Morning Shadows ~ morning glories

22x15 watercolor on 140 lb paper of white and variegated blue & white morning glories.  I took this photo reference while visiting at Lake Ransom Canyon with the morning sun making such interesting shadows especially on the white flower.  This flowering vine can be a pest in some countries growing and crowding other garden plants out but here we grow them for their beauty and lovely blue and purple hues.  I featured it during this month's plant parade challenge on WetCanvas where we focused on varieties of morning glories.
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith and is SOLD.

Percolator

8.5x5.5 watercolor and ink (Pigma Micron 01 pen) on Masters sketchbook paper done yesterday.  Getting perked up to start the annual InkTober challenge starting Saturday, 1 October, in which participants pledge to use ink in their art daily.  Not a problem here, using ink or working on a daily piece is a habit now.  Love my stainless steel percolator going at it and the smell of fresh coffee.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Sunflower Center ~ alcohol inks

4x6 alcohol inks by Pinata on glossy professional photo paper done yesterday during the art class I teach.  Colors used were ginger, tangerine, yellow, and green.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Best Pals - Cat & Chihuahua Cover Art

6x6 watercolor and ink line on Masters sketchbook paper done almost 3 years ago, a pair of friends raised together who are best pals.  This piece was chosen by the Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association for their December 2016 cover art.  Their publication reaches 88,000 members across the country.  I still have the original and will add to my Animals gallery on ArtSpan website and enable for prints.  It is nice to be recognized in this manner for my pet portraits, and a big salute and thanks to all our hardworking veterinarians!
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2013.

Pumpkin Wagon

12x9 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper begun over the weekend and finished today.  After seeing so many of these fall displays while traveling it was fun to paint a collection of gourds and pumpkins ready for autumn's cooler temps and sunny days.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Italian Restaurant

8.5x5.5 watercolor and ink line on Masters sketchbook paper finished yesterday.  This scene was presented with 15 others in the current Weekend Drawing Event on WetCanvas where we have only 2 hours to select and complete a painting.  Ref courtesy Kay M.
I had edited out a dark pickup truck that was in lower left corner and added more chairs at lower right outdoor table.  It looks like a fun place to eat.  Micron 01 pen was used to sketch the town scene.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Thai Dyed Woman

30x22 mixed media painting on 140 lb paper that is one of my reworked pieces.  This used to be a horizontal Santa Claus face in acrylics and wax crayon that was pretty bad so I turned it vertically and sketched with black ink a Thai woman profile.  Using artist's acrylics, ink, watercolor, and gouache along with latex acrylics put in colors of her costume.  This work is SOLD.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Jefferson Porch

11x15 watercolor on 140 lb Arches cold press paper painted wet in wet of a porch scene in Jefferson, TX, a quaint small town so full of charm.  I used a paper stamp/stencil for the wicker marks.  As one of my favorites this image is on my blog header.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Lace Cap Hydrangeas

15x22 watercolor on gessoed 140 lb cold press paper, a close up macro view of blue lace cap hydrangeas.  This floral was a demo during a workshop and is SOLD.
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2016.

Owl Flying ~ day 21 of 30 in 30 challenge

5.5x8.5 watercolor and watercolor pencils on Bienfang mixed media sketchbook that is today's work.  In this wildlife nature scene I've cropped the bottom of his wings in order to showcase his face and trees behind.  A mix of Coastal Fog, burnt sienna, and ultramarine make the neutral sky color on an overcast day.  It is day 21 of Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days challenge.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

September Sunflower ~ alcohol inks on Yupo

7x11 alcohol inks on Yupo done tonight as a demo for Big Spring Art Association and also for day #20 with Leslie Saeta 30 day challenge.  Beginning with yellow dropped onto alcohol prepped Yupo, quickly added magenta then red.  When about dry, blue was put in for the third primary color, resulting in green.  The group seemed to enjoy seeing new products used to create art.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Jackdaw ~ Day 19 of the 30 in 30 Challenge

5x9 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper that is today's work, day #19 of Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days challenge.
The jackdaw will be also posted tomorrow on WetCanvas Animal & Wildlife forum for September as hosted by Triduana.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Purple Collar Cat

11x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Canson paper done last week.  Using no color reference I attempted to paint my grey tabby cat Chuy.  This was done very quickly with a large #28 round brush and a smaller #10 for his yellow green eyes, nose a other details.  The splatter when finished actually dropped a heart shape in red on the metal heart on the purple collar.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Urban Pigeon ~ alcohol ink

7.75x8.5 alcohol ink in black on foamcore with white gel pen pigeon sketch done today.  This is the same bird used yesterday.  Already I had splattered the ink and spritzed with alcohol to make it run, just experimenting with black on white, and thought the large drip blob lower left looked like bird droppings.  It is interesting to see the colors within black ink as it separated out, some blues and reds in there.  Definitely an urban feel to this bird painting.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Posh Pigeon

5.5x9 watercolor and ink (Micron 01) on Canson wc paper done today.  This is paper I put under larger works to catch marks and lines and I thought it suited the pigeon's ratty and nasty scavenger personality.  I've posted it on WetCanvas weekend drawing event.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Pippa ~ dog pet portrait

5.5x8 Magic pencils (CPs) and watercolor on Strathmore Visual Journal for mixed media, done today.  Pippa is the half Jack Russell half fox terrier pet dog of fellow artist Vivien in New Zealand.  I hope Viv likes how I did her pet portrait! Magic pencils are multileaded colored pencils that are fun to use and are not watersoluble.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Firestorm ~ alcohol ink abstract

4x6 alcohol inks on professonal high gloss photo paper done today with repeated applications of the Jacquard Pinata inks.  With alcohol 50% spritzed and dropped on the surface the initial magenta and blue mixed to form a dark purple.  I've let it remain in upper right corner while washing away most of the other abstract pattern as it was too dark.  Some areas simply coagulated then floated off the very slick paper, which are the lights seen.  In those, I dropped yellow then blew the color around with a drinking straw.  Also I used a plastic dropper for finer alcohol spots.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Frilly Poppy ~ alcohol inks

7.5x5.75 alcohol inks on gessoed matboard, another experiment with inks on a different support.  First I dribbled a line of rubbing alcohol 50% vertically for the stem then put lime green ink at tip of chopstick to control the flow.  Next I "drew" left side of poppy petals with spray mister stem, taken out of its bottle, dipping back and forth to provide a path for the inks.  Using Sangria, Magenta, and Santa Fe reds along with small amount of  Sunbright yellow I dotted the inside of the flower.  Also used a plastic dropper to put in tiny amounts of alcohol here and there.  The inks dry very fast so lastly I used sapphire blue, a dark hue, for the poppy centre.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

French Village Street

8x6 watercolor and ink on paper in my new Stillman & Birn Zeta series sketchbook.  The townscape is a scene featured on the current weekend drawing event on WetCanvas in which participants have 2 hours to select an image (courtesy of shadoe) then paint it.  I've added two figures lower right walking into the composition versus the original reference that had a person walking out.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Faux Batik Bird in Alcohol Inks

 

11x8.5 alcohol inks on wax paper done today; drew the sparrow yesterday with black Sharpie and Micron 05 pens. After tearing a sheet of wax paper I crumpled it up, smoothed out, then crumpled again. The ink didn't spread as rapidly as it has done on slick surfaces so it was easier to manage. To paint it I put a white sheet of wc paper behind so it could be seen.  Below are the few supplies needed for this simple batik-appearing work.  My original sketch was placed under wax paper to trace again.  Also used a wooden chopstick laid on its side to spread inks.  A white gel pen used around the sparrow's eye.

Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.



 



 

SUPPLIES:  Wax paper, black Sharpie fine point, Micron 05 pen, white backing sheet 8.5x11.  (Not shown:  Pinata inks.  I used Lime Green, Rainforest Green, Sapphire Blue, White, Black, Burro Brown, Yellow, Grey)

Abstract Leaves ~ alcohol inks on Yupo

7x11 alcohol inks on Yupo done a few days ago, another experiment using Pinata brand inks.  Yupo is a synthetic plastic paper invented by the Japanese first introduced to the printing world and marketed as Kimdura.  Many artists including myself have used it for years, preferring its main attibute of slick surface texture to that of traditional cotton paper for watermedia.  Easy to erase mistakes with all media used on it, including the inks, but ink dries very quickly.  With this I used two greens, one yellow, and dark blue.  Dots of magenta were put in last for contrast amongst the leaf shapes.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Sunflower Seeds ~ alcohol inks on Yupo

7x11 alcohol inks; so here is number 4, another so called floral using Pinata brand alcohol inks begun yesterday then finished today. With it, I focused on its centre rather than petals, having patterning and design elements closely focused. This is my last sheet of Yupo so it was cut in half.  I did use a wooden chopstick to apply ink rather than the plastic bottle tip for a lessened amount and smaller dots.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Abstract Sunflower ~ alcohol inks on Yupo

6.5x11 alcohol inks created a few days ago on Yupo, a synthetic plastic paper.  After spritzing with rubbing alcohol in a mister bottle, I dropped yellow, blue and red inks, letting them run and blend while tilting.  Inks dry very fast so next I did the centre in several shades of reds; yellow was dropped in on top as was green.  Small dots of rainforest green details put in around the sphere.  I used Pinata brand inks by Jacquard.  This is the second floral experiment.  Today I did a larger sunflower so will show it later.  Stay tuned.  I'm loving the vivid hues of these inks and the overall free spontaneous look made with no pencil or brush.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Poppy Persuasion in alcohol inks

5.5x8.5 alcohol inks on white foamcore done a few days ago, my first experiment with using Pinata inks.  Using a scrap of material I cleaned the surface with rubbing alcohol then spritzed it over, applying paint near the centre.  Tilting it caused the very transparent medium to blend and move.  I put two shades of red and one magenta along with yellow to form the focal point.  Dark blue and black were applied when dry for the stamens.  To me it resembled a poppy, hence the title.  Stay tuned for the second AI, also another floral, but a vivid sunflower.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Off the Beaten Path

6x9 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper painted yesterday as part of a series of barns and old buildings theme.  This is for posting on Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days September blog challenge and we are now on day #6.  The past two days I have done six pieces.  With the old ramshackle shed building I've added scattered rocks negatively painted in the foreground while it sits on a high horizon.  On my Saturday trip to enter Artists of Texas exhibit in Breckenridge I was able to photograph many old farm buildings.  A limited palette of burnt sienna, cerulean and ultramarine blue, raw sienna was used.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Sparkling Poppies

11x6 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper that was used as a backing sheet for larger works; it has acrylic marker on it as well as watercolor.  Yesterday when I painted this it was a quick pencil sketch then adding warm colors such as Grumbacher red, transparent pyrrol orange, Halloween orange, permanent rose, Taylor's pink flamingo, quinacridone coral, and gamboge to poppy petals.  Splatters were already on the marked paper.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Flamingo Pool

11x8.5 watercolor on paper from Crescent sketchbook done today, a quick pencil sketch from a WetCanvas weekend drawing event hosted by Susan.  I've edited out other flamingos and left the pool a murky muddy brown.  Background foliage was largely palm leaves and other plants around their water.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Black Mail Pouch Barn

6.5x7.5 watercolor on Langton 140 lb cold press paper by Daler Rowney done for day 3 of the Leslie Saeta blog '30 in 30' challenge where participants around the world post their daily work.  Ref courtesy WetCanvas/Gracie Lives.  This black painted barn was located in Kentucky and the advertising trend for Mail Pouch tobacco began in 1890s and continued thru next century.  With this I have made a dirt road in foreground versus the grass that was there, added tire tracks, more dirt in middle ground, and added a sky.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

September Barn

7.5x5 watercolor on Langton 140 lb cold press paper by Daler Rowney done today of an old barn in September.  Since this is the second day of Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days challenge I've finished this decrepit structure to add to her list.  You can see the other artists' works here on her 30 in 30 blog.  My theme is barns and old buildings for the month.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Mail Pouch Barn

5.5x7.5 watercolor on Langton 140 lb cold press paper by Daler Rowney completed this first day of a new month for Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days annual challenge https://www.saetastudio.com/30-in-30-blog   Image courtesy mockingbird on morguefile and will be in the landscape forum also on WetCanvas where I am the September host.  I made changes to the photo of the landscape and sky, removing other buildings and adding fence posts, old missing boards, birds, etc.  From the 1890s these Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco signs appeared on thousands of barns across the country.  The last one I saw was in West Virginia.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.