October Color!

Autumn color never lasts as long as I wish.  I'm always trying to gather up the colors in artworks while they last.

The campground at my state park closed last week.  I took advantage of the quiet space to spend an afternoon there, painting from the comfort of a picnic table.  The brilliant foliage against the dark trunks and limbs drew my eye, and I raced to capture as much of the scene as I could before the light left and the washes dried.

Happy Autumn!

Watercolor Lessons with Yelena Lamm

In my most recent lesson with Yelena Lamm, we worked on a small subject-- a simple yellow rose.  Using a photograph for reference, or really as a starting point, we briefly sketched out our composition, then began with the bold yellow tones of the flower, adding layers of orange, and letting that dry before painting in the green sepals & stem.  

Yelena talked about controlling our edges -- allowing some to dry into crisp lines, but keeping most of them soft.  Even edges that I would think of as defined, like the ends of the yellow petals at the top right of the flower, worked as loose, watery borders.  Now when I paint, I think about edges -- about carefully softening the boundaries of each wash, and allowing only a few to dry hard.  It's easier to work seamlessly into a dried wash with a soft edge than to deal with layer upon layer of hard-bordered washes.

A light has turned on inside my head, and I feel grateful to go forward with this new knowledge.  

I hope you get a chance to take a class this autumn.  It can open new pathways for creative expression and thought!

Adding Pop to a Watercolor Scene

Earlier this year, I painted these Cosmos blooms as a watercolor class demonstration.  I made a quick  pencil sketch of the flowers and splashed in watercolors, finishing by adding color to the negative space.  I wanted my students to see the steps in creating a watercolor painting.

After class, rather than discard the sketch, I worked on it a bit.  I wanted the loose scene to pop a bit more, so I sketched in areas with my Inktense watercolor pencils.  Touching a wet brush into the Inktense area smoothed the color into a wash, but left the original pencil strokes visible.  

As a finishing touch, I added India ink from my Pentel ink brush pen, and Micron waterproof pen lines to contours I wanted to enhance.  I found an inexpensive frame from Goodwill Industries, and the finished piece now hangs in my home.

Why not try this technique for capturing the beauty of Autumn?!

Fall Foliage with Watercolors

 

Autumn has arrived at my home on Hawk's Hill, and I recently spent a morning painting the first splashes of color adorning our Grandmother Sugar Maple tree.  This ancient tree brings beauty to our lives in any season, but particularly this time of year.

My recent lessons with Pittsburgh artist Yelena Lamm taught me so much about how to approach painting landscapes, how to control edges, and how to see colors.  What a pleasure to dive into painting this scene with a new focus and new skills!  Many thanks to Yelena for her instruction and the inspiration it brought me.

Autumn is a great time to take a class and pick up new skills.  Art classes are a terrific way to bring focus to your art practice and to gain momentum -- and to connect with other artists.  

Click here for a link to my upcoming classes. I hope you'll join me for one!

Color Journal Update

I've been painting in my color journal over the last few weeks. 

When I have a little time, a few colors or materials I want to explore, and I want to simply sketch rather than create a full painting, my color journal is an easy place to play.

Sometimes I explore mark making with India ink.

Inspired by the color and shapes of pumpkins, I started this one with a white crayon, added India ink, and finished with layers of wet-in-wet watercolors. 

Other times, I layer different media -- here watercolor forms the lower layer, and after the paint dried, I added lines with a permanent fine line ink pen.

Each page is different.  Each page is low-risk, because I'm just exploring and doodling.  So picking up this journal and trying something new is easy.  And relaxing.

Give yourself the gift of time to play with colors.  

You don't need to buy new materials, just gather what you already have. 

Follow the small voice of your intuition.  

You'll be surprised at how creative that part of you is.

Fairy Lanterns

 
I found an inspiring Pinterest photo of a small jar covered in moss, natural materials and paper butterflies, and lit from within by flameless candles.

What a delightful way to admire the feathers and dead leaves that I collect! I bought the dried moss & butterflies, and used Aleene's Original Tacky Glue to fix everything on a plastic gellato jar. 

I made several lanterns with pint-sized salsa jars.  I found that I needed 2 or 3 battery-powered candles for the light to escape through the luscious moss. 

One of these fairy lanterns will be a great addition to my Renaissance Festival costume!