Koi

I know, this doesn't have a very creative name but I get tired of naming paintings and I just wasn't feeling particularly creative today so "Koi" was the best I could do.  The inspiration for this painting was a long, skinny piece of plexiglass that I have that I thought I could use for framing so I cut a piece of paper from my watercolor paper roll and decided that Koi would be a fun subject for this long orientation.

My plexi is 48" long and this paper is 44" long which would allow for a mat when I frame it but I think I will cut it down a little bit so that I can use a standard size mat (32" x 40").  I could buy a 40" x 60" mat but I think this painting could use a little cropping so I'll do that instead.

I haven't painted Koi for awhile so it was fun to get back to one of my favorite subjects.  Doing multiple glazes on very wet paper gave some really nice effects.  This painting has a soft, blurry look which is very different from how my paintings usually look and I'm really happy with the result.

Koi
Image Size 44" x 13"
Watercolor

Crash

This is my first attempt painting a wave using watercolors.  I was excited to try it and I liked the format of this piece of watercolor paper that I had already torn in half (11" x 30") that I was planning to use for another project.  It is Arches 300# cold press paper.
The right side of the paper is a bit smoother than the wrong side which I would have liked to use, but I used the wrong side because I didn't want the huge water mark that Arches paper has to show in the painting.  That has ruined many of my paintings.  I still have a lot of Arches paper which I will use until it is gone, but it is no longer my favorite.

Before starting this painting, I saturated the paper so that I could get some interesting soft edges but had forgotten how much the paint moves on this heavy paper when it's really wet.  I intended to paint this using only transparent watercolors and didn't want to have the really hard edges that are created from using resist, but had forgotten how much the paint moves on this heavy paper and I lost a lot of my whites.  I used white gouache for the edges of the waves and some of the foam area.

I'm excited to try more of these wave paintings using watercolors.  I think this has a more luminous feeling that the ones I've painted in oils.

Crash
Image Size 11" x 30
Watercolor

Wild Wave

Here's another wave painting.  I took lots of pictures of waves while we were in Mexico and I plan to paint a series of them using different mediums and in different sizes.  This one is oil and is 5" x 7".  With summer coming, these paintings are getting me in the mood for warmer weather and longer days.  I hope they have the same effect for those of you that are in colder parts of the country.

Wild Wave
Image Size 5" x 7"
Oil

Beach Day

I'm playing with the palette knife again.  We just got back from Mexico and I'm already missing it.  These colorful umbrellas dot the beaches there and make every day feel like a holiday.

I primed the panel with bright orange and let bits of it peek through the colors to add some sparkle.

Beach Day
Image size 6" x 6"
Oil

Red,Red,Red

I've always like the way radishes look all bundled together in the market with those squiggly roots.  Finally, I decided to paint them.  I'm not really a fan of having radishes in my salads (or any other part of my meals)  but I tried to make them look delicious anyway.

I found out that my banner design didn't make the cut but it was fun to try and I look forward to next year's competition.

Red, Red, Red
Image Size 5" x 7"
Oil

Freesias

Here's a small watercolor sketch done on TerraSkin.  I haven't worked on this surface for awhile and am happy to be back to it.  It's such a great paper having a lot of the properties of Yupo but the lifting abilities are a bit different.
This photo doesn't really show the painting off very well.  It is brighter and the flowers aren't washed out like they show here. I used a different camera than usual and it "blahed" everything out a bit.

Freesias
Image size 4.5" x 7.5"
Watercolor on TerraSkin

Banner Design

This scene probably looks familiar to you if you follow this blog.  I did a poured watercolor painting with a similar scene a few weeks ago. This is a small acrylic painting, 4" x 16", that was painted to enter into a contest.  There is a town close to us that is picking artists to paint 4' x 16' banners to hang from light posts during the summer.  If my design is chosen, I will have about 6 weeks to paint that large banner on both sides.  I think it would be such a fun project.  I have no idea what type of design they are looking for or how many people are entering or how many designs they are picking, but I will be keeping my fingers crossed for the next week until I hear whether or not my design is chosen.

I wanted this to look like a wood block print with flat areas of color and black outlines.  If this design is chosen, I will be able to make the shapes where the colors connect be an interesting part of the design.   That wasn't possible in this small painting.

This took a lot longer to paint that I thought it would.  Originally, I wanted to use the colors that were common in the old Japanese wood block prints but it was looking too blah so I re-painted it using brighter colors.  I think these bright colors are a better choice for a banner anyway.

I'll let you know when I find out whether or not I get to work on this project.

Cocos

We just returned from Mexico and while we were there, I painted this one.  Technically, I started it at home a few years ago and never seemed to find the motivation to finish it.  So I decided to take it on a tropical vacation and, while being in the right atmosphere, it seemed to finish itself.

When I look at coco palm trees, I can feel my blood pressure drop and I get a feeling of tranquility.  That's probably because, in my mind, coconut palms and vacation are linked together.

This was painted with acrylics.  I just started using some of the Golden Open acrylics and I'm enjoying them a bit more than regular acrylics.  They stay wet longer so I have more time to blend and play with the paint.  I still fight with this medium more than any other but I am determined to someday finish an acrylic painting without uttering one single swear word.

Cocos
Image Size 14" x 14"
Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas with sides painted

A View From Above - Encaustic

This is the third encaustic that I've done since I took that one day workshop in October and they are so much fun.  This one is the largest one so far.  It is 10" x 10" and my first two were 6" x 6".  I have a few supports that are 18" x 18" so my next ones may be even bigger.

On this one, I used encaustic gesso to prime the wood.  This time, I didn't put a layer of clear wax on first and I was much happier with the result.  When I had the clear layer of wax as my first layer, it made the colors I put on top do weird things.  I had much more control this time.

For me, the fusing is the fun part of encaustics.  Trying to get the wax to level out without moving it where is shouldn't go is a challenge.  On my next one, I think I will pick a subject with more detail to see what I can accomplish.

The finished encaustics have such a wonderful finish.  They can be buffed to a beautiful sheen and have a very unique look.

A View From Above
Image Size 10" x 10"
Encaustic

Lonely Palm

I had so much fun painting this one.  I used black gesso on the canvas before I started painting.  I love the matte finish of the black gesso and hope that when the oil paints dry on this one, the black bits peeking through will be a contrast with the shiny oils.  Of course, some oils dry flat, not shiny so I'll have to wait and see.

This was painted entirely with a palette knife.  I don't know why I don't do more palette knife paintings.  They are so different in the finished look and the feeling while I'm painting.

Along with leaving bits of black peeking through the paint throughout the painting, I left a black line between all of the major elements.  With my background making stained glass windows for so many years, I am still attracted to this look.

Lonely Palm
Image size 12" x 12"
Oil