Bird on Branch Silhouette

9x12 watercolor and acrylic on Canson 140 lb paper drawn yesterday and painted today.  Inspired by a bird on elm tree branch outside studio kitchen window this one was simple to execute.  I used the paper under other projects which accounts for the random color marks; the bird and branch had to be drawn on top of the unconventional underpainting.  In some spots my mixed black of ultramarine blue/quinacridone burnt orange is not totally opaque and you can see color underneath such as over yellow areas.  Dark blue grey is Derivan Matisse acrylic applied with sponge roller.  Another fun one just playing around with color in watermedia.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

White Kitchen and Watermelon

22x15 watercolor on 140 lb hot press paper done years ago of one of my kitchens that was all in white but the curtains and chair seats.
The red watermelon and yellow gold flowers were touches of color added to make the interior summer day still life more interesting.
This painting is SOLD.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Potty Puss

7x9.5 watercolor and ink on Ecosystem sketchbook paper done last weekend, another cat in the bathroom piece.
Now all he needs is a cat magazine to read.  Pen used was Micron 01.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

White Steed Carousel Horse

8x5 gouache and ink collage mixed media on paper done today.  First I glued a page from old novel onto paper and when dry, used a Uniball Vision Elite pen to draw head and neck of a carousel horse.  The horse was part of a larger photo that I cropped and will be featured on WetCanvas weekend drawing event hosted by Helen.  I left the white horse the white of the paper book page so this is not colored; I wanted the text to show.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Apple Bowl

7x7 watercolor and ink on paper using Uniball Vision Elite pen and Ecosystem sketchbook.  This was done over last weekend and was originally sized at 7x9.5 and I cropped the right side to make a square.  Apples were ripening in New Mexico and were the perfect still life to set up.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Camel Head

7x9.5 watercolor and ink on Ecosystem paper sketchbook; pen used was Lamy Safari with grey Noodler's ink.  This was done also over the weekend.  Camel reference courtesy Christine/WetCanvas and it was painted for current weekend drawing event in the All Media Art Events forum there.  The angle of his head and the way the light was causing pink, mauve and gold tones under the shadows made me want to tackle this difficult pose.  I was surprised to learn their lifespan is 40-50 years.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Red Watermelon Slice

7.5x5 watercolor on paper (Moleskine for watercolor sketchbook) painted over the weekend while on my trip.  I tried to make the melon appear very juicy throughout, especially along the rind.  When dry splatters were applied using a new toothbrush and a large round brush.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Sunflower Weeds

9x12 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper, drawn in pencil over dry splashy underpainting of gamboge, arylide and permanent rose done over the weekend.  These wild flowering weeds were all over the part of New Mexico where I was traveling and we have them in Texas in abundance.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Cock of the Walk

9.5x7 watercolor on paper (Ecosystem sketchbook) done a few days ago of a regal rooster on white background.  Drawn with Uniball pen this rooster was largely a contour line piece with color accents mostly up at his head and was done very quickly.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Lemon Basket on Checkered Cloth

7x9.5 watercolor on paper done a few days ago of an old white woven basket loaded with lemons on red checkered cloth.  Drawn with Micron 01 pen on Ecosystem sketchbook this one has a country home picnic style and flavor.  It is fun to paint tablescapes or still life.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Purple Bench

22x15 watercolor on Yupo synthetic paper done awhile ago that is the front of my studio.  The purple bench is in front and did have yellow window boxes behind.  Those boxes are gone now.  This sunny morning scene with geraniums, petunias, and bougainvilleas was an inviting sight.  The studio is still pale yellow but window trim is now hot pink and shutters are spring green. The bench was repainted a soft lavender purple; all that is missing is Jezebel the cat.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Blue and Gold Macaw Parrot

8.5x11 watercolor over Sharpie extra fine point pen drawing on Crescent sketchbook done yesterday.  The photo I used was cropped to only show the bird's head and upper wings then painted quickly.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Colorful Cows

15x22 watercolor on 140 lb Lanaquarelle hot press paper that is today's work.  I sketched these bovine beauties with black India ink applicator on dry paper.  With a loaded brush #12 Escoda round I put random colors together instead of the usual boring black and brown or tan.  When almost done I wet a few areas then dropped ink in splotches.  The girls say hello and happy moo and where's the beef?
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Summer Sparrow

12x9 watercolor, gouache and ink (Uniball pen) on Canson 140 lb wc paper done yesterday.  Using the paper as a backing sheet accounts for all the random color marks in the background.  I used a 3" sponge roller and ran turquoise blue gouache in vertical manner from top to bottom.  When dry, I drew the bird in with ink then added only part of its color markings plus the branch to complete the painting of the chipping sparrow.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Border Collie Puppy

11 x 6.25 watercolor on Italia 140 lb cold press paper of a cute border collie puppy I first painted a few years back.  I think its eyes look so realistic and love the flopped over left ear.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Second Sunday Sunflower

15x22 watercolor on Lanaquarelle 140 lb hot press paper that is today's work.  Last Sunday a smaller sunflower was painted and it sold quickly; let's see if I have any luck with this one.  It's from a photo I took in 2003 of an elderly veteran's flower garden behind the VA. He could barely walk but had the most gorgeous flowers and these red sunflowers stood tall and proud just as he did serving our nation.
Most was painted with #12 Escoda round and 1" flat brush using all the hot colors balanced by the cool greens.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Trumpet Vine

15x11 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Canson paper done today as part of WetCanvas Weekend Drawing Event.  Host is Oty from Greece who posted 16 images giving us 2 hours to draw and paint our choice.  I chose a house but made it white instead of dull red and gave it an orange red roof.  Trumpet vines were very stunning in front of the property.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Horse Herd

5x7.5 watercolor (on Moleskine for watercolor) sketchbook paper of several horses from some of my photos.  Grouped together they are a herd stomping their feet and kicking up dust.  This is today's work and can be purchased from my gallery on Daily Painters www.dailypainters.com
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Bird Shadow

8.5x5.5 watercolor and ink on paper done yesterday, drawn from a small bird figurine.  I had bought 4 different birds in various poses that I could use to draw.  I used neutral colors with this as the figurine is a pale light blue grey.  To me, it looks like a sparrow now.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Mary Had a Little Lamb

9x12 inks on paper done over this past weekend as part of a WetCanvas drawing event.  Photo courtesy Valri Ary.  In the reference this baby lamb was surrounded by its mother ewe and others so I omitted sketching them to focus on him.  Tombow brush pens in black and burnt sienna were the media used with water on Cheap Joe's sketchbook.  Now you can think perhaps by its title am referring to the popular nursery rhyme, or you could really stop and think about Mary, the mother of Jesus, who did have a little lamb, the Lamb of God.  In this piece, he is looking towards the viewer as if to ask "Will you follow me?"
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Shell Collection

7.5x5 watercolor and ink (Micron 01 pen) on Moleskine for watercolor sketchbook done today.  A collection of various shells gathered from different coasts display their vivid colors of the sea.  From a sand dollar to urchin to conch to clam, etc., you can see the sea harvest is joined together by dried kelp in this illustrated journaling.
Image COPYRIGTH 2015 Kay Smith.

Foxgloves

15x11 watercolor on Bienfang 140 lb cold press paper begun yesterday then finished today from many of my garden flower photos. These were photographed in a nursery in Ruidoso NM.  Tiny brownish purple mottling spots are actually markings which are honey guides for bees.  Foxgloves also are the pharmaceutical source for the cardiac drug digitalis and the entire plant is poisonous.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Sunday Sunflower

7.5x5 watercolor drawn in pencil on Moleskine for watercolor sketchbook yesterday, then positively painted leaving the background showing the underpainting...just a different way of working that I often forget to do. Colors look different on top of existing blended first wash (one wash only).  The underpainting first step is below.

 Underpainting with Prussian blue, quinacridone gold, and permanent rose transparent watercolors.

Image courtesy Cynthia LaBelle/Copyright 2015 Kay Smith.

Dragonfly

15x15 mixed media collage on Saunders watercolor paper that is today's work.  I took the worst painting I had which was a collaged dragonfly using newspaper print over acrylic background of multiple colors including gold glitter.  Focusing on the insect I cut 7 inches off its left side then added acrylic inks, fluid acrylics, India ink, and Caran D'Ache Neocolor II wax crayons.  Then glazed over background with yellow green, then thalo blue/green, then gold.  Next was stenciling wing marks using a paper Valentine doily and permanent magenta ink.  A flower outline upper left was added to the curved green line then another larger dark magenta bloom under its right lower wing.  Blue and turquoise wax crayons along with black ink was put on the body.  It is a much improved painting now.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

 

Cosmos Confetti

11x15 watercolor on Bienfang 140 lb cold press paper drawn yesterday starting with the cosmos centre and few greens, then finished today.  I used a #12 round Escoda brush from Cheap Joe's that is rapidly becoming a favorite.  It makes a very sharp line with its tip. These pink cosmos were part of my studio garden about 6 years ago and I took tons of photos to use later.  For this painting, three different images were combined.  I really like the withered bloom lower left and new one about to open on the right lower side.  Background is totally imaginary.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Butterfly Buffet

8.5x5.5 watercolor and ink done last week with Micron 01 pen on Masters paper.  More of my new pink coneflowers for butterflies to enjoy.  Right now they're wilting in the 103 degrees F. though!
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

The Accountant

5x8 black chisel marker and collage on sketchbook paper done today; photo courtesy jbucky/PaintingFriends.  In the reference a man was standing in front of clear glass lights.  I decided to add collage elements of some old credit union statements in the round globes and also along his glasses.  To me he looked like an accountant thinking of figures, sums, payments, interest and penalties.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Bluebonnets

5x8 watercolor and ink line on paper that is today's work, an imaginary scene.  These close up bluebonnets frame a Texas landscape with other state flowers in the middle ground and trees in the distance.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Sparrow Pair Bathing

6x8.5 watercolor and ink line on ColorSketch paper done today.  This pair of sparrows were happily fluffing their feathers and enjoying a cool roadside bath.  This nature bird painting will be included in August Watermedia forum on WetCanvas.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Cattail Cluster

15x11 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Bienfang paper, a support not used in a long while.  These cattails were growing in a small marsh along Warrior Road in Ruidoso New Mexico when I shot this in the fall.  You can see where redwinged blackbirds have picked at their inner material causing a pale whitish yellow fluff almost like cotton.  Other reeds grow alongside in perfect natural harmony to provide rest and food for wildlife.  This one took about 2 days to complete.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Sleepy Susans (Blackeyed Susans)

5.5x8 watercolor and ink line on Strathmore Visual Journal for mixed media done a few days ago.  Blackeyed Susans, or rudbeckia, are tough to beat color wise.  They brighten up any corner of the flower garden with brilliant golden yellow and dark brown caps.  Photo courtesy Li Newton for WetCanvas current weekend drawing event in the All Media Art Events forum.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.