Skin Tone

I think I shall practice a few skin tones, here I am not focusing so much on correctness of features but the tone of the skin..this is the very first dark skinned person I have ever done. the lady is from africa.

Nerene

some more flower play..It was hard to see what was going on between the flowers so I tried to make it really dark..by doing this I feel I wrecked it..lesson learned. but I don't think it is a total loss..On to something else:)

Playing with flowers

I rec'd my book on how to do the flowers. I practiced on the Purple ones today..I was happy to see the lilacs in there, now I Have an idea what to do so they will get better each time. They were lots of fun to do.

Sand Art

wow..that is so beautiful, it was emailed to me and I wanted to share it with you guys..Many thanks to Phil for sending me this wonderful video

A lil company

Jinx and Hoax are adjusting well..They are happy to be 'home'. They love to play in the tub and are very curious about the flush (which we must now keep the lid down on so one doesn't fall in).

Every time I soak my paper I have one of them in the tub watching with great interest. The shower curtain will need replacing once they gain a few months as they are constantly swinging from it and fighting with each other between the two fabrics..We used to have a lovely leather couch..Now not so much...OMG.. they are soo tiny that in order to get up they must use their claws..so I tried to play it smart and cover the couches, but the brats find it great fun to get under the cover and get at the couch anyway..So I imagine by the time they are grown we will be sitting on a pile of splinters and bits of leather, wondering what happened to our lovely couch.

However on a higher note the mice and rodent population should be downsized somewhat.

They certainly are the marmalade masters of mayhem as my husband so aptly nicknamed them.Oh and my Azaleas are in full bloom, such a pretty bush.

My Flutterby

Try as I might I couldn't capture the true delicacy of this just yet..this was my 3rd attempt at this lovely flutterby..I had no clue how to go about the lilacs, but that will change soon, as I ordered a book on how to do flowers, hopefully the lilac will be in there.

I thought it still came out pleasing for my beginning attempts.

A Butterfly visitor

Hmm...is he trying to tell me something? Perhaps it is the piece I should work on today..
he sure is pretty. He just loves this bouquet as much as I do.

My Outdoor Getaway

Today it is gorgeous, with a slight breeze, so I carted my art supplies outdoors, where I just love to be on a beautiful day..having done all my chores outdoors I can now enjoy my outdoor studio that my husband and I set up a couple of weekends ago in my angst for a day just as this. I have no idea what I shall try today; as of this moment it is a mystery even to myself, I shall just listen to the breeze blowing thru my trees, and listen to all the song birds, so happy to be back here in Maine after a long winter away. The lilacs are swaying far too much for a nice picture but my husband has picked me a lovely bouquet for my table and they are just perfect..Mother Nature only produces this scent a few short weeks out of the year and I am one of her biggest fans..I have my face nestled in and breathing deep of the lilacs sweet smell..know how brief it is and I wont experience it again for another whole year. The scent from the bouquet wafts in the breeze across my table and engulfs my sense of smell..it is wonderful.

Better Betta

This morning I worked on another Betta, I tried another yesterday, and my paper was not dry enough when i put the frisket on it and guess what? tragedy struck..the paper came up with the frisket and ruined about 3 hours of hard work..So lesson learned..I like painting the fish..many colors to play with..

Betta Fish

What better subject for watercolor than fish. This is the first fish I have done, I think I shall go look for one or two more to try..I had no idea that Bettas came in SO MANY colors, I have mostly seen and owned the red and blue ones.

Fawn

I thought I would give the wildlife a try. Every picture I learn something new, so eventually all those things will end up in one piece of work. I got my stretcher board in today and have used it on this one. I really like it very much. It is easy to use and I will never have another warped painting. That I am Very happy with. Painting on the stretched paper is very nice.

Leaving the nest

As I was looking out of the window yesterday at my rock wall the cutest lil chipmunk..popped out..then another and before you know it, there were 4 of the tiniest lil babys, running around and then literally snoozing in the sun on the rocks..I managed to capture a couple of shots thru the window, mom and her two babies, and a couple of the babies running around and loving life. There is much animal activity around here and as the garden grows so do the critters, once in a while I am lucky enough to be able to get a photo of them.

colored bottles

The ref photo came from WC..I just had to give it a go. You would not believe what I learned just from doing this pic today.

transparency in watercolor

color compliments

glass

reflection

water amounts

and a whole bunch of other stuff..the best teacher is experience and I just keep practicing..I had to update that dingy ol pic with the scanned one..that camera takes an awful pic of artwork on gloomy days. I also learned how to combine my scans to make one image, Now if I can learn to do it without seams I would really be thrilled, but this makes me happy for now. You can see the true colors of the bottles here, it was a fun one to do..it was way too large for the scanner.

Using what I have learned

I have tried to use what I have learned to complete these watercolors from the weekly challenge at Drawspace.The watercolors have been great fun to learn..

I played outdoors today, got the garden planted, mostly anyway. The blackflies are just horrible and kept me scratching and swatting all day. I managed to capture just the head of the lil squirrel that has caused so much damage up in the soffet.You can see it just peeking out of the end there. I also like the lil wild flowers that grow in the yard, yes even dandelions, though hubby despises those, my bleeding heart is thriving, I just planted it last summer and it has grown huge this year, the japanese cherry bush is also blooming and I always love their flowers and colors.

The Swine Flu

A Little fun with the Pandemic of Swine Flu. Do you realize that more people die from the plain ol flu every year than have died so far world wide from this pandemic.

Clematis

My first completely original artwork..I grew these clematis, took the photo and just finished this lovely watercolor..I am very pleased with my progress..and my thanks to you all for the encouragement

Hibiscus

I used a photo with permission from Zaynab Issa at drawspace to try this watercolor hibiscus..I think it came out quite pretty..

Wild rose in watercolor

While all are asleep and the house is my own, I have practiced more on my flowers. Who knew flowers could be so much fun, I shall try another type later on..I am quite please with my progress and the amount of info I have absorbed this past couple of weeks. I think my improvements speak for themselves. This watercolor has been the hardest thing for me to learn yet in my little world of art.Challenging and rewarding..I think so far I like this one best. Oh and now you can see how really pretty these hydrus watercolors are, I have gone and got me a scanner hooked up . No more gray dull and dreary posts of my work..Yay!!

Plate Magnolia

Today I did another floral lesson that didn't come out too bad. It is suppose to be a plate magnolia, I did not follow the lesson to a 't' but rather used his photo and took my line drawing outside today, and tried to complete the flower using the techs I learned and my own colors just to see if I am actually learning anything and by golly it appears I am. I have learned alot.

Enjoy

Florals

Well, here it is..the first watercolor I completed that I am fairly happy with all things considered.

I am enjoying learning the art of watercolors, and have been practicing away. This project was a first time floral for me, and the crystal too was a first..That background was created with saran wrap and that was also my first..

I will retry later after even more practice

Do you need a lesson in art?

If so, I have found a great place for learning. I have used the services of this website twice and will use it quite often from now on. The two that I rented are by Jan Kunz, getting started right in watercolor and Birgit O'connor, creating atmospheric landscapes". I highly recommend both for those interested in learning the art of watercolor.
For 10 dollars a week you can have a teacher all to yourself, you can't go wrong there. At this website you can do weekly rentals, or purchase the actual dvd. There are also many mediums here, not just watercolor. Drawing, Oils, Acrylics and other stuff as well.
I hope you find this place to be as exciting and useful as I have. Enjoy.

http://www.artworkshops.tv/