No Painting Yet...

Wednesday I was at the Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society meeting, taking minutes and watching Sam Hollingsworth paint a bunch of cakes on plates a la Wayne Thiebaud. (We are lucky to have a guest speaker/artist almost each month who shares their painting style or a new technique with us.) By the time Sam was done, we all wanted cake! haha

I have been working on the minutes since I got home yesterday afternoon (in between sleeping and eating and taking breaks). I want the minutes to be ready to send out tomorrow.

So no more work on the pears. I will try to get back to them tomorrow in between other things and in between returning to read more of A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Kahled Hosseini (he also wrote The Kite Runner, a wonderful book that helped me keep my sanity while in Belize being feasted upon by mosquitoes and sand fleas a few year's ago). This new book has already broken my heart, as did The Kite Runner, but I know it will be restored later on in the book. I highly recommend both of these books. They both leave you feeling the interconnectedness of all of us on this earth. The characters are that well-rounded and believable. So, if you aren't painting, I hope you are deep into a very good book!

Underpainting Pears

I worked a bit more on the Bosc and the Blush pears (don't know what these are called) but due to the harshness and the strength of the underpainting of Burnt Umber + Prussian Blue (YUCK), they weren't going anywhere so...

I decided to choose my own underpainting color to get a better grey. Using Permanent Alizarin Crimson (Holbein) +

Undersea Green (Daniel Smith - it's a mix of Ultramarine Blue PB29 and Quinacridone Deep Gold PO49) +

some Indanthrone Blue (Daniel Smith PB60),

I got a good grey. Then just turned these over and drew again and put down the underpainting with my mix. I wet the area and dropped the color in to keep it softer and lighter and then blended out the edges with a damp brush.

Looks good so far - next I'll add the color when the paper is bone dry.

Congratulations, Myrna!

I'd like to congratulate Myrna Wacknov (see my sidebar for her blog), who not only had her painting selected for the first time in the 2008 AWS show, but ALSO won a top award! She is so deserving, not only for her talent, which is considerable, but for her ability to share and teach others, and for her good heart (I love it when the good guys win - like Myrna - and Mark Mahaffey and Steve Rogers, who also got in the show and won awards).

I have a busy day ahead but may get more done on the pears - stay tuned later in the day to see if I "got my paint on" today. What are you going to do to commemorate this last day of March?

Pale Magnolia Revised + Grisaille Study for Pears

I didn't want to give up on this one - so I darkened the bg and calmed it a bit from that pretty color. I tried to lift some of the cerulean but it wouldn't lift so just blended more and dulled that, too. Also, after Jerry's suggestion to tip it differently, I did, and added another branch coming off the top.

Better? Or still one to throw in the trash?

Also, 2 painting friends (hi, Deb! hi, Ann!) and I are doing pears together as a type of fun project. We are trying out a grisaille style (a grey underpainting) with the pears, trying to get a gray from a mix of burnt sienna + prussian blue (I couldn't get anything but a greenish-grey color from this). This is based on a study done at WetCanvas (which isn't working again today :( a long time ago. This woman got a charcoal grey from the mix of the 2 colors but I guess I need to work harder - or use different colors! haha Here's what I have so far and they don't look good at all...I'm going to keep trying to get the grisaille pale enough underneath the colors and grey enough without any other color before adding colors over the underpainting.

My sweetie, Jerry, won several awards for his photographs at the TriState Photographic Society annual banquet last night!!! He got Overall Photographer of the Year + Photographer of the Year, Nature + Photographer of the Year, Pictorial!!! He rocks! So he brought home several plaques and several ribbons in all colors.

Pale Magnolia - Too Heavy-Handed?

I wanted to do the magnolia again using a pale violet background and making the branch more green. I did that - BUT I think I got too heavy-handed with the pigment on the flower!! And now it looks like it needs a darker background to make it work. Shoot! This is one of those that looked much better in my imagination before it came out on paper.

I've gotten a lot of comments on this one on what I did wrong - and boy, I know it's wrong! haha But darkening the bg seems to be the main theme for fixing it. What do you think? Jerry said to rotate it with the branch at the top of the paper and add another branch coming off that piece behind the petal and then see if I can lift some of that blue color (too much cerulean!).

So this is how to take a lovely photo and make an ugly painting! haha

Postcards of Shows to Come

This is a postcard for the upcoming show by Sandy Maudlin and her Wednesday morning students - the show begins Friday, March 28th - today! - with a reception from 6 - 8 pm. These are advanced students so you would really see some interesting and experimental and just plain good artwork from this bunch. The show continues through April 19th so try to stop by and see the work, if you can. Where? Go to the Middletown Arts Center (in Middletown, OH) at 130 N. Verity Parkway.


Good luck to Sandy, Susan, Shirley, Kathy, Joanie, Lorri, Louise, Mary, Mary Jane, Barb, Carol and Jean!!



And I picked up 1,000 postcards yesterday afternoon for the Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society show. "Colorburst@Evergreen" is the name of our annual spring show and will be up from Sunday, May 3 (artist reception from noon-4 pm) through Sunday, June 15th. If your Mom likes art, it would be a great place to purchase an original watercolor painting for Mother's Day!



And congratulations to Janet Vennemeyer, Joan Ammerman, Deb Ward, Susan Grogan and Tamara Adams for having their paintings chosen to grace the postcards this year! Sharon Cranston of Evergreen Retirement Community (230 West Galbraith Road, Cincinnati), chose the black background for the paintings and I think it looks very elegant.

I don't have anything specific to do today so have plenty of time to spend painting and catching up on everyone's blogs (I'm behind by days on some of them).

Figure Drawing

In Wednesday's Life Drawing class I worked on just one figure - I took my time and measured and got into the roundness and, as Carin says, "the swing," of the limbs. It must have worked because she looked at my start and walked on the first time, then came around the second time and made 4 small changes: she rounded the belly a bit more, shortened the forearm he leans on and lightened the lighter side of his face that I had gotten a bit too dark. But she said I was doing a good job!!! I was very pleased, of course. I am really learning from her and I am beginning to see well when she comes around and restates lines that I've missed, etc.

Mark's Magnolia + Another Shaker Village Painting Started

I finished the magnolia painting yesterday in class, putting in the dark darks behind the flower and softening some petals. What do you think? I like it, but...

I think I'm going to do another with the same colors in the flower and a green branch with a pale violet background. I don't know why I want to do it that way, I just do!

I also started another in the Shaker Village kitchen series - this is number 6 and the requirements were
1) Value and 2) Radial Design and 3) Indanthrone Blue.
This is the first step and I'm not sure where I'm going from here. In class it was suggested that I put golden delicious apples in the white area like wallpaper - that might work.

























And, just because I had the time and why not...I put a bit more color on the little landscape (Violet Path) that is on a piece of tyvek that was coated with matte medium. Nothing much, just a little plaything.

Bully Bird!!!

Does anyone know how to get rid of a bully bird? We have a mockingbird that is keeping ALL other birds away from the suet and seed feeders on our deck. I have seen him (or her) slam into a mourning dove, coming away with a mouth full of feathers. He (or she) goes after anything that comes near, even sitting in the tree closest to the feeders and watching. This bully bird has even chased off our red-bellied woodpeckers who always visit - and they raise their young nearby.


Any advice would be helpful.

Happy Easter

Two little bunny cakes from my sister. Happy Easter!

Saturday Figure Drawing Frenzy

Due to 1 cancellation (the blizzard of '08) and 1 cancellation (the model didn't show), we had a 4 hour session today to make up. I thought I would be the only one there at 9 am on a Saturday morning but I was wrong (and I was 15 minutes late!!! haha).

There were 7 of us drawing Dave. He was a trooper - hardly moved at all, and didn't go to sleep, either :)

We had enough time to do a good sketch (or a bad one), move around and get another position and do another, and move once again for another viewpoint.

The first one was done with charcoal pencils, mostly a #4B medium soft.

The second one was done with graphite pencils, mostly a #3B.

The third was done with pastels, from yellow to orange to brown with some added blue and black.

And then I just worked on trying to get the arm and hand with graphite.

Everyone who lasted the 4 hours (6 of us) said we enjoyed having the longer session.

This will be the last open figure session for me for a while - I will miss a few because of traveling in April and May.

Friday

For Christian people , it's Good Friday. For Jewish people, it's Purim. Sunday is Easter Sunday and Monday is Easter Monday (for those in Canada). Happy Holiday...Peace.

Here is the start of a little landscape I started on tyvek.

And a goofy "clown" I made on the uncoated tyvek using black ink swirled over a watercolor background and then pressed together so I got 2 identical sides. I'm not sure what to do with this tyvek or how to use it but I'll keep playing. It soaks through the paper and has so much texture but I want to try it without coating it (if you enlarge the clown you will see all the texture in the tyvek).

I've had a migraine all day today because I slept in this morning until 9:30!! Lazy - and now I'm paying for it :( Did you know that, if you are prone to migraines, you will get a migraine sometimes from nothing but a change in schedule (like getting up much earlier than normal or sleeping in much later than normal)? Did you know that, if you get a migraine and you haven't had much (or any) caffeine before getting it that having a strong cup of coffee and a chocolate will ease it?

Not a Rubber Duckie

Although it rained and rained and rained for 2 days here - and others have had horrid flooding - it's not a rubber duckie. Just a little fuzzy duckling on tyvek. Simple and cute, I think :) Maybe a future Easter or spring card...

From Winslow Homer to Edward Hopper

I didn't go to my life drawing class today. Was not feeling that well at 9 am so skipped it. Then about 10:30 went to do some necessary shopping. Oldest daughter, Jenny, is having a birthday in April and has asked for a new breadmaker since she's worn her old one out. And I wanted a few new tops for spring - I need to stop wearing tee shirts with writing on them all the time! So running in between the raindrops (and there certainly have been plenty of them since yesterday morning with no end in sight today) to and from the car with various errands.

Then after lunch, Jerry and I went to the Taft Museum of Art to see "From Winslow Homer to Edward Hopper: American Watercolor Masterpieces from the Brooklyn Museum." Well worth attending and it's free admission and parking on Wednesday :) I was writing down my favorites with my pen and docent came by and said, "Let me offer you a pencil," giving me a tiny golf pencil that was barely sharpened, adding, "You can't use a pen in the museum." Now all of the works were behind glass so I couldn't have written on any of them. I could have written on the information/title cards beside the paintings - but I could have done that with the pencil, too. I'd never heard of that before! My absolute favorite (if you get a chance to go, you must stand in front of it closely and then move back and see if from a distance and enjoy it for a full 5 minutes) was "Catskill Stream" by Gordon Stevenson. It was a riot of color and it was completely stunning in the skill he had to convey this scene. Perfect! I also liked "Deer and Cactus" by Kai Gotzsche, which was a wonderful composition and the design element in it was amusing and surprising. Great colors in the cactus to show the greens merging, too. Of course, there were works by Homer, Sargent (none of my favorites of his), Hassan, Marin and Hopper. And in another room, in the permanent collection, are some small but lovely JMW Turners you should see.

Since I've been home, I've been reading, Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland, a fictionalized account of Renoir's painting and life in and around Paris in 1880. It's a thick book and I'm wondering if it will hold my attention, but so far, so good...(this is right after the Franco-Prussian War and a dealer of art supplies refuses to sell Renoir Prussian Blue because of it's name).

So no painting or drawing for me today - but still immersed in artwork.

Classwork and Then Some!

I finished the 5th in the series of these Shaker Village kitchen things - whew!!! Do I have 1 more left in me???This one, just to remind you, was: 1) Line and 2) Frame in Frame and 3) Undersea Green

And since that didn't take too long (just some more shaping and working on the shadows), I did some more work on the magnolia.

I still need to do a rich, dark, mixed color background but I didn't feel like getting into that in class so I worked on my little levitating lamb - who no longer levitates.

I think I need to make his eyes a bit darker and call this one done. And, yep, I did all this from 10-2 today (when you're on a roll, go with it!). I also did one more that needs a bit of tweaking before it's done (on tyvek) and will show that one when it's finished.

Some Green for Ye

Whether ye are or whether ye aren't, I'm wishin' you the luck of the Irish today!

Spring Lamb Sketch + Spring Lamb on Tyvek

I had to make myself sit and draw this little lamb. How hard could it be?? Not at all...once I made myself start. So now to the tyvek to draw him on there and start painting.

I feel stuck and down in the dumps. Someone else on their blog called it the EOWS = end of winter slump. Maybe we'll get energized next week or next...whenever the breeze blows a warm breeze and you can open the windows and get some fresh air - and it stops raining.

Anyway, I used the tyvek that a friend sent me (I couldn't get the crease out of it where it was folded and I'd wet it and left it under a gatorboard and heavy books for days so once it's creased, its creased - maybe that could be incorporated into a painting someday). I started on that just playing with color and realized the color really settled into the lines (almost like an inked batik) and I couldn't lift it even though it wasn't staining color. So I will have to think about how to use that paper.

On the tyvek I got from Sandy (which I has coated with matte medium), I drew the lamb and then put a dark shape behind him. I just kept going, trying to shape his wool with colors but not too dark. How many colors can you put into a white lamb? I stopped counting as I was mixing some darks and greys in warms and cools.

Slide Show for Spring

I'm in a slump. Tired. Jerry and I (mostly Jerry but I've helped out as secretary and mental health advisor :) have been working this week on the NACKES Science Fair that took place this morning. So up and dressed in our best with boxes of folders for the judges and other info, we went over to BEP on the campus of NKU. Then I walked and walked and walked through about 300 entries set up in Regents Hall (in heels, no less!) trying to pick just 2 students to give awards for most artistic. Usually there are 1/2 that many students and it's as easy choice. This time, not so easy. But I did it. Now home and out of my dress ups and high heels and into something comfortable but have to go back to pick up Jerry this afternoon - soon. So resting and realizing I don't feel like painting or drawing or anything.

So thought you might like to see some paintings I did that may be somewhat spring-like. It's foggy and misty and damp outside today with a cold chill in the air and about a dozen of the judges who said they would show up, didn't :( Maybe these paintings will get me in the mood, too. Or I'll spend another day on the sofa reading. Well, I keep buying these books at Borders so I have to read them sometime, right?

Like Ces and her Dishes (see sidebar for her blog), I am TARD. Maybe I can have her paint me behind the 2 of herself at the table, obviously tired...(go over and check it out).

One good thing - the drawing session through Manifest Gallery was cancelled today - not sure why since I couldn't go anyway. I hope it wasn't due to someone getting in a wreck due to the thick fog. So...we get 4 hours next Saturday to make up for 2 week's cancelled (a rarity but what can you do with this kind of weather). I hope we have a good model!

Good Things in the Mail

Yesterday I got 2 good things in the mail while I was in Life Drawing class.

1. My 5 sheets of Twinrocker paper from Cheap Joe's. This was purchased with a gift certificate from the girls, Jenny and Moe - thank you!!!

2. A package of tyvek paper from my friend, Marilyn F. Thanks, Marilyn, for sharing your supply with me!

So - I have 2 new things to work on. What should I paint today? I'm thinking of redoing a little lamb I did year's ago in a workshop on yupo and trying the tyvek for this one. I think I can do a better job of modeling him now. This little guy is from a photo by Rod at WetCanvas.

For the Twinrocker, it'll have to be something special because that stuff is expensive (if I fall in love with it, I'll have to stop going to Starbuck's twice a week :(

And I was going to do some serious Spring cleaning today - darn! haha

Nude Model with a Stick

Thought that would get your attention - but it's not what you think. Jeff Dunham, the comedian and ventriloquist has a character/puppet called Jose Jalepeno - he is "a jalepeno on a stick" and I don't know why it's funny. So when our model brought in this long walking stick, I thought, he is a nude model with a stick.

I made it to Life Drawing, as you can see, and stood at the easel for 2.5 hours without a problem. Why am I telling you this? Because I didn't make it to watercolor class yesterday. I made it as far as the driveway and then, splat! - my full weight on my left knee and coffee went flying and I just looked around like, well, now what? How was I to know that there was black ice all over the driveway and walkway?

So I picked myself up and limped back into the house and cleaned off the coffee and put ice on my knee. Stayed that way most of the day. No knight-in-shining-armor came to save me or bring me bonbons while I was sitting on the sofa feeling sorry for myself. So I just sat around and read and watched recorded movies all day. Not a horrid day but no artwork done at all so I was determined to go to class today. I even had Jerry park my car on the street to avoid the same thing tomorrow morning.

I can't take full credit for this drawing as Carin said I was doing a good job the first time around but by the second time around she had to restate some lines and round them more. Someday I'll learn this - and be able to see the shapes and how they all connect. But I can't do it yet.