Pens, dip pens, or brushes can be used as well as airbrushes.  The look resembles watercolor in its appearance on paper being transparent and translucent.  I do think they are more vibrant than watercolor.  Definitely will use them again.  With just the primaries I was able to get a full range of hues.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Roman Horses

9x10.25 watercolor and ink line with Micron 01 pen, done a few days ago while on vacation.  This scene actually is a group of stone sculptures and I tried to make them look real.  I featured it in this weekend's drawing event on WetCanvas; photo courtesy Susan.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Lilypad Garden

9x12 mixed media on watercolor paper done a few days ago.  Media used were colored pencils, watercolor, crayon, liquid acrylics, pencil and charcoal.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Cigar Man

8x5 watercolor and ink line on paper, an old codger smoking a huge cigar that was part of my photo line up last month while hosting on WetCanvas weekend drawing event...no idea what his name is but he struck a nice pose with that cancer stick.  Pigma Micron 01 pen was used to sketch.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Mexican Red Hats wildflowers

4.25x7.25 watercolor on 300 lb cold press Saunders paper, wet in wet wildflowers that grow all over town.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Rose Breasted Cockatoo

8.5x5.5 watercolor and ink line (Pigma Micron 01) on paper which is today's work.  Also known as a galah, this type cockatoo has white and grey feathers over light pink to salmon pink breast and are common in Australia.  Females have red eyes and males dark brown.  This bird will be featured on WetCanvas Animal & Wildlife forum for June/photo courtesy Sonia.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Watercan Bouquet

15x11 watercolor which is today's work.  Actually I drew this imaginary garden scene several days ago and had to wait to paint it.  From orange yellow to red poppies to rudbeckias (blackeyed susans) we have shasta daisies along with various foliage; some are negatively painted.  This is on 140 lb cold press paper in a direct manner.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Glamour Puss

8.5x5.5 watercolor and ink drawn last night then painted today, an imaginary kitty decked out with a miniature jeweled crown and red with purple robes.  Last night I realized I'd not done any drawing, sketching, or painting yet for the day so using a Uniball pen, drew the cat, a chimera, face then added royal touches.  I have a chimera which is half black, half orange, touches of white with tortoiseshell body, and they are fascinating and fun felines.  Mine's face though is divided in half.  These cats have DNA from two different breeds making up one animal.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Bike sketch

11x8.5 ink sketch with Micron 05 pen on sketchbook as part of last month's Sketchbook Skool homework.  We were instructed to find an object with wheels and do that plus include crosshatching and other marks to show value changes.  I selected a bicycle as am quite fond of including them in my art and think this one turned out nicely, a cropped version only showing the front and handlebars.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Viv's Hydrangeas

9x14 watercolor on partially gessoed matboard, drawn this morning with colored pencils then painted. I only used a black and white photo so all color is imagined.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Japanese Girls with Bird

10.25x9 mixed media (Tombow brush pen, watercolor, collage) on paper that is today's work.  Awhile ago I stamped various colors in watercolor for a patterned background unsure of when I'd use it.  On this weekend's drawing event photos furnished by Dewi were to be used as references so I chose two of four young girls in traditional Japanese kimono costumes.  Beginning with the taller girl on the left I drew her eyes then hair, and clothing last.  The patterned areas seem to fit right in with the subject matter in this light and airy double portrait.  A chickadee was sketched on an old paperback novel page, cut out, and collaged in between the two figures.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Montezuma Quail

8.5x6 watercolor and ink line on ColorSketch paper which is today's work.  Drawn with Pitt pen the round outlines and harlequin markings of this male game bird are quite distinct.  Females are more brown in color.  Not as common as the bobwhite quail we see everywhere here in Texas and other bordering states, the Montezuma has larger numbers in Mexico.  With our additional rainfall hopefully more of these striking 'bug-eye' birds will be seen in the Edwards Plateau and TransPecos areas.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Pomegranate Parts

8x5.5 mixed media (watercolor, colored pencils, watercolor colored pencils, and Derwent Inktense) on Strathmore Visual Journal done today from a partly opened pomegranate.  I did not sketch the other half but chose to include several of its seeds spilling out.  A warm yellow watercolor wash on white paper began the work then red CPs used to do outline.  Several colors were layered and its red complement, green, was put in throughout and over the bottom left shadow.  This was a homework assignment for the Bootkamp course in Sketchbook Skool.  If participants have completed 3 semesters of SBS, they are invited to do Bootkamp, a free compilation of previous lessons but different exercises.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith

Lap it up cat

6x6 watercolor and ink line on Masters sketchbook of an orange fluffy cat trying to finish off someone's glass of milk.
Image is COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2013.

Hooded Merganser duck

4x6 watercolor, ink, and Caran D'Ache watersoluble wax pastel crayons on another magazine insert card done last week.  Featured in an ongoing Birds A to Z online with WetCanvas this black and white waterfowl is quite striking in appearance.  Female merganser ducks are brown and grey.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.