Iris in Progress

Well, I have not really done this but thought it might be nice for everyone to see something while in progress. I have been working on this piece for about a week, of course not daily just when I can. I have been daily doing pen and ink doodle sketches that I learned of from Stefan Baumann on Youtube. He is an oil painter but has some great instructional videos that could be applied to anything, at least I think. Anyway, I did a purple iris before many years ago, but I wanted to do something a bit different and this is going to be a purple and white iris that I found at Botanical Gardens here in Tucson. Be prepared to see more Iris things from me in the days to come because the irises should be in bloom soon and my family is planning a trip to the Botanical Gardens in April. There will probably be butterfly things as well being Butterfly Magic is still running. I am doing a little bit of a different thing with this piece then my usual painting and doing some layering which I do not often do a lot of in my work. I love painting wet on wet more which I did for the background. Hope you enjoy this work in progress and the final product which should be done in the next few weeks, I hope.

Agave Plein Air Sketch

So, I have been trying my hand at Urban sketching as I said a few days ago. I have all my set up right now, but still ironing out the kinks. I found sketching this at a Bus stop here in Tucson, AZ was both fun and exciting but difficult. I need to get used to all the natural and man-made obstacles involved in this process. However, I do love the loose feel of this sketch. And I really wanted to capture the idea that this Agave had some pink in the points which I do not often see. Hope you enjoy this new adventure I am on these days.

Exploring Brick

I have decided to start a watercolor sketchbook. It is often too hard with a little one to find a good chunk of time to complete a painting or larger size, but as I have been following several Urban Sketchers online I have decided that it would be fun to explore this world and get my skills back to producing art. The artist bug has really bit me these days and I have been doing lots of fun spontaneous ink and wash sketches but also got my outdoor kit going to do a watercolor sketch. It has been a while since I have been serious with watercolor as most everything I have produced in the last several years has been 4X6 in watercolor while only producing larger works with acrylic. So, here is to getting back into the world of color and expression. I did this Exploring Brick as a watercolor while my little one played in the backyard. It was great fun and I finished it later inside remembering the light and the windy day. It is a watercolor size 7.5" by 11" it is the size I have decided to make my travel sketch watercolor pad. This pad was also my first attempt at binding myself which was great fun. I hope you all enjoy.

Evening Glow

"Evening Glow" (watercolor 4X6) was also painted in order to try to get the feel of art back into the bones. Sitting at a blank canvas or sheet of paper is often daunting, especially when I have really cut the creative side of my life short for so long. Whenever I seem to be in that bind, I often get loosened up by a sunset or sunrise scene. I love them so much and I have gotten to see so many beautiful sunsets in my life here in southern Arizona. We have some of the best evening skies around. If you have followed me for a while or even scan my old posts, there are several sky scenes. I do love them, so this is one to add to the rest. I am partial to this one right now because it marks the end of a hard year and the beginnings and hopes of a more creative and art filled life.

A Longing for Sedona

Well, in this time period of little art and no posts, my family has gotten a chance to spend a part of a day in Sedona. It was a very brief time after going to a wedding in Prescott. This painting and exercise from a Cathy Johnson watercolor book that I did recently. I had actually started working on this nearly a year ago, and did not finish it until just a few weeks ago. Cathy Johnson used watercolor pencils in her display and it was book on using watercolor pencils. However, I used Ink Intense pencils which I was unhappy at how they handled. Granted I had not handled them for quite some time, but I was still unhappy with the effect. But the real purpose behind longing to paint this was my earning to be back out in nature and my longing to be back in Sedona more regularly. Although, I am not sure where this painting was based from; it reminds me a great deal of an area that I took a jeep into during a trip in 2005 when I stayed for an extended time in Sedona. This is just a small postcard size rendering. It makes me want to go ahead and make a painting of the true area that I went to that year and see how that one would turn out.

Poinsettia Card

I did this Poinsettia Card (4X6) watercolor one morning early after having to drop my car off at the mechanic shop. I produced it off of a picture while I was sitting outside on a bench waiting for an appointment. I have not had a lot of time to paint with a soon to be six month old little girl under foot, but each day I try as best I can. I actually made two of these paintings, and I totally did not like the first one so I destroyed it. This was the second attempt and I liked it much better. I gave it as a Christmas/thank you card.

Misty Mountains Watercolor and Life with Baby

This is my new Misty Mountains Watercolor. I actually completed it and another 4X6 watercolor postcard last month, but I have not had a chance to post either one. This was a very fun little watercolor that I actually completed while my baby was sleeping on my shoulder. She was on the left shoulder and I worked with the painting with my right hand. I was pretty amazed with myself that this came out so well while hold a three month old, but I actually have not been successful at duplicating the situation.

It is very hard keeping up with an artistic life with an infant. I tried to do my very best at it, but it does not always work as well I would have hoped. I thought life was going to get a bit easier, but then she cut two teeth early and is teething some more. I will cherish this time with her even if it cuts into art because it is the only time in her life that she will be a baby. Hope everyone enjoys the watercolor.

Cottage on a Hill

This is the last of the 5X7 postcard watercolors that I did last year. Cottage on a Hill is a mix of watercolor and ink intense pencil. This was one of the ones that I put in a little frame instead of making a card out of it.

Sunrise Horse

I got into doing sunrises and sunsets several years ago. They are fun and exciting to make, and many people like these little interesting watercolors. This is a 5X7 watercolor card that I gave away to a friend. I called it Sunrise Horse because it turned out that the paint had the resemblance of a horse head in the clouds.

Calla Lily

I really love Calla Lily flowers, and this is a watercolor postcard (5X7) that I made this year. They are really fun to paint because they are white flowers. I had my first experience painting white flowers in watercolor years ago when I was taking non-credit classes at Pima Community College. My teacher challenged me to work on some from an artist that she had known. It was a great challenge. I painted this one much differently than I did those first few that I did as I have changed my style and it has developed.

Autumn Trees Watercolor

This is a watercolor postcard that I framed for a friend this past year. I never posted it due to a temporary lack of a computer for a while. It is a 5X7 watercolor that was really fun and splashy to make. I love doing these little cards, and they make great gifts as well as sell often.

Fun with Colors Card

This is just a quick little watercolor card that I did this year of a landscape. I was mostly just playing with color at the time, but I do like this little landscape. It is a 5X7 card that I sold a bit ago, but I had snapped this picture of it before I sold it. It is always good sometimes to just relax and have a little fun with color.

New Beginnings for Feburary

February starts the beginning of some more New Beginnings. So far this year, I have quit my job at Child Protective Services, started art classes to pursue Art Therapy, paid off all my debt, and soon I will move to a new place of my own after living in a community house for nearly eight and half years. I wanted to start blogging again this month as well; to share what I have worked on and what I am currently working on through my journey of healing and school to become an Art Therapist. I worked on this piece and many others over the Holidays. It is a lively tree full of mystery and excitement.

Two Sunsets

My friend Andy Stang really likes sunsets and reminded me of late of God's hand in them. One of these, I did a couple weeks ago for Andy. The other I did today just having fun.

Isaiah 54 Collage, April 10, 2012

I worked on this Collage over the weekend and finally finished it yesterday. It has Isiah 54 in the upper right quadrant; this is one of my favorite passages and has been meaning a lot to me recently. I had to do the whole collage over again because the first round did not turn out at all, but I am very happy with this finished product.

Goldfish, Friday, July 9, 2010

This is another watercolor fish from the Painting Chinese Watercolors. This was a splashing Goldfish that I did. It was supposed to be more wet into wet, but I was doing it in a thin sketchbook paper and I did not want the paper to buckle, so I did not do it too wet. Would love to do it bigger on watercolor paper sometime.

Bubble Eye Fish, Thursday, July 8, 2010

This was a fun fish to paint out of the Painting Chinese Watercolors. I like painting fish they are fun. Susan inspired me to look at fish again from her blog from the California fish that she painted. The Painting Chinese Watercolors is my favorite animal painter it is by Lian Quan Zhen. I just use watercolor paper. This one was actually done in a sketch book.

Playing with primaries, Monday, March 22, 2010

I was just goofing around with primaries because I was really liking Winsor Blue. So here is to playing

Pansy take two, Thursday, March 18, 2010

I remembered a program you could download called GIMP that was talked about during an art night several years ago at the Village by good friends Benji and Susan. So here is take two of the Pansy which I am much happy about as it looks a lot more like the picture was.

Pansy, Wednesday, March 17, 2010

I made this watercolor the other day and took forever to scan it in. I do not have photoshop anymore, so I have problems altering my scans. So I do not like how they look. But anyway, I am using this painting for a journal for a Baby Shower gift, so had to scan it in.