Blog Hop

I've been invited by Deborah Younglao to participate in a "Blog Hop".   This is a way for artists to find other artists with blogs that they may otherwise never have seen.  I will introduce you to Deborah, answer four specific questions about my work and then introduce you to three artists whose blogs I follow and whose work I admire.

I found Deborah's blog shortly after I started painting on silk.  Her silk paintings are beautiful and I love how she is always experimenting with new techniques.

Deborah Younglao

"Painting on Lustrous silk with brilliant, liquid dyes has been my passion for nearly 20 years.  A piece of silk being painted becomes a living thing.  While the dyes are wet they are constantly on the move...the creation in front of me is always changing.  The dyes, the silk and I dance together.  Sometimes I lead; more often than not the painting leads.  My painted silk may become a 2-dimensional painting, a 3-dimensional quilt, or a fluid piece of wearable art to grace your shoulders."
www.deborahyounglao.com

Here is Deborah's blog:
www.deborahyounglao.com/blog

Okay, here are the questions I need to answer about my own work:

1)  What am I working on?
I'd like to say that I'm concentrating on some specific series but I tend to flit from one project to the next depending on what catches my interest at the moment.  I have a very short attention span and get so excited about new projects and techniques that it's really hard for me to create a cohesive body of work.  That sometimes works to my detriment in a marketing sense, but since I paint to make myself happy, I really don't worry about it.  At the moment, I seem to be doing more watercolors (I DO consider myself to be a watercolorist) and acrylics but I am really missing working in encaustics and doing palette knife paintings in oil.  And then there's pastel....and silk painting....and I've been really wanting to try some wood block printing....you can see my problem.  Too many fun mediums, too little time.

2)  How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I tend to paint in a very graphic way.  I'm very black and white in my thinking and have been influenced by my background doing architectural drafting and of making stained glass windows for over 20 years.  I'm definitely a tight painter.  I would love to be able to paint loose, gestural paintings but that's just not me.  Once in a while, I'm able to create one (maybe after a glass of wine?) but most of my paintings are very graphic and tightly rendered.

3)  Why do I create what I do?
I feel very blessed to be able to see the detail and minutia of daily life.  I often miss the obvious, but that's another story.  : )  I usually work from photos I've taken but my favorite art projects are ideas that come from my imagination.  Those are few and far between but definitely become my favorite paintings.  When I work from my photos, I use ones that either bring back a good memory or just that I feel are really beautiful.  I finish a painting each week to post to my blog (a self imposed duty) and a lot of times, picking a subject is the hardest part of the painting.

4) How does my creative process work?
Once I decide on what my subject will be, I chose a medium.  Most of the time, that's the easy part.  I will look at a photo and usually know which medium will show off the subject the best.  Because of my short attention span I tend to jump right into a painting without doing any thumbnail sketches first.  I know my paintings would probably be better if I did the sketch first and did value studies but I prefer to work out the problems in large scale as I paint.  Each painting is a new lesson in mistakes and successes and I like that.
www.nancygoldmanart.com

Now, for the artists that I want to feature:

Leslie Redhead is a watercolorist whose work I've always admired.  She paints directly as well as pouring watercolor and is always sharing her ideas and techniques on her blog and in videos.

Leslie Redhead

Leslie was born in Murray, Ut and was raised in Maryland where she was exposed to all the wonderful art that the museums of Washington, DC had to offer. Her degree is in Zoology because she planned on doing scientific illustration.  However, after a move to Boston and the birth of two children, she began painting and teaching more in watercolor.  Eight years ago, her family moved to Canada which is where Leslie's husband is from.  Leslie's paintings are in private and corporate collections worldwide.  She recently graduated with a Master of Education in Art from the University of Victoria and has signatures with Northwest Watercolor Society (NWWS), Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour (CSPWC), and the Federation of Canadian Artists (AFCA).  Leslie continues to teach and conducts workshops in Canada, the U.S., and Spain.  Her work is featured in Splash 10:  Passionate Brushstrokes for the Splash: Best of Watercolor series, Leslie Redhead: The Life of an Artist, and Making It!, Case Studies of Successful Canadian Artists.

Leslie currently resides in Vancouver, BC with her husband, two children, and dog.  She is represented by Madrona Gallery in Victoria, BC.
www.leslieredhead.com

Here is Leslie's blog:
http://leslieredheadart.blogspot.com

And some of her youtube videos:
https://www.youtube.com/user/LeslieRedhead


Nan Johnson paints with acrylics, a medium I always find challenging.  I've followed her blog for years and enjoy seeing the diversity in her techniques and painting style.

Nan Johnson

"My artwork focuses on the lines, patterns and shapes that appear in everyday life.  We live our lives surrounded by patterns and shapes that affect our thoughts and ideas - and we may not even be consciously aware of their influence.  Using acrylic paints and painting in styles that combine both oil painting & watercolor techniques, I am able to express the patterns I see in the world surrounding me.  The subject matter of each body of work determines the style or technique that is used to create the final piece.  Each piece invites the viewer to create a story from what they see visually.  Very often, a piece can be interpreted in more than one way - which often leads to the next body of work."

"I hold true to the statement that art is not a thing, it is a way.  A way of expressing, of communicating, and of recording a moment in time where an emotion is felt.  It's all about capturing the visual expression that is found in life.  I find it is a great way to live!"
www.nanjohnsonfineart.com

Here is Nan's blog:
nancies-art.blogspot.com

Belinda Del Pesco is a printmaker and watercolorist whose artwork is both dreamy and emotional.  Her rich colors and soft edges are so beautiful and I wish I could figure out how to achieve that effect!  I've followed her blog for a long time and always look forward to seeing each new post.

Belinda Del Pesco

Belinda is a painter and printmaker in Southern California.  She works in the classical tradition of figure, landscape and still life art, and documents her process in photos on her blog and video on her youtube channel.  A life-long fascination with the nuances of the face and figure, and seasonal changes in the natural light on everyday forms & interiors have been a constant source of inspiration. These ingredients, combined with her affinity for the artistic traditions of the late 19th and early 20th century, create a spirited appetite to paint and print insightful interpretations of what she sees every day.
www.belindadelpesco.com

Here is Belinda's blog:
http://belindadelpesco.blogspot.com

And here is her youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/bdelpesco

I hope you've enjoyed meeting these artists and learning a little more about me.  Each of these artists will be continuing the 'blog hop' in their own blog posts featuring their favorite artists who blog.

Colorful Cabbage

Colorful Cabbage

Image Size 14" x 21"

Watercolor

This started out as a poured painting.  I poured about 3 layers and then removed the resist and finished it by painting directly because I wanted soft edges within the leaves.  I again used the QoR watercolors because I wanted to see if I needed less paint when mixing my colors for the pours.  I needed A LOT less paint than with the watercolors I've used in the past.  I started with small dabs of fresh paint in my water mixtures and had to add extra water to each color to tone down the intensity.  I was really surprised at how much less paint was necessary.  Usually, I have to keep adding more and more paint to each container to get the level of color I need so I am really happy to have found a paint that is so intense.

By pouring the paint, I got the color blending of the purples in the middle of the cabbage with the greens of the outside leaves.  I think pouring gives the colors in a painting a cohesiveness that you might not otherwise achieve.  It also gives the colors a beautiful glow.

I used a limited palette for the cabbage.  Usually, when I use three primaries there is only one secondary color that is pure and the others are a bit muddy.  I used Alizarin Crimson, Indanthrone blue and Quinacridone yellow.  With these three colors, I was able to mix a beautiful purple and a lot of clear shades of green and although I didn't use orange in this painting, the Alizarin and yellow make a pretty good orange.   I think I've found my favorite triad!

I know that it's supposed to be possible to mix every color from the three primaries but I wanted a warm brown for the background and I didn't feel that I was getting the color I wanted from these three colors so I used a mix of burnt umber and burnt sienna for the background and then brought those colors into the shadows of the cabbage to warm them up a bit.

Koi Reflections

Koi Reflections

Image Size 15" x 22"

Watercolor

Well, I did paint koi on paper this week but it's not abstracted like last week's painting.  My intention was to do another acrylic painting but to use paper instead of canvas.  I decided to use watercolors instead because I just got a new brand of watercolors that I was excited to try.

Golden Artist Colors Inc., known for their acrylic paints, has a new line of watercolor paints called QoR (pronounced 'core').  Their watercolors are made with a different binder called Aquazol instead of gum arabic, which is the commonly used binder in other watercolor paints.  The paints are supposed to have more density of color and dry without dulling like so many watercolors do.  Also, they are supposed to re-wet in the palette more easily.  You can read more about them on Golden's website.

I was very excited when I heard that Golden was making watercolors because I love their acrylic paints. I also like them as a company.  They offer workshops that teach artists all about their acrylics and various mediums and their website has a ton of useful information and videos for artists.  Their virtual color mixer is really fun to use.  You should check it out.

I had high hopes for the watercolors and they haven't let me down.

I enjoyed working with the paints.  The colors I used in this painting were indanthrone blue, quinacridone gold, quinacridone burnt orange, pyrrole orange, cad. yellow (not their brand) and a little bit of cobalt teal.

The colors are definitely intense and I needed less paint to get the strong colors.  You know how I love strong, bright colors!  I'm not sure if they dry less dull than other watercolors or not.  I think I would need to paint identical paintings with the different brands to see if there was a difference.  The paints re-wet very easily in my palette and gave strong color without a lot of brush swishing.

I really like the paints and I am looking forward to using them on a poured painting next.  I think that because the colors are so intense, I'll probably be able to use less paint.  

Koi Klatch

Koi Klatch

Image Size 20" x 30"

Acrylic

I had so much fun painting this painting.  I started by throwing orange and yellow paint on it and then deciding where the koi were.  I wish I had taken a picture of it at that stage.  Then I poured and dribbled and dripped paint in many thin layers to create a sense of depth.

Before I threw the paint on it, I put on a base coat of thinned gesso and moved it around with a small piece of mat board to give it some added texture.  It doesn't show up a lot but in a few places, that texture definitely adds some interest.  This is done on a stretched canvas which isn't what I would usually work on when using very thin acrylics but I do like the texture of the canvas showing through.  I will probably try this again on paper and see how different it looks.

I've always enjoyed painting koi and I think this is my favorite so far.  

Sky High

Sky High

Image Size 6" x 6"

Watercolor

I haven't painted on TerraSkin for awhile so I decided to do this week's painting on that surface.  I was able to paint the background over the entire paper and then lift out the lighter areas and paint the darker areas over the blue.  The ability to lift the color back to the pristine, white paper is definitely a plus with this surface.

Calm Creek

Calm Creek

Image Size 29" x 10"

Watercolor

I've painted this scene before in oil.  This is a watercolor and is much larger.  As I look at this photo, I can see that I need to go back in and add more autumn colors into the leaves of the trees that are leaning into the picture.  I don't take pictures of my paintings until Monday afternoon and that's when I usually see changes that need to be made that I don't see when I look at the actual painting - probably because I'm looking at it too intently and miss the obvious.  Also, lately, I seem to barely be finishing my weekly painting Monday afternoon and I don't have time to make changes before I post it.  Maybe I should be managing my time better.

I did spend the earlier part of the week adding some darks to last week's painting. I am much happier with the it now.  I think it would have had more of a glow if I had used watercolor rather than acrylics though.  Here is the redone version.  If you are getting this post by e-mail and would like to compare it to last week's painting, go to my blog.

I still think I like the one I did a couple of weeks ago in watercolor as a study better than this one.  What do you think?

All Tied Up II

All Tied Up II

Image Size 16" x 36"

Acrylic

Well, I painted the larger version of last week's study but as I see it in this photo, I can see that I need to push the values quite a bit.  So far, I like the study better.  I do like the background texture on this though.  I put a mixture of gesso and water on the paper with a piece of cardboard and made the texture.  I'll probably work on this more this week and see where I can take it.  Do you like the study (the previous post) or this one better?

All Tied Up

All Tied Up

Image Size 19" x 10"

I've finished another unfinished project!  I started this a couple of years ago but worked too slowly and my asparagus didn't survive, so I put the painting aside.  I finished it without a reference.  This is a study for a larger painting so I'm not really concerned about it being really detailed.

I attached rice paper to mat board with a 50/50 mixture of acrylic matte medium and water.  This sealed the paper and makes it a fun painting surface.  The rice paper gives it a nice texture and adds interest.  I think for the larger painting, I will use a gesso mixture and scribe some texture into it.

Farmer's Market Find

Farmer's Market Find

Image Size 6" x 6"

Oil

I found this little cabbage at the farmer's market on Saturday.  It's only about 4" around and if a vegetable can be cute, that is how I would describe this one!  I didn't have time to paint it until today so some of it's fresh glow was gone but it was still a fun subject.  Since it was cloudy today, I couldn't take pictures of it in the sun.  Instead, I set it up in the studio with a light.  My usual light set-up fell and broke this morning so I had to get a new one.  I got an LED light bulb thinking that it would give a realistic daylight color but it seemed much cooler to me.   I think I will change that for the next set-up although the LED lights don't give off as much heat, which was nice.

This is a palette knife painting.  I haven't done a palette knife painting since January and I really missed using that technique so I decided it was time to dig out the oil paints.   Vegetables seem to look really good using the palette knife and I'll probably be doing some more in the near future.

Abstracted Lake Powell

Abstracted Lake Powell

Image Size 29" x 21"

Acrylic

I started painting this with watercolor but it was looking pretty wimpy so I switched to acrylics.  The paper was super wet for the majority of the painting and then I did some final details on dry paper.

Lake Powell is so beautiful with the clear blue skies and rusty colored cliffs and canyons that I just have to paint it every now and then.  I wanted this to have the feeling of Lake Powell without being specific.