Lucky Demonstrations

Once again I was very lucky with my demonstrations for my students this week and completed a few paintings that worked very well.

#1010 - Yellow-rumped Warbler #2 - 5 x 7 watercolour

Ed wanted to work on a piece that had more detail and to have a more realistic painting. This piece involved using finer brushes and a nib pen for the smallest lines. Because of the detail Ed didn't get his painting finished during the class but he was doing a super job. I hope he brings his painting next time and I hope he will let me take a photo.

#1011 - A Quiet Place - 5 x 7 watercolour

"A Quiet Place" was a very lucky painting. A few weeks ago my student, Heather, and I worked on a scene from the Creston Valley. Heather had problems with a few elements of her piece so I grabbed a discarded piece of paper to show her how to make some corrections. The trees on the hill in the middle ground were painted first to demonstrate how to blend them together and set them down on the hill. Then, I quickly painted some evergreens to one side so I could show her how to lift the dark colour to make bushes in front of the trees. While she was making these adjustments on her painting, I just sort of doodled in the rest of the scene. I really liked the finished painting which is why I say it was lucky.

#1006 - Erickson Orchards - 7 x 10 watercolour

This is my painting of the valley scene that Heather and I were working on and you can see the locations that involved the demonstrations. Again, I hope to be able to get photos of her painting at her next lesson.

Thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment.

Celebrating the Season

Last week the Art Club I belong to had their annual Christmas Pot-luck Lunch. Every year the organizers try to come up with a different way for members to share the joy of the season. Some of the ideas we have had are; a trash to treasure gifting and small painting secret exchanges. This year a handmade card exchange was proposed.

As it wasn't stipulated that we do a card that fit the season, I decided to do something a little different; a watercolour Warbler with quilled wisteria. I did this same subject in all watercolour when I was practicing the Oriental painting method a few years ago during a 30 paintings in 30 days challenge.

There were some really wonderful cards made, most of them with a Christmas theme of course and we all had a fun time seeing what everyone got.

This is the first time in years that we have bothered to take photos at our Christmas get-together and it is nice to see all the happy faces. A number of our members go south for the winter and others work full time and are rarely able to attend so the few you see here do not reflect our numbers.

We have about 35 members but only around 15 to 20 regularly attend our weekly painting days. An art club like ours is a great way to learn new techniques, get inspiration and enjoy fellowship with like minded people; I enjoy being a part of it!.

Here is a card I just painted to wish you all...

                                           A Very Merry Christmas
                                                       and a
                                       Happy and Healthy New Year

DAY 30 - The End!

Today is the last (official) day of the "30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge". I have a few days to catch up to make it to my 30 but for the organizers this is it! From what I gather, these things happen more than once a year but I think it will be a while before I sign up again.

I wanted to end with something to remind us that Spring is coming and we will soon see buds, blooms and birds.

Wisteria & Warbler

I found with this painting that it was almost impressionistic. The flowers and leaves are not detailed, but the plant is still identifiable. I practised the flowers quite a bit before I started the painting but I used different paper so it was hard to duplicate what I practised.

I hope you have enjoyed following along with my progress and that of the other artists. Take a last look at all the work at - http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.ca/ and then go over and cast your vote - remember you will still need to vote tomorrow for today's paintings - http://paintamasterpiece.blogspot.ca/

Don't forget to check in with this blog in the next few days to see my final 3 paintings of my 30 days. Better yet, add your email address and follow my blog all the time.