105 - More Trees, Now with Perspective

My goal with this piece was to create a sense of depth. I'm really having fun with watercoloring.

104 - Gypsy, Sunbathing

103 - Branching Out

I'm taking my first-ever watercolor class. Last night was the first meeting. It's very laid-back, more of a studio session than a formal class, but I enjoyed it immensely. The instructor gave great feedback and was very supportive. Here is what I painted last night. I'm particularly excited about the leaves on the ground! I need to learn (a lot) more about perspective in watercolor, because I don't think the perspective is particularly convincing in this piece. So that's a goal.

97 - 102: The Anatomy of a Painting

Start with color





Add a sky and try for a meandering meadow. Not quite sure if my meadow is meandering or not, but hey, I made clouds!





Trees have trunks, so put a bunch of those in. Add some of that grass that grows near water.



Make some Happy Trees



Add more happy trees, and take a photo at a weird angle to be all artsy and stuff.





Voila! Add a corny frame from photo bucket and you are well on your way. You know, to making art.

96 - Self-portrait

95 - Reflecting

94 - Didn't Even Know These Came in Green

93 - Christmas for Gypsy

We hired a neighbor to cut down a dead tree in the back yard that was tangling up the power lines. He removed the big branches, but we asked him to leave the twigs behind for Gypsy, whose greatest happiness on this earth is a good stick.

92 - Good Weather for Potting

91 - The View from Back Here

Power lines

90 - Colors

89 - Art Up Close

I've been experimenting with pastels. Instead of simply applying pastel to paper in the usual fashion, I snap off a small piece then crush it with a stone. I take these "crumbs", apply them to the paper, and work them in with my fingers. Using fixative to set the work, you can get amazing results. (The photo below is a small part of a larger piece in my Etsy shop.)