Cool Pears

8x8 watercolor on Master's Touch 140 lb cold press paper done middle of the month, a day to try out different cool colors of greens and blues and pair them with pears. A fun exercise versus the warm colors I'm always using. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2026

Three Red Pears

9x12 watercolor and gold Sharpie marker on Canson 140 lb cold press paper done last week, an exercise done for my Monday afternoon class. With this approach, a color temperature palette is chosen of warm or cool (reds, oranges, yellows or blues, greens, etc.)then begin with any but only paint a small, medium, and large shape in that chosen color. That hue cannot be used again unless mixed with another for a new color, even white. May add black and at least one cool color if using a warm selection or one warm if using a cool. When done select another small, medium, and large shape already painted to add pattern to with a gold marker for warms and a silver marker for cools, as seen here on the black. Any tiny dot, circle, square, diamond, cross, etc. will work but do not go over the entire composition of flat shapes. COPYRIGHT 2024 Kay Smith

Three Pears

15x22 watercolor on Fabriano 140 lb hot press paper, demo done today for the Snyder TX Palette Club located at the Winston Airport, about 50 miles north of our town.  I color sanded several watersoluble colored pencils into the wet areas for texture.  This was a timed demonstration for one hour.  The painting is SOLD.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Ap-pear-antly Pears!

20x26 watercolor on Yupo synthetic paper, a product that allows pigments to sit on top and look more vibrant as they cannot soak into any tooth.  So an artist must develop textural effects to accommodate. Here in this painting done a few years ago, I have used plain Jane pears and made them come alive.

Partnership pears

11x15 watercolor pair of pears, a demo for yesterday's students in which we were exploring the properties of watercolor on hot press paper, Fabriano 140 lb.  The Bosc pear is darker red in reality and note the other's lost edge where light hits its right upper edge.