Christmas Jimmy

5.75x9 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper sketched yesterday then painted today using mostly mixed greens and reds in this Christmas tree hauling GMC truck scene. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Antlers

18x24 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper done over this weekend of an imaginary buck deer amidst swirling leaves. His eyes are closed indicating sleep during winter approaching with its wind and snow flurries. Note the antlers morphing into tree branch shapes and lines. I mixed dark brown, grey, and black Brusho for some of the darks painting wet on dry. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Margaritas

12x9 watercolor (brush only) painted yesterday as a still life complete with limes and kosher salt on Canson 140 lb cold press paper. This imaginary scene could be any table top or bar anywhere. It was fun to paint the salt crystals and the lime in this still life. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Chickadee Waiting for Winter

18x24 watercolor on Fabriano rough 140 lb cold press paper done over this week, an autumn scene with golden brown trees dimly seen in the background and a lone chickadee watching and waiting for winter on an old broken fence. In this country landscape with a bird, I tried to show the center of interest as it relates to the whole cycle of nature. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Spicy Hot Donkeys

8.5x11 watercolor on 140 lb Saunders paper using an unusual color palette of a hot fore and middle ground with dark navy sky. Both background trees and donkeys are treated as simple shapes in this contemporary southwestern art animal painting. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2020.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

5.5x8.5 watercolor and ink line on Masters sketchbook done previously. This fat butterball bird is waiting his turn out in the woods in this imaginary scene. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith.

Chicken of Color

6x9 India ink and Brusho watercolor crystals on paper done recently from a previous ink sketch, adding some bright color for pizzazz. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Backcountry Barn

12x9 watercolor on Fluid 140 lb cold press paper, an imaginary country scene of a rundown old barn. The rocky landscape foreground was fun to paint wet in wet in layers as was the middle ground. The fence is still up so suppose someone is running cattle. Storm clouds are building up overhead. When dry, splattering was done for textural effects. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith.

Male Towhee

3.5x6 watercolor on 140 lb Saunders cold press paper done day before yesterday, a small bird art painting of one of the spotted towhees photographed in New Mexico. Mostly they are ground feeders so it is not easy to see one in a tree or a flowering bush. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Calico on a Chair

6.25x9 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper completed yesterday from another WetCanvas online challenge. Participants in the Weekend Drawing Event are given 2 hours to select an image and draw then paint it. This sweet calico cat was begging to be chosen and I think her markings are beautiful. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Purple Prickly Pear Cactus

12x15 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper. These cactus blooms caught my eye as they bloom in May here in west Texas, and the purple coloration set off the orange yellows. A patch of sthe spiky succulent plants was growing near to the big spring for which our town is named. I used two opaques together, American Journey's Mint Julep and Blue Bice, for most of the softer green areas, with a lot of water. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith.

Phoenix Pricklies

3.5x2.5 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Italia paper, an imaginary set of desert prickly pear cactus done in miniature. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

White Tree Poppies

7x5 watercolor on Masters premium paper 140 lb cold press done today as it has been awhile since I've painted poppies. With this composition I was able to do more negative painting by first putting a light transparent wash in different colors over the background, then coming back in with darker values to carve out leaves and stems. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Easter Sunflowers

10x10 watercolor and ink line on 140 lb cold press Saunders paper, a contemporary grouping of big sunflowers I first painted around Easter but didn't show them. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Wayside Barn

7x12.25 watercolor on Italia 140 lb cold press paper sketched yesterday then painted today using Daniel Smith paints of this old ramshackle barn country scene. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Virginia Creeper

15x22 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Saunders paper, sketched and painted from a photo I took in the Lincoln National Forest several years ago. The red vine known as Virginia creeper appears throughout the forest. Related to grapevines, the plants are heaven for birds and insects, providing food and roosting opportunities where it grows freely. Native plants host a wider variety of native wildlife, and climbers such as these are shelter. They first begin growing as green leafed then turn to red around autumn. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Frosty Pinecone

12x9 Brusho watercolor crystals on Canson 140 lb cold press paper sketched today in pencil then paint added. I used three Brusho colors: Grey, Black, and Dark Brown. The pigments make excellent softly muted backgrounds. In some areas of the darkest darks I mixed all colors together and the white is the white of the paper. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Rocket Frog

5.5x8.5 watercolor and ink line using STA Lictin 0.3 pen in Masters sketchbook. This frog was first sketched for #InkTober2020 last month then watercolor added this past weekend. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Bleached Cow Skull

12x6 watercolor on Strathmore 140 lb cold press paper started yesterday then finished today from an old bleached cow skull hanging on the wall. I liked its dramatic shadows so sketched it in a narrow format for a southwest still life. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

November Snowy Cardinal in Brusho

7x9 watermedia using Brusho crystals on Canson 140 lb cold press paper done today. This cardinal was photographed outside our windows but we have no snow. I used grey Brusho for the background leaving some white on the branches; bird was painted using crimson, vermillion, and red Brusho crystals. Black Brusho for his mask and gamboge Brusho for the beak. When dry snow splatters using white gouache were added. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Autumn Leaves Falling

8x8 watercolor on Masters Premium 140 lb cold press paper completed today, an imaginary autumn or fall scene of colorful leaves coming down from their secure branches of summer into a new season. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Black Hollyhock Towers

8.25x5.25 mixed media in junk journal done over the weekend. Media included collage across the top of the 1950's page, sketch of plants in multilead colored pencil, Brusho wc crystals in orange, and watercolor in this view of towering black hollyhocks. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Tabby Cat Profile

8.5x5.5 watercolor on Masters sketchbook paper done today after sketching yesterday in graphite. This was a 2 hour timed challenge on WetCanvas with numerous images offered and mine was well within the limit at not quite an hour. I liked the gaze of this sweet tabby cat. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

On the Prowl

6.25x4.25 black ink with Tombow brush pen on Bristol board 400 series, a value sketch done for a larger work of a black and white cat sneaking through a fence. No pencil drawing, only brush pen. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Southwest Still Life

22x30 acrylics on Arches 140 lb cold press paper painted from life by setting up various still life objects and doing very wet in wet brushwork. Wax crayon saguaro images are scattered throughout the painting of southwestern items. CPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Grey Wolf

4x5.25 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Italia paper done a few days ago for another online miniature challenge; ref courtesy WetCanvas library. Mostly I used a #1 rigger/script liner brush for this fellow. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Brusho Turtle

5.5x8.5 Brusho watercolor crystals, watercolor, ink pen, white gel pen on Masters sketchbook. The turtle was sketched during InkTober2020 last week and today I added color and mixed media to get this end result. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Southwest Style House

11x15 watercolor on 140 lb Canson paper done a few days ago of a southwest style white stucco house and red tile roof close by our place in the mountains. In this vignette I tried to show a carefree summer day and a setting anyone would want to visit. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Sleepy Dog

5.5x8.5 watercolor and Micron 01 pen for this sleepy spaniel I first sketched in ink for last month's #InkTober2020 challenge. This is on Masters sketchbook paper 90 lbs. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Blue Pigeon

8x8 watercolor and Brusho wc crystals on Masters premium 140 lb cold press paper done over the weekend for another online WetCanvas challenge. Ref courtesy Susan (tyree). I like the metallic shine on the pigeon's feathers and Brusho has the exact hue. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith