Chloe & Henry

Way back in May, a friend of mine posted a picture of one of her daughters in her Senior Prom dress...with the dog. Apparently, Henry (a rambunctious sheepadoodle) had just returned from two weeks at 'boot camp' and they were getting re-acquainted.

I love Chloe and I love painting dogs, and I really love painting relationships - the photo was begging to be painted! I quickly asked permission to do so.

However, there were several other things I needed to finish first - it's a little like having to eat the spinach before desert - so I didn't get to this until July.

I knew it was going to be a pastel and thought it would look good on toned paper. I did the pencil sketch and began painting with my soft pastels. Since the paper tended toward a darker value, I began with the light areas.

 I continued to paint and began to realize that the tooth (texture) of the paper was distracting. I tried to make it work, but kept being disappointed. A good learning experience, but I needed to start again. So much for the toned paper.

 I switched to my favorite - sandpaper. I have been using a 500 grit UART paper  - it's archival and has worked well for me in the past. I got this far and wondered what I was going to do with the background. The sanded paper is just beige, it needs a little color.

 Knowing that it I did not want to mess it up at this point and have to paint it again, I got out a piece of acetate paper. It's a clear (like plastic) sheet that I can experiment on. I laid the acetate over the painting and tried different background colors using my watercolor paints. I tried several - here are just two...  The original photo had an outside background.- grass, stone path and sky.

Although the photo had more color, adding a color (like the green) that I had not previously used seemed very artificial. 

Hmmm, I liked the blue dress - orange is the complement...

 That seems to being out Chloe's facial features.

Now to work on the dress. The prom dress was beautiful - navy blue with white flowers. However, as I tried to capture the flowers, I found them distracting. After all, the painting is about the relationship - them looking at each other - not about the dress!  In the end, I made the dress a solid blue.

Then I added the background that I had chosen...trying to add different values to it so it isn't solid and heavy.

This is one of the paintings I will be exhibiting in November at the library in St Michaels. We are having a themed show - "Animals"  More about that at another time.

Why Knot?

Every now and then I have to revisit ropes. Since I was shown the secret to painting ropes, it seems to be my 'fall back' thing to paint and helps me get out of 'slug mode.'

I looked at various rope pictures and came upon a photograph that my husband had taken years ago.  With his permission (I never paint someone else's photo without asking), I decided to try to paint it.

It's a bowline knot  - fun to tie. I find myself transported back to camp where I learned to tie it with a story. You take the rope and make a lake. (Just twist a loop) Then take the end of the rope which becomes a snake. The snakes comes out of the lake, goes around the tree and back into the lake. Then you pull on the head and the tail. Voila - bowline knot!

Enough of that... I began to sketch with pencil. The end of the line (rope) was very frayed.
Then I added some light watercolor washes leaving the frayed part until later.

Next step - add the frayed end, a little more definition on the line and some color in the background.

Then I took it to class for critique... Well...we began a discussion about where the light was coming from. The line shows the light coming from the right side. Wouldn't it be better coming from the top left? Then the frayed end would have more impact. They also thought the fray should be more prominent.

I took it home and washed some of it out, added more fray and defined the end a little more. Changing the light source was a little trickier. I switched to some of my pastels. So now the light side of the line is on the left. It's more yellow on the top left. Back to class the following week...

The suggestion then was darken the bottom right. The contrast of the opposite corners would help.

I did it and was really sorry...something happened that threw it all off for me. Having spent so much time with this knot, was there a way to salvage this?

Ah, yes...crop! I could get rid of some of that boring dark corner...   It's now an 11x14 instead of a 16x20.

Why Knot?

"Why Knot?"  11x14 watercolor & pastel    $100

There's something about hollyhocks...

This summer I am trying to get organized for several art shows coming up in the fall. There are two shows in October that have similar themes - "Around Town' is the stated theme of the art league's show. The other show suggestion was that 'local art sells.'

So, the other day I was driving around St Michaels and looking to be inspired. I stopped on North Street at a 4 way stop sign. There, next to a telephone pole, were hollyhocks!

I don't know about you, but there's something about hollyhocks that takes me back in time. I can't remember specifically, but my mother loved to garden - she must have grown them 'once upon a time.' It's really strange, when I see them growing, I am momentarily transported to a childhood 'almost' memory.

Of course, I was immediately hooked! I took a few pictures - the flowers looked a little scraggly. But, the wonderful thing about painting is that I can paint from a photo and change it to be what I need it to be.

In addition to finding inspiration I am also trying to paint more loosely this summer. Here is an opportunity to not put everything in this painting.

I began with a simple pencil sketch and then got out my pen. Just a few lines to give the impression of flowers, leaves and stems...and then some watercolor washes. I left out a telephone pole, a green cement block building and a bit of roadside trash.

I like this look. I put it across the room for awhile to take a look. Other than the flowers floating in space...I like it's simplicity.

I added some suggestion of leaves, and grasses. Now it's grounded.

I may have to title it "Hollyhocks on North Street" to give it a local setting, but for now it's "Hollyhocks - a memory"

"Hollyhocks - a memory"   11x14 watercolor & ink  $150

Ladybugs

Recently I was looking through some old sketchbooks - actually looking to be inspired - and came upon a series of sketches I had done with a group a few years ago. It was a three-day paint out - painting in a different place each day with a critique at the end of the day.

I had chosen to just do sketches rather than try to complete a 'fine art' painting. I love the freedom and quickness of sketching. There is a freshness in my work when I do this.

One of the places that had fascinated me was an old log cabin. I love the way the logs are fit together - particularly at the ends. The patterns in the wooden logs has always interested me. These had interesting shadows and textures.

With all those things going for it, the painting also needed some focal points - not just a static representation of old logs. I am drawn to the color red...how about some ladybugs crawling up the side of the wall? That gives it some movement and color!

I decided to use the matchstick and ink drawing method so that the ink lines would be more 'scratchy.' An ink pen gives a straighter, more clean line. They are old, weathered logs, after all. The matchstick would be perfect.

Here's the beginning...the first watercolor wash over the matchstick and ink drawing.

Next I added a little more color to the mortar and the beginning of the ladybugs. 

The painting needed to be grounded in a 'scene.' So, here's an indication of grass, trees and sky on the right. I purposely did not want detail there - keep the viewer's eye on the cabin.

To finish this up, I got out the matchstick and ink again and added more detail in the logs. Actually, I did have to stop myself - I got a little carried away with defining all the cracks and crannies! A bit more definition in the shadows and a watercolor wash here and there...

"Ladybugs"   11x14 watercolor & ink   $225

...And it makes me smile!

The Auction

Every few years our church holds a 'Service Auction.' It is a fundraiser in which church members donate a 'service' - we share our gifts with others. There is a huge variety of things offered - from babysitting to boat trips to landscaping...you get the idea.

When asked this year what I would donate, I offered to do a drawing of someone's house. I have done house drawings for the Christmas in St Michaels fundraiser before - this should be a no-brainer.

Unfortunately, we were out of town the night of the auction so I didn't get to see the bidding or get to bid on anything. The next day I talked to the person in charge and was told that my offering went for $250! I love it that I can use a talent, have some fun and make a difference.

I contacted the winning bidders and they were really excited. We set up a time for me to visit and take some pictures of their house. The house is a large home made of stone and is in a lovely setting on the Tred Avon River in Easton. There are arches above the doors and windows - lots of interesting details.

Back home again, I began with an ink sketch with some pencil shading.

I cleaned it up a little and began adding more detail

My original idea had been to just do an ink sketch, but the more I looked at this the more I was convinced that it needed color. The black and white was just too busy and did not reflect what the house had to offer.

So here is my next step.

It's getting closer to what I had imagined, but i thought the color needed to be stronger. I fiddled with the trees a bit and darkened the sky. (Sorry, this next photo is a little out of focus)

At this point I took the painting to my watercolor class for a critique. The main thing was to crop it  - it didn't need to big sweep of the driveway - it's about the house more than the setting.

So, I painted it once more, added a few clouds, darkened the roof (for contrast), put a little more color in the trees and worked on the shadows. Then I cropped it, matted it and delivered it to the homeowners! 

Thankfully, they were pleased! I think it turned out pretty well. Comments?

The Fence

My son bought an old farmhouse in Vermont several years ago. The front of the house was very close to the road - I understand now...that is because you don't have to shovel a long driveway! However, I was concerned about small children playing outside until I saw the picket fence.

It was a picture book fence enclosing a small garden - with flowers everywhere. I took lots of photos. A few weeks ago as I was going through old photos, I rediscovered the fence and thought it would be fun to paint.

I began with an ink sketch.

Next step was adding a watercolor wash.

In my original photos, the fence was close to the house and the lattice under the front porch could be seen behind some of the flowers. I added that and began to put in more color.

Yikes! It got very busy and my eye kept being drawn to the lattice - not the fence. I tried washing it off, but of course, I was stuck with this...

Gotta get rid of the lattice! So, I began again. 

This time I left out the lattice entirely and just put in the fence and greens.

That's better - I liked the different greens with the yellow in the center. Now it needs more color.

I have to have red somewhere in my paintings... flowers peeking around the fence gives it some movement and life.  Just a little more tweaking... as in lifting some of the very dark greens behind the fence (it moves it backward), detailing the grasses in the front, (keeps me more focused on the fence), adding depth and finishing touches to the pickets (it is about the fence, after all)...and a bit of a crop (didn't need the other piece of fence going off to the right).

Voila!

I love looking back on the process. I learned a lot on this one!

Soggy Bottom

Several weeks ago, my nephew's wife posted a wonderful photo of her little boy. He is sitting on a dock, looks like he is kicking his feet in the water, and that he's getting pretty wet! Such a boy thing to do...

It made me think of lots of other little children who just love to kick, stomp and splash in any water that is near by. They never seem to even notice that they are getting wet. I love to listen to them giggle and just know that they are having such a great time.

That photo had to be a painting - I asked Olivia and she gave her permission.

This is a pastel painted on sanded paper. I began with a pencil sketch and then a watercolor underpainting.

In the photo, this little guy had on a black shirt. I wanted to give him a little more color. so I changed it to red. That's one of the great things about painting - I can change things around!

I worked on this for a few days, got away from it, came back again... at one point I wiped off a lot of the pastel and began again. I liked it better. It seemed fresher - not heavily coated with pastel. The underpainting could do its job...

"Soggy Bottom"  9x12 pastel

So, the water is coming over the dock and he's got to be splashing - don't you know that he has a soggy bottom!