Fluid Acrylic fun

Experimenting with my fluid acrylics on some
scraps of watercolor paper. Achieved some batik
effects!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to family
and friends!

Portrait challenge of Karin Jurick

I was asked if I wanted to participate in the
"Thank You" project to Karen Jurick who does the
Different Strokes from Different Folks to thank
her for all the work she put in to make this
blog work. 118 artists worked from the same
reference photo of Karen Jurick which are now
printed in a book and mailed off to Karen.
Jill Polsby organized the project and
worked on getting all the paintings put
together. All 118 paintings are on Jill's blog.

A Little Skeptical

watercolor

Photographed this man a few years ago
and finally got around to doing a painting
of him. You don't have to paint what's
there in a photo, as you can see from the
photo of him below that I changed the smile
and drew in a different expression. Glad
that it worked out well.

Joanne Thompson

Decided I better give some recognition to
the other side of the family for their art
talent. My aunt, Joanne Thompson, (1923-2002)
was asked to feature her art work in one of the
Walter T. Foster drawing booklet in the 1960's.
She loved to draw family members in charcoal
and painted many portraits in oil. These are
some examples of the drawings in the booklet.
In my younger years I tried to draw some of
her drawings free hand with little success.
Always shyed away from portraits, but now
love to paint portraits and figures.

Sophie Mitchell's paintings

A few examples of my Grt. Grandmother's paintings,
as from the post below. These were painted between
1882-1883 in Napa Valley, Ca. These are from the
note cards and much larger paintings are in pocession
of various relatives.

It's a Small World

I came across some old note cards with paintings of
my Grt. Grandmother, Sohpie Alstrom Mitchell's watercolor
floral paintings while straightening up a room and decide
to see if they were still available through the Napa Valley Museum.
Googled her name and found her on Allan Stellar's blog that writes
about his hikes everyday. He took a picture of the old house and
discovered that a plaque was placed on the property. His article
dated Dec 26, 2009:

"I drove down to the Napa Valley yesterday. Worked today.
After work, I headed down to St. Helena in order to walk
the White Sulphur Springs road. I was looking for an uphill
walk. I was delighted to discover that this walk, that I
had remembered to be uphill, was actually quite easy for
me to negotiate. Even with my backpack on (loaded with
thirty pounds of books), this road was not as much uphill
as I remembered. Good news.

Of course, this is the walk that passes through the grounds
of what some call a "white collar cult". White Sulphur Springs
is amongst one of the oldest resorts in California. In it's
heyday, beginning in 1852, 1,000 wealthy San Franciscans would
stay at the resort. Now it is home to what EST has evolved into:
"The Hoffman Process". Six thousand bucks for a five day seminar
promises to heal all your suburban angst.

Sophie Alstrom Mitchell lived at this resort in a simple house
from 1862-1882. She was a watercolor artist regionally known
for her paintings of local flowers. An interesting lady, when
her first husband died in 1882, she took up with a local
Presbyterian Minister--seventeen years her junior. Sophie's
artwork is on permanent display at the Napa County Museum."

Sophie painted in what we think is gouache, selling some of
her florals to a buyer in New York. Some of her collection
of paintings were found in an attic in New York and sent
back to California and placed in the Napa Valley Museum
and note cards made of the paintings.

She took botany at college and also had a talent for art.
Her husband would drive his horse and buggy throughout the
Napa valley and pick wildflowers on the way home for Sophie to
paint. Some paintings are of flowers that are now extinct,
which have a very exotic look.

Experimenting with fluid acrylics

fluid acrylics 17" x 25"


Been working on this painting of leaves
and pine needles on a pond for sometime
and finally am close to finishing it.
The leaves seem to appear to "float"
a little in the air and will see if I
can remedy that. Been experimenting
with the fluid acrylics, trying to get
accustomed to the colors and how they
react in a pour without making mud in
the various layers.

Different Strokes Blog Challenge

watercolor 11 x 15


This is my finished portrait of the Different Strokes
challenge. Each artist sent in a photograph
of themselves and then receive a photograph
of another participating artist to paint.

Discovered I painted the portrait of
John Vander Stelt
who painted me which is posted on his blog.
This is my second attempt on the portrait,
this one giving me a hard time with the
darks which wanted to lift with each new
layer.

On a trip

Will be on a trip this week back east, so
it may be a week or so before I post. Been
working on a very detailed painting and may
have messed it up with a second bad wash.
Well, live and learn, that's what happens
when we experiment with new things. Just
need to keep at it! Looking forward to
taking new reference photos and seeing a
new state.

Patience

The painting I'm working on is very detailed,
to where I need to stay focused and at the
task, so I am listening to Pandora Internet Radio
as I work. Thanks to my daughter, who loves good music,
turned me on to this website. You sign in, type in a few
musical artist or songs that you like and the radio
will bring up other similar bands, some you never
heard of before. You can thumbs up or down the song
and enjoy good music with very little interruption.
Hope this painting turns out!

The Night Before Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!
A time to be thankful
and remember all of our
blessings.

Portrait Basics

Organized my "books of knowledge" that I have
put together over the years and came across
this page on basic portrait proportions and how
the structures on the face line up with other
parts of the face. I took a picture out of a
magazine and drew lines through it to remember
how the basic structures of the face line up
with each other and the measurements of one
as compared to another. The first picture helps
me remember the three dimensional curve of the
face. Sure, not everyone has a perfect face,
but this is the basics and adjustments are
always made for age, nationality, and angle
of the face.
Points to remember:
-The outside corners of the mouth lines up with
the inside of the eye. (Except big smile).
-The widest part of the nose lines up with the
inside corner of the eye.
-The length of the ear equals the bottom of the
nose to the chin.
-Eyes are at the center of the head (top of head
to the chin).
-When drawing/painting the face, always add the
sparkle of light in the eyes, top of nose or lips.
This adds "life" to the portrait.

I HAVE HAD IT!!!

Just need to release some steam from my teapot today,
I have just had enough! It's 6:00am and can't sleep.
Well if you are an artsy-fartsy type that loves the
government, warning- don't read any further. If
your feelings are hurt- well, go look at someone else's art.














Bambi's Bridge
My teapot reached it boiling point today after
driving up Hwy 93 to see our $1.8 million dollar
animal overpass for all the Bambis, skunks, bears,
and coyotes so they won't get hit by a car. All the
other ranchers in the area have big culverts that
run under the roads for their cows and horses to
go from one field to another. But no, the State
Hwy Dept. has to have this touchy-feely overpass for
the animals, they even put up hand rails for Bambi.
Wonder how many decaying bridges could have been
repaired or potholes filled in. Yes, I like animals,
but our priorities are a little out of whack. Alot of
people treat their dogs better than their own
kids. Dogs are animals! They lick and eat off
the floor and wipe their butts on your carpet
when you're not looking. I'm sick of the waste
of our tax dollars and all the million dollar
studies for round-abouts, bull-outs and five foot
wide bike lanes. Sick of the corrupt politicians,
and that includes you, John Murtha of PA.
I can't stand the Republican Party!
I can't stand the Democrate Party!
I can't stand the Socialists, Marxists,
Nazis, or Skin Heads.
I love Americans that still have some common
sense. Can't watch my favorite TV show anymore,
Al Gore's global warming propaganda has infiltrated
"The Office". Oh, darn, I'll have to quite watching
TV and paint more. Sick of all the save Mother Earth, global
warming crap. Just get over it! Mother Earth has been
around for millions of years and still going strong. She's like
an old lady wearing Combat Boots, just watch George Carlin
on Youtube; (warning-foul language included).
Sick of people saying we're gonna run out of resources;
the only lack of resources is the empty space that's between
the politicians heads in the District of Criminals. Quit with
the fear of us all dying from the Swine Flu and no I'm not
getting the Swine Flu vaccine-if I do died from it, I had
a good life, kids will say "she was a good Mom" and just
have to fight over the inheritance- a few paint brushes and
the paintings. Big Pharma has enough money from everybody
getting hooked on Big Pharma's medicine cabinets.
Well, I Warned You! Don't lecture me. I don't want to
hear it, this is my blog!

NOW, BACK TO SOME PAINTING!

Bad Week

This past week has been frustrating to say the least.
Had a drawing on the paper, just needed to put on the
masking to save the whites, grabbed the bottle of
masking and started to apply it. Seems with every
brushstroke it glopped up more and more. Removed the
dried masking to discover it stained the white paper
and the paper was damaged as I removed the masking.
Discovered I grabbed my old bottle of masking; now I
know that this is the reason for the staining of the
paper. Will mark the newly bought bottles with the
dates I purchased. Spent more time redrawing the
picture on new paper only to mess up the painting
with bad washes. I could submit it to the
Museum of Bad Art. I check this site out for a
good laugh once in a while, haven't seen my stuff on there yet!

Waterlilies

19" x 24" Fabriano soft press

Finally done! Was surprised at the
ease of removing some of the paint
on this kind of paper to correct certain
areas of the painting. I think I
squelched my desires to paint lilypads
with this "attempt". I do like the paper
I used and want to try fluid acrylics
on my next project using this paper.

Part 4

Now that I have the lilypads painted
in, I will concentrate on the water.
I will need to remember to leave in
soft edges around some of the lilypads
and add some different colors to the
water for interest. I will add more
color to the lilypads after the
water is painted in and adjust the
values at the end. The flowers will
be painted in last to save the whites
should I drip any paint.

Part 3

Here's the painting with the background
done. I am working on Fabriano soft press,
which takes the paint well and able to
lift the pigments if needed.

New painting-part 2

The next step in the painting process is to
paint in the water of the background scene.
I removed the masking after it dried and
decided to finish the background first after
starting with the foreground.

Start of a new painting

This will be a painting of the lily pads on
Seeley Lake. Masked out the waterlilies and
the reeds so I can paint in the water without
changing the color for the reeds. Will see how
it goes and try to post the steps as I go along.
Almost a full sheet of Fabriano soft press.

New Granddaughter

My new granddaughter Olivia Marie entered
the world on Sept 30th, 7 lb 8 oz. My son
and his wife are enjoying her at home now.
She looks alot like her Dad, only cuter!
Will be out of town next week to go and
see her.

Naked

oil 8" x 10"

An oil painting I've been working on since
this past spring. Still need to tweak some
areas of the painting. This painting was
inspired by those dreams of being naked
and in the "spotlight" and being exposed
and feeling very vulnerable.

My Little Cupcakes

watercolor 11" x 14" SOLD

My version of the current painting challenge
over at Different Strokes. Had fun painting
this one with all the different colors. Though it
looks like a simple painting, I learned things, like
make shadows interesting with colors you don't see
in the photo.

Italian Model

watercolor 12" x 16" Not for Sale

She looks alot like Selma Hayek, but is
a photo of an Italian fashion model that
Micky Modo took and gave me permission
to paint if I agreed not to sell the painting.

Finished the main part of the house painting
and just need to do some windows and doors!
Will be able to post some new paintings
soon.

The Yellow Dress

Not for Sale watercolor

This painting was done about three years
ago. I was trying to paint skin tones
that looked realistic and learning how
to paint the folds in clothing. I had
to mask over the painted skin to
protect it so I could paint the darker
background. As I removed the masking,
the painted in skin was not harmed.

Sweet to the Taste

An older painting that I did of an African
American trying to make the skin tones realistic
and added color to the skin to give skin tones
interest. I was happy with the soft and
hard edges in the painting to make the viewers eye
move through the painting, which also make it
not look pasted on to the paper.

Still working on painting the house, will be
able to use the spray painter sometime this
week!

Woman of Tibet

This was painted a few years ago with
permission of the photographer, Wendy O.
The Tibetan people have a very reddish
tone to their skin with jet black hair.
Painting the dark hair and coat was
difficult; thinking it would over take
the colors in the face and act as a
"black hole".

Salty Memories

watercolor

I'm posting a few of my older paintings
since I'm in the process of painting our
house. Winter will be here before I know
it and we have to get it done this year.

This painting was done during a Ted Nuttall
workshop a few years ago. It was his workshop
that really sparked my interest in portraits.

Little Big Horn Historian

Finished this painting finally, been
busy with framing and preparing the
house to paint. My reference picture
was taken of the man right at high
noon which is why the shadow on his
shoulders is so circular.

Gig Harbor Art Festival

Browsed the Gig Harbor Art Festival last week.
There were many artist and craftsman with displays
the length of the street. Many talented artists.
















My sister-in-laws' granddaughter
holding a pet wallaby that was owned
by another little girl. It cost the
Mom $2500 to buy! Too cute!

Cavalry at the Little Big Horn

watercolor

Visited the Little Big Horn
Battlefield the third week of
June and we talked to this man
from Missouri who said he had
studied the events that happen at
the Little Big Horn Battlefield(25th
of June 1876) for a number of years
right down to the measurements of certain
events. Liked his "cavalry hat" that he wore
and he let me photograph him. Will finish
this painting after I return from the Puget
Sound area next week.

Transformers

watercolor 14 x 14

Still considering a name for this
painting. This is my second painting
of power poles, this one having
transformers on them. Working on
a portrait next.

Watercolor Show

This painting, "Cattails" was accepted
into the Montana Watercolor Society show
that will be at the Hockaday Museum of
Art in Kalispell, Mt, Sept. 22 - Oct 16th.

Happy Birthday America!!!

We've survived for 233 yrs!!!
With God's blessings may our
"Republic" continue to survive!

Workshop

One trick that Stan Miller uses to check
a possible change you wish to make to a
painting is to place a piece glass or
plexiglass over your painting and paint
on the glass to see if the changes will
work. You need to use thicker paint then
normal. The above painting needs darker
colors around the baby's head.















Here is the result of painting on top
of the plexiglass. Will make the changes
but will make it darker than in this photo.

Stan Miller Workshop

Attended the Stan Miller workshop on composition
and design this past weekend here in Missoula.
As painters we need to learn to be a good editor when
designing a painting, what to put in and what to
take out. He encouraged us to develop our instinctive
sense of good design and composition and showed us
some of his "editing skills". Will post some of this
knowledge in days to come.

Here are two demonstrations of Stan Miller































Some paintings of Stan Miller








































My painting during the workshop
that is half way done during the
first day.

More Power To Ya

fluid acrylic on paper 10 x 13

Finally got around to painting the
power pole that I had been planning,
but never had my camera with me. Each
power pole is different from one
another, things we never notice.

She Said She'd Be Right Back

watercolor 15" x 21"

Painting windows that have reflections
of the outside world is not always easy.
Tried to paint shapes and not items and
keep the colors in harmony.

First Grandson

He finally arrived, weighing in at
8lb 7oz. Been busy with helping
my daughter and my two granddaughters
as we waited for the birth of the
baby for the past 3 weeks. Did do
a little painting.

Family Portrait

Here we are as seen through the eyes
of my 5 yr old granddaughter. Hoping
she develops the family artistic
talent. Love to let her paint with
my old paints and brushes, but with
the sibling rivalry with her little
sister, I just don't want to be
scrubbing paint off the walls for
hours!