Old Mission with Statue

30x22 watercolor of a California mission and statue of St. Francis I fell in love with and painted.  This is a direct application painting wet in wet on 140 lb cold press paper.
COPYRIGHT Kay Smith

Nesters

15x22 watercolor on Lanaquarelle 140 lb hot press paper of two birds nesting inside broken clay pot.  I had first painted this nature still life of tiny items a few years ago then took the painting and redid its main areas.  The tiny birds and pot nestle inside a larger clay pot holding a topiary from a florist.  With my camera I shot a macro view for art purposes; the birds are actually made of tiny mushrooms so I had to make them appear realistic.
COPYRIGHT Kay Smith

Sunflower Glowing

11x15 watercolor on Saunders 140 lb cold press of a mature sunflower; this was my demo for a workshop.
I have painted several versions of this flower and one of those was all in pinks and is now sold.  Each version is more fun than the last. It was done wet in wet with transparent colors.
COPYRIGHT Kay Smith

West Highland Terrier

8x6.5 watercolor vignette done a few years ago after meeting this cute terrier, a rescue, at the dog park. The owner let me take photos as most proud pet parents do.

COPYRIGHT Kay Smith

Poppy Parts miniature ACEO

2.5x3.5 mixed media on 140 lb Langton cold press paper done today.  Beginning with red and scarlet Brusho, crystals were sprinkled onto wet paper and allowed to mingle with the help of a brush till dry. Then a Lictin 0.8 pen sketched black line petals and poppy center.  Watercolor, thalo yellow green, was used last to highlight its center parts.


Actual size:

COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

May Tulips

15x11 watercolor of the pink and variegated tulips done today on 140 lb cold press paper by Masters Touch.  There's hardly any tooth to this paper which is what I like as the paints run together.  This was for another timed WetCanvas online event in which we had 2 hours to find an image and paint it (Weekend Drawing Event).
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Western Woman

9x12 India ink on vintage book text collaged to Canson watercolor paper, a faces class demo done this morning. Using a chopstick as a drawing instrument dipped into black ink, lines and shapes were put in to resemble features. I especially liked the straw hat the model wore.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Lil's Violets

3.75x2.75 floral still life done today from another artist's African violets in a clay pot.  I cropped the image to show only its left side.  Look closely to see bounce light that reflects the bloom colors into the leaves.  This is on Langton 140 lb cold press paper.

Actual size is below:

COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Prairie Barn

6x7.25 watercolor on Saunders 140 lb cold press paper, an imaginary country barn landscape done today.  Yesterday I did two separate pours of colors across a very wet support.  First orange trio of colors was a mix of organic vermilion, cadmium yellow, and raw umber (all sedimentary).  Second blue trio was Prussian, lamp black, and ultramarine blue poured across the still wet paper.  Pigments separated with some staining and others granulating in dark areas.  The barn and telephone poles were sketched on dry paper then painted with dry brush.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Watchful Redwing Blackbird

9x5.75 India ink and watercolor on old book text done today, using a chopstick for the sketch.  This watchful blackbird sits atop a cattail or bulrush in a wet marshland area, their favored habitat.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Approaching Storm, Red Barn

3x4 watercolor on Langton 140 lb cold press paper done today.  Starting with two pours for the sky, colors were laid in on very wet paper, allowed to dry, then imaginary barn sketched in pencil and painted.  Weather over the past 24 hours was the inspiration for this miniature country landscape.

Actual size:

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Ft. Worth Pigeon

9.5x7 watermedia (Montana acrylic markers and Staedtler pigment liner 0.3) on Ecosystem sketchbook, sketched last week and colors applied today.  Colors used were black and white markers. I had to get off my floral rant and do some wildlife for a change of pace.
COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2019

Heartwarming Hibiscus

11x15 watercolor on Masters 140 lb cold press paper done today.  I mixed all the reds and yellows together to get a variation of hues for this beautiful flower.  This was for an online timed painting challenge as hosted by artist Valri.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Pansy Persuasion

11.25x17.5 watercolor on Langton 140 lb cold press done this afternoon, a demonstration for the Abilene Creative Arts Club.  Using my pansy photos of white, pink, and pale lavender colors I completed the floral in an hour.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith.

Twilight Prickly Poppies

13.5x21.5 watercolor on Langton 140 lb cold press paper completed today, inspired by the thousands of prickly poppies growing around here.  Background was painted using Daniel Smith Nickel AzoYellow, alizarin crimson, and phthalo blue primary set.  Shadows on the wildflowers' white petals were mixed with several palette colors for varied greys.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Scabiosa Columbaris

10.25x9 walnut ink sketch done last September using a stick dipped into the ink for this nature inspired work.  I enjoyed the spiky exterior of this seed head and its interesting small divided sections.
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kay Smith

Rose Renaissance

15x22 watercolor on Winsor Newton 140 lb cold press paper, painted wet into wet, of my studio roses in front of the south window.  My photo I used shows the purple shutters before they were painted pale green with pink trim.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Pesky Pelican

8.5x5.5 watercolor and ink (Micron 01 pen) on paper done over a week ago.  This is a crop of a larger pelican so as to focus on his head and neck.
COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2019

Vinca

2.5x3.5 watercolor on Saunders 140 lb cold press painted today, brush only, no drawing with pencil first. I bought several trays of various vinca colors last week so painted the pale pink and dark pink ones from those.  This is an art card edition original or ACEO.  See how it looks in real life below.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Actual size:

Lil Lulu cat

9.5x7 watercolor pencils on paper (Ecosystem sketchbook) done on first of May, another artist's cat she rescued.  Lulu had a broken pelvis and someone had doused her fur with gasoline trying to set the poor cat on fire when she was rescued, a feral cat who found her forever home.  I had only 12 wc pencils so colors are not as varied as usual.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Purple Iris in Brusho

12x9 Brusho on Canson 140 lb cold press paper done today from a studio iris.  Sketched with Magic multicolor pencil on dry paper I then mixed purple, blue, and lavender Brusho crystals separately in small containers with water then brushed it onto the iris petals.  Background is a bit more muted and not as green, and for that I used moss green, olive green, green, and yellow.
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Sweet Breath of Spring

9.5x6.75 watercolor and ink line on old dictionary page sketched and painted today of bird's nest and eggs. One of the topics on the page was names of seasons and if or when they should be capitalized.  It said these are not capitalized except when personified and example was "the sweet breath of Spring", versus "last spring", so that is where the title originates.  I used a STA Lictin pigment liner 0.3 pen on the bird's nest and robin eggs.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Tiny Violas

2.75x4 watercolor on Saunders Waterford 140 lb cold press paper done today, brush only by painting positive shapes then the negative ones with secondary color palette.  These tiny mini pansies or violas, are also known as johnny jump ups.

Actual size:

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Old Schoolhouse

2.75x3.75 watercolor on Saunders Waterford 140 lb cold press paper done this afternoon from a photo courtesy Lin/WetCanvas.  I omitted the red car that was parked there at the old British schoolhouse.  Actual miniature size is below.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Redfire Tulip

11x15 watercolor on Dick Blick 140 lb hot press paper done over the past 3 days, as part of the weekend drawing event on WetCanvas (hosted by Li Newton).  This brilliant orange red tulip was aflame and there was gravel on the right side which I left the white of the paper.
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Wild White Horse

8.25x5.25 hard charcoal pencil over partially gessoed vintage page done last day of April.  He was photographed on our last trip to Alto, NM, and belongs in a wild horse herd that roams open spaces. He is thin and up in years but did let me pet him.  This was sketched in my junk journal from the 1950s era.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Ikat Rose

4x4.5 mixed media on paper including rice paper collage on top of watercolor and acrylic, plus preprinted ikat pattern for a contemporary indigo blue design.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Cosmos Clouds

15x22 watercolor on Saunders 300 lb cold press paper; one drawn from silk cosmos that I've used for floral still life before.  On the reverse side is a white duck swimming that I will post soon so whoever purchases the cosmos gets a freebie or vice versa.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Trees and Clouds

11x15 watercolor on Yupo synthetic paper done from one of the landscape photos I posted online for a contest. In this mountain scene, I especially liked the whispering pines behind the taller foreground bare trees. The viewer can imagine tall vistas behind the trees.
COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.

Gardener's Bike

9x6.5 watercolor, a daily painting, of an old garden shed and the worker's bike and basket.  Photo ref courtesy WetCanvas/Susan.  I edited lots of the photo out such as foreground, middle ground, items on the bike and clutter around the shed's entrance, and top right I added blue sky.  In the foreground I added multicolored poppies.
COPYRIGHT Kay Smith

Low Tide

11.5x7.5 acrylics and white gel pen on gessoed textured paper, an abstract of a low beach tide, where water meets sand and forms foam.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith