DAY 10 - If at First You Don't Succeed...

Try, try again! That was one of my mother's favourite sayings and it certainly applies with this painting.

Heavy Snow

I find it extremely difficult to do washes on rice paper! Load up the brush with lots of pale bluey-gray, touch the paper and, suck, it is all absorbed before you can even move the brush. It doesn't move, won't blend and doesn't look at all like the reference photo. Grrr!

Using lots of wet paint also tends to make the paper warp so I thought I would give it a light touch with the iron. Everything that had been painted flattened but the whites all wrinkled. Another grrr!

This is definitely a scene that I will have to try again - and again and again probably - but that is all part of learning something new.

Don't forget to have a look at the other paintings submitted for this 30 day challenge -   http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.ca/ and go and vote for your favourites at - http://paintamasterpiece.blogspot.ca/

DAY 9 - Not a Painting!

Our internet was down this morning, then we went over the mountain to visit a friend in Nelson so I am a little late getting this out.

Orange and Green Jar

My painting today is not a regular painting but a recycled glass jar painted with alcohol inks and decorated with painted metal leaves.

I bought myself some alcohol inks before Christmas and have been playing with them a bit. The colors are vibrant and very strong and will take some getting used to. I am not really keen on using them on glass but I like the way they behave on the metal. The metal is just cut up pop cans and I paint on the inside: the leaves are bendable but I am afraid the photo really doesn't do the whole thing justice.

I seem to be setting a number of goals for myself this winter (learn Oriental brush painting, Anime and Alcohol Inks): now all I need is time!

Don't forget to check out the collection of art at http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.ca/ and go to http://paintamasterpiece.blogspot.ca/ to vote for your favourite piece of art from those shared there. Remember, voters and artist could win a prize.

DAY 8 - Harder than it Looks

I believe one of the tenets of Oriental Brush Painting is that the student learns by copying a master's work. So, I looked through my books and found a subject that I thought I could copy with reasonable ease. Ha! The joke was on me.

Bird in the Grasses

 It took me over an hour to figure out which directions my strokes needed to go for this little bird. Then another hour or so just practising until I was happy with my technique.

Bird in the Grasses is an 8 x 11 watercolor on thin rice paper, floating mounted on an 11 x 14 mat.

Be sure to check out the paintings by other artists in the challenge at http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.ca/2015/01/thirty-paintings-in-30-days-day-eight.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+blogspot/PzFQn+%28Slices+of+Life%29 and also check out and vote for your 3 favourites at http://paintamasterpiece.blogspot.ca/

DAY 7 - A Change of Pace

One of the neat things about this challenge is finding new blogs to follow and being able to learn from other artists' posts.

Country Mail Boxes

One of the blogs I checked out yesterday talked about watercolor paper canvases. I could kick myself for not remembering the name of the artist but I am sure I will find her as I am following her of Google+. At any rate, her blog led me to another blog - http://emotiveexpressions.blogspot.ca/ - and I found out more about watercolor paper canvases. So, of course, I had to try it!

My painting for day 7 is 'Country Mail Boxes', a 5 x 7 watercolor on a gallery wrap paper canvas. Once it is varnished it will be available for sale. This was an interesting experiment and I am sure I will try it again but tomorrow it will be back to working on Oriental style art.

I hope everyone will take time to check out the paintings in this challenge at - http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.ca/  and also go to this blog -  http://paintamasterpiece.blogspot.ca/ - where you can vote on your favourite pieces.

Day 6 - Experimenting!

Bamboo in White 5 x 7 acrylic

One of my goals this year is to work on Oriental style brush work. I do not plan to attempt working with inks in the traditional manner but I am going to play with other media.

Bamboo in White is acrylic on watercolor paper. The background was done sometime last year and has been hanging around waiting for inspiration to strike. Today was the day! I used white gesso thinned with water and tried the 3 load approach with thin, medium and thick paint. It took a fair bit of work and some adjustment to the method but I am reasonably happy with the results. Hmm, I wonder if I should call it "Ghost Bamboo".

To see the paintings of many of the other participants of the challenge go to - http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.ca/ and I hope you will also go to this blog http://paintamasterpiece.blogspot.ca/ to vote on 3 of your favorites. You can vote for 3 paintings each day and there will be prizes awarded to voters and to artists.

Day 5 but only my 2nd

I was painting first thing this morning but I had to go shovel snow before I was finished. It was the first major snow this year with about 12 inches and still coming down.

snow in the courtyard

The world is very monotone today so I should have painted color to brighten things up but I had another picture in mind. Here is my painting for day 5.

House Plant

I wanted to try Oriental style brush work with a regular subject. I find it really hard to paint without resting my hand or arm on the table but that is the way it is done! 'House Plant' is watercolor on 4.5 x 4.5 piece of very thin rice paper and is mounted on a 7 x 9 mat.

Check out all the paintings for day 5 at http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.ca/, then go to
http://paintamasterpiece.blogspot.ca/ to vote on the paintings posted there. Voters and artists have a chance to win a prize so vote as much as you can!

Day 4 of a 30 day Challenge

Oriental Tiger LIly

I decided to try a painting challenge this year. 30 paintings in 30 days! I am late getting started but I figure I need an excuse to get me going after the holiday season.

If you would like to see some of the many paintings submitted to this challenge check out - http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.ca/

Here is my painting for Day 4 - Oriental Tiger Lily  is a 5 x 7 watercolor on crinkled Masa Rice paper mounted on a 8 x 10 mat.

Now I have to figure out how to share it to Leslie's blog.