Monday, January 31, 2022

Owl Prowl

9x6 watercolor and Brusho grey wc crystals on Grumbacher 140 lb cold press paper done over the weekend for another WetCanvas challenge. Participants have 2 hours to choose an image then paint it and this barred owl was finished in about an hour. Brusho was used to create the background. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Sunday, January 30, 2022

Flower Man #30faces30days #sktchy Day 30

12x9 pencil and watercolor sketch on Grumbacher 140 lb cold press paper done today for the final day 30 of #30faces30days #sktchy challenge. The muse, named Rick, had a ring of flowers on his head and we had an option to color them or not so I used my favorite medium. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Saturday, January 29, 2022

Quiet Girl #30faces30days #sktchy Day 29

7x7 mixed media on Strathmore toned tan paper for mixed media done today as day 29 of #sktchy #30faces30days challenge. We were instructed by Margriet Aasman to use a grid to block in features, sketch in pencil, add values with Payne's grey watercolor, let dry, add ink pen then white charcoal pencil for highlights. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Friday, January 28, 2022

Poppies Gone Wild

2.5x4.5 watercolor over a mixed media background done a few days ago, an imaginary poppies garden of some red ones growing wild. No ref or pencil sketch was done, brush only. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Thursday, January 27, 2022

French Girl #30faces30days #sktchy day 27

10.25x9 ink sketch for day 27 of #sktchy #30faces30days annual challenge; this is on sketchbook paper using three different nib widths of Micron pens such as 005,03,and 08. Crosshatching for values took more than 2 hours. Instructor was Guillaume Piot (ref courtesy of). COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Tough Guy #sktchy #30faces30days Day 26

10.25x9 drawing pencil over charcoal powder underpainting done today for day 26 of the #sktchy annual portrait challenge #30faces30days. The challenge was to smear charcoal dust made by using sandpaper as I didn't have the commercial product onto paper then with erasers mark features and develop. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Peaceful Girl #30faces30days #sktchy

11x7 #sktchy portrait on Strathmore tan paper for mixed media done today for day 25 of the #30faces30days annual online challenge. I used pencil to sketch this peaceful muse, ink over that, then watercolor for skin tone values, followed by white charcoal for highlights. Colored pencils in red and blues were applied for textural effects. Minimal crosshatching done with Uniball 207 pen. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Monday, January 24, 2022

Freckle Face day 4 #sktchy #30faces30days

11x7 pencil and white colored pencil on toned tan mixed media paper by Strathmore; portrait of a girl with freckles for day 4 of current Sktchy challenge of 30 faces in 30 days. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Sunday, January 23, 2022

Al the Alpaca

11x7.5 mixed media on Bienfang wc paper 140 lb cold press done yesterday as part of another online WetCanvas challenge where participants have 2 hours to create a painting. I liked the alpaca's humorous face so sketched with multilead colored Magic pencils, added outline strokes with Crayola markers, then filled in with White Nights watercolors. Blue markers added at the end for contrast. (Ref courtesy Crias) COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Saturday, January 22, 2022

Girl in Striped Top #30faces30days #sktchy

9x12 inks on Bristol plate paper, a variety of ink pens used in this #sktchy challenge for day 3. Each year a new challenge of sketching faces in art is offered with a different instructor. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Friday, January 21, 2022

Asian Woman #30faces30days #sktchy

6x8 watercolor and ink in Hahnemuhle grey toned wc sketchbook done on first day of this month for the #sktchy challenge that is offered every year. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Thursday, January 20, 2022

Squirrel with Red Berry

6x6 watercolor and Brusho wc crystals of a squirrel in the snow holding a red berry on 140 lb cold press paper done this past weekend for an online challenge. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Adobe Gate

6.5x4.5 mixed media using watercolor, white gel pen, Brusho, and ink with STA 0.1 pen on tan sketch paper, an imaginary gate into an adobe setting in the southwest. In this miniature I tried to show a glimpse into a desert way of life. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Squirrel Steps

4x4 watercolor and Brusho wc crystals on 140 lb cold press paper scrap done last week,a quick miniature of such a cute but pesky rodent animal. I used the marked up paper as an abstract background. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Monday, January 17, 2022

Pocket Park Lamps

12x9 watercolor, Brusho, and white crayon on 140 lb cold press Grumbacher paper painted last Wednesday. Using my recent photo of a rainy day at the pocket park downtown Big Spring I adapted the setting to a snowy day. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Sunday, January 16, 2022

Frog Frolic

6 1/8x 6 1/4 watercolor and Brusho wc crystals on 140 lb cold press paper done last week for an online challenge. With this frog I've tried to show some creativity in its environment. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Saturday, January 15, 2022

Tex

8.5x5.5 ink with STA 0.1 pen sketched this morning with Tex, a live model, in about 15 minutes then watercolor added once back in studio. Note the coyote leg hanging from his frontiersman fur hat. This was done on Masters sketchbook paper. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Friday, January 14, 2022

Thursday, January 13, 2022

Flash Waterfall

9x6 watercolor on Grumbacher 140 lb cold press paper done last week for a WetCanvas watercolor challenge. White Nights paints used and ref courtesy Doug Elliot. This is a flash waterfall following a night of rain on the moors at Buckden near Kettlewell in the Yorkshire Dales (UK). COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Behind the Barn

5.5x8.5 watercolor using White Nights paints done last week using no reference, a glimpse into farm life behind the barn. Probably everyone's barn had a corner where fence meets the building. In this scene, I have weeds growing tall, while fields can be seen in the distance. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Tuesday, January 11, 2022

January Snowfall

4.5x9 watercolor, Brusho, and gouache on 140 lb cold press paper done last week thinking about snow. It is based on my reference photo of a snow laden evergreen tree. Winter is just getting started. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Monday, January 10, 2022

Clark Gable

8.25x5.25 mixed media in junk journal over two pages using a collaged tea bag, acrylics, pencil, ink, watercolor of the screen icon and movie star Clark Gable. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Sunday, January 9, 2022

Polka Dot Coffee

5.5x5.5 watercolor in Arteza sketchbook done last month, one of the last ones to finish out the book. I could not resist the cute dots on this set and to fill with coffee was even better. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Saturday, January 8, 2022

Golden Fields

3.5x4.5 watercolor on 140 lb Grumbacher cold press paper done last weekend for another WetCanvas weekend drawing event. I did this miniature in less time than the given 2 hour limit and it was most enjoyable. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Friday, January 7, 2022

Cedar Waxwings in Spring

5.5x9 watercolor and moss green Brusho wc crystal powder on Grumbacher 140 lb cold press paper painted last week from old bird photos in an imaginary outdoor setting. The spring colors were too tantalizing to resist as I'm done with winter and it has barely started. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Thursday, January 6, 2022

Lamp Shadows

6.5x4.5 watercolor and black Brusho on 140 lb cold press Grumbacher paper done last week of an aged stucco building with an ornate iron street lamp and amazing shadows. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Wednesday, January 5, 2022

Distant Town

6.5x4.5 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Grumbacher paper done last week, another imaginary town in the distance. So many different buildings in so many different sizes for all the people. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Tuesday, January 4, 2022

Clouds over Signal Mountain

8x12 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper done last week in my landscape series. This one features our own Signal Mountain, an imaginary cloud filled sky and interesting terrain with some water present. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Monday, January 3, 2022

Brick Building with Lamp

8x4 mixed media using STA Lictin 0.3 pen sketch of an old fashioned metal street lamp on the side of a brick building done last month. I went over the sketch with watercolor and parts of the background show that are acrylic dabs and marks. These type papers are wc 140 lb cold press that go under smaller works then later I use them as abstract backgrounds. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Sunday, January 2, 2022

Brusho Sparrow

7x4 watercolor and Brusho wc crystals on 140 lb cold press Grumbacher paper done in the last couple of weeks. I used a stencil of a branch in the upper background then used Brusho for the brown marks on the sparrow for a different approach to bird art. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Saturday, January 1, 2022

December Amaryllis

7.5x9 watercolor and Brusho crystals using Rose Red done yesterday, my last painting for the year 2021. I used the Brusho for the red areas after going over them with clear water, then sprinkling the pigment. Background is a mix of Naples yellow and thalo yellow green. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Checkerboard Star Cat

6x6 watercolor using Rosa paints made in Ukraine recently done on Masters Touch 80 lb. sketchbook paper. Using my photo of a friend's a...