Garlic Pot ~ last painting of 2022

10x8 acrylics on canvas finished today, a three day or so effort of painting a white subject still life set up in my kitchen. As the last painting of 2022, maybe a little garlic flavor will usher in a new beginning and end the old year. A handmade ceramic backsplash is seen in the background while the little ceramic pot and lid sit on our chocolate brown granite countertop. The garlic pot was too small to hold the large bulb so cloves had to be pulled apart. Have a happy new year everyone! COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Cat Bath

10x8.5 mixed media on paper done last week using a previous sketch that was not colored. Here I've added ink, colored pencils and watercolor that do work well together. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Western Style

11x5 watercolor on mixed media 140 lb paper sketched in pencil then painted yesterday. With this imaginary female figure I've added a horizontal background of distant rocky mountain ranges. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Hanging Lamp

9×12 watercolor and Brusho on Grumbacher 140 lb cold press paper sketched yesterday then painted today from some of my cityscape street lamp photos. The old stone and stucco walls accent the lamp or light metal well. Dry brush and use of black Brusho were put in at the end for textural effects. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

December Blue Macaw

9x11 mixed media using watercolor pencils, colored pencils, oil pastels, Brusho, and watercolor on 140 lb mixed media paper done a few days ago. As part of an online WetCanvas challenge, participants had 2 hours to select an image then paint. (Images courtesy Pixabay). I really liked the up close view of this hyacinth macaw. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Red Taos Truck

5.5x8.5 watercolor on Masters Touch 70 lb paper sketched in pencil today then painted from one of my Taos scene photos. In the photo an adobe building can be seen in background behind the 1960s Dodge truck so I've omitted that and added trees and snow. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Christmas Mailbox

8.5x5.5 watercolor over ink line using STA Lictin 0.05 pen in Masters Touch sketchbook, begun yesterday and completed today. Someone had stuffed gifts into their mailbox amidst the snowy evergreens. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Backyard Cardinal ~ Merry Christmas!

5.5x4 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper painted two days ago from an actual backyard cardinal who frequents our berry-bearing holly trees. I've used 3-4 different reds and red-orange in this painting. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

December Dark-Eyed Junco

9x6.5 watercolor and Brusho wc crystals on 140 lb cold press Grumbacher paper painted yesterday from one of my many junco bird photos. Common all over the country, these can be seen foraging for food on the coldest of days. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Snowy Path with Street Lamps

8x8 watercolor and Brusho wc crystals on 140 lb cold press Masters Touch Premium paper completed yesterday, using more than one reference photo for the lamps and for the foliage. Imagine hurrying along this path in the freezing snow in this imaginary winter city scene. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Winter's First Day

8.75x9 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper done today, an imaginary scene of old ramshackle barn on the first day of winter solstice. Some snow is evident on the surrounding trees, roofline, and foreground. I used an old black and white barn photo kept for many years so all color is made up. Some Gansai Tambi graphite colors were used in background trees. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Amaryllis Bowl

8.5x5.5 watercolor and ink line using STA Lictin 0.3 pen in Masters Touch sketchbook painted yesterday. I used silk amaryllis blooms in a glass vase with scattered crystal marbles in a tabletop still life. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Country Road

6x8 watercolor on Hahnemuhle 95 lb toned grey in wc sketchbook done a few days ago for another online WetCanvas challenge. This was painted in just under an hour. I liked the house waiting in the distance plus the poles and vegetation in the country scene. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Lush Hollyhocks

5x7 watercolor on Fabriano 140 lb cold press paper begun on our last day of the trip then finished here in studio. Using my own hollyhocks for reference these lush blooms can warm up even the coldest day. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

December Deserted Barn

5x7 watercolor using Winsor Newton travel kit on Fabriano 140 lb cold press paper done early this week in our Vegas hotel room. This old barn is not in use and is another in my series of those once necessary farm buildings. A limited palette of burnt sienna, ultramarine blue, raw sienna was used along with a few marks with a Derwent colored pencil for grass details. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

December Buffalo

8x8 watercolor on Masters Touch Premium 140 lb cold press paper done over the past weekend, an imaginary prairie or mountain scene buffalo or bison foraging for food on the small amount of grass found where snow has melted. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Poinsettia Pot

4x5.75 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper, a quick sketch done last weekend of a few poinsettias in a pot. I used very wet paint then blew on a straw to make bursting lines outward from the leaves. There are three colors in this imaginary pot of Christmas plants. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

December Snowman

6x4 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Grumbacher paper, done over the past weekend from one of my saved line drawings. So color is all imaginary, too. A fun subject when you don't plan on any long serious work in the studio. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Moose Behind Trees

9×6.5 watercolor with Brusho on Grumbacher 140 lb. cold press paper painted over past weekend in under an hour for a WetCanvas challenge (ref courtesy D. Selbert/Pexels). A fun ref! I enjoyed all the texture in this one. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

December Frozen Fog

8x6 watercolor and white crayon on Hahnemuhle grey toned paper in sketchbook done a few days ago, another imaginary scene of a frozen creek, bank and trees. Negative painting was done in the bare branch tree area. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

December Snowfall

6x9 watercolor on 140 lb Canson cold press paper done a few days ago using one of my saved line drawings. These come in handy when there is not much time to spend sketching a new subject. In this imaginary scene I've left the pristine snow unlike the first version that had a stormy sky and more shadows. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Elf Portrait

8x6 watercolor on Hahnemuhle grey 95 lb paper in sketchbook done a few days ago during our paint in. I sketched the elf from life, using the plastic figure head with his green striped flannel suit and red felt collar. It has a hanging loop at the top to hang on a tree or elsewhere with a tiny brass bell on his hat. My mother bought some of these in the 1960s or 1970s and this one is all that is left. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

December Egret

6x9 watercolor and Cretacolor dark green pencil on 140 lb cold press Grumbacher paper, using some of my egret Florida references. This one was flying low over the water in the bay hoping to see some dinner. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Dreamy Creamy Poinsettia

11x15 watercolor on Strathmore 140 lb cold press paper just completed, a floral in time for the holidays and dreaming of Christmas past and present. An underpainting using various mixtures of pale yellow gold, hints of lilac, and shades of pink orange can be seen within this composition. Poinsettia is a classic example of bract(s), modified leaves with a flower or cluster of flowers in its axil. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Seagull Shore

3x9 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Canson paper done over this past weekend for an online challenge; photo ref courtesy Deb Cruce. With this image, I cropped the gull's lower body to focus on its head then put foam of the shore water behind showing less beach sand. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

December Deer

6x9 watercolor with white wax crayon on 140 lb. cold press paper done over the past weekend as part of another online challenge. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Vintage Christmas Truck

11x14 watercolor on Kilimanjaro 140 lb cold press paper just finished, a vintage pickup truck with gifts galore in the snow. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

November Rose Petals

6x9 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Canson paper, done a few days ago, sketching from life a dark red rose and a peace rose that grow at my studio. After putting both in a vase I noticed a rosebud with the red one so it was included. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Blazing Sunflower Sky

9x12 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper done a few weeks ago, focusing on a sunflower backside and the sky rather than its center. In this imaginary floral scene I've used both cool and warm colors for the sky and its everchanging landscape. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Angelic Acquaintances

8.25x5.25 mixed media in junk journal done a few days ago using a metal sculpture of an angel holding a bird and a star. I used STA 03 pen to sketch, watercolor for color, and walnut ink applied with wooden chopstick for line work. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Another Allen's Hummingbird

6x4 watercolor Brusho crystals on Canson 140 lb cold press paper, another hummingbird in my series of the tiny but mighty birds. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith