Aspens and Feathers

12x12 oil/cold wax on gessoed wood panel done last Saturday at a class on using cold wax plus oil. Primaries were mixed with a 3:1 ratio of wax and Galkyd gel, then layered on the support or substrate. Bowl scraper, palette knife, silicone brush, cut credit card edge, etc.,were all used to make pattern first on the transparent colors of alizarin crimson and phthalo blue. Next layer was opaques for this abstract desert themed imaginary piece. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Spirit Trails

9x12 oil/cold wax on gessoed wood panel done last Saturday at a class on using cold wax plus oil. Primaries were mixed with a 3:1 ratio of wax and Galkyd gel, then layered on the support or substrate. Bowl scraper, silicone brush, cut credit card edge, etc.,were all used to make pattern first on the transparent colors of alizarin crimson and phthalo blue. Next layer was opaques including pink. Also I collaged 2-3 small areas of stamped tissue for this abstract desert themed imaginary painting. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Desert Rhythm

8x8 oil/cold wax on canvas board done last Saturday at a class on using cold wax plus oil. Primaries were mixed with a 3:1 ratio of wax and Galkyd gel, then layered on the support or substrate. Bowl scraper, silicone brush, cut credit card edge, etc.,were all used to make pattern first on the transparent colors of alizarin crimson and phthalo blue. Next layer was opaques for this abstract desert themed imaginary piece. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Sheep Skull

6x6 mixed media on gessoed sketchbook paper from Masters sketchbook done today; sketched with an Elegant Writer pen the dark areas first then entire skull. Brusho wc crystals in grey color plus watercolor for background was done to complete the still life. The old skull was photographed in an antique store. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Egg Bowl

4.5x9 acrylic monochromatic still life using Pewter Grey color plus a small amount of white for this simple kitchen or food still life. Eggs easy to set up in a white bowl then focus only on the midtone and dark areas of shadow. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Fuchsia Fun Poppy

8x8 watercolor on Masters Touch premium 140 lb cold press paper painted over pencil sketch done last week for a fuchsia floral challenge. It was easy to choose this beautiful poppy; ref courtesy Dewi. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Fifteen Minute Horse

6x6 watercolor over pencil sketch in Masters Touch sketchbook, 80 lb. paper done over the past weekend as a timed exercise. Participants have 2 hours to select an image then render it. I chose to sketch then paint it and time was 15 minutes. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Nomads

11x15 watercolor on 140 lb Canson paper cold press finished today, another in my southwestern series of Native Americans on the move. I first stenciled a mandala pattern using matte medium on dry paper. When dry, several colors were washed wet in wet over the background. After that dried, the Indian brave and squaw were sketched, then I looked for other shapes. On right side pale yellow area, there appeared to be a brave's profile. Next I took a small silicone cross and stamped various colors mixed with matte medium at random. Lastly, the couple was painted with attention on adding pattern to their blankets and clothing. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Little Cutie

6x6 watercolor using Daniel Smith paints on Masters Touch sketchbook 80 lb paper done a few days ago as part of the Watercolor forum monthly WetCanvas challenge. Not easy to paint children especially one who is pouting. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Daisy Road to the Barn

6x6 watercolor using White Nights paints done over the last weekend. I used two photo refs (courtesy Jo Castillo) and combined them to make one rural country scene. This was done in Masters Touch sketchbook 80 lb. paper. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Happy Heron

6x6 watercolor on Masters Touch sketchbook using White Nights paints done last week from an online 2 hour challenge. I chose the great blue heron (ref courtesy Susan Smith in Florida) as it brings back so many memories of that state and its wet marshlands, shores, and beaches. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Cactus Pads

2.5x3.5 mixed media art card on Canson 140 lb cold press paper done over the last week, a miniature prickly pear cactus pad using watercolor with White Nights paints and white gel pen for the thorns. The fruit from its pods is starting to open up. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Red Velvet Tulips

22x30 watercolor of close view or macro red tulips; some had light yellow green variegated petals. This is painted on 140 lb cold press Saunders Waterford paper wet in wet using 2" wide brush and lots of Daniel Smith reds. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

African Grey Parrot

8x6 watercolor and Brusho wc crystals on toned grey Hahnemuhle sketchbook paper done last week or so for an online WetCanvas challenge. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Serape Cactus

6x6 watercolor and collage in Masters Touch sketchbook done over this past week while on a short New Mexico trip. I used White Nights paints and had one cactus pad too red so covered it with patterned paper taken from a womens dress catalog. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Purdy Poppy

3x3 watercolor abstract background using two pink hues: Wild Fuchsia and Permanent Rose, then ink line poppy flower outline when dry on top using STA Lictin 0.5 pen. Splatters using Naples yellow were done when sketching finished. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Sewing Table

8x8 watercolor on Masters Touch preminum 140 lb cold press paper, a simple still life set of three spools of thread on sewing table waiting to go to work. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Rose Colored Glasses

11x15 watercolor on Strathmore 140 lb cold press paper done last week from my photo of a model for denim clothing. Her energetic look and wild hair was amazing to paint. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Paper Poppy

9x9 mixed media collage on paper done last week, an imaginary white poppy. Texture was added by adhering tissue paper and after drying, an outline was sketched with colored pencils and filled in with watercolor. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Icy Spring

5x2.75 mixed media on paper done last week or so ago, uisng Moradi watercolors and Crayola's Colors of the World (neutral hues), an imaginary icy scene in early Spring. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Funky Sheep

5x7.5 mixed media on gessoed paper done last week using Tombow brush pen, watercolor, and Caran D'ache watersoluble wax pastels, an imaginary ewe looking at you. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Jigsaw Poppies

5.25x3 watercolor and ink using Micron 01 pen on 140 lb cold press Canson paper done last week, a quick miniature floral of red poppies blowing in the wind. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Asian Rain

6x8 watercolor over ink sketch on sketchbook paper along with gouache, a selected group of Asian people with their umbrellas. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Cactus Dove

5.5x8.5 mixed media on paper using STA Lictin 0.3 pen to sketch, watercolor, Montana marker, and gel pen of this white winged dove on its saguaro cactus perch. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

A Brave Buffalo

24x18 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper done a few days ago, an image painted before and now redone for the second time focusing on the foreground and the buffalo head area. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Dried Lotus Pod

12x9 ink on paper using Elegant Writer calligraphy pen on 140 lb cold press Canson done week before last, using one of my real dried pods in a fall wreath. I used very small amounts of watercolor. Mostly just a wet brush to the edge of ink line is all that is needed; the many colors coming from the ink are remarkable activated. When dry, the ink is permanent. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Pink Lotus Pod Seeds

2.5x3.5 colored pencils, watercolor, ink line on 140 lb cold press paper done last week, an art trading card or ACEO sketched from my larger real seed pod on a wreath. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Allium Assortment

8.25x5.25 watercolor collage in junk journal done right after spring began, seeing some allium plants at a nursery. I've mixed all the pinks and purples on the palette. Almost finished with the 1950 grunge or junk journal book! COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

March Rose

March Rose 9x12 watercolor on Studio Fabriano 140 lb hot press paper done week before last, a close crop of a peach colored rose and some green foliage. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith

Lotus Pod Party

15x22 watercolor on Kilimanjaro 140 lb cold press paper painted last week or so as part of a lotus challenge for March I hosted on WetCanvas. I'd been admiring the abstraction in the lilypads, water, and lone lotus in my ref for awhile so decided to include its dramatic shapes and contrasts. COPYRIGHT 2023 Kay Smith