Back in the Studio!

I took a few days off after the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge but it wasn't long before I was back in my studio. I figured I wouldn't want to do any more abstracts for a while but there was a canvas just sitting there crying out for some paint - what could I do?

#1097 - Day and Night - acrylic on 20 x 24 gallery wrap canvas

I really thought that after doing 30 abstracts for the challenge that I would have a better handle on how to do them. I have watched numerous videos - they make it look so easy - but I am still struggling. What really gets me is that in all the videos they say they don't use anything but water to thin and blend their paints. At any rate, this is my latest painting - let me know what you think.

I have also been doing a bit of quilling for a change of pace; nothing exciting or complicated, just for fun!

quilled paper lighthouse ornament

quilled paper fish ornament

Thanks for stopping by to visit; it is always great to hear from you!

The Last Party of the Season

Well, summer has hit us with some heat finally and it was so nice to be able to set up in the cool basement for the last Watercolour Painting Party of the season.

I only had five participants this weekend so it made everything go very smoothly. Another advantage was that they all had some experience with watercolours.

Here are the photos of the work created:

Heather and her Derelict Boat

Closeup of Heather's painting

Eileen's Lighthouse

closeup of the Lighthouse

Jane with her Summer Veranda

closeup of Jane's painting

Mike and Rhonda with their paintings

Rhonda's Flower Garden

Mike's Rickety Old Barn

Everyone was very happy with their finished paintings and I think some of them will be back in the fall for another Painting Party.

This, That and the Other

Instead of sketching in the evenings lately, for a change of pace I have been doing some more quilling and adding the finished pieces to cards.

Quilled Rooster Card

I find most quilling to be relaxing and often do it while watching TV. Sometimes though, I pick a subject that is a bit tougher to do and it needs more control and concentration.

Filigree Hummingbird Card

This little hummingbird and flower seemed to take forever to do as I could only do a bit at a time while I waited for the glue to dry.

I have also been spending time figuring out my display for the up-coming Trade Show at our local rec centre. I mostly want to promote my Watercolour Painting Parties and my 20th "Anniversary as an Artist" Clearance Sale but I hope to make my display inclusive of all my work - thus the figuring.

This year I will be offering some new scenes for the Painting Parties. I am going to add 'A Building in Fog' as well as the 'Vignettes' and the 'Little Guys' parties.

Little Guys selection - paint two 5 x 7 pieces

Vignettes selection - paint one 10 x 14 scene

I don't have most of the scenes for the 'Building in the Fog' series ready yet but here is a sample;

#550 - Abandoned 

These scenes will be 10 x 14 and participants also get a 16 x 20 mat and a clearbag to protect their paintings.

I do have 'other' things happening but I think this blog is long enough, so I will leave the rest for an 'other' day - lol.

I invite readers to 'follow' my blog and leave a comment - let me know how I'm doing!

Teach and Learn

I have often found that each time I teach a class or workshop that I learn something too. Yesterday's Watercolour Painting Party had seven complete beginners so everything was completely new and frightening. Do you remember the first time you sat in front of a blank sheet of paper or canvas? Do you remember how you hesitated to add any colour? I still have trouble sometimes when confronted by a large canvas and acrylics or oils but not with watercolour so I was a bit surprised by the hesitation most of the group exhibited.

Dora, Karen and Judy

Karen's Victorian Garden

Dora's Weathered Sheds

Judy's Soft Sunrise

 I also learned that when teaching raw beginners that seven is really too many. I found that I was not able to give everyone the individual attention that they needed. I often felt that I rushed through explanations so I could move on the the next person. Luckily no one held it against me and they all seemed to have a good time.

Veronica, Edith, Ingrid and Lee

Veronica's Fantasy Garden

Ingrid's Shipwreck

Edith's Barn on the Hill

Lee's Barn in Autumn

In spite of the fact that they were beginners I think they all did a wonderful job with their paintings. Once they got going they didn't seem to be afraid of the colour any more and they also learned that they could do a lot with just water.

This was the last Watercolour Painting Party until September when I will be doing two more with the vignettes for those who weren't able to attend in June. I will also be offering some parties where participants will get to do 2 small paintings that will be matted to 8 x 10's.

I hope I can take what I have learned and make my next Painting Parties even better than the ones I already done!

So Much Fun!

We had so much fun at Saturday's Watercolour Painting Party and all of the paintings were wonderful (I think).

Carrie, Lynne and Vicki

Eleanor, Ed and Cheryl

Although most of this week's participants had some painting experience, the style of the paintings or the medium was new to them so they were challenged. One of my biggest concerns is people who are unhappy because their painting doesn't look like mine. I try to remind them that each of us sees things differently and paints differently AND if you don't normally paint this way you can't expect perfection the first time. Actually, you should never expect perfection because often it is the 'mistakes' that make paintings live.

Here are some close-ups of this week's paintings:

Carrie's Path to the Lighthouse

Vicki's Bright Sky

Lynne's Rocky Shore

Eleanor's Autumn Tones

Ed's Old Barn

Cheryl's Pastel Gardens

I did take a few photos of the party goers at work but when I picked up the camera they all pretty much just stared at me - they weren't going to let anyone know that they had been laughing just minutes before. So, I decided not to share those photos lest people call me a liar when I say we had so much fun!

Success! - Mostly

My first Watercolour Painting Party was today and I think it went rather well. There were a few minor problems; the weather was cold and wet so we set up in the basement, and I forgot to charge the battery in the camera and it died on me before I finished taking photos.

There were seven party goers, all seniors except for a 12 year old boy who really likes art. His mother is a friend and she booked the space for him when I offered it to her.

My husband took some photos from the stairway so the angle was wrong to get a shot of everyone. This is Grietja holding Spence's painting so he could see it from a distance,

It is too bad that the lamp is blocking Donna but here you see Spencer sharing his painting with the rest of the group.

Barb, Jim, Donna and Grietja with their paintings. It is so interesting that people can paint the same scene and end up with very different paintings. Most of the 'students' were new to painting although Barb took a few lessons years ago and Grietja has painted a bit in acrylic.

This is were my camera was dying. I couldn't see what I was doing and managed to cut off heads and pretty much all of Lesley's painting - grrr! Anyway, this is Spencer, Gay and Lesley. It is a good thing that I am an artist because I sure ain’t a photographer - lol!

Everyone seemed to have a great time and I have hopes that they will come back in the fall for another Watercolour Painting Party.

September Challenge Day 4

Today's drawing is almost a complete copy of an illustration from Claudia Nice's book "Drawing in Pen & Ink". I don't usually copy like this but I felt that I needed to practice the various different strokes used in this piece. I also felt that I needed to be reminded  about the subtleties of shading with the different strokes.

There may be a few more 'direct' copies until I get my groove back but I plan to use my own images for most of the month.

Four down - twenty-six to go!