Painting Lace

Lately I have been getting emails asking me how I paint lace. I am sure it appears to be difficult but it really is not. You are basically painting the holes in the lace and that is what makes the pattern. Therefore, it is very important to see the pattern the holes make. By following this, you get some very believable looking lace with little effort.
To do this seems daunting but I find that if I blow that area up in a photo or on photoshop, I can see this easier. I also isolate that area so that is all I see. Once you find a starting place it becomes easier. Just hold your finger in that place and move it only as you complete each hole...then move your finger to the next hole and draw that. By never moving the finger off the photo or computer screen, I do not lose my place. Otherwise, there are just too many holes and it all becomes a blur. This little trick has helped me alot and I use it any time there is something complicated that I am trying to paint.
Another thing I do is use jeweler's glasses for magnification. That has been a life saver and I think as we age, anything that helps us see is fair game! HA! I love detail and I want to know what is really there, even if I choose not to paint it. I think getting all the information helps me paint a better painting.
Hope this will help and encourage you to try some lace!

Frustrated Artist

I am frustrated. Not that I am unhappy or anything bad has occurred...I just want to paint and it seems impossible to do! How often has that happened for you? You might say..."Well, just do it!" and that is all well and good but perhaps I need to explain why!
Living in northern Minnesota is often joked about as 9 months of winter and 3 months of tough sledding. It is not that bad but when spring arrives...no one is indoors unless their job demands it. Everyone is outside. Even my cats can't resist sitting on the decks and just looking and smellingand rolling in the dirt. That is what I am doing as well. The hummingbirds arrived yesterday and I saw a first Oriole today trying to eat out of the hummingbird feeder. Everything comes alive at once here as the countdown has already begun! Each duck must get her eggs laid and each bird the same. I have to run to every greenhouse for miles around to gather in the goodies I will plant and hopefully they will be as beautiful as I imagine so I can take pictures for paintings this winter while locked away in the house. So in away, I may not be painting but all this work is in preparation for paintings I will do in November and December and January! My fingernails are gone and my skin is already tan even though it has not been consistently warm...we are out regardless as we can almost hear Mother Nature's clock ticking away the minutes until things will die back and winter once again decends. So...that is why we only come inside to go to the bathroom or to eat. The season may be short but it is anticipated for over many months of gazing at flower magazines and catalogs. I think that is why we love it so. It is a rare and sweet gift that we get and we do not waste a minute of it! I hope you will take advantage of your days in the sun and enjoy each one. We are only given so many on this earth and we need to use them wisely! I can dust and clean all winter. I can paint then too! But I only have NOW to plant. I only have now to enjoy and relish the sun and warmth and dirt.
My kids will be home this week. My daughter lives in Oregon and son in South Dakota. I will try to post the picture of my daughter's wedding when my son was holding her...he looked over at her husband and said "Remember, I held her first" and we all cried!

Growing Roses

Growing roses in northern Minnesota can be a challenge but for me it is only for the flowers to paint. Then each year, I plant new ones so I have new painting material again. It can get down to 40 below zero here in the winter so roses need alot of protection to make it. Some people actually dig trenches to place the plants into and cover them up. That is too much work for me so each year I begin anew. I have found some Canadian hardy roses that come again each year but they are not the same as the lovely tea roses that I love to paint. This painting I entitled, Aglow, as the sunlight lit it up so that it appeared to be glowing in the garden!

Romanian Well

I have not posted a picture yet and will try to do so to go along with this post. I am learning ever so slowly!
I just completed a painting of a well in Romania. The money that is received from the prints will be going over to them to help them with projects. This is the first I have done such a commission but if it works, I hope to do others to help out worthy causes. To view this painting for now, please visit my website at www.janefreeman.com, it is 1/2 way down the page, as it will not load here for me. I will try again after I speak with someone as to why it is not loading. Thank you for your patience!

For The Love Of Watercolor

I have been a watercolorist since 1989 when I first tried using them. It just felt right and I have not turned back. I graduated with a BFA in fine art in 1971 from the University of North Dakota and taught art for awhile. I worked then in oils and acrylics.
I now teach art on a national level doing workshops. I also compete in national exhibitions and have received my signature status with the Transparent Watercolor Society of America , Missouri Watercolor Society and Red River Watercolor Society.
I hope to be adding to this and developing an interesting blog as time permits. Hang in there with me!