Tuesday 19 May 2009

I'm Back!


Well, the presentation to 100 artists went well. I now have a two day demo to work on and then a workshop for 3 days coming up in 2 weeks...then I hope to raise my feet in the air and review my life goals and weed the garden.
I did fiddle with the dahlia painting some more. Once I added the birdhouse to cover the pom juice I spilled, I realized the blue sky was too light...it fought with the light dahlias. I will be darkening them anyway now because this shifted the values alot but at least it will not have to be as much as if I had left a light colored sky. In the end this is going to be more of a painting to see if it can license for garden flags than for anything else...but I hope all of you will stick with your work and solve problems...it is always a neat learning experience...I found I loved the blue wash on all those leaves,,,so much blue and I wondered if those background leaves would even work but the veins being blue is working...and it just pushes me to think outside the box and make up things. I did take a photo before this to show the sky partially covered so you could compare but silly me. I did it with that new camera that I cannot seem to get a program to run to bring the photos in...so that one is there but unobtainable now...I will post it if I ever get it out. so here is where I am right now...alot of work now needs to be done on the flowers but that is not bad,,,the shapes are there so when I get time I will get into that and try to finish this up. still alot of work to do...deepen shadows in leaves and birdhouse etc...but I always adjust as I go to make sure I do not go too dark too soon.

Tuesday 12 May 2009

Still Working!


I am still working on the big event this weekend with 100 artists. To talk for 2 hours on values is a real challenge...not because of lack of info but how to make it interesting. It is so important but for 2 hours it can be like beating a dead horse! Ha! Anyway, that is still what I am doing for now.
I did want to repost the painting that was juried into the Transparent Watercolor Society of American national show in Kenosah, Wisconsin. Remember I was trying to do a floral with an abstract quality to it...well it seems that it was successful and liked! Yipee!
I have done some work on the Dahlias but the camera I used to take the pictures doesnt seem to have a program I can upload the picture too?? I am totally confused so will continue to try to figure that one out! Sorry about that!

Saturday 2 May 2009

Delays Delays!

I have not progressed at all on the painting but it stares at me...really stares! Ha! It just has been a succession of things and what I am hoping is all that bad stuff is done and I can move on. Right now my 86 year old brother in law is in ICU. Been there for 12 days I think now. Keep hoping there will be improvement there or I might be headed to Oklahoma.
I have been working on a slide show that I will be presenting to over 100 artists on the 12th and also on several demos as I have so much coming up it scares me. But once this passes I think I have clear sailing...I really want to grow flowers for painting...unusual ones if I can. But so far the weather has been bad which is good as it keeps me inside working on these other projects.
I teach a 3 day workshop in Grand Forks, North Dakota the first week of June and then my daughter comes for a week...then my calendar opens up. I hope I have not forgotten how to paint!
What is hard is I already have a nearly complete full sheet drawing done and more new ideas than I can ever do...so once I start I will have plenty to keep me busy! Hope all of you are busy painting for me and enjoying spring. Spring has not really come here too much...still have 40 degree days and frost on the roofs in the morning but once it arrives, it usually just becomes summer!