Cactus with Orange Bloom

8.25x5.25 mixed media in junk journal done last week. I used a line drawing in ink and painted with White Nights paints in this imaginary succulent cactus art. White acrylics was painted over part of the background. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2022

Cactus with Pink Bloom

8.5x5.5 watercolor using White Nights paints done over the past week on Master's Touch paper from my ink line sketch earlier. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Gray with Gold Accents abstraction

18x12 acrylics on Canson 140 lb cold press paper done a few days ago for an online tutorial by Yvette St. Amant. In this exercise we were instructed to apply gray paint thinly in layers then add golden yellow. My gray hue was mixed as I did not have it. The third color was green. When dry we had to add black squiqqly calligraphy marks to one side and all sides were to be left fairly white of the paper. These colors are reversed from the previous post. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Gold with Gray Accents abstraction

18x12 acrylics on Canson 140 lb cold press paper done a few days ago for an online tutorial by Yvette St. Amant. In this exercise we were instructed to apply golden yellow paint thinly in layers then add gray. My gray hue was mixed as I did not have it. The third color was green. When dry we had to add black squiqqly calligraphy marks to one side and all sides were to be left fairly white of the paper. The next post will show its companion piece with colors reversed. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Front Gate Tracks

6.5x4.5 ink line and gouache (Artsy) on tan sketch paper done a few days ago. This is our metal gate entry at our New Mexico place. The snow had fallen last month around my birthday so took this photo which shows cat paw prints through the white stuff. In this the tracks resemble human shoe prints. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Cactus Line Sketches

10.25x9 ink line on sketchbook paper, some cactus in boxes as cute succulents just perfect for making into adult coloring projects. A few of these will be explored using different methods and/or media. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Graffiti Abstract

9x12 acrylics on canvas paper done a few days ago as the first lesson in an online art educational program for abstractions. Taught by Yvette St. Amant, she gives the fundamentals in the art of creating these interesting designs. We were first instructed to place 5-6 colors on a page then let dry; black graphics were added when dry. To get the colors, Yvette had us search the internet for pleasing color palettes used in room decor. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith

Canyon Sunset

5x12 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Grumbacher paper using White Nights paints done last week. No pencil sketch, just brush only in this horizontal southwestern landscape. One can imagine the desert sun's hot rays hitting the canyon rims as it goes down for the day. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Baby Swallows

6x9 watercolor and Brusho on Canson 140 lb cold press paper done last week as a reminder for the Great Backyard Bird Count. Dark brown and Grey Brusho was used for their mud nest. Unlike other global birding events, GBBC represents a chance to take a 4-day snapshot of bird populations around the world. Everyone who submits an eBird checklist or saves a bird with Merlin Bird ID from Feb 18-21 will be part of the global effort. Yesterday mine was submitted for the first time to ebird app. In the 15 minute time allotted I saw over 20 sandhill cranes, common grackles, and two cardinals. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Red Tulip Pot

22x15 watercolor on Daler Rowney Langton Prestige 140 lb cold press paper with Daniel Smith, American Journey, and DaVinci paints completed today. The old painted wood wall was attractive and placing red blooming tulips in a pot seems to electrify the image of this floral still life. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Strawberry and Cream Coneflowers

6x9 watercolor using White Nights paints on Canson 140 lb cold press paper begun earlier in the week and just finished. Inspired by a new spring nursery catalog I just had to sketch these coneflowers to get into a lighthearted mood for the upcoming season. Spring is next month! Only a #1 script liner rigger brush was used. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Alfred with Cigar

12x9 watercolor using DaVinci's Payne's Gray on Grumbacher 140 lb cold press paper done today. I first sketched Sir Alfred Hitchcock in pencil then put in darkest values followed by medium then lights letting the white of the paper serve as white in this monochromatic portrait of the great movie producer. (unknown ref) COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Alfred

14x11 mixed media on Strathmore Toned Tan paper for mixed media finished today using Payne's Grey (DaVinci) watercolor over pencil sketch. Small amounts of Micron 01 ink then highlights with white charcoal put in this, another practice portrait (unknown ref). Mr. Hitchcock, an English filmmaker who was one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema, made amazing movies that scared me as a child so I thought this background appropriate and moody. Who can forget The Birds, Psycho, or Vertigo? COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Brambling Finch

5x7.5 watercolor and Brusho on moleskine paper in sketchbook, a variety of finches called brambling. With their brillant coloring they are said to be inhabitants all over. According to Audubon field guide it is "A common finch of Europe and Asia, the Brambling appears regularly in small numbers in Alaska during migration, straying the short distance across the Bering Sea. Some of those that stray across in autumn apparently then continue south on the American side, and there have been winter records for numerous states and provinces east to the Atlantic Coast and south to Colorado. Many of these vagrant Bramblings have been found visiting bird feeders." COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Latina

15x11 watercolor on Daler Rowney Langton paper 140 lb cold press done last week, another portrait practice piece. From her Dia de Los Muertos scarf to the multi-patterned blouse this was a fun image to explore and paint. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Hello Kitty ~ Happy Valentine's Day!

5.5x8.5 watercolor over pencil sketch of an orange ginger tabby cat with its paw up saying hello to everyone for Valentine's Day. This is done in Masters sketchbook 80 lb. paper. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Blooming Blooms

16x12 gouache on Canson 140 lb cold press paper done a few days ago in an effort to paint more loosely using a medium that is not that common. I used mixed pinks and oranges with Turner Designer paint as well as Artsy jelly cups. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Bold Elephant

Mixed media on 8.25×11 Crescent matboard done today in about 1 hour. After a pencil sketch I went over the lines using a wooden chopstick and black India ink. When dry, I wet his hide then sprinkled grey and dark brown Brusho. When that dried, I sprayed Tim Holtz’ Distress ink stain in Old Photo. Background is all gouache and white gel pen for tiny twigs or grasses. I was anxious to try Brusho and the spray ink together to see what texture developed and really do like it. A Uniball 207 rollerball pen added some lines to him and other dark areas. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Choir Singer

15x11 mixed media portrait on Strathmore for mixed media finished today, no one in particular, just a face using the ideas generated from #Sktchy instructor Margriet Aasman. First sketched in graphite, then using Daniel Smith permanent brown watercolor, put in the values. When dry, various ink pens from 01, 03, 05 were used along with Uniball 07. Lastly, white charcoal pencil was put in for the highlights on skin and long hair. This is more tan/brown than appears on the monitor. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

June ~ dog pet portrait

6x6 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper done last week, a dog pet portrait commission that is SOLD. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Curly Hairdo Girl #30faces30days #sktchy day 19

8.5x5.5 ink and white charcoal in Masters sketchbook done last month for day 19 of the #sktchy challenge of doing 30 faces in 30 days. I'll post some of them from time to time in between finished paintings of different media. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Pansy Colors

6x5 watercolor miniature floral featuring purple and white pansies done a few days ago on a scrap of 140 lb cold press paper and White Nights paints. Over a graphite sketch I used a #1 script liner brush in a direct painting style/manner. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Zinnia Bee

9.5x7 watercolor and ink using Faber Castell Pitt pen XS done today on Ecosystem sketchbook with White Nights paints. We can pretend it is summer with these pink zinnias in bloom and hosting the bees again. copyright 2022 Kay Smith

Rievaulx Abbey

7x9.5 watercolor over ink line sketch in Ecosystem sketchbook done yesterday for a WetCanvas watercolor challenge online. The impressive ruins of one of England's most influential Cistercian monasteries, Rievaulx Abbey sits in a tranquil valley on the North York Moors. I have visited only the Tintern Abbey in Wales and painted it a couple of times. I used a STA 0.3 pen and White Night paints. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Fractured Poppies

15x22 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Fabriano paper done last week using one of my pale pink poppy photos, sketching it, then adding various sizes of rectangles. Each division is its own painting. I've done several in this style and it is always a challenge. No color is repeated twice. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Hollyhock Garden Fence

8.5x5.5 watercolor on Masters sketchbook paper done last weekend from one of my hollyhock photos. Sometimes the plants are taller than the fence. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Poppy Unfolding

11x15 watercolor on Fabriano 140 lb cold press paper done yesterday wet in wet using one of my pale pinkish lilac photos. I liked the large pod in its center as if commanding the petals to unfold. COPYRIGHT 2-2-22 Kay Smith

Barn Nestled in Snow

2.5x6 watercolor miniature painted yesterday, an imaginary barn winter scene on Grumbacher 140 lb cold press paper using White Nights and Daniel Smith pigments. Splattering with white gouache was applied when dry. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith