Calla Lily Confetti

15x22 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper of a grouping of calla lilies I've repainted more than once.
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2016.

White Pelican

AFTER

 

BEFORE

 

 

5.5X8.5 mixed media on Bienfang sketchbook.  First version is the BEFORE image where I used only watercolor over graphite drawing.  On the mixed media paper there was not enough contrast.  (This is a cropped view of a flying white pelican).  Yesterday I took Montana acrylic markers and went over the water using green and dark blue, then a light pink over the bird's upper beak.  Next I put white marker in spots on his feathers to brighten him up, and splattered periwinkle blue with a large brush when dry.  Lastly I applied black India ink via dropper for partial outlines and darkest darks.

Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Joanne's Cats sketch

9x10.25 watercolor and ink (Micron 01 pen) on slick sketchbook paper done recently of artist Joanne Nemeth's cats.  She has three almost identical orange tabbies and they live in Canada.  She hosted my Watermedia forum monthly challenge on WetCanvas.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Londa's Poppies

16x28 watercolor on Daler Rowney Langton Prestige 140 lb cold press paper completed today, a commission based on an earlier poppy scene.  Both are SOLD.  Poppies from my photos or imagination used to create this lighthearted scene; every color in my palette is within the composition.  One at the top is so happy that it is pointing downward to the others.  Negative painting was done throughout with pods, stems, and leaves.  A direct painting style is employed for a fresher look as only one application of watercolor is put down.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Spring Sparrows

11.75x15.5 acrylics on gessoed matboard of two sparrows just won 2nd place in San Angelo TX Fiesta in Realism show in the Oil/Acrylic division.  This was painted last year and was a featured demonstration for the Midland Palette Club workshop I was teaching.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Mexican Redhat Blooms

5.5x2.75 watercolor and gouache with ink line (Pigma Micron 01 pen) on brown sketch paper done this week.  Another Mexican red hat wildflower, each bloom is different in color, form, and value.  Some have pale yellow petals while others are yellow orange or red.
Also known as the prairie coneflower, these inhabit dry areas and seed themselves along roadways and vacant lots.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

It's a Small World kitten

15x22 watercolor painted a few years ago of a sweet tabby kitten taking his bath, all roly-poly and fluffy as he should be. This one is SOLD.
Image COPYRIGHT 2009 Kay Smith

Fish: Chicken of the Sea

15x22 watercolor on 300 lb cold press paper, drawn with Micron 01 pen in about 10 minutes, then painted in 1.5 hours.  I was on a previous 2 hour timed painting exercise for WetCanvas.  I laid strips of cotton gauze (the kind we used to have in surgery called 'Kling' wrap) on the ink line fish sketch then spritzed green, blue, and yellow dilute watercolor in spray bottles, let dry, pulled off, then mixed grays for the rest. Splattering was done at the end. This was a lot of fun using Daniel Smith watercolors.
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.

Mexican Redhat Blooms sketch

5.5x2.75 ink sketch on brown paper done today/Micron 01 pen. COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith

Mexican Red Hats Fiesta

9x4 watercolor wildflower floral begun yesterday during a class and finished today using some of my Mexican red hat photos.  We did not see too many of them this spring so maybe it was too wet.  Commonly known as prairie coneflower this dark red petaled stunner can also be seen in shades of yellow and gold.  Also known as Ratibida columnaris, this perennial prefers hot, arid and dry conditions.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Fruit Plate

22x15 watercolor on hot press 140 lb paper that I first coated with white gouache, then painted.  This gives a nice softness to the colors in the fruit still life of pears, strawberries and blueberry muffins on antique china plates.  Before the pear paint dried, I color-sanded colored pencil into it using fine grit sandpaper.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Rainy Sunday Church

6x8.5 watercolor, collage, and acrylics on ColorSketch blue tinted paper done today.  The little country church was drawn on thin tracing paper then cut out and collaged on.  Skies were a mix of watercolor and acrylics with vertical brushstrokes to mimic heavy downpour of rain that we saw this morning.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Murphy Shih Tzu

16.5x12.5 watercolor on Bienfang 140 lb cold press paper completed today, a pet portrait for good friends and neighbors the Mizes.
Murphy has passed away and they wanted his likeness to go with a previous Shih Tzu they lost.  He was a sweet dog who developed cancer.  This work is SOLD.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Pier Pelican

8.5x5.5 watercolor pencils and watercolor on Bienfang for mixed media sketchbook paper done today as part of a timed WetCanvas event.  We have 2 hours to choose from 16 images the host provides then do a painting.  This one was hosted by Susan.  I liked the colors in this fellow who was perched on the pier waiting to see a fish.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Tyler Rooster

17.5x13 watercolor on gessoed matboard finished today.  Drawn with charcoal pencil from a taxidermist model I found in a Tyler, TX antique store in 2009, am just getting around to painting it.  Largely brown and burnt sienna feathers covered the fellow's body.  I photographed him as he was perched on a tall furniture piece so this angle was interesting as he looks quizzical.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Piglets

11x15 watercolor on Bienfang 140 lb cold press paper done a few days ago for WetCanvas weekend drawing event.  Host Li Newton provided 16 photos and we had a 2 hour time limit to choose, draw, and complete a painting.  This was finished in about 1.5 hours.  I love the one piglet in their food bowl not letting the others eat; he was 'hogging' it to pig out for lunch.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Seaside Shells

6 1/8 x 6 3/4 watercolor of an assortment of seashells with foam and water splashes as they lay in the sandy beach.
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.

Pink Cosmos

11x15 watercolor painted on 140lb cold press paper a few years ago using my studio flowers. This work is SOLD.
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.

Tripod Kitty

12x18 watercolor of one of the WetCanvas artists holding her 3 legged cat named Tripod. The only way he bathes is if she holds him.
image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2010.

Red Patio Chair and Geraniums Plein Air

9x10.25 watercolor and ink line on sketchbook paper done today on my patio.  The red wicker chair was moved outside for this plein air paint out I sponsored for all of our Watercolor Horizons Group located in Odessa, TX.  The old metal pail bucket has a crooked handle and is not this large.  The small blue birdhouse and chair cushion are from a dollar store.  Silk faux green ivy is in a black metal basket above the birdhouse.  Sketching was done with Pigma Micron 01 pen.  Splattering was added when dry at the end using Grumbacher true red pigment.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

'roos Sunbathing

5.5x8.5 ink and watercolor on Bienfang sketchbook for mixed media, a study for a larger work.  Using a black Tombow brush pen I only put in the darkest darks first, then blended with a rigger brush for gray areas.  Light washes of raw sienna and sepia were next while white areas remain untouched.  These kangaroos were lying in amongst other 'roos all sleeping in the sunshine, hence the extra tails seen here.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Two Kittens

6x6 watercolor and ink line on Masters sketchbook.  These two kittens' names are Zeus and Gabrielle and belong to another artist on WetCanvas who had them as one of her refs for us to do in a 2 hour time limit.
Image COPYRIGHT 2013 Kay Smith.

Teapot and Peonies

15x22 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper done a few years ago from a still life set up.  The fresh peonies in a gold pitcher balance nicely with the fine china teapot and silk scarf.
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2016.

Clever Crow

9x12 mixed watermedia on Canson 140 lb cold press paper done today.  Crow reference courtesy Robert Rongier/WetCanvas weekend drawing event.  Using a sheet that I put underneath other works supplied various abstract markings in acrylics, ink, and watercolor.  I took the bird out of his natural environment and placed him here as if snatching morsels of food from his surroundings.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Spanish Building

8.5x5.5 watercolor and ink line (Micron 01 pen) on Masters sketchbook done this past weekend.  As part of a WetCanvas weekend drawing event, we had only 2 hours to choose a reference (courtesy Wendy) and paint it.  If not done at the 2 hour mark participants must photograph the stage they've reached at that time and post it.  We should paint without interruption but that is not always possible.
Here I have cropped a tall white stucco building in Ronda, Spain.  I like the small iron balconies and the cast shadows; the photo did not have red tile roofline but I changed it for more emphasis.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Robin Bath

6x9 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper painted yesterday, a happy robin in a water bird bath about to do his daily ritual.
Photo is featured on our Watermedia forum monthly challenge on WetCanvas, courtesy host Joanne Nemeth.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Mosaic Roses

22x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper, a fractured floral bouquet still life.  Individual rectangles were drawn on top of roses and vase then each one painted with different colors.  I used a silk bunch of roses to draw from life for the most part and the peace roses were my fresh ones.  This work is SOLD.
Image is COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.

Tyson Farms Chickens

20x16 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper of chickens on a friend's farm.  The rooster on the right was keeping watch over his flock.  This was painted wet in wet.  This work is SOLD. 
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

New Blue Jeans

22x15 mixed media on Arches 140 lb cold press paper, a watermedia collage revamped for the last assignment in Polishing course with Sketchbook Skool.  We were to take an old figure sketch and add elements to create a new composition.  This has gift wrap, ink stamped tissue (rooster), collaged text and old watercolor painting cutouts, and pencil text across upper half.  Acrylic stamping was added at the end.  My brush made a blue heart on her left cheek by accident and I liked it so it stays.  A white paper doily that had blue and purple dye on it was collaged to her blouse center; front is white acrylic painted over another lacy stencil doily.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Blue Hibiscus

15x11 watercolor on Bienfang 140 lb cold press paper painted today.  This blue hibiscus bloom was in amongst my flower photos just waiting to be sketched and completed.  Such lovely lavender hues mixed in with soft periwinkle blue and hot permanent rose centers make the species sing.  Not really blue, the pale purple hues are a soft shade that makes a garden glow.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.