Inspiration from a Bookshelf

Last week, I assisted with a photoshoot in The Space Upstairs, a vintage warehouse turned dance studio in the East End of Pittsburgh.  

The vast open spaces, burnished wood floors, & eclectic furnishings were curated by creative visionary Pearlann Porter, head of The Pillow Project dance company. 

I've never really felt inspired by interior furnishings as a watercolor subject, but The Space Upstairs enchanted me from the moment I walked up the creaky wooden stairs.

I felt like a kid in a magical playhouse.  And this bookshelf was the most spellbinding part of the scene.

I painted this sketch from the photo below.

I love the way that Pearlann Porter's creative expression sparked inspiration for me, 

and I'm sure countless others.

When we follow our own creative vision and push past the doubts, 

we lift others around us and shed light on their journey.

May you pursue your creative passions!

Watercolor Explorations with Model Rikki

In the final session of my Watercolor Explorations class with Osher at CMU, we had the privilege of painting model Rikki.

We began the session with 4 gesture poses of 5 minutes each.  I invited everyone to make quick watercolor sketches using only one color.  Of course, I couldn't help myself, and added Ultramarine Blue to my Cadmium Red washes!

Rikki's gestures were wonderfully expressive.

By the last one, I felt like I was tuning in to her proportions, especially in her face.

After a break for Rikki, we practiced mixing skin tones, and

I demonstrated the process of composing the making a pencil sketch, then erasing any dark lines, and laying in the first washes.

Each of us experimented with composition, color, shapes, light & shadows to create our own version of Rikki.  Below is my painting from class.

Here is David's painting.  Notice how his expression of the shadows on Rikki's face, her dress, & the drape over her chair create a feeling of dimension and depth.  What a remarkable development for a new watercolorist!

 

Many thanks to our wonderful model, Rikki!

Summer Fountain

Summer greens, sparkling water trickling in a fountain, and sunlit fern fronds caught my artist's eye, and I grabbed my nature journal. 

A quick pencil sketch let me lay out the fountain and main elements. 

Washes with my Winsor & Newton travel watercolor kit established the scene.  

I let the first washes dry, and added details in the fountain, ferns and shadows.  

Finishing details were added with a Winsor & Newton 0.8 fineliner.

The only way to build & maintain skills as an artist is to create routinely -- every day, if possible.

It doesn't matter what you paint, or draw, as long as you play with your supplies frequently.

Try asking yourself questions like, "What parts of this scene do I like the best?  What are the important parts for me to express?"

These questions will help you define your approach.

I don't love every watercolor sketch I make, but I learn each time I pick up my brushes. 

The more I create, the less pressure I feel to make each artwork "pretty."

I'm still learning to simplify my scene and to make brush strokes that feel natural and good to me. 

This sketch was a way to practice those things.

Here's a photo of the scene I worked from.  If it appeals to your artist's eye, I hope you'll make a painting or sketch from it!

Paddleboard Picnic

On a recent sunny day, David & I took our paddleboards & a picnic to our local state park lake.  We paddled around the lake and down to a boater's picnic area.

The day was lovely and sunny, perfect weather for floating, picnicking and sketching in my nature journal.

The way the sunshine shot through a patch of wildflowers just unfurling caught my eye, and I sketched with Inktense colored pencils, then added touches of Neocolor II crayons. Touching in a water brush pen brought the colors to life.

We returned a few days later and I painted the sunlight in the trees across the lake from the picnic table using my QM2 Winsor & Newton travel watercolor kit.

I love the colors in this kit! At 5" x 2.5" and about half of an inch thick, it's my tiniest watercolor palette. And it comes with a compact travel brush. 

A small art kit can hold an incredible array of colors.  For a look at the colors I mixed from the Winsor & Newton kit, see my blog post on color swatching.  

Color mixing may seem boring or technical, but it teaches you so much!  I found the experience relaxing with no pressure to make anything "pretty."  By simply experimenting, I discovered an abundance of bright, useful colors I could mix with this tiny set.  I find myself way more likely to put my watercolors to use now that I am familiar with what they can do.

I hope you play with your art supplies this week and discover what they can do.  Take them for a spin around the block, and experiment to discover the possibilities they hold for you.  You'll be surprised by how much more likely you'll be to use what you already have to make art!

Self Portrait in Watercolor

 

The other day, my photographer husband and I did a photo shoot by window light.  I liked one of the resulting photos so much that I decided to paint a watercolor self portrait from it.

I decided to use  purple hues of the fabric for the cool shadow colors.  I find that repeating a color throughout a painting unifies the composition.  Of course, I happen to love this particular purple -- Permanent Blue Violet by Van Gogh Paints.

Painting a self portrait is a great way to practice your art skills, whether you're drawing or painting.  And, it's a great form of self-expression. If you don't have a selfie you like, a small mirror is a great help in capturing a live image of yourself.  I hope you give it a try!

Morning Light

An early morning trip to the state park lake provided beautiful light to paint from.

I've been reading copies of the magazine Watercolor Magic from the early 2000's. I find the articles instructive and inspiring.  They help me to improve my paintings and have a clearer focus when I sit down to paint.

For instance, an article by Mark E. Mehaffey in the Dec 2005 issue taught readers how to create more powerful focal points through using contrasts in value, color, size and soft versus hard edges.  

I tested his ideas out in this sketch, and really like the way the bright, backlit trees contrast against the shadows.  The tiny, dark branches caught my eye in real life, and including them catches my eye in the finished sketch.

I kept most of the edges in the forest soft, blending into each other, so the harder edges of the backlit trees down along the water's edge catch the viewer's eye. I also put details in the places that were most interesting to me.

The part of the scene that is most interesting to you, the part that catches your eye, is the focal point of the painting.  You are the artist, and it is your vision that we want to see.

I recommend taking the time to learn more about whatever art form you're interested in pursuing.  Whether you take a class, read a book, or even pick up an old magazine, the new knowledge and inspiration can light up your art practice.

If you'd like to take an art class with me, you can find my latest courses listed here:

https://betsyblissart.blogspot.com/p/online-art-classes.html

Happy Creating!

Experimental Painting

I've had the opportunity to read some great books & magazines lately, and, inspired by my reading, I decided to try to paint more freely & expressively.

The only way to achieve this is to experiment.  Not every experiment works, and even those that I feel are successful, like the one above, have parts I like (the loose yellowy-green fronds against the dark blue shadows) and parts I don't (some parts just got mushy).

I painted this frothy fern as I sat at the breakfast table, as the morning sun spilled in and backlit the foliage.  I was taken by the glowing yellow green fronds right next to deep shadows.  I painted quickly, without a pencil sketch underneath, looking at the fern as much as possible.

In the moment, I felt like I was painting haphazardly, wildly out of control!  When I stepped back, I liked the result of picking out the part that fascinated me and trying to express that.

It was incredibly freeing to remind myself that I didn't have to make a photo-realistic "likeness" of the fern, and that precision is not better than expression. My goal was to just express the sense of light pouring through greenery. 

Every time we experiment with our art-making, we learn and grow.  We make discoveries.  It may feel risky, wild, and unkempt, but even if the results are wonky and imperfect, they are worth trying just for the possibilities they hold.

I hope you'll make a list of art experiments you'd like to try and then recklessly pursue them!