Finished Stargazer Lily Watercolor

Here is the end results for my painting that I stretched over stretcher bars. I have seen this with so many of my friends and I just never tried it but decided to give it a try and enjoyed it alot! The size is 8" x 8" and watercolor that is spray sealed and then varnished. It now can be floated in a frame or hung as it is but never will need glass to protect it. I will do a few more this way as it will be interesting to see if these will sell better. I have not used a Paypal button on here for a long time but am thinking of trying it again...I will let you know if I work up the courage to do that! ha!!

More of Blue Jay Watercolor

I need to keep going with the Give Thanks demo for you!

I am not sure I have discussed the stem! I decided to make it longer and go behind the gourd. I felt like that edge was my brightest edge and I was beginning to lose it. Not sure if there was wisdom in that decision or not but it was what I did and why at the time. I have darkened more in the leaves and am finishing off the lettering and have placed a pale blue wash in for the background. This is why I suggest you know your background. I am going into this with the strong chance now of wrecking what I have because I have no idea what it will look like. After I put the design into the curtain, I decided that perhaps I had too much going on as it was. Plus I knew I had to finish this up for the deadline so there really was not time to sit and ponder what to do.  I know next I have to begin working on the Blue Jay and get his values in there and then I can make up my mind on the rest. I sure wish all the elements would have been clarified in the beginning as I think this could have been a really interesting painting. It still is nice but predictable in many ways.

Stretched Watercolor Paper

I have never taken the time to experiment but this winter I hope to do more of that. Right now I am working on this little piece. It is 8" x 8" and I stretched wet watercolor paper over stretcher bars and stapled it to the back and I am painting the sides. Hopefully when I am done I can get better pictures to show you that part. When I am done I shall varnish it and it will not require glass. If all goes well I might even finish it tomorrow...but don't hold your breath! Ha!  I see it is coming up a little dark but the sun is going down here and so it is not the best. It also is not square but I will do better the next time!

Next Step in Watercolor of Give Thanks

I am hoping I numbered these right so that this is the next step! While I am doing this posting I am working on a new peony painting but with grey skies it has been impossible to take pictures. This often happens to me in the winter so we might not have a step by step on that one.
In this step you can see I began to solve the background. Remember I do not like to leave this up in the air and make mistakes. If I knew photoshop I could check this out there but I just have to rely on my instinct at this point. I would much rather have taken it in a photo to see if it was working but instead I am taking a terrible chance and hoping it will look ok. These are curtains I have in my studio so I just drew them from life and waited for the time of day that I took this picture to try to make the shadows be right. It is here that I lost my beautiful peanut. I did not realize that the dark area would run behind it and there was some erasing there or something as the edge bled over and it just was gone. It took work to get it back so that it was a nice peanut but not the beautiful one I originally had. I am still very unsure of the background here as to what to do next and the deadline is looming...stay tuned! ha!

Step Four of Watercolor Thanks Giving

Sorry guys...crzay world but I am back! So here is the fourth picture of took of the progression of Give Thanks. Here I began working on the Blue Jay and the peanut and I really nailed the peanut...not sure if in this one or the next step but I was so dang happy with it but then went on to lose it when the background went in. That is the problem when you are unsure what is going to go in the background. It is always best if you can plan that ahead because tossing one together is never the best solution. On that note, I know many of you know that I do not see a dark background as a solution...it is an easy way to get drama but for me I always want to know if there is something else I could do. Yes, there are times I have sacrificed the painting trying out something different but I just see too many artists going with a solid dark background because they know it will work...when I know something else would as well but they are not willing to go there. I should be smart and just do it myself! ha! Now back to this...I have defined more the letters etc and at this point is when I see that I wish I had added some yellows and greens for leaves. All I had were my red maples with leaves on the ground, everything else had been raked up. But now I see that would have been a very nice balance with the letters. The greens would be a great complement with the orange/reds and would have helped to pop that area,,,however at the time I took the picture I thought it might be nice for that foreground to just blend in and just be a directional tool and one that would ground the area...but greens there would have helped alot. So there you are! Step four! I have a few more steps to go! Hope you are enjoying laughing at my thought process! ha!!!

Demo of Give Thanks Continues!

Been busy around here and forgot to load the next step to my painting! This is step three. I took this quickly as the sun was setting that day thus the strange orange glow on the paper and my cast shadow in the corner!
This painting was sort of being planned as I went because I knew I had to be putting the hours in or I would not meet the deadline. This is the point where I started to realize I wish I had made a few different choices. I will try to remember to mention them on the last one so it makes the most sense. I usually say to my students, know exactly what you are painting or last minute decisions could wreck your painting. Well that is the thin ice I was walking on in this one for sure! ha!

Give Thanks Watercolor Step Two

As you can see I moved right into the lettering. My photo had the red leaves from my Maples here and it looked workable from the photo but the further I got into it I wished I had used some of the yellows. There were not as pretty but now when I see the composition I can see I might have problems...but with a deadline I forged ahead . I think if I had had time I would would have paused at this moment to reconsider the leaves. I also did not have time to consider that background but kept hoping it would come to me as I worked. It did not! ha! But I loved how the dot on the i was helping to hold up this gourd and the letters were so interesting so I hoped it would be enough to help carry this off,. The building up of washes on the gourd were working well too so I felt ok at this point but questioning some things.

Beginning Give Thanks Watercolor

I had just finished the peony painting when Pablo asked if I would be part of the Thanksgiving Challenge. I never find time to do these wonderful things because I am always in the middle of a painting but this time I was totally free! I know those of you that follow me on FB know that I love my pet Blue Jays and I had been thinking I would like time to try to paint one of my friends. So with the challenge I decided one Blue Jay would be in it for sure but had no further ideas. So I went to a friends house who loves to decorate for the seasons and there was this Give Thanks sign on her table and I immediately fell in love with it. I took her large paper gourd that you see and marched home hoping they would work. I set them up on my art table with the afternoon sun coming in and it was magic. I loved the reflection of the word better in some of my other photographs but this combination worked best for placing my bird. I was on this deadline so I just began and had no idea what was going into the background. I had even thought of no background. This is where I began and immediately I was very excited about the words and that lovely gourd! So here you go...my first step..blocking in some color!!!

Thanksgiving Challenge!

Guy Magallanes and I were invited by Pablo Villicana to join him in a painting challenge for Thanksgiving! Well I LOVE LOVE LOVE Thanksgiving so was so excited to have been invited to join in and honored as I have always admired the challenges that he and Chris Beck do!  So here they are! I hope you will follow the links to their blogs and read about their painting and look at their other beautiful works of art!

"Acorn Harvest"

Pablo Villicana

watercolor   8 x 10 1/2

"Mi Abuelita"

Guy Magallanes

watercolor  10 x 7

"Give Thanks"

Jane Freeman

watercolor   20 1/2 x 15

I loved doing this challenge as Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday! And all of you who follow me on Facebook know how much I love all my pet Blue Jays! So this Blue Jay is giving thanks as well for the peanuts I give him. When I give them their peanuts they often pause and look up at me and I believe they are so happy to receive these gifts. I hope we all will be grateful this season for the gifts we have been given as well.

I intend to begin the step by step on the painting so that you can see what I thought about and the problems I had and what I would have done differently if I had really had the time to think about it! I just had to jump in and do it! ha! But I loved it!

Thank you ever so much Pablo for inviting me and Guy, I loved doing this with you...this was great fun to do it with two friends whom I admire so much!! 



Thanksgiving Challenge

I am part of a Thanksgiving challenge and mine is complete but I cannot show you it until we all post together on Nov 23rd. Once I have it posted I will post my steps for you and the troubles I encountered. ha! When have a painted anything without a problem to solve!?? ha! I also am working on several drawings so will be able to begin posting those steps too but first the weather must be agreeable. We have very gray skies and winds...snow...cold...not pleasant for stepping outside to take a picture! So I have to wait for some good weather to do this!
Just wanted you to know I am painting but just have to wait on the finished one for a little longer!

Double Delight Watercolor Peony

I am calling this painting done!!! I am not sure I have captured the best colors for this or not as we are quite overcast here today but I think it is pretty close. It will be awhile before I do all those stamens again! ha! Now to begin drawing the next one! I have so many I want to paint and I have to be selective so that I get the best ones, but I need 10 lifetimes to paint everything I want to paint!

I titled this Double Delight but if you have a better title please let me know in the comments and we can see if one strikes me better than this!

Double Delight Peony Watercolor Continues!

I thought I might get done with this today but no such luck. However!!! I am much closer and so that is such a good feeling. I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. I just have gotten crosseyed staring at the stamens and just have to stop for the day before I go nuts! ha!!  I can study it tonight and start to think how I might bring the background to completion. Hopefully this one will be for sale by next week for sure!!

Double Pink Peony Watercolor

Well today I have been working on the peony painting and am slowly working my way through it. I have so much figuring out still with the stamens on the large peony flower but think for the most part I am done with the smaller one. The background has been an experiement and hope that it will make sense when I am done. I will try to continue working on this through the week and finish it up but there are also some jobs outside yet I have to finish before the first snow hits.

I did manage to get lights up on several trees yesterday so that is good! My goal is to finish this by Friday but don't hold your breathe! ha!! As soon as it is done it will be up for sale and trying to figure out how to do that but perhaps I will put a paypal button up and see if it will sell. Just need to experiment for winter and how I can better use this site. I am thinking about putting up a giclee every week as well for sale and see how that goes!

International Guild of Realism

I was honored to hang in the International Guild of Realism show in Santa Fe, New Mexico this month for one of their big shows. I told you before that Papa's Pepper was juried in and is showing at the Sage Creek Gallery there. There is a short video on youtube that highlights a few of the award winners and I thought you might enjoy seeing the show!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxvmm3mgW1w

Word Verification

I am sorry but I have been getting spam and people just writing in to get their links into my pages so I have had to add the word verification to this site to stop some of this. I hope this will not be a problem for those of you who faithfully have followed me! Thank you for understanding.

Back to Painting!

I am back to painting some and even though I feel out of the zone it feels good to be painting at all. I am hoping I will remember the colors I was using and get this one going a little faster so that I can move on to the next one. Some of you might remember that I was drawing 4-5 full sheets for painting this winter so I am hoping to get at them...however a new one has come up that I can hardly wait to paint too so we will see what is next. So here is the peony as it stands tonight. I need to start blocking in the background and spend alot more time on all the stamens to make them stand out. Got a long way to go but it is good to be moving forward!

Fooling Around!

After such a stressful and full summer and fall I began fooling around today after taking some pictures for possible paintings...I became the tree. ha!!! That is a stuffed Puffin I am holding...we call him Laurus! ha!! I started a small painting but with the sudden 80 degree weather for a week I decided I would dig and move plants and get some quack out of areas so that next spring it will be easier...so I am progressing nicely with that as well!

New White Iris

I have been gone so long I feel out of touch! I did manage to nearly complete this white iris while away and yesterday added a few touches. I will get this matted and framed and hung down at Northwoods gallery asap for sale. This is a smaller piece, approx. 8x10 and I believe I will do another small one before going back to the large peony I have been working on as the smaller ones seem to sell fast and Christmas is coming up! ha! This iris grows in my garden and I always love to paint it as I do with most any white flower. I have not officially named it but it might just remain White Iris.

The Art of Watercolour

Earlier I told you of the French watercolor magazine I was published in but unable to read as it was all in French. Well their English version has now been published and is on the newstands. You can see the cover and a few of the articles at this website. http://www.artofwatercolour.com/ It has been a wonderful honor to be published twice in these French magazines!

I have several things that have come up since my two week visit in Oklahoma and they must be attended to but I will get back to my painting soon!

Update on Watercolor of Peony

My computer went down and finally is back...but had to buy a new one with windows 7 and now most everything is not compatible and am having trouble with my pictures and adobe photoshop Elements to work on the photos. This is becoming a real test of patience! I am not sure about the colors here...but it is as close as I can get right now. I might have to stop painting now for the next few weeks. I leave Sunday for Oklahoma and have something scheduled every day so it will be hard to paint before I go. At least I have advanced some and hopefully when I come home I can really hit it hard. I think before I do any more petal work I need to find the interior of this peony with all those petals so that comes next! Thank you for being patient with me!

Watercolor Peony

I have been absent along time it seems. Summers can be busy with company and reunions and finally I have one week to begin something. I decided on another peony as they are so popular and sell well. I have to leave again the 28th for 2 weeks so have to leave my husband in charge of hummingbird feeders and dogs. I wish I could take this painting with me and complete it but I have learned not to travel with my work as something always happens to it...even a small scratch could alter the background from being even so I do not take the chance. Hopefully I will be able to get this center area near done so there is not so much to do when I get home again!!
Also I put into print the yellow rose, Once In A Blue Moon. It turned out so nice so I am well pleased with the giclees.

Hopefully I will get one more update before I go! Thank you for your patience!

Small Paintings

I have decided to do some smaller fast paintings just to get out of the rut I am in and to have a little fun. One is watercolor on a deep cradle claybord textured and is 6"x8". I really enjoyed it and will show it from the side so you can see the depth and then the front.
The second piece of two swans is acrylic on canvas and is only 5"x7" which is really getting small for me but was alot of fun. You know I love to work full sheet watercolors so I usually am 30"x28" alot of the time so these were a challenge and I do not have alot of small brushes for this sort of thing. I did enjoy them both though and think I will continue to try a few new things every once in awhile just for fun.

I think that at some point I might fiddle with them both a little as I do like detail but my intention initially was to do the painting and not go back in. That will be hard for me but I am not detailing like I usually do so that is good for me.

Yellow Rose Watercolor Complete!

I am calling this done but I know I might tinker with it some more before it goes for the official scan. I had a phone call when the last wash was going in on the top part and it closed in on the moon...I might play with that but I surely do not want to mess it up so we will see.

Those who follow me on Facebook know that I write poetry and writings about Lady Lake and Mr Moon and so when I thought of a dark background for this piece I decided that Mr Moon might look nice back there...however it was scarey and I felt he had to be rather central...which is pushing my luck with composition...but I feel it worked ok. If I can lighten the dark carefully and pull it back some on the moon area I will as that is no longer circular but if I think it might mess things up I will just leave it be.  I have not decided what I will start next but I think what ever it is will be very different from my usual just for a change of pace!!!

Once In A Blue Moon-Yellow Rose Watercolor

I have not been spending much time on this lately but today I took the time to darken a few areas and actually if I would spend just a couple more hours I think I could be done. I am done for the most part with everything but the large rose...and that has the center to go in yet and to tune up some edges. The blue on the moon seems to be showing up a little bluer than it is but I have to look at that and see if I might want to actually do that to the painting...we will see! So hopefully soon I will be able to show you the finished piece. Thank you for being patient!

Watercolor of Yellow Rose

I am feeling a little better and decided to try something different with the watercolor of the yellow rose...which is scarey as I was liking the rose very much. I decided to try a moon since I write poetry about Mr Moon so often. I think this is maybe showing up a little more blue than it really is but I left it as I am wondering if another glaze of blue is what I need! The title for this I think is going to be, Once In a Blue Moon...and I hope that I do not ruin it. ha! Some of you know my history of painting while sick. ha!

I am also working on a few outdoor projects and so painting has been taking a back seat. I hope this month to get a few things done and others started as I would like to have some good pieces ready for the spring shows. Now if I can stick to my guns and do it will be another story! ha!
I ended up with a little hard edge on the side of the moon and am unsure about it as of yet. I do not want to mess up what I have but will let it sit and think about how I will soften that area.

NEWS TO SHARE!

Since my trip to Oregon I have been sick with hayfever and pretty run down so to have some good news come my way was so wonderful!
My painting, Papa's Pepper, was juried into the International Guild of Realism show that will be held in Sante Fe, New Mexico at the Sage Creek Gallery. Opening reception will be Sept 30th! This is quite the show and one that I have not been in since I was selected to join. It is a small group they select to hang and so I feel very blessed to be in this show! Maybe I will make it to the opening reception!~

SPLASH 12

I am back from Chicago and had a wonderful time and now resting so I can go out to my daughters in Oregon and help her for a few days. It seems summer is slipping away from me but I am glad I could meet 10 artist friends in Chicago and now be with my daughter. Life is good!
I just received a link that previews SPLASH 12 that is out now from North Light books. I have a 2 page spread of the green grapes painting. This just shows one page but also shows you some of the other wonderful art in the book. I have always loved these books and know you will too. There is so much to learn from looking at the work of other artists and what they have to say.
While in Chicago I saw this book as mine has not arrived yet and it is really a stunningly beautiful book that you will enjoy!
http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/57862226?access_key=key-gr9n6kis9wpwdhqeifd

Yellow Rose Watercolor

I finally got the programs working so here is my first installment on the new painting of a yellow rose. I will be gone now for 2 weeks so will have to paint like crazy when I get back but I am enjoying this painting so it will not be hard to get back into! The trick in stacking colors with yellow is not to make green!! ha!  The background is going to be dark so I hope that is going to make the rose sing!

Sorry About Such A Delay!

I have been absent far too long! I am so sorry but life just keeps getting in the way. I was gardening for a week or more trying to weed it well because I was gone so much last year teaching...well then came in and did manage to do some painting and then my computer got a virus...finally got the computer home and they have somehow removed the photo program so now I have to take it back in tomorrow! ha! BUT!!! Tomorrow afternoon I should be able to post where my new painting is at...I have left my son's dog and my daughter's cat for awhile and when things seem more normal around here will finish them off. I did work some on the dog too but will wait for that final post.
I leave June 3rd for Chicago where I will meet 10 artists and we will run with our cameras for 5 days taking pictures of everything we can see! It will be such fun. Then I will be home 10 days and then off to help my daughter at her store in Oregon for a bit...I do not have anything else scheduled until Aug so I should be able to finish the three paintings up and begin the next during that time...YIPEE! I had such grand intentions but I am allowing myself time to play this year which I have not done in a number of years. In fact, I have begun to save papers to begin a collage at some point! Yes you heard me right! AND I might begin plein aire painting and am looking forward to that thought!!! I hope I can as I think that is the perfect thing for summers up here!
So...hang in there with me...I hope to update you tomorrow of where I am at on my new piece! 

L'Art De L'Aquarelle

I am in the new L'Art De L'Aquarelle art magazine from France. It is No 8 and will also become available in the English version at a later date. So obviously I cannot read it to know what it says but I have 6 pages and am in good company in this edition as Mary Whyte, Dean Mitchell and Cheng Khee Chee among others are in this one! I tried to take some straight pictures but could not get it right so gave up. I hope to find the images online and then I will post that for you to see. I have known about this since Oct but it kept being pushed back until now. I had to take pictures in my studio etc and so hired that done but none were used! ha! I am very happy to be in this lovely high gloss magazine! Watch for it at Borders etc, as you might see it there!

Girl With Cat Update

I have not been painting much as it was nice so have been outside doing the gardens but today it is windy and snow! Yes, you heard me right! It is bitter with ice forming on the docks. I am wrapped in a blanket as I type! I just cannot get warm. I thought I would update this painting in case I work on it some today yet. There is not enough info in my pictures to really help me with some of this and so I am just taking it slow. I hope that it will all work out and get done this week so I can move on! I have several drawings going and hope to start one soon if possible!

For those of you following this, my son was home and so he saw the Rotweiler painting below and a tear fell. He said it looked just like her and so I guess that was a success!

Girl with Cat Watercolor

I had hoped to rescue this painting but I fear that is not possible. Remember this was that new Arches Watercolor board and when it is wet it shows a different value...it grays a little and it is very impossible to lift off from without damaging the paper. So because of that I am not sure I will continue any longer as I do not think I can make it look correct at this point...the skin tones are no longer glowing in the shadow under her hair on the right side. I might just tuck this away and do it again some day on real Arches so that I can lift the hair and not paint around it...this has become too much work and perhaps no good results in the end. So I will let it be for awhile and see but it might be something I never complete. That is a first for me! I have always completed every painting started...but this surface was not what I expected at all. However I think for acrylics etc it would be wonderful. Anyway, I thought I would show you what has happened...and then just sort of move on! ha!
Wishing everyone a very wonderful and blessed Easter!

Rotweiler Watercolor Portrait Done!

I have been working on a portrait of my son's Rotweiler Taylor who passed away last year. I have been surprised how fast this went. Not sure I am totally satisfied as she did not have much shape.ha! She was almost 150 pounds I believe...solid and like a swollen wood tick with skinny legs. ha! It was hard to give her some shape! But I think it will do for now as I want to move on and can pick away at details later. She was a wonderful dog and I called her my grand-daughter as she was so lovely...gently and loved kittens and small animals. But she also could sink herself in the lake and pick a rock up and bring it to the surface! ha!!! So here she is...I think my son will be surprised when he comes home in a week or so.

Peony Painting Now Licensed!

I have been waiting to show you these...it just took a year for the samples to come out and actually receive a set to see! These are being made by Lifesyles of the UK. It is a large tray and small thin tray, and then small and large placemats and coasters with a cork bottom. They really are nice! But I am not sure they are available in the US! ha!! I guess I have to wait and see. They have a website but this pattern is not up yet  it is http://www.life-style.co.uk/  and hopefully I will hear if anyone in the US will handle them.  

Rotweiler Watercolor

My sons dog passed away and I decided to try to paint her. Taylor was getting so heavy that she no longer had a shape left but I could not find a picture of when she was younger. She had a harness and would pull my son around in the mountains of South Lake Tahoe while he was on his skateboard...she was quite the girl. I still have to try find a picture that shows her nose better and have to get the eyes done etc...you can see I have a ways to go yet but this is where I am at right now...hopefully I will get this done this week...even with all the Easter prep and choir practice. We will see! 

Spring Visitor!

Since I have not been painting much of late I thought I would show you one of my visitors. This female brings twins into the yard every year. I thought it made her special but have since learned that they usually have one fawn on the first birth and twins usually every birth after...this is just what I have heard but she seems to hold true to this. She is a very good mom. During hunting season she will bring her kids into my yard. She seems to know where they will be safe. However, they do eat everything in site. Her twins were not from her when I took this picture of her in my garden...she is pretty calm around me...I just can talk to her and tell her that it is enough and she needs to move on and she will slowly walk away. She however is also the culprit that eats all my daylilies! I have not had a single bloom in years! I am missing my white one and so am going to try to protect it this year so I can get some pictures for painting. Anyway, thought you would enjoy seeing her...she is a gentle soul.

Spring Is Finally Here!

I have not been able to paint it seems because slowly spring is arriving and I just want to be outside! Mr Chippie came out of hibernation last week and from there it has been birds galore arriving. Also yesterday the Osprey is on the nest...the mate has not arrived yet but which ever one it is is arranging and adding more twigs...getting ready. They get so heavy and can actally end up holding water so that in a bad storm they fill and get so heavy they come down...this one is becoming pretty big. I always feel good when I see them both there so hoping any day now the mate will arrive.

Watercolor of Girl and Cat

I have begun this watercolor but it is a real struggle. I was not going to post but decided to do it as it will be a learning experience for us all! This is the new Arches watercolor board. I am finding it gets a gray cast when wet and so very hard to determine the value of the paint you apply and also is really not easy to lift. However it is a nice smooth surface so maybe I can learn to work with it...who knows...another media might have to be added to bring it to completion. So here you go...calling this step one. We will see how it goes!!! I want to keep it a very unified piece with color so hoping to just be very careful about adding anymore to this...we will see!

SPLASH - 13 Book ACCEPTANCE!

I am happy to announce that Monday's Wash was accepted into Splash-13 which is about alternative approaches. Of course when I sent it in to be juried I knew what was alternative about it but a year later I cannot remember that good comment I had! ha! I have to sit down and think because I really had a good thought on this at the time.

Monday's Wash

21" x 29"

My good friends Diane Morgan, Thomas Schaller and Laurin McCracken are also in the book along with many awesome artists. I am not sure but this is maybe my 4th or 5 time in a splash book...so it is a real honor to get in again!
For those of you who did not see the segment on Public tv here...I was working on this piece and this is the link for that. http://www.lptv.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=35&Itemid=9&video=451

At Attention

For now the title of this is "At Attention" as that fits so well on entry forms! ha! This watercolor is done. I have had it photographed and want to move on to something new. I am worried it might be dark...but I have added darks so you might see a change in the coloring some. I am hoping to enter this is Birds In Art. That is a tough show to get into but I want to at least try.
I want to point out here as a teaching thought...the leaves remained more like shapes with little interest in them because I feared they would detract from the house and the bird. It was very tempting to go in and add something to them but I have not and I think that was the right choice. Backgrounds are always hard for me because I do not want to settle for a dark background just because that is easy or a solid one...I am always looking for another solution and because I am so stubborn it will always be my challenge I guess! Ha! Thanks for following me on this through two illnesses!!! Next I will work on a cat with a girl...some would say girl with a cat but I think the cat is going to steal the show if I can pull it off!

Auction For Japan

"Winter White Peony"

14 1/2" x 22"

Original Watercolor

Current Bid amount is: $1800.00  CLOSED

I am joining several artists to raise money for the Red Cross in Japan or a disaster group of our choice I have chosen ELCA Disaster Relief for Japan as it is volunteer and 100% will go to the people. As artists we do not always have money to dish out like we would like but we have our art and we are hoping to sell our art and donate 100% to this cause. I wish I could do more but this is what I have. By each of us doing our part we can make a difference.
My painting will be available for bids through March 20th. You can email me with your bid and I will keep that posted by the painting so every one knows where the bids are. Email me at Jane@janefreeman.com I will also ask for a small amount if the painting has to be shipped to far but otherwise I will try to cover all costs myself.
Bidding starts at $50.00.
For some reason my blog is not allowing the upload right now but I will keep trying. The painting is Winter White Peony and it was finished just this Feb.

The Artist's Magazine Blog

I have a group of artists at my blog at Artcolony...http://artcolony.blogspot.com and it has been such a nurturing area for those of us there. So I decided to write an article about it to let others know and perhaps they will build their own blog for that purpose! Here is the article!!! Hope you enjoy it!  http://artistsblog.artistsnetwork.com/ 
A side note...I finally finished teaching a workshop here locally...we will come back together in two weeks to talk about how to finish a painting so at that time I will take photos to share!

At Attention-Sparrow Watercolor

I am really close to done and decided to post it now. I still could refine a few edges but will be sending it off for a scan and that takes awhile so wanted to post it. I am hoping I pulled it off as I was making up this background but it was so much fun I could not stop! I did not want anything with crisp edges but needed it to still  read foliage. I am sure I could have done it better with a real photo but sometimes I like to just play and this is one of those. Hopefully the sparrow still stands out enough. I liked the attention sign, although it was for dogs...I made it into something perhaps about birds or nesting...who knows...but thought the arrow helped tell a story.
I will be teaching a workshop here in Bemidji the 10th -12th so have to begin preparing for that but I do have a drawing nearly complete so hopefully I will be able to post something on that before too long! Any questions...just ask!

Finishing Up Watercolor of Blue Heron

Since I have no energy I was looking around the studio straightening out a little and found the Blue Heron I did for the Oil Spill to be put on tshirts. I did not need to complete the body as I did the lines in box form around the heron to make it more graphic and then sort of set it aside. I decided to finish it so it can be a new image on cards this summer. It did not even take an hour to complete but it feels great to get something done that I can use during tourist season! So it might not be much guys but it is at least a sign I am moving forward, albeit rather slowly! I have another Dr.'s appt on Tuesday for some tests so we will see what I learn then.

Sickness Prevails.

I am sorry this is taking so long but after having a bad cold for 3 weeks I was feeling better and went to help my daughter and now I am very sick. Tomorrow I will see a Dr and try to get something for this. Those of you who have known me over the years know I often paint through sickness but make mistakes or spill things on my painting so this time I walked away from it for fear I would ruin it. I am hoping in a few days with meds I will again be able to paint and bring this one to conclusion...keep me in your thoughts...I will try to get this done soon! Thanks for sticking with me!

Sparrow Watercolor Demo

Well I am finally closing the gap in painting the sparrow on the birdhouse. There still is so much to do but I believe the next phase will finish it so thought I should post. I still am trying to solve a few problems but believe the repetitive arrows bring the eye up to the bird nicely. The repetitive leaf shapes are working well and I am trying not to put any detail in them so that they are not too distracting. I have a headache from working on the bird feathers this afternoon so will stop for now. I still need to work with alot of the upper leaves but want them to be softer and the bird is not done yet but close...I hope I will love it when I am done because when you put so much time into them you want to like them! ha!    This watercolor is 22" x 16 1/2" and is all transparent watercolor. I am sorry it is slightly crooked but I think you still get the idea.

Watercolor Demo of Sparrow

Well, I decided to stick this up as maybe I will figure things out faster and then it will be done before you know it! ha! So before that happens I thought you would like to see what I am trying to decide. I again started at the bottom on the left side to bring in more make believe plants because I know that will work find there. What I am trying to do is close the gap on the area that I find could make or break the piece. Now if I were good at photoshop I would just try this out there but I do not know how to do that...so this is what I do...by looking at this area with everything around it I am coming to the conclusion that to bring in a blue sky might not be the best idea. I am thinking of just continuing into light greens...so that I do not bring in a new element to deal with...as I want the focus to remain on the bird and the house...so I think there has to remain a sameness to the background...no surprises back there to distract. A blue sky could draw the eye up and away so I will go slowly into this so that I can still change my mind but thought you might want to see what I am thinking. Remember, I do print these big and trust that no one is copying my work...it is copyrighted so be aware of that. By being larger you can more easily see what I am actually doing. So here is "Manzanita Resident" at this point.

Sparrow WIP

Slowly ever so slowly I am moving along on my watercolor of the sparrow and birdhouse. I hit a wall when I decided that I wanted to change my background. I had to really think about what I wanted and ended up making up this plant that sort of has a bamboo feel to it but think it gives some nice negative shapes because of the horizontal and vertical shapes. I will have alot of work ahead of me because I am not going for the values yet but rather just developing the shapes. Once I am happy with them I can darken etc...and also cast some areas back into shadow if that will help move the birdhouse forward. At least you can see I am finally moving forward with this and I sure hope it is the right decision. I am sorry it is now showing the white as true but I felt I needed to capture the picture regardless of the weather.

Deer in my Yard!

This small deer has been coming into our yard and has now found the birdseed right outside the window where I sit at the computer in my studio. I had to crawl out but my husband was able to get to his camera and shoot this. It is not perfect as the window frame gets in the way some but this is my little buddy! Thought you would enjoy seeing him! 
http://s601.photobucket.com/albums/tt94/w0aaa/?action=view¤t=MVI_1417.mp4

Manzanita Resident Watercolor

I thought I better post where I am because we have sunshine and we could lose that for the week! It is so bright out and the reflections off the snow are so blinding I did lose some color but this will give you an idea where I am at. At this point I am doing the unthinkable. I thought I would just have the bushes behind like planned but now I keep having visions of white dahlias and not sure I should do that but will have to at least consider it. I hate to change my mind as often I find it might not be as good...because you are altering things. I like a plan and sticking with it. I will complete the sparrow and then have a good look at this. The house is not done either but I like to add the darkest darks once I see how everything else looks. Hopefully by next weekend we will be alot closer to done when I post this watercolor. I took this picture in Manzanita, Oregon and have been calling it Manzanita Resident but not sure that will remain the title. Any thoughts? Thanks for peeking!

Birdhouse Watercolor

Happy New Year to everyone! I am doing my typical winter thing by being sick, having back problems etc...seeems to be my routine every winter! So I have been working more slowly but I am getting excited about this piece!
I believe I will be calling it Manzanita Resident or something like that. It is a weathered birdhouse with a sparrow on top. I have drawn most everything now except the background which I think will be just leaves but have had a few other thoughts so have left it open.
Right now I am just finding shapes for the most part. I have started some of the weathered paint and a couple of feathers but I like to find a little of everything before I continue on...I thought before I go any further you would like to see my project. I hope those of you who have been copying my work will realize that this is my copyright and that you should not be copying other peoples work. It is illegal. I am seeing knock offs of my work and I suspect I post these way too big for people to see how easy it would be to copy...but I am trusting you to be honest. If not then I will have to take other measures...so please be honest and do not copy what is not yours. Sorry but a few can ruin it for the many I guess.

I hope everyone is staying well and that the New Year brings all of us many blessings and much happiness!