Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Signs of Spring II

16x20 watercolor of pink geraniums in my old white wicker chair, painted wet in wet on 140 lb paper/Daniel Smith and DaVinci paints. Seeing geraniums each year for the first time always lets us know it is Spring. I also painted the same porch scene in oil and that version has been purchased by a private collector. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Ratty Wicker Chair

12x9 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper, a demo done yesterday for my Monday art class. First I did a value study with black Tombow brush pen on Bristol board 400 series 100 lb. With water and a rigger brush, a grey middle tone was made, and from this sketch the vignette was created. The old chair was on a porch in east Texas where I photographed it with its great shadows. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Monday, March 29, 2021

Cardinal Perch

12x6 acrylics on board begun yesterday and finished today, an imaginary male cardinal perched on his branch. I used Liquitex brand paints. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Sunday, March 28, 2021

Fat Tody Bird

12x12 acrylics on a gessoed and primed art board done yesterday using brush and palette knife. This fellow has a long pointed beak similar to a hummingbird's but is a different species. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Another Shade of Bluebird

6x6 mixed media on Canson 140 lb cold press backing sheet that had watercolor, Brusho crystals, and acrylics. Today I sketched a whimsical bird face and beak then used a palette knife with acrylics in layers to finish this bluebird. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Friday, March 26, 2021

Kitty Dreams

5.5×5.5 watercolor, gouache, and acrylics with white gel pen in Arteza for an online WetCanvas.com event. Each weekend up to 16 images are uploaded by the host and participants have 2 hours to do their magic. This ref is courtesy tyree. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Thursday, March 25, 2021

March Callas

6x6 watercolor on Fabriano 140 lb cold press rough paper painted a few days ago to loosen up, just drawing imaginary calla lilies and making up a background. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Eyebrow Guy

5.5x5.5 gouache on Arteza 110 lb cold press paper done last weekend, another Sktchy muse instructive lesson online in their #30faces30days endeavor. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Orange Daisies Still Life

5.5x5.5 watercolor on Arteza 110 lb paper done over the past weekend as part of All Media Art Events forum. In this 2 hour challenge each weekend, artists select an image provided by the host and create a piece within the time frame. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Monday, March 22, 2021

Purple Wind

4x6 alcohol inks abstraction on glossy photo paper done recently due to the high winds and sand. Today is especially bad but it is brown and not purple. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Sunday, March 21, 2021

Spring First Day

8x8 gouache on Italia Magnani 140 lb cold press paper done yesterday as it was the first day of spring equinox. With this imaginary grouping of roses, tulips, and irises one can imagine them blooming soon in the warmer temperatures. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Saturday, March 20, 2021

MARCH MADNESS

9x10.25 mixed media on paper done on a whim. Sketched with Micron 01 pen, I followed next with Montana acrylic markers on these imaginary poppies. Small areas and background are watercolor. Since we are having daily sandstorms here the brownish backdrop seemed appropriate. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Friday, March 19, 2021

March Coneflower

5.5x5.5 watercolor on Arteza paper, 110 lb cold press in sketchbook of a fresh imaginary coneflower done a few days ago. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Yay for Yellow Cosmos

5.5x5.5 watercolor on Arteza paper, 110 lb cold press in sketchbook of a fresh yellow spring cosmos done a few days ago. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

FLORAL CENTERS on Yupo

7x5 alcohol inks on Yupo synthetic paper done last week, another abstraction experient using only a few colors. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Pink Lipstick Girl

14x11 watercolor, watercolor crayons, and Derwent Inktense wc pencils on Strathmore Toned Tan paper completed today. I used the pencils to sketch, crayons to lay in color pops, and watercolor for the overall filling in of this young black girl's features. The model is one of the Sktchy program's #30faces30days challenge this month focusing on watercolor and gouache applications. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Monday, March 15, 2021

Lemon Basket

7x9.5 watercolor on paper of an old white woven basket loaded with lemons on a red checkered cloth. Drawn with Micron 01 pen on Ecosystem sketchbook this one has a country home picnic style. It is fun to paint tablescapes or still life like this simple one. This is taken from an older photograph of a picnic set up I photographed. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Sunday, March 14, 2021

Peony Charm

8x3 watercolor on Italia 140 lb cold press paper, a collection of dark red peonies I used to raise in a glass. In this floral still life I've added shadows and dropped petals and leaves at the bottom. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Saturday, March 13, 2021

Cosmos Crazy

4x3.5 mixed media on 140 lb. cold press paper done last week. In this imaginary floral, I used alcohol inks (first layer as a pulled print), watercolor, acrylics, and gouache. Cosmos are an all time favorite flower to depict in any media. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Friday, March 12, 2021

Kitchen Window Still Life

9x12 watercolor on Bristol 300 series 100 lb paper sketched and painted today for a timed online event. Participants have 2 hours to do their choice of references. I love the old silver teapot or coffee pot with the bright fruit and blue glass ware. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Garcia's Donkey

15x11 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper completed today after doing most of the donkey yesterday during our paint out. This fellow belongs to another artist and I have invented the southwestern background in hot desert hues and some decorative bare trees. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Tulip Stems

5x3.5 alcohol inks on glossy photo paper done last week just playing around with the inks after awhile and these tulip shapes appeared. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Colorado Elk

9x12 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper completed today of a resting bull elk in the Rocky Mountains; photo courtesy of artist friend Jenna of Wisconsin and featured in the current monthly WetCanvas challenge. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2021

Monday, March 8, 2021

Lazy Daisy Bunny

8.5x5.5 watercolor on Masters Premium paper done a few days ago, another whimsical rabbit or bunny waiting for spring, surrounded by daisies. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Sunday, March 7, 2021

Fragrant Roses

9x12 watercolor and Brusho wc crystals (rose red) on Canson 140 lb cold press paper done with no pencil sketch over this past week. Lots of creativity and negative painting was done with this abstract floral. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Saturday, March 6, 2021

Pansy Pitcher

8x6 watercolor in Stillman & Birn Zeta series sketchbook done today, an imaginary pansy bouquet in an old rusted metal pitcher. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Friday, March 5, 2021

Red Parrot Tulip Joy

3x3 miniature watercolor and Brusho watercolor crystals painted at the first of the month, using my imagination on 140 lb cold press paper leftover. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Thursday, March 4, 2021

Egret and Plants

9.5x7 watercolor over pencil drawing in Ecosystem sketchbook done over the past weekend for a WetCanvas challenge; photo ref courtesy Susan. The Florida bird appears to be hiding behind the cacti and other plants. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Vivid Orange Poppy

5.5x5.5 watercolor done over last weekend from one of my many poppy photos on Arteza 110 lb paper. I used a #1 script liner/rigger brush painting wet over dry application. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Bouquet in Black Vase

8x8 mixed media on paper done today over previous alcohol inks using pink, blue, and yellow making an abstract. I used a 1" flat sponge brush to create flowers with acrylics. Most of the fuchsia pink is what is left of the inks. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Monday, March 1, 2021

Tri-Colored Bunny

5.5x5.5 watercolor on Arteza sketchbook paper 110 lb cold press done over this past weekend using only 1 #1 script liner/rigger brush. I first did a pencil sketch of the rabbit. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Party Time Parrot Tulip

9x6 watercolor using Rosa brand paints made in Ukraine on Winsor & Newton 140 lb cold press paper done earlier this month. With this va...