Burnsville Paint-Out

Watercolor with Colored Pencil, 8x10ish"

A few weeks ago, I participated in a paint-out held by the Toe River Arts Council (TRAC) in Burnsville, NC.  This is  NOT the painting I did for the paint-out!  Actually, I painted two similar starts, and the underpainting for this one was the first start.  The second start, I completed for the Paint Out, and it has been hanging in TRAC gallery for the month, until recently when the show ended.   Another artist was kind enough to pick it up for me when the show ended, since I live further away, so I still don't have the painting back.

It has been very odd for me to not have easy access to that painting for the past month, and I realize now that a big part of my painting process is looking, looking, looking at my painting after it is sort of finished.  In fact, I can be in the middle of doing something completely different (laundry for instance) and suddenly take a notion and be compelled to drop everything and go look at a recent painting.  More than once.

After a couple of weeks of not getting to look at my paint-out painting, I realized that I had the original start at home and could play around with it.  I took liberties with the grasses in front of the trees, obviously embellishing the colors, with the intention to play and see how the colored pencils worked with the paints.  Playing and learning, great fun! 

Thank you for looking and for being with me through these experiments...

'Tis the Season

Acrylic, 8x8"

 Season's Greetings!  Here is this year's offering of my version of rose.  My model quickly drooped in the studio, so had to resort to imagination and a silk rose stand-in to complete the painting. 

Thank you to everyone who has contacted me to check on me, since it has been awhile since I have posted.  I assure you, all is well.  I am still painting, quite regularly, actually.  I have hinted to you in a prior post that I have been working in a different medium, and I thought I would give you a glimpse at this time.  I have been playing with watercolor, sometimes mixed with gouache and sometimes even adding some colored pencil. 

I'm finding that I especially love working with these mediums for plein air (outdoor) painting.  The watercolors seem much more relaxing to use outside than acrylics.   So wonderful!  So far, I am just doing studies/sketches, but the feeling of ease about the process is such a joy.

I think I owe you one, so here is a recent little study (it is teeny):

Plein Air Watercolor, about 3x6"

Looking at it after the fact, I see "things" about it that could be fixed, but this little study makes me so happy.  I sat on a rock in the stream, relaxed as could be, and just sketched and learned.  I'm doubly thrilled that the scan of it is pretty close to the original.

Thank you so much for being here...