Ghostlight Coffee House

6x8.5 watercolor and ink on Color-Sketch sketchbook grey paper and Micron 01 pen done last weekend.  As part of our regular weekend drawing event on WetCanvas, this Ohio interior coffee house scene was one of the 15 refs by Keith.  I cropped out most of the foreground detail and left side focusing on the bearded guy and barista in kitchen area.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Bunny Patch

8.5x5.5 mixed media on Bienfang sketchbook for mixed media paper done today.  Yesterday I did a light primary colors background wash and when dry, used Micron 01 pen to sketch flowers and bunny.  This was accomplished without a reference so forgive the inconsistencies.  Flowers are iris, daffodil, forsythia, and blackeyed Susan with an unknown dark pink upper left.  Media used:  Gouache, watercolor, and ink.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Cozumel Shops townscape

15x22 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Winsor Newton paper, a series of shops based on my photos of our last trip to Cozumel, Mexico. It is a truly enchanting place so colorful and vibrant.  This was painted wet into wet with a 1" flat sable brush.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Purple Yellow Pansies

11x15 watercolor on Kilimanjaro 140 lb cold press pape begun yesterday and completed today.  Years ago I used this same photo and painted a much smaller version which quickly went into someone's home.  Also had prints made and only one is left, so I used that to draw the pansies again but in this larger format.  The background was done with light washes of Prussian blue and thalo green yesterday and today a dark wash mix of alizarin crimson with the other two colors overlaid that.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith

Spring Fever

22x15 watercolor floral still life.  A lightly spritzed background of primary colors was done first, and the negative spaces are brightly colored sections around the daffodils and pots. Paper is Saunders 140 lb cold press; Daniel Smith paints.  I painted this one first then did a demo from it.  My daffodil photo was taken in a mall with a sliding metal mesh gate behind, and I used their rectangle areas as color blocks.
Image COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Yellow Butterfly on a Daisy

11x15 watercolor on 140 lb. Canson paper done today from my multiple photos.  Background is largely made up.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

March Madness Poppies

9x10.25 mixed media on paper done today.  Sketched with Micron 01 pen, I followed next with Montana acrylic markers on these imaginary poppies.  Small areas and background are watercolor.  Since we are having daily sandstorms here the brownish backdrop seemed appropriate.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Out of Service (factory)

12x9 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Canson paper done yesterday.  This deserted factory building scene is interesting with all its many levels and I've featured it on WetCanvas in their contemporary forum challenge.  My intention was to render it in a more basic abstract way but am still turned on by realism.  The original photo only shows dark buildings in shadow so here I've tried to spice it up with color.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Butterfly Spring

8x5 watercolor and ink line on paper done a few days ago of a common scene in Spring, butterflies happily going about to various flowers or plants.  This one is featured on a WetCanvas monthly challenge.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Rabbits Gone a-Courtin'

6x6 watercolor and ink line wash with Daniel Smith paints and Micron 01 pen on Masters paper, done year before last.  These two lovebirds are welcoming Spring with a little bit of romance as he's gone a-courtin' her foot in marriage.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

I Love Butterflies

11x15 mixed media on paper (watercolor, colored pencil, acrylics) done a few days ago just in time for Spring.  First I stamped white Montana acrylic marker over stencil with round shapes in background as seen upper left, then stenciled numbers 457.  When dry I added colored pencil marks using Magic pencil by Koh-i-Noor.  Light washes completed the background then the insect was painted wet in wet letting colors mingle and mix for this imaginary creature.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Chickenpox - today's mixed media demo

15x11 mixed media collage on 140 lb Canson wc paper done today, a demonstration for Odessa TX art association at the Ellen Noel museum.  I used paper doily and toilet seat cover tissue initially as seen upper left and lower right, adhered with Yes! paste and matte medium.  Initial sketch done with Staedtler LumoColor calligraphic pen. First I stamped white marker over a stencil upper left (see the whitish round spots, hence the chickenpox idea one of the members suggested).  For washes acrylic inks, Montana acrylic markers, liquid acrylics used along with sunflower from cocktail napkin, legs and feet from failed watercolor chicken, red polka dot giftwrap paper for comb and wattle, and oil pastels for accents.  Top right text torn from old discarded novel and collaged.  Leaf stencil was used around the sunflower, then edges softened with water.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Pear Pitcher Blooms

11x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper, a floral still life set up with my antique ceramic pitcher, white pot, and a clay pot holding mums, marigolds, and philodendron.  I had grouped these all together on a patio table outdoors.  This work is SOLD.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Pasture-ized Milk

15x6 watercolor of cows on 140 lb hot press paper.  These rolling hills were inspired by my many photos of England's terrain when visiting there in 2010.  This painting's title is a pun for pasteurized milk and it is one of four chosen for exhibition in next month's Llano Estacado show in Lubbock TX.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Adoring Cat

8.5x5.5 watercolor and ink line on Masters sketchbook paper done today.  This pet portrait is Boots, one of our cats who is no longer with us.  He was very sweet and even tempered, always adoring and accepting of others we would rescue or save.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Daisy Petals

8.5x5.5 watercolor and ink line on Masters sketchbook paper done today.  Using one of my white daisies photos, several were sketched in with Micron 01 pen.  These perennials are always such a joy to see come up with the warmth of a pre-Spring sun, through the still cool earth.  Splattering of yellow orange (gamboge) was done when dry.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Wonderland Rabbit

8.5x5.5 watercolor, ink, white gel pen on Masters sketchbook paper done today.  This fellow is a doll actually with a rabbit head, some of the ones I collect.  All have clothes and he is reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland character hare.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Rudbeckia Riot

12x9 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper completed today.  I had planted rudbeckia, or blackeyed Susans as they're called here in the south, awhile back.  Using several of my photos I grouped some of the more interesting blooms together in this imaginary floral garden scene.  Some have been knocked about in the wind.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Woodland Orchids

11x7.5 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper, some colorful negative painting resembling orchids.  Look closely to see many layers of light and dark leaves and stems.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Peace Rose in Blue and White Vase

9x9 watercolor on Bristol paper that is today's work.  After looking at many of my peace rose photos one was selected that had been in full bloom to the point of it almost losing its lower petals.  The paper soaks up color and water quickly so many glazes had to be done to get values right.  The vase is a very small one I've used many times in various still life set ups.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Three Pink Penguins

6x8.5 watercolor and ink line (Micron 01 pen) on blue ColorSketch paper, a timed exercise done today for a WetCanvas all media art event. A challenge was given to add color to penguins instead of their usual tuxedo attire in black and white, plus do a painting in less than 2 hours.  So I chose quinacridone magenta as the main hue with some pink and rose, and got it drawn and done in under an hour.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Faucet Cat

5.5x8 mixed media on paper done today in Strathmore Visual Journal for mixed media.  Starting with a black Tombow brush pen I lightly sketched in outlines of the cat's head, faucet, and water stream.  Watercolor was added last to pull the composition together including reflections in the metal.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Studio

5x7.5 watercolor on 140 lb Saunders paper done en plein air when I first planted roses at my studio south wall. I had a wooden cut out of three white ducks with a stake that is in front for garden art, then I lettered Roses on a wooden vent cover under the window.  The trim then was red with purple shutters and now is fuchsia pink trim with pale green shutters and a buttery cream painted stucco.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

African Violets

9x12 watercolor that is today's work from life on 140 lb cold press Canson paper.  My pot is more gamboge yellow than lemon yellow, and of course the dark purple-blue violets do not have dashes of permanent rose either.  As violets leaves are thick and velvet texture I tried to imitate both color and actual tactile sensations.  For them I used thalo green mixed with periwinkle blue and quinacridone violet, with some quin gold and UB.  For darks I used a blue called Indanthrene and really like its properties, and also indigo blue plus quin burnt orange.  Yellow pot was arylide by DaVinci.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Little House on the Prairie

8.5x5.5 watercolor and ink on paper (Masters sketchbook) done today; I will feature this simple landscape prairie scene with hay bales, trees, and building on WetCanvas.  Note the plowed field in foreground and the quiet isolation of its few inhabitants.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Ruidoso Windowbox

11x15 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper finished today.  On one of our trips to New Mexico I photographed this wrought iron and planter of lantana, dahlias, and violas.  In the window you can see the mountains and sky reflection.  The shadows were also another attraction both under the plants and the wall.  All in all a cheerful little dose of sunshine.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Flaming Parrot Tulip

15x22 watercolor on 140 lb Saunders cold press paper, a wet in wet approach to this lovely frilly open tulip.  With florals I like to explore all angles and take unusual viewpoints when setting up the composition.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Charlotte the Cow

11x15 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper done this afternoon.  Part of a timed WetCanvas event, participants have 2 hours to choose a subject from their photos then paint it.  This sweet Charlotte cow took me one hour.  Starting with Koh-i-Noor Magic multicolored pencil, I lightly sketched the scene, then with black Tombow brush pen put in darkest darks of her eyes and the left side of her head.  This blended well with wet watercolor added next and throughout the composition.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Neon Nopal Cactus

15x22 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Winsor Newton paper, one of the first cactus in a series of painting leaves and blooms opposite of their local colors.  It was one of the cactus groups found at our big spring area of Comanche Trail Park.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Jasper Cat

5.5x9 mixed media on discarded novel page of sweet Jasper cat.  Media for this pet portrait consisted of Micron 01 pen to sketch him, watercolor for initial local color, gouache for mixing with raw sienna, and Montana white acrylic marker for background and some of his fur.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Cheeky Gull

15x11 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Canson paper that is today's work.  Going through my many bird photos this popped up, a rather cheeky guy about to steal the sandwich from my hand.  Forever the foragers, these seagulls never cease to amaze me with their loud raucous cries and bravado.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.