Lemon Compote

8x8 watercolor on Masters premium 140 lb cold press paper, a simple lemon still life arranged in an orange glassware. The blue plaid tablecloth sets off the yellows well. This was painted last weekend. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Lemon Basket

7x9.5 watercolor on paper of an old white woven basket loaded with lemons on a red checkered cloth. Drawn with Micron 01 pen on Ecosystem sketchbook this one has a country home picnic style. It is fun to paint tablescapes or still life like this simple one. This is taken from an older photograph of a picnic set up I photographed. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Red Sunflowers and Fruit

5x6 watercolor on 140 lb Strathmore paper cold press done today from several references.  Red, white and blue are present for 4th of July along with an old white metal pitcher and small fruit bowl.  The sunflowers were grown by me several years ago.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Green Bowl of Fruit

8.5x11 colored pencils, Inktense, and watercolor colored pencils completed today for this week's Sketchbook Skool assignment for the Colored Pencils Klass.  It is done from life in Crescent sketchbook.  The directions were to draw from life as realistically as possible.  I used Staedtler and Derwent brands and fake fruit in green pottery bowl with braided handles for this still life.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Woven Country Icons

22x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper, two actual works cut into horizontal strips then verticals and woven together as one piece.
I had painted the first version that had fresh zinnias, grapes and lemons in the blue/white spongeware and didn't like it.  Then I painted it again as a demo for a workshop but still didn't like it.  Finally cutting it up was the only answer and I do like its appearance now woven together sitting on a kitchen table in front of a window.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Lemon Basket on Checkered Cloth

7x9.5 watercolor on paper done a few days ago of an old white woven basket loaded with lemons on red checkered cloth.  Drawn with Micron 01 pen on Ecosystem sketchbook this one has a country home picnic style and flavor.  It is fun to paint tablescapes or still life.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Summer Watermelon, Lemons and Grapes

9x12 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Canson paper, done yesterday from an older drawing.  Previously I had painted it in abut 5x7 format, sold it, then again a bit differently on a half sheet watercolor paper measuring 15x22, and sold that one.  With this last piece I let colors mingle and run and changed the background using American Journey's Blue Bice, my new favorite pigment, quinacridone gold and some arylide yellow.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

White Iris and Citrus

7.5x11 watercolor on Arches 140 lb cold press paper/Daniel Smith paints.  Last week in Jan Fabian Wallake's design class at Watercolor Art Society-Houston (WAS-H), we were to draw fruit and flowers in a contemporary manner then paint it.  Emphasis was on elements and principles of design, negative painting, and overall improvement of our existing methods.  With this one, I used flat floating shapes with contour line and uneven negative spaces between each part.  A fun yet thoughtful exercise to shake up your composition if it is in a rut.

Teapot with Lemons still life

16x20 watercolor on handmade cold press 140 lb paper of an antique china teapot, cup of tea, lemons, a bouquet, all on lacy tablecloth. I made the cloth by using doily stencils over the paper and fairly heavy paint brushed within the holes.

Woven Watercolor: Country Icons



Here it is! Two into one completed work, 22x15 inches that I will mount onto a support, mat, and frame.  Hopefully the viewer can make out what the still life is with lemons, grapes, zinnias and the blue and white pitchers and bowl.



Country Scene still life

22x15 watercolor on 140 lb Saunders cold press paper of these country kitchen items. I first painted this scene as a class demo and love the blue and white spongeware pitchers and bowls holding grapes, lemons and zinnias from the garden. It was done wet in wet. My plan is to take the demo piece and cut it into strips vertically and this one cut horizontally then weave together as one painting.

Pick Your Own-Watermelon torn paper collage

Finished!!! After 6 more hours today and messy fingers it is finally done. I hope it reads okay now and values are corrected and shapes simplified...I have a tendency to add detail when painting, so thought it would hold true for collage and yes, it does. Last chore to do was to tear tiny black ovals for seeds and get them adhered to the gloss varnished areas as well as check all 4 edges that they're covered, too. Fork and knife in foreground rest on a white napkin for a little genteel touch in this country still life scene. Total fun and takes many hours but is well worth it! If you have never done this type collage I'd encourage you to try.

Collage WIP - Watermelon steps 3&4

I'm continuing on with the background starting upper right and down that side then working across left and down to foreground. I can tell already that some areas need simplification to read as solid instead of so choppy and detailed...tomorrow will tackle that and adjust values as the purple grapes aren't showing up too well.

Collage WIP Watermelon Still Life

Now you can see what all I got done in 2 more hours today, all of the melon and its pieces, and even going back to adjust values here and there. I thought the red zinnias were a nice touch.

Collage WIP Watermelon next steps

Yesterday I began adding torn red paper from magazines to the meat of the melon and will show values from light to medium to dark in red tones. Today I did its rind, the yellow lemons, and all the grapes. Stay tuned for more as it progresses.

New Collage Watermelon Still Life WIP

16x20 line drawing on wrapped canvas, ready for doing collage today with torn paper, a work in progress.
So stay tuned!

Next Class: 8 Jan. 2011 Ignoring Perspective

22x10 watercolor still life painted in April '09 after reading Shirley Trevena's books/video. I drew this from life and imagination ignoring perspective and fracturing shapes, colors, lines and values in a unique tablescape.
For my next Big Spring workshop we will be studying this method of painting to create new and unusual designs. Email me to sign up for this January 2011 class. This painting was SOLD at its first show.