Final?

I still have to check this totally for edges but I believe it is done or nearly done. I am going to post it as it is and also a cropped version as sometimes when I view it online it is so much easier to see what needs to be done.
The struggle [well one of them] has been the fact that in the foregroud the snowbank is chunky...it is after the snowplow has gone through and then behind is smooth. The chunks were catching all this light and were transparent up on the top edges but when I did it that way it appeared wrong or imagined so now I have blended that out a bit. Sometimes reality is not what makes the best painting! ha! That holds true for a picture as well. I wonderful photo doesn't always make a wonderful painting.
Anyway, this is how it is at this point and the title is Idlewild Morning...but in reality this is late afternoon so I might have to change that...but the first sounds better. We will see what I do with that too! So here you  go...two views...cropped and as is. If this thing will begin working it would help! ha!

It's in the Bag

Not sure this is the title but I am calling it that for now. This is where I am today as I stop. I am trying to make up this wood without a reference and am wondering how far to take it...I am thinking of an unusual background so hopefully I can begin that tomorrow!!!

Slowly Advancing on Pears!

Have not gotten alot of work done as I have my son and his girlfriend here...but I am drawing on number 5 which is more complicated and did get a little painting done on these two. Party Pear has a plate under it that gives off a strange grey/green /gold appearance and I liked it because it was so odd...so am trying to keep some of that look...It will get a final Q Gold glaze but for now will be this. I still have more drawing to do on the ribbons in order to begin work on the left side. Pears on a Pier needed to have the ground work done so I could judge some values and so I have begun the wood of the dock...it is sunbleached so will not be too dark but cannot put in shadows until that is more or less complete...So far so good. I thought...where do I begin with all this wood! Then just realized it is like lace...find an area and begin and it will fall into place and that is sort of what is happening. Thank goodness! Ha! I hope that I can get a little more painting in today...will see.

Third Step on Peonies

I have been working on the peonies some more and hope to post soon with the next step as well. In this step you can see I am beginning to block in some background. I am going lighter in areas allowing for any negative painting I might choose to do in the next step. Sometimes just getting in some darks helps one evaluate the values in the work you have already done. I never want dark near an area I might want to prime with water as it would bleed so I am pretty careful about that.
Some of you may be wondering about my colors. I am using Daniel Smith Naphthamide Maroon for most of the flowers and adding just a bit of Quinacridone Rose in places. The background brown has been made by mixing the Maroon with Sap Green. I often make my browns by using the pink or red I am using with Sap Green and get a nice brown that is unifing with all my colors.
Now on to the next phase!

Sorry About The Delays!

I have not been able to paint and am getting worried as next summer I have alot of workshops to give!!! Check out my website as maybe one will be near you!
I have been working on my fall and Holiday collection of clothes and am almost done. Thought I would post one of the sweaters so you could see that line. They have been selling well in the store in Oregon where they really appreciate recycled and reconstructed clothing. It is a niche I am filling and it has been alot of fun.
Today I go to speak at the college to the senior class of Fine Art students and to give them a reality check. For as successful as I have been in many ways, I still do not make a great income and I want them to see that I have to work in other ways to still support my art. That is the reality today for most of us and finding that thing that we can still be creative in and enjoy is the trick! I am lucky I found such a thing and yet it is upsetting that I cannot be just painting. We must do what is necessary these days to stay afloat however! Hopefully my next post will actually be a painting!!!
My book will be the selection of the month at North Light and you will see it featured in Watercolor Magic in this coming issue...so take a peek!

Purple Waterlily Demo

This will not be a complete demo telling you colors I use etc but rather one of solving a problem. This painting first of all has been on hold because of Christmas, company and then a friend moving. Now the days are mine again I need to get back to work. The problem is that I would like the water to express more blue of the sky rather than the grays that my photo is showing. It actually was very gray water that day but I want this to be more colorful. I run the risk of course of making it look unrealistic so I will proceed carefully. I have decided that I now have a few of my darks in and before I go any further with the flower, I want to see what the values of the water will do. It might alter what I think I will do with the flower...so it is essential to see this large mass filled in so I can more accurately gauge what to do with the flower. I could go to far with the flower and have a very dark painting. I want the flower to stand out so that is why I choose to now switch to the background to help me make some decisions. They might be wrong...but I find this lessens my chances of error. So the stage you are looking at now is before any water goes in. Hopefully having shown you this will spur me on now to work faster and get the water in to show you how this will progress! I just peeked and of course I loaded the picture sideways!!! Leave it to me...but the rest will be the right way I promise! HA!

A Celebration Of Light

My newest painting is hot off the board and is off to the printer as we speak! I am hoping that it also will be a step by step demo in my new book out next October. I had taken this photo several years ago and was afraid to start painting it because I knew if it did not get just right it would not be one I would ever repeat. In the end I had to do the fabric freehand as the deadline was looming over me. It turned out and I am very happy with it.

Creating the look of light is something I try with all of my paintings but in some it is more dramatice because of the cast shadows. This is what very often sets apart a painting and catches the eye.

Working with only transparent watercolors works for me because I never worry about not being able to lift an area. It still will leave a slight stain but it allows me to try somethings that I would never try with an opaque staining color. Plus, transparent paints allow the white of the paper to glow through creating the illusion of light!

Rejoice

This is one of the paintings I completed for my new book out next October. I always see hollyhock flowers and think it looks like a chorus of singers with mouths open wide singing at the top of their lungs so thus the title. I wanted to show complimentary colors and how they work to create an exciting contrast.
How is the weather in your area? We have been so hot and with the county fair on I was very concerned about all the animals in the barns. I guess they made it but it must have been hard on them. Today we are cooler and so I hope it makes its way to you as well. The house is cooling down and the animals all wanted to go out this morning so that was a good sign! Rejoice, Fall is on it's way!

Watercolor Workshops

I have two new watercolor workshops coming up so thought I would list the information here as well as on my website.
I will be in Charlotte, NC May 5-7 and the person in charge is Barbara. You may contact her for any information at bhorack@charlottepipe.com
I will also be teaching July 25-27th in Redwing, Minnesota and the contact person for that is Peggy at p_simonson@hotmail.com
I thought I would show you the latest completed painting that will hopefully be used in my book called Beltrami County Fair. Hope you like it!