Alliums ACEO

2.5x3.5 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper, a miniature artist card done a couple of years ago of pinkish purple alliums.  I had painted several ACEOs and sold some but not this one.  Small works are just as demanding as the larger ones are, maybe more.
Image COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Downtown Ft. Worth

 

8.5x5.5 watercolor and ink on Masters sketchbook that is today's work, a Commerce street scene downtown Ft. Worth.  Sketched with Micron 01 pen first, paint was applied once back in the studio.  Figures are imaginary but the skies were overcast as seen in the photo below.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Assisi Washday

6.5x7 watercolor on Langton 140 lb cold press paper by Daler Rowney done today in under 2 hours.  As part of a timed painting event on WetCanvas, participants have a couple of hours to select an image then paint and post (courtesy barryT/reference image library). I cropped the bottom half of the vertical photo to make a horizontal view and focus on the laundry drying.  The foreground had many more flowers and a stone walkway.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Barn Bike Apples

5.5x8.5 mixed media on paper that is today's sketch.  I used watercolor, acrylic and ink to do this imaginary scene; Micron 01 pen first followed by wet media.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Caernarfon, North Wales

11x15 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper completed today, a townscape in north Wales, UK.  I visited there in 2010 and we did see lovely towns and countrysides.  This painting featured on Landscape forum of WetCanvas for August challenge, ref courtesy Lin Goodwin (host).  Next month is my turn to host so have some delightful scenes for all the artists.  In this street view, I've added figures as the photo only had three.  I liked the vivid red colors of the buildings on both sides.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Palm Fronds in Sepia

12x9 watercolor in monotone on Canson 140 lb cold press paper, a close up view of inside a palm and its leaves.  I featured this one in another online challenge and think it would make a great print.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Green Palms

5x7 watercolor quick sketches with brush only of palm trees.  Enlarged area right side shows brush strokes using splayed soft bristles. Our monthly assignment on WetCanvas Florals/Botanical forum was to paint palms.  Since I have two synthetic trees in the house for models it was an easy lesson.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

White Fence and Sunflowers

18x24 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper completed yesterday that has taken several days.  I had painted this before and posted the first version recently, Large Sunflower Fence.  Since it was such a poor photo at a low resolution not suitable for prints I decided to paint it again.  This scene was along Sudderth Drive in Ruidoso, NM, where the Chartreuse Moose shops are now, and every variety of sunflower was blooming behing the white fence that is still there.  Such temptation to the painter could not go ignored, so hope this version is as well received.  The background is imaginary; I left out all the pine trees.  It will be added to my ArtSpan website and enabled for prints.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Toucan in the Wild

5.5x8.5 watercolor, ink, and Montana acrylic marker on paper done recently for another animal/wildlife challenge on WetCanvas! online for August.  Ref courtesy fedetony.  I cropped the toucan just to show his head then instead of painting a background just used green acrylic marker.  The bird was drawn with Micron 01 pen.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

August Apples

6x9 watercolor and ink on paper done week before last on vacation in New Mexico, a state that grows many apples that are evident even in August.  They are famous for their Hatch chiles and cherries and pistachios.  Drawn with Micron 01 pen, this illustrated journal art shows apple varieties Jazz, Gala, and Envy.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Stately Callas

14.75x8.5 watercolor on partially gessoed matboard painted while on vacation recently.  This floral still life of stately calla lilies in a glass vase is one of our monthly challenge images on my Watermedia forum of WetCanvas; photo courtesy morguefile.  I liked the stone wall and the very dark opening behind the white lilies and the wooden table texture the glass sits upon.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Laundry Day

9x6 watercolor drawn yesterday then painted today in between bouts of flooding rain.  So this sunny subject in Nassau was perfect.  It was a WetCanvas weekend drawing event hosted by Li Newton who lives off and on there on the island.  Support used is Canson 140 lb cold press paper/Daniel Smith paints.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Koi Fish Chimes

8.5x5.5 watercolor and ink on paper done last week on vacation.  These colorful ceramic fish chime when the sea breezes move them.  In the distance you can see an imaginary ocean and beach.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Early Autumn

10.25x9 watercolor on paper done a week ago after spending most of the day traipsing through Lincoln National forest by Bonito Lake, New Mexico.  Signs of early autumn were beginning to be evident with trees losing their leaves and cooler temperatures.  This was not drawn on location however, but an entirely made up scene of aspen trees.  Negative painting done in the middle and far background.  When dry I flicked splatters of dark brown paint to indicate leaves.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Guinea Baboons

5.5x8.5 mixed media on paper done weekend before last while on vacation.  A WetCanvas weekend drawing event, these baboons were featured by the host along with 15 other images.  Sketching with my Lamy Safari pen and grey Noodler's ink, I cropped several of them out and only included four.  Watercolor was added next to paint the troops' brown bodies and finally Montana acrylic marker in light blue used for a solid background.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith

Bearded Iris

15x11 watercolor on Saunders 140 lb cold press paper completed today after working on it several days.  This pure white iris with its purple frilly edges shines bright in my artist's garden surrounded by warm colors of violet, magenta, orange, red, and gamboge.  Its fiery red orange center seems to be burning hot in summer's sunshine.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Pronghorn Portrait

8.5x5.5 mixed media on paper done last week while in the mountains.  These animals are seen dashing across the flat grassland between Plains, TX and Tatum, NM.  I sketched with Uniball Vision Elite ink pen first, then added watercolor, followed by Montana acrylic markers.  Lastly black India ink was appled to a few select linear spots for emphasis. Scientific name of Antilocapra americana
translated is "American antelope goat" but the deer-like pronghorn is neither.  With its branched horns instead of antlers that it sheds (the only animal that does), it is the fastest, running in 20 foot bounds up to 60 miles per hour.  Unlike the cheetah, the pronghorn can run for hours and can spot predators up to 4 miles away with its keen eyesight.  Life expectancy is 9-10 years for this North American hoofed mammal.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Old Red Truck

5.5x8 ink/watercolor on Strathmore Visual Journal for watercolor sketched last night then painted today, about 2 hours. Using my Lamy Safari pen filled with grey Noodler's ink, drawing the old truck was fun.  Featured on this weekend's drawing event on WetCanvas, participants have 2 hours to select a photo and paint it then post.  This old red wrecked truck was in a town called Forget, a village in the province of Saskatchewan in Canada, according to Bonnie, the current host.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Calling all Calla Lilies

24x18 watercolor of white calla lilies grouped together.  I first painted this a few years ago then recently repainted the background to be a stronger dark to set off their pristine whites.  Look closely and you can see water drops on the petals.  These lilies are the most popular wedding flowers due to their elegance and beauty.  This work is SOLD.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Taco Belle cat portrait

9x12 watercolor over ink line of one of our former rescue cats Taco Belle.  I used Micron 03 pen to draw her from a black and white photo so all color is approximate.  She was such a fluffy feline and fussy, too, always frowning at everything and everybody.  She took up with the neighbors when we got a new kitten and she would only occasionally come home to eat.  This pet portrait is done on Cheap Joe's sketchbook.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Pronghorn Antelope

8.5x11 ink on paper sketch that I've cropped here of a pair of pronghorn antelope photographed between Plains, TX and Tatum, NM. They usually run at the sight of humans interrupting their day in the brushy pasture or grassland.  I used a Pitt pen in grey and dark grey to sketch them.
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.

Large Sunflower Fence

22x30 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Saunders paper.  This grouping of different sunflowers was growing by a fence in Ruidoso, NM, that I photographed years ago, painted, then SOLD.Image is COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Kitty Fish for Dinner

5.5x8.5 watercolor over ink line drawing on Bienfang for mixed media sketchbook done this past week.  This dark orange tabby cat spies a large fish on a platter at the dinner table and is reaching out to touch it to see if it will move or be still.  A plastic square patterning was done on the fish's back to indicate scales.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Poppy Play

7.5x7 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Saunders paper, an imaginary group of multicolored poppies ranging from white to yellow to orange and pink.  The background is placing mixed greens and blues fairly wetly.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Fluffy Fowl

9.5x7 mixed media on Ecosystem sketchbook done a few days ago.  Using a Uniball black Elite ink pen, I drew the chicken outline and feathers.  With watercolor I put in light tan, gold, and its red comb and beak.  Lastly I applied Montana acrylic markers to the background in light blue and orange.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Siamese Eyes

11x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper, a cat pet portrait of the handsome Ari.  Ari belonged to fellow painter Robert in Arkansas and Ari recently passed away in his sleep.  He was a dead ringer for my Siamese Jezebel.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Potting Shed Geraniums

9x18 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper finished today, a group of red, orange and salmon colored geraniums in clay pots.  Drawing from life included the rusty yellow and white forked spade.  Old wood planks serve as a rustic, country backdrop to this floral still life.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Online, Clothesline that is

22x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper was done several years ago, an imaginary grouping of garments hanging out to dry in the hot summer sun.  Since this fresh laundry is on a clothesline blowing in the breeze I titled this work Online.  What a very long hot and now dry summer this has been, and we will be glad to see it gone here in Texas!
Image is COPYRIGHT 2010 Kay Smith.

Baby Callas

15x22 watercolor of calla lilies bouquet, another one of my redo works from an older failed painting.  The original was a baby girl portrait so this was turned horizontally and developed into a floral.  It won a point for me in a Western Federation show and is one of my favorites.  Look closely and you can see where I've stamped a doily design to indicate lace.  This work is SOLD.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Ann's Garden Variety

15x22 watercolor on Saunders 140 lb cold press paper, a still life of white onions and ceramic pitcher with a red vase of fresh flowers we set up to draw and paint.  Flowers were carnations, mums, sunflowers, baby's breath, daisies, and zinnias.  This work SOLD.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Gordon grumpy dog

8.5x5.5 watercolor and ink line on paper done a couple of weeks ago for another WetCanvas! challenge on line.  Gordon belongs to another artist, Shadoe in Canada, and has a perpetual frown on his face.  He is a Brussels Griffin breed.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.