Color . . .

Trial and error.

The 'trial' is the scan. My poor printer is not a high-quality piece and trying to get color and detail just right is probably not in the stars for this machine. I guess that makes this the 'error', as well.

Still.

A little colored pencil piece that I'm pretty proud of. A red 1957 Chevrolet front fender and bumper drawing that measures 2.5"x3.5" as in "ACEO size". The scan comes into play as I'd like to scan and print a limited run of all of my hotrod drawings for summer shows. A departure from jewelry for me. Labors of love, these little "jewels" are.

Love.

Sandhills . . .

Where does this yellow tint come from anyway? Frustrating. 

Anyway, this is another quick painting that took all of an hour so maybe 'quick' isn't the best way to describe it. Measures about 3"x3" and is from a photo I took on our road trip to the Nebraska Sandhills last Spring. Gorgeous warm day with rolling hills and fields just starting to bloom. The clouds were intensely white against the deep blue of the sky. I do like the way the cloud shapes worked in this painting. By flooding the paper and gently guiding the blue pigment to the edges of the wet, the defined edges of the shapes were left as the paper absorbed the water and dried. Some watercolorists - instructors especially - will insist on softening the hard edges and write pages about how to avoid the edge by sucking up paint and water but I like them. I guess it's what makes all of us different and our styles unique.

Day 3 . . .

Day 3 : watercolor study snowy field

Doing these quick little studies is a big confidence builder and seeing them on a computer screen lets me see where I have room to improve.

Unless and until my style of watercolor changes, these will probably lean toward the wash with fat detail. Broad strokes of suggested shapes.

The tiny brush I am using for these 2x4 paintings in my little watercolor Moleskine won't allow for much detail that isn't broad. Yes, I have lots of other brushes, tubes of paint and papers but I'm sticking with this little kit for now with its 12 hard cakes of paint. It challenges me to mix cake paint and water to achieve the color and tone I need.
The end.

Snowy cornfield study . . .

A quick watercolor study out the back window. This snowy field took all of 20 minutes. I can see using this as a reference study for other, bigger paintings. Not much detail but just enough of a suggestion to know there is a slight rise in the field and cedars in the hedgerow. This little guy could easily morph into Spring - if that ever comes.

New Year : New Direction . . .

2015

New Year : New Direction

I've been thumped on the head too many times this year to not pay attention.

My interests change, my favorite gallery closes, I want to paint more but resist over and over again.

Now it is becoming clearer that it's time to step away from the metalwork. 
I love it but I've done it. 
I know I can do it. I can always do more later.

But for now - paint.

My goal is to paint every day if even just a little. I have a tiny travel palette and a Moleskine so I have no excuses not to paint.
I have a stack of 6x6 canvases. A box load of oils.

Quit reading about it and just do.