Things have been busy since I wrote last. I have done some work on my painting 'Poppies by the Fence', I received another postcard from the LYA swap, and I had a lesson with Jeannie.
A few of my blogging friends made suggestions to improve my 'poppies' painting. I wasn't able to implement all of them on this piece but will be doing a second version where I can make more adjustments. Meanwhile, here are photos of the original and the improved painting.
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| original |
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| improved? |
It is amazing how differently the paintings and the photos of them look. When I compare the second photo with its painting I wonder if I need to darken the shadows even more than I have done already. I am going to put this away for a while and let it gel.
Now for the treasure in the mail! Today's LYA postcard was from Jane Martin of Roanoke, Virginia. It is a charming sketch of a gardener's bench and fits in perfectly with my bedding plants.
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| Jane Martin's postcard |
Jane included a super quote from Picasso on the back of the card:
"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."
You can see more of Jane's art at
Mary Jane's Studio
And behind door number three... I finally remembered to take a photo of my student's painting!!!
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| Jeannie's painting |
This was based on one of Jeannie's photos from their trip to Hawaii. The colours are a bit more vibrant in the original. We have done very few landscapes together and nothing with such a dramatic sky so this just thrilled me when I saw it at Art Club where she continued to work on the painting. I hope her husband is pleased with it too as it was his suggestion of a subject for this week's class.
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| #1021 - Storm over the Island - 7 x 10 watercolour |
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And this is my painting of the same scene. I demonstrate each step of the painting, often going over the same area more than once to help my students understand the process better and to demonstrate that watercolour is more flexible than many think.
It has been a good week!
