090509EDiM

090509EDiM
Originally uploaded by BYarborough

My first lesson in the course, "Watercolor, Fast and Loose," is also doubling as the Every Day in May entry for Saturday. Done on 6 x 9 Lama Li with Van Gogh travel palette. Ooops, I forgot to erase my gridlines. Not a complicated drawing, but I needed the grid lines. This was pretty simple because I was following along step-by-step. I need to try my own reference to see if I can REALLY do this technique!
Over the weekend I fell behind in the EDiM challenges. I think this is going to be a continuing problem for me. I guess Mondays and Tuesdays are going to be my "catch up" days.

090508EDiM

090508EDiM
Originally uploaded by BYarborough

For the Every Day in May challenge I've been trying to do art that had something to do with my day. Absolutely nothing was coming to me until the evening. My grandson noticed the moths on the patio and he was afraid of them. My son caught one and let it sit on his hand to show his son that they were nothing to be afraid of. This was a quick sketch that I redid in my Raffine with water soluble graphite pencils. I used the Nero extra soft and the 4B. Watercolor can be added to works done with these pencils, but is best done after the graphite has been wetted and dried thoroughly.

090506EDiM

090506EDiM
Originally uploaded by BYarborough

I was going to sketch and paint the loaf of Artisan Bread I baked today, but when I saw my Christmas cactus with a BLOOM, I knew it would be my EDiM post. This poor plant is so neglected, and yet it just thrives. Sometimes I don't water it until it's bone dry and the leaves are wilted. It is in the formal living area of my house and I don't go in there often, so "out of sight, out of mind." The only houseplants that do well for me are the ones that seem to like to be left alone. This past Christmas it displayed the most profuse bloom ever. Of course, it's almost time to repot it and that's why it bloomed so well!
It's in my Raffine ArtSketch book and I used the Caran d'Ache Neocolor II Crayons. I'm kind of liking the watersoluble crayons in this sketchbook, don't like them AT ALL in the Moley Sketchbook!

090505EDiM

090505EDiM
Originally uploaded by BYarborough

Today I ran multiple errands, did some laundry and wrapped, boxed and shipped my mom's Mother's Day gift. I LOVE my handbag hanger, it's SO nice to hang my handbag on a pretty hanger instead of sitting it on the floor in a restaurant! Whoever invented these was a genius. A couple of weeks ago when I was in LV visiting my daughter and her family, I found a very nice selection of these hangers at a very reasonable price. . . so I bought a whole bunch of them to have on hand for gifts. I've gotten my mom and both sisters onto the Bath and Body Works Lavender Chamomile nighttime products, in particular the hand lotion and pillow spray -- sent Mom some of those, too! This is done in my Raffine ArtSketch book, drawn with micron pen and colored with Caran d-Ache Neocolor II watersoluble crayons.

090504EDiM

090504EDiM
Originally uploaded by BYarborough

For the Every Day in May challenge I'm sketching/painting something each day that pertains to something I've done that day. Monday is usually my "rest" day, but I decided to do a little travel instead! So . . .
I went to Paris, France . . . via www.googlemaps.com "street view" -- how FUN! I printed out the street with this little restaurant on it. You can see it too, just go to the map site and type in the address. I found out about this fairly new feature on google maps from virtualpaintout.blogspot.com/
Painted with WN travel palette and Niji waterbrush in Raffine ArtSketch book.

090501EDim

090501EDim
Originally uploaded by BYarborough

I've been away from art much too long! I decided to do the Every Day in May challenge. What better way to get back into art than journal work! This is the first sketch/wash I've ever done of a young child. I'm not even good at drawing adults, and children are even more of a challenge. My goal for this month-long challenge to to improve my drawing skills and to loosen up my watercolor washes. This was drawn with a ball point ink pen and the wash is WN travel palette and Niji waterbrush.
I'm really hoping I can keep up with this challenge all month! I had decided that I need to get back to basics with my art and then the Every Day in May challenge came up. What a terrific incentive.

Tulips

Tulips
Originally uploaded by BYarborough

On WetCanvas there was a class showing how to paint tulips with just one stroke. I did the painting for the class but wasn't happy with my color choices. I wanted to try the "one stroke" technique again. This was interesting because the flower on the left didn't turn out very well and I went back over it with a couple of layers of glaze. . . I can really see the difference between it and the other two! I used DS paints, Quin Red and Quin Coral for the petals -- love these colors together.

SF PAINTED LADY - INK AND WATERCOLOR POUR

The photo ref for this is from Different Strokes from Different Folks This is the very first watercolor pour I've ever done and there's PLENTY I'll do differently the next time around! I don't usually do architectural drawings or paintings and so the drawing was a stretch for me. After drawing with pencil I then went over my lines with a Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and then did the pours. After the pours were dry, I touched up places here and there. I would like to try to do this again. Since the drawing was much more detailed than I'm used to, I copied it so I can transfer onto another sheet of watercolor paper.

NEGATIVE PAINTING ON YUPO

This is the second negative painting I did for a WetCanvas class. I just HAD to give it a try on Yupo :) This is a very fun project. . . you just drip some big drops of color onto the paper and then do a yellow wash around the drips, let dry and then put a couple of more layers on using a green mix. You are supposed to do some negative painting of leaves on the last layer but I couldn't get it to work with the Yupo. So I decided to let Yupo DO what Yupo DOES best. . . I spritzed some water onto the dry painting and just let those "Yupo runs" do what they wanted. I have a pad of Translucent Yupo that I don't care for and used a sheet of it for this experiment. Glad I did, because it worked out pretty well and now I have a fun technique to use that pad up!

KATHLEEN'S POND

Kathleen York took a marvelous photo that I really wanted to paint. Thanks, Kathleen!! You can see the photo here www.flickr.com/photos/kayork/3227076837/This was done on Lama Li paper using AJ paints. A limited palette was used. . . yellow ochre, indigo, burnt umber and a teeny smidgeon of poppy (which is a dark cad red)

Teri's Rose

Teri's Rose
Originally uploaded by BYarborough

Reference photo is from www.flickr.com/photos/teridc/3195909898/ Painted on Lama Li paper using DS paints. I used a white Crayola crayon for the resist. This was really a fun project.

January Virtual Sketch Date
Originally uploaded by BYarborough

Done on Lama Li with American Journey watercolor paints and a little bit of white acrylic paint. The reference photo along with the "rules" for the challenge can be seen here
Virtual Sketch Date.
This was much more challenging than it looked! It was difficult to get the white pith covering the clementine and also on the inside of the peel.

Pt Lobos on Yupo

Pt Lobos on Yupo
Originally uploaded by BYarborough

This has been a weeklong project. . . a little bit here, a little bit there, remove a little here, remove a little there ha ha. I'm not satisfied with it, but ready to move on to something else, so here it is. Still struggling with what I want to be "my" style with Yupo. This is 9 x 12 and I used AJ paints. I just rec'd an order of 7 more tubes of AJ, so I should be pretty set with my AJ palette . . . for now. LOL!

I reviewed my Art Goal list for 2008 and find that I'm pretty much repeating it for 2009. I've added some specificity to it with the hopes that I'll achieve more this year!

Here's my art list for 2009:
1 - Plein Air work - at least once per month
2 - Do art daily - can be sketch in a journal or painting
3 - Work and study art books and DVDs
4 - Take workshops and/or classes - either online or "live"
5 - Finish my food blog so I can have the cookbook printed at the end of the year - must do at least one post per week.

One idea I got from Ann in the EDM online group was to mark off the art goals on a calendar. She prints her calendar from this site. I decided to use this printed calendar, which prints onto one page, and will color code my art goals onto each day using the following key:
Yellow = Plein Air work
Red = Journal work
Blue = Painting
Green = Food blog

I can also list the books/DVDs/classes/workshops on the back of the calendar or footnote them on the front.

Christmas Corsage

Christmas Corsage
Originally uploaded by BYarborough

I'm one of the wedding coordinators for our church and we've had three weddings this December. This is my interpretation of a corsage from one of those weddings. Decorations of pine boughs, pine cones and green and mocha colored ribbons were stunning. I brushed some gesso onto a sheet in my Lama Li sketchbook in a zigzag pattern before sketching and painting. The gessoed areas took the paint much differently than the bare paper. A fun technique I learned from KreativeKay at WetCanvas www.kaysmithbrushworks.us/

Nov VSD on Dumpr

Nov VSD on Dumpr
Originally uploaded by BYarborough

There's a fun little "toy" through flickr called dumpr.net
I couldn't resist and just had to see what the VSD image did when it got "dumpred" -- I thought it turned out interesting and I rather like it!

Nov VSD on Yupo

Nov VSD on Yupo
Originally uploaded by BYarborough

The November Virtual Sketch Date reference photo is just beautiful, but I found it quite a challenge for painting on my beloved Yupo. I got the composition all wrong, the horizon line is dab smack in the middle and I didn't even realize it until I was finished-UGH! Using the Kevin Davidson style of laying in the background wash on an easel and letting it run (really, it's like a pour) means than you can't redo the backgroundg once it's down and dry. So while I could've washed away the horizon, I wouldn't have been able to fix the sky. So . . . it's DONE. This is more in keeping with Kevin's style and I'm convinced that this is not the style for me. As much as I love Yupo, I'm finding working on it to be more work than fun and am thinking of taking a little break from it.

Ornament on Tyvek

Ornament on Tyvek
Originally uploaded by BYarborough

I've got a few ref photos that I'm painting for my Christmas cards this year. This is the first one, done on tyvek with DS paints. I painted the background and then rubbed it in with a tissue so the wonderful texture of tyvek could shine through. After I paint all the Christmas scenes, I'll print them out onto cardstock and am thinking of touching them up with iridescent paint.

Pumpkin LineUp On Yupo

Pumpkin LineUp On Yupo
Originally uploaded by BYarborough

9 x 12 Translucent Yupo using AJ paints. I've used the translucent Yupo just once before and didn't care for it. I thought I'd give it another try. . . I still don't care for it, LOL! This is a bit more like Kevin Davidson's style. I still want to work some more pieces using his style before I start incorporating other styles into it to make it my "own." I taped the Yupo sheet to a foamboard and placed it on an easel. I then laid down a wash with yellow and green and let it dry completely. I worked the rest of the painting on top of the underlayer. Kevin wipes off the areas for his subjects, but with the light value of wash, I just painted the entire painting on top of the underlayer and it seemed to work fine.

Autumn Woods on Yupo
Originally uploaded by BYarborough

I REALLY tried to do this Yupo using Kevin Davidson's technique. . . just couldn't "get it!" I attended Kevin's workshop at the Pasadena Art Expo and absolutely LOVE his work on Yupo, and will continue to experiment with his methods. Kevin works on an easel and he doesn't layer like George James or Taylor Ikin do. Kevin lays in the background as a wash - which really runs right down the slick surface of the Yupo. After that dries, he washes off the areas where the subjects/objects are to be painted and paints them in. One area at a time is painted and allowed to dry before the next area is painted. After three attempts, I finally gave in and incorporated a little bit of George James (the sponge roller technique) and am somewhat happy with this. I did keep the "drippy" background and did clear off the area where the lighter yellow and gold trees are, but found that I couldn't get the leaves to look right without a roll from the sponge. The stream on this doesn't read right, but I'm finished with working on it. One of the really cool attributes of Yupo is it can be washed off -- which I did NUMEROUS times and in various areas - LOL!