Lin's River

Done on Lama Li with DS paints. Photo ref was from Lin Frye. I painted the background first, wet-in-wet, using a band of Fr UM at the top and then switching to Indigo and Sedona (mixing on the paper) and then scraped in the trees when the sheen had left the paper. After it was completely dry, I painted some of the trees and did the ones in the foreground with more detail. It was a fun exercise -- and my first heavy wooded forest! Thanks, Lin, for the tip on scraping in those trees!!

Easter Lily 2008

I'm a day late - but Happy Easter everyone!! This painting gave me FITS!! It's on canson block using DS paints. I completely covered the background with graphite pencil first, then laid in two layers of indigo paint--wanted it as close to black as I could get. That part was successful. I painted the leaves next and that went okay. I erased my pencil lines on the flowers before I started painting them and THAT'S where I ran into trouble. I'm pleased with the lower two flowers and with the bud behind the middle flower, but the flower on top!! Ohmygoodness!! I had such a time especially with the lower petal and I've overworked it and absolutely can't scrub out and start over ANYMORE - so this is it.

Parrots in Love!
Done on Lama Li using DS Paints. This is a March project for the yahoo group, Watercolor Workshop. It was fun to work with tube paints after working with w/c pencils so much lately. I AM thinking about redoing this using pencils, though, for an upcoming lesson on birds/animals. It was a good ref photo and I enjoyed painting it.

Tulips

Done on Lama Li paper with Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils. Still working on projects for my class. The reference photo for this was found in WetCanvas. Not much to say about this one. . . I see plenty of places with room for improvement, particularly in the leaves. I like the foreground yellow tulip and the purple tulip on the right, but don't like the other two blossoms. I almost forgot! This was drawn with colored pencil -- so no erasing, and that's a stretch for me!!

Pink Flower

The photo reference was posted on Watercolor Painting Techniques yahoo group for a March project. Since I'm currently in Kate Johnson's watercolor pencil class, I figured this would fit the lesson on flowers! I used Derwent Inktense watercolor pencil on Lama Li paper. The background is a technique I read about in a Karlyn Holman book where you wet the watercolor paper and then sand the pencil tips with 100 grit sand paper. It's really fun and easy! Just cut a piece of sand paper into a square, it needs to be small enough to fit in your cupped hand. Choose the color/colors of pencils you want to use, wet the paper in small segments at a time. Rub the tip of the dry pencil across the sandpaper, that is cupped in your palm -- kind of a funnel shape cup-- and direct the shavings onto the wet portion of the paper. Let it dry and then hold it over a trash bag/can and blow the residue off. Continue on, doing a small portion at a time, be very careful not to wet the part that's already been done or it will run. Surprisinging enough, very little pencil is wasted. I sanded and then tapped the paper and then sanded and tapped again -- repeating in this way kept the pigment from building up on the sandpaper."

Battery Point Lighthouse in Crescent City, CA

Crescent City is in northern CA, at the Oregon border. It rains a whole lot there and so Battery Point is covered with green moss! This is done on Lama Li paper and I used DS paints for the sky and the water and Derwent Graphitint watercolor pencils for the rest. Still working with w/c pencils for my class with Kate Johnson. I'm not real thrilled with this, but have some nice ref photos of Battery Point so will probably do another one or two.

Pt Arena Lighthouse - Second Attempt
This is a redo where I applied the suggestions made by Kate Johnson in the watercolor pencil class. I raised the waterline to be a little bit above the landline and lowered the lighthouse so it wasn't topping the edge of the paper. This one is not totally done in watercolor pencil. It is DS Watercolor paint and Derwent Graphitint pencils done on Lama Li paper. The only area where I used the pencils is the cliff, the rest of it (including the rocks in the water) were done with tube paint. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the pencils worked on the Lama Li! I really, really like the graphitint pencils for certain subjects and I like my Lama Li!! What a wonderful union - LOL.

Pt Arena Lighthouse

Lesson 3 of Kate Johnson's watercolor pencil class. Done on Arches CP block using Derwent Inktense Pencils and Derwent Graphitint Pencils. This scene combines our exercises for lesson three which is water, skies and rocks. I've combined a lesson with a challenge because in WetCanvas, there is a March challenge to do lighthouses. When I read about that challenge, I immediately thought of Pt Arena Lighthouse which I've been to and even climbed to the top! It was interesting, exhausting (ha) and an awesome view!! This lighthouse is located in northern CA and sits on the San Andreas where that fault enters the Pacific Ocean. The great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 destroyed the original lighthouse and it was rebuilt in 1907. It is 6 stories tall. You can see some awesome aerial shots of it and read more about this interesting lighthouse here http://www.mcn.org/1/palight/

Watercolor Pencil Class with Kate Johnson
Lesson 1a

This is done on Strathmore Art Paper (pink) with Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils. The water and the sky were done with five light layers. The process was color, followed with a wet brush that had been wicked on a sponge before each stroke, dry thoroughly and then repeat. The sky and the reflections on the water are primarily the pink paper, with a little bit of Chili Red pencil. Tangerine pencil is at the skyline. The pink in the foreground is the only area where the pink is pure paper. The distant trees and mountains were a single, heavy layer of a combination of Ink Black, Deep Indigo and Bark which I used a wetter brush on and drug the pigment into puddles and also into the skyline to get a jagged edge. The foreground is a light coloring of Bark on the ground and a combination of Deep Indigo and Ink Black on the blades of grasses. Light water was applied to the foreground. I'm pretty satisfied with this, especially since it's the first watercolor pencil I've done in months and months! The reference photo is from the reference library on WetCanvas and can be viewed here http://www.wetcanvas.com/RefLib/showphoto.php?photo=34786&si=southwest

Revised!

Doug at WetCanvas gave me some good instruction on fixing the spot of sun. Then I realized that the tree trunk needed to be more shaded, after all the sun is on the other side. One of those "slap myself on the forehead" revelations! I'm much happier with this. . . not perfect, but improved.

Jazz Alley Triad 4 - Winter Scene 2

Another one using a photo ref from the WetCanvas January challenge for winter scenes. This is done on Arches CP block, 7 x 10. I was pretty happy with most of this, I'm not sure about the sun spot shining through the branch of the tree, though. It was a very nice aspect of the photo. . . Maybe I didn't do it correctly. I masked the circle, painted the sky and the tree branch. I let it dry completely and then removed the mask, I used a wet brush to soften the edges. While that area was still damp, I dropped in just a haze of the brown/rust and then let it dry. I followed up with some strokes using the same pigment mix. It just looks "funny" to me, like it doesn't fit.

I AM enjoying using this triad and am getting somewhat accustomed to having no green - ha ha.

Jazz Alley Triad - Winter

This is from a photo on WetCanvas. It was posted along with two other winter scenes that were a January challenge. I decided to try this one using the triad. Since there's no green or yellow, I made the evergreen trees rust - :) I have to admit, I'm getting obsessed with this triad. I find it VERY challenging!! We are supposed to get snow where I live tonight and tomorrow, so maybe I'll be able to get out and take my own "winter" photos.

It is painted on Arches CP block and is 7 x 10.

Jazz Alley Triad - Bee on Lavender

I'm still searching for subjects to paint using JUST the pigments in this triad. I've found a few flowers and insects to add to my sunrise/sunset photos. I am finding that I REALLY need my yellows - LOL! After I finished this, I realized that for this lavender sprig a light grey would've been more effective to portray the fuzzy coating of the lavender pods. I just might attempt this one again, it was fun to do the bee. I think this may be the first insect I've ever painted.

Daniel Smith's Jazz Alley Triad - Desert Sunset

WetCanvas has an upcoming challenge for February to paint something using ONLY the DS triad called Jazz Alley. I've never participated in a WC challenge and thought maybe I'd try this time. The triad is challenging in itself! The pigments are Indigo, Quinacridone Sienna and Deep Scarlet. So, there's NO green and there's NO yellow to make a green! I can mix up some nice lavender and a nice range of terra cottas, but oh my! this challenge is going to be challenging in just finding subjects. Sunrises/sunsets will fit the bill, so that's what I've attempted here. I poured the sky (my first pouring experience) and then when I painted in the mountains, the sky was still damp and so I got runs and my mountains looked like volcanoes erupting - LOL! After the paper was completely dry, I tried to give some solid shape to those eruptions!! Rather than completely covering the runs, I decided to leave the tops just because they were unexpected. I hardly ever have the opportunity to use my rigger brush and really love it - it was fun to do the bare tree with such a fine tool!

Watersoluble Graphite Sketch with Watercolor Pencil

I couldnt' resist. . . I had to see what would happen when I added COLOR! I used Derwent Inktense Pencils and found that the graphite did reactivate just a little bit when I added water to the watercolor pencil lines. After it was completely dry, I touched up some of the graphite lines and then dabbed a bit of water on them. This was a fun experiment and now I'm REALLY eager to see what the graphite does with watercolor tube paint.

Watersoluble Graphite Pencils

I bought a set of these pencils (Cretacolor) back in July and had not even given them a test run yet!! Yesterday my friend, Irene, and I went to DBs in Pasadena and I talked her into buying some and so figured I probably should try out my own set - LOL! Last night I drew this simple little still life using the 4B pencil. After the initial drawing, I wet it with a brush and water and let it dry completely. Then I used the 8B pencil to add some darks and brushed those areas with water. Once water is added, the graphite is "set." When water is added, the lines just instantly melt -- it's really neat! Now that I've given this new/old toy a test run, I'm eager to try something a bit more complex. Kate's watercolor pencil class starts in a couple of weeks, so I'm gearing up for that and now am wondering what would happen to do a mixed media with these pencils and watercolor pencils or tube watercolor -- the graphite could certainly be effective as an underwash for shadows!!

Here is where I bought my set http://www.fineartstore.com/Catalog/tabid/365/List/1/CategoryID/13320/Level/a/Default.aspx

I just got a new "toy!" It is Derwent Tinted Charcoals and they are watersoluble. Currently, they are only available in the UK and I ordered them here www.artifolk.co.uk

This is just a quick little scene I did to give this new toy a test run. The background mountains were drawn and colored in using a variety of the charcoal tints, then water was added with a brush to blend. The sky is DS watercolor and the lake is a combination of the tinted charcoals and DS watercolor, as is the foreground. It is done in my Raffine sketchbook.

The charcoals go on just like regular charcoals, and they blended very easily when I added the water. As you can see, they don't completely dissolve, which I rather like as it adds a neat texture. I like how the combination of the charcoals and paint worked to give a sense of depth in the lake. In the foreground, I drew the grasses with the charcoal and then washed over them with watercolor. I look forward to working with these pencils again!

SF Golden Gate

My final gate in the series. This one, which should be simple, caused me so much frustration! This is the third attempt and it is still no where NEAR what I had in my head - LOL! It's a bit different than my other gates in it's subject, but I thought since I'm a Californian, I best do THE gate of all gates that we seem to be rather known for. It is done in my Lama Li book and I used all DS paints. I bought the DS set called Color Map Mixing Set - which is 10 tubes that give INCREDIBLE mixes. You can see the color chart on my flickr here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brendas_watercolors/

I think I'm going to enjoy working with these pigments.

This morning I got an idea for my next series and I'm really excited about it! It will be "clouds." I've done some research online for some ref photos and there is TONS of really terrific shots of all kinds of clouds. . . I am eager to start.

A side note. . . my friend, Lin Frye, of http://viewfromtheoak.blogspot.com/ recommended a book and dvd to me a few weeks ago, "Watercolor, The Spirit of Spontaneity," by Karlyn Holman and it is fantastic. Karlyn has such innovative ideas and techniques, so I may be implementing some of her techniques in the next series. If you are interested in this book, you can find it here www.karlynholman.com

2008 ART GOALS

Stuffed French Toast Casserole This is a photo I took of one of the Christmas Breakfast dishes I make. It is a family favorite that I absolutely MUST prepare each year, at least according to my DH, DS and SIL! We women like it too, but the men practically fight over getting their fair share. It is appropriate to post today because it represents one of my art goals for 2008. Speaking of goals, I've finally fine-tuned my list. This year, I am wiser and remembered to work on ALL my goal lists at the same time so I wouldn't get carried away in just one area of my life. I prefer goals over resolutions, resolutions always seemed to set me up for failure. Or rather, I set MYSELF up for failure. The pastor of my church has a saying (and I don't remember who the original author of this is) and it is "he who aims at nothing hits it every time." That really sums up goal setting for me!
Here's my 2008 Art Goal List:

1 - Set up a Food Blog that will be illustrated with sketches/paintings/photos. Publish the blog for Christmas gift giving. If I don't have it complete for Christmas 2008, then I'll shoot for Christmas 2009. For years now I've had family and friends urging me to write a cookbook. Ronell's http://myfrenchkitchen.wordpress.com/ is my inspiration to do this cookbook in a blog format. Thanks, Ronell!!

2 - Continue participating in the "painting a week" group that was started off of Kate Johnson's alumni group.

3 - Continue working through art books, dvds, and online classes.

4 - Get out and do more plein aire.

That's it!!

Happy New Year to each and every one of you! Here's wishing us all a very blessed 2008!!!

Sunset Gate

Done on Lama li using Holbein paints. The paints are in a seminar palette put together by Holbein for Tom Lynch -- pretty neat little set that I'd not used since the workshop I took in September. This is my very first attempt at painting the Sun. I found the reference photo at Yotophoto. I usually don't paint this dark, so that's a couple of new things for me. I don't know if it's the Holbein paints or if it was because of the pigment rich mixes, but it sure took a long time for each section to dry!