Valentine Love Notes

5.5x8 mixed media on Strathmore Visual Journal for mixed media that is yesterday's work in my continuing heart series.  First I did a stamp of text with black ink, then drew hearts with white acrylic.  Next these were filled in with red alcohol ink and allowed to run and mix with acrylic paint.  Hearts were outlined with black felt tip pen and text outlined with black charcoal pencil.  Pink Montana acrylic marker made the edges complete and when all dry I wrote Love Notes on the lower left heart.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Be My Valentine

11x8.5 watercolor drawn today from an ink sketch I did this morning at 5:30; this is on Italia 140 lb cold press paper with Daniel Smith and Grumbacher paints.  I worked from a black and white composite photo so all colors are imaginary.  For some reason the guy ended up resembling Lionel Richie.  At any rate, it's the last in my Valentine heart series.  Thanks to the guest artists who participated in the fun! Have a happy heart day!

Fondness for Hearts

5.5x7.5 watercolor on 140 lb hot press paper done yesterday. I first drew in 4 heart shapes with a white wax crayon, then did a quick underpainting using alizarin crimson and thalo blue. Over those colors I laid crumpled plastic wrap and let it dry all day.  Later, I lifted up the plastic to find a multitude of crinkled areas from which new hearts were developed by negative and positive painting.

Guest Artist - Polly Birchall (UK) Less Salt Happy Heart

Another painter from England joins our Brushworks blog heart series today with this fun and lively watercolor. It is 9" x 8" on Langton Paper, and she used mainly Cad Red, Perm Rose and Winsor Violet, with both table salt and sea salt.  Title of the valentine is printed upper right and Polly says salt is not good for us but in watercolor it is used to make textural effects as she's shown here.  Thank you, Polly! Happy Valentine's!

Primary Colors Heart

9x10 inks on 140 lb wc paper done today, another in my heart series, quickly and spontaenously.  I first drew the heart outline using periwinkle blue watercolor then dropped red, yellow, and blue Dr Ph Martin's inks and spritzed that with fine mist water.  This is just having too much fun!

Love is in the Air - Sea Dean guest artist

Love definitely is in the air with these two acrylic abstract hearts intertwined as one, by guest artist Sea Dean.  This lovely ACEO is 2.5x3.5, tiny but totally terrific! Thanks, Sea, for joining in my February hearts series.  To learn more about Sea, please check out personal blog at:  http://www.paintamasterpiece.blogspot.com/