The Abanconed Rainbow Truck

I recently finished this old vintage truck painting - this is one in which I pushed the limit in using color.  I was happy the way it turned out.

The painting is 11" x 11" and is painted on Cansons 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper.  It is entirely transparent watercolor. The blues are Antwerp Blue and Ultramarine Blue and the reds are Dragon's Blood and Cadmium Red Light.  The oranges are all mixed from Cadmium yellow and the reds already mentioned and the greens from lemon yellow and Antwerp.

Moo Bossies, II

Last Monday night, we painted Holstein cows - which a good friend of mine calls Moo Bossies - a name from childhood!  They did such a good job on their paintings - they are doing so well they won't really need a teacher much longer.  I hope they come anyway as I would sure miss them.

Peggy's Cove

I finished this painting for my class yesterday...It is approximately 12" x  7" and is painted on Canson 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper from all transparent watercolors.

We will probably start painting this on Monday evening during our intermediate watercolor painting class.  I like the way it turned out - especially the colors.  I hope they enjoy it!

2014 Hand-painted Ornaments

Today I finished part of the miniature hand-painted ornaments for this year. I give hand-painted ornaments to family and friends every year. These 10 small acrylic paintings are done on 3"x 3" stretched canvas  panels, to which I have added a small eye-ring at the top for hanging on a tree, if desired.  They also go very nicely on the miniature easels available in art supply stores.

These are fun to paint - each is different and when I start one, I have no idea where it is going to lead me, except that it will finished with snow-covered pine trees.  They look cold - don't they?

I am the Diva Challenge #197: Arukas:

I was almost tempted not to post this because it looks so terrible, but decided at the last moment, why not!  This, of course, is in keeping with the holiday season and was done entirely in .005 Micron pen and graphite pencil.

At least I had an entry this week!!!

I Am The Diva Challenge #196: All Dolled Up!

The challenge this week is to tangle with "a doll shaped string!"  I decided to work with a Victorian doll string - or in this case - drawing, and then fill it in with tangles.

This is 8" x 6" and is done on white drawing paper with Micron pens .01 and .05, and Prismacolor colored pencil.  

She looks a little stiff, but, of course, she is a doll!

I Am The Diva Challenge #195: "Turning Old Into New"

The idea behind this challenge was to change the structure of a pattern - in my case I chose to take Meringue, a free-form pattern and change it into a grid-based pattern.

I decided to use the ideas of Mondrian and use a grid-based design similar to what Mondrian may have used and fit the freeform pattern Meringue into it, using some close-up sections and some farther away.I also decided to use the three primary colors that he often used in his designs.  In retrospect, my design needs more white spaces.

I also veered off of the graphic flat Mondrian-type design to add shading to give the shapes a more 3 dimensional effect.

This challenge is done on a 6" x 6" piece of white drawing paper using Micron pens and Prismacolor colored pencils.

Bobbi's Winter Barn

I completed this painting this weekend - it is the "all paint from one photo" project and is the November project for Watercolor Workshop, an online Yahoo group.

The painting is 9" x 12" and is painted on 140 lb. Canson's 140 lb. cold-pressed watercolor paper.  I love painting snow scenes, especially those with strong sunlight which casts such nice shadows.  Of course, those who know me also are aware that I like to paint old barns (and trucks and cars!.)  Especially barns which have holes in them and are falling apart.

I also plan to use this painting as a lesson for my intermediate watercolor class at Riverside Art Center in Wapakoneta, Ohio.

I am The Diva Challenge #193: Overflowing Abundance: Trio, Huggins and XYP

This week's challenge is to use three tangles, Trio, Huggins and XYP.  I decided to use the Thanksgiving theme because I thought that Huggins would create a great basket weave for a cornucopia.  This, of course, is obviously a Zentangle Inspired Art, not a Zentangle.

I used grey paper (6" x 8" ) and Micron Pigma pens in .005 and.05.  I used white, peach and terra cotta Prismacolor colored pencils for shading.

New Projects for Watercolor Class

I taught 2 new painting techniques this evening...the painting above is done on a wet-in-wet background and the petals are stamped with the side of the paintbrush.  The top picture is when the petals have all been stamped onto the wet-in-wet background over the twig which has been suggested with a pencil line.  The bottom picture is a finished example of this project, with the leaves painted on top with a strong viridian green, and some petal shapes have been lifted in the upper left background.

This painting  was one where we left our comfort zone and branched out into abstraction.  It is done almost entirely with a flat paintbrush and then the details added at the end.  This example is not yet finished.  It is done entirely in complementary colors - purple/yellow and orange/blue.

The Diva's Challenge #192: Seton

After checking out the tangle of the week, Seton, I thought it was very "Art Deco" so I decided to go in that direction. I Googled "Art Deco" images and let them soak into my brain and then began my challenge tangle.  The longer I worked on it the more it became very intricate and more of a Zentangle Inspired Art than a Zentangle.  I had a lot of fun working on this one. I love Art Deco and it goes so well with Zentangle Inspired Art!

I worked on an 8"x 8" piece of mat board and used Micron-Pigma pens in .005, and.03.

The Yellow Dahlia

I finished this watercolor recently and used it as a lesson for my watercolor class at Riverside Art Center.  The painting is 9" x 12" and is painted on 140 lb. Canson cold-pressed watercolor paper.  The source was from a photo I found on the PMP web site.

I Am The Diva Challenge 191: Betweed

The Diva's challenge this week is to create a monotangle using only the tangle Betweed.  I decided to go with one for the season and created a rather sick looking bat for my design.

The original is 6" x 6" and is on a chip of white mat board.  I used .01  Micron-Pigma pen and Prismacolor colored pencils.

I Am the Diva: Challenge 190: Pink for Ardath

The Diva called this Challenge Pink for Ardath because last winter her grandmother Ardath passed away from complications due to Breast Cancer. So she has dedicated this challenge to all people who have valiantly fought this fight against Breast Cancer.  The challenge for the "Challenge" this week is to incorporate "Pink" somewhere in the tangle.

My tangle is 6" x 6" and is done on a piece of white illustration board.  I used the Prismacolor colored pencil  color "pink" and Micron -Pigma ink pens in .005 and .05.  I used the symbol Hearts for 2 reasons - first and most importantly,  everyone should fight this disease with all their hearts, and secondly, my maiden name is Hart and I often use Hearts in my compositions.

Crashing Waves

This painting of crashing waves will be the lesson for next weeks class at Riverside Arts Center.  It is from the EmptyEasel.com web site - from a tutorial on painting moving water. 

This painting is 5 inches by 9 inches and is a mixed media piece which also incorporated white crayon in watercolor crayon resist.  It is painted on 140 lb. Canson cold-pressed watercolor paper.