Saturday, July 6, 2019

#WorldWatercolorMonth Day 3 Picnic Food

Day 3 Picnic Food

Goal: Metal Pie pan with a berry pie on a blue/white plaid tablecloth.



Palette: Grumbacher Academy(GA) Thalo Red, WinsorNewton's Artists (WNA) Lemon Yellow,  WNA Cobalt Blue, GA Lamp Black, GA Burnt Sienna, GA VanDyke Brown,GA Thalo Yellow Green,GA Cadmium Yellow Deep, WNA Lemon Yellow Hue, GA Thalo Purple,WNA Cobalt Blue, Green and Blue
oldnewgreenredo

Here's the Palette after the painting was done. I really didn't use much of the cerulean blue and none of the black.

oldnewgreenredo

Composition was pretty simple..gray plate and scrunched checkered tablecloth on the ground(grass). Here all the colors are blocked in...nothing fancy here...used watered brush half loaded with color to give the varied blues. Had issues with the pie---apple pie just isn't that interesting. 


oldnewgreenredo

SO, 
I kicked it up a notch by adding blueberries and darker sauce drips. My mom-in-law does signature cuts on the top of her pies of a simple wheat pattern, which always lets the steam/and fruit escape.

I tried to keep this simple, this really is a sketch---anymore and I will poke holes in the paper. And I hate the buckling, maybe I have to iron them???

Hope you had a great weekend. I'm going to try for three or four paintings tomorrow and get almost caught up. Gosh, tomorrow is DAY 7...yikes!

Disclaimer: Any products I am using are not a recommendation, but only for reference for the reader's use. I am in no way affiliated with any of the companies or products, or have I received compensation or products. 

My painting projects will be posted on Pinterest, Flickr and Facebook with the hashtag

#WorldWatercolorMonth








Metamorphisis Monday

#WorldWaterColorMonth Day 2

Ad-Free Blog

Hi, the holiday in the middle of the week, sure throws the best laid plans to the side. Even without being able to to do the decorating, cooking, or congeniality thing to the max, having everyone here still ate into my Art therapy painting time. Today, I tried to catch up.

Day 2 Sunny Skies (each day there is a prompt if you choose to follow along).

I'm not a beginning artist, but I'm really a watercolor novice. So, I made a few rules for myself: not take it too seriously, use some restrictions for each project, follow the theme, use what I have on hand, and have fun.

I found a few more paints and tons of brushes in an expedition to the basement. I also wanted to try and use some masking medium. Applied, this is a rubbery yellowish medium that repels the paint and later can be peeled off, leaving the white un-painted paper exposed. I really have never used this for watercolor, before, so this will be an education.

oldnewgreenredo
                        

Palette: I planned a controlled color palette: Grumbacher Academy(GA) Lamp Black, GA Burnt Sienna, GA VanDyke Brown,GA Thalo Yellow Green,GA Cadmium Yellow Deep, WinsorNewtonArtists(WNA)Lemon Yellow Hue,GA Thalo Purple,
WNA Cobalt Blue, (Note I avoid using blacks but I put it in the tray anyway.)

Paper is just a drawing Sketchbook 11 x 14. It's smooth paper that stretches a lot, but I'm practicing, not going for finished paintings.


oldnewgreenredo

I had a couple of days to ponder the prompts, so in our garden my favorite sunflowers are most gorgeous photographed early in the morning in what I call bright yellow sun. Light spills over the fence and the edges of the leaves and petals are always brilliant, and the shadows are dark and deep since the sun isn't so high.

I've kicked up the contrast and the hue  so you can see the applied pale yellow masking.  My thought was to hit the edges of the petals and where light might land on the flower centers. I lightly wooly-sponged some on what will be the dark brown seedy centers of the sunflowers and let this dry for 15-20 minutes.

oldnewgreenredo

Then I sprayed areas and did a wash with a wide brush on the petal shapes adding quick brush strokes of (Cadmium YD and Lemon) on the wet paper. The centers I dabbed with Burnt Sienna. I rolled the paper around a bit to get the colors moving. We have a fan going right above and the paint dries pretty quick if I blot up any pools.

oldnewgreenredo

Closeup of the beginning. Always fun to watch colors flow/spread and you can see the areas where the masking is blocking the paint. I had very loosely penciled some vague outlines of my composition.



oldnewgreenredo

I planned one sunflower facing the viewer and one facing the sun. I'm working from memory and not a photo. Leaves are multi-colored with all of the colors of my palette in them, except black. I did add the purple to the browns for the darkest accents. I mixed an olive green from the browns and the Thalo Yellow Green (really like the intensity of this color). I try to use all my colors around the paper in different ways. 


After drying, I peeled off the masking. And, touched up the areas that were too white. 



oldnewgreenredo

I used some light wash colors here and there to blend out some of the whites. When the painting dries, the colors always seem a bit washed out---I'm going to have to kick my colors up a notch, wet paints look darker and more intense or I'm using too much water?

Disclaimer: Any products I am using are not a recommendation, but only for reference for the reader's use. I am in no way affiliated with any of the companies or products, or have I received compensation or products. 

My painting projects will be posted on Pinterest, Flickr and Facebook with the hashtag

#WorldWatercolorMonth 














Thursday, July 4, 2019

Happy Fourth of July!

Ad-Free Blog


HOPE you All Have/Had a Safe Fourth of July!


Back in the 90's I painted this vest for Mom to wear at all the summer events in my hometown.
Like many of the Depression area, she believed in making your own fun, celebrating hometown America,  and waving the Flag--and the Sacrifices behind it.

Everyone wore red/white/blue and lots of flags were flown. 
Parades meant marching scouts and drum corps and sometimes 'Buggy Parades'. 

Every Memorial Day, Veterans Day and the Fourth of July, my Dad would take me to the flag raising ceremonies for the VFW. This cannon blows out stars and fireworks. 


Of course Uncle Sam appeared in every parade, this painting was a reminder of the Buggy parades we had in my hometown. Wagons, bicycles, buggies were all decorated for a 'kids' parade. Pets often participated, too.


Here  the neighbor's kitty chases tin cans tied to the bike. Remember playing cards clothes pinned to your bike spokes....what a racket we made, horns our our handle bars and bells you pressed with a thumb?


An Oatmeal box became a drum...Gosh we had fun. I remember playing kazoos, tooted tin horns,  and combs/with wax paper folded on them. You puckered up your lips and hummed on the combs, 
the paper made a great buzzy noise.


I remember home-made flags, and streamers woven in our bikes' spokes,  and some of us had balloons trailing behind us!!


I hope your FOURTH of JULY  was safe and filled with hometown 
FUN and Memories!

The vest was heavy cotton-duck cloth.
I used watered down acrylics with fabric medium.
Micropoint permanent pens, not sure what brand
Gold sparkle fabric paint
metal star studs, plastic buttons, and porcelain buttons.

I drew the characters freehand to fit the space and then added color and enhanced afterward.





Monday, July 1, 2019

World Watercolor Month Day 1:Primary Palette

AD-Free Blog

In my last post I wrote about #WatercolorMonth and my reasons for joining in. 

My rules are simple---ONE piece of paper ---NO-DO OVERS--intend to follow the prompt, but be open to SERENDIPITY, and HAVE FUN!

Day 1 prompt is Primary Palette, meaning red, yellow and blue. From my OLD stash I chose Grumbacher Academy Thalo Red, WinsorNewton's Artists Lemon Yellow, and WinsorNewton's Artists Cobalt Blue. These are the closest to pure color wheel colors I have. 


oldnewgreenredo

I put a dab of each color in my palette cups. The yellow gushed out some sort of liquid that was thick and gooey. The tube had settled and all the pigment was in the bottom half. The other two tubes were fine and had never been opened. I had to use a pliers. 

PERSONAL GOAL: on this prompt is to let the paints mix on the paper--and keep a pure palette.

oldnewgreenredo

My brushes are in feeble condition at best---OLD craft brushes I have used with the Grand for craft paint. The red handled ones are from a mixed set purchased for kid crafting. The flower handled brushes are OLD quality craft painting synthetic brushes. A foam brush is great for putting water on the paper.

oldnewgreenredo

After taping my paper down on my board, I did some sweeping brush strokes with the foam brush full of water, followed by dabs and sweeps of the pure colors. Immediately the color starts to spread and puddle as the paper swells. 

Sky, sunlight and maybe some flowers?



oldnewgreenredo

An overhead fan helped to keep my paint drying quick. Hoping to get some sort of 'green-ish' tones to occur, I layered strokes and dabbed on top of each other with blues and yellows. One brush produced the little 'ferret feet' when I dry brush and daubed paint on.  

I then spritzed areas with the water mister.
This is when SERENDIPITY kicks in.

oldnewgreenredo

Since I'm using sketchbook paper, it stretched very quickly into hills and valleys. I tipped the board trying to control...HAHAHAHA... the flowing of the colors. 
Fun part about watercolor is NOT controlling it! 
Go with the flow.


oldnewgreenredo

If you are compelled to control--wicking off excess water or color is easily done with q-tips or paper toweling for larger areas. Even another dry brush will remove paint from specific areas.

oldnewgreenredo


I Love how the colors do their own thing----! 

oldnewgreenredo

I walked away for a bit and this is what the blue bits did on their own, I then added red bits with the stubbly brush, aiming for flower centers.

oldnewgreenredo

These are flower impressions...again water spritzing blends this out more.

oldnewgreenredo

More daubing and shading with stronger colors on lower levels of the imaginary leaves and flowers. This is more coaxing than painting.  Finally I added some controlled brush strokes with the smallest brush, suddenly a container appeared and I went with that instead of a garden. 

oldnewgreenredo

Working in suggestions of leaves, vines, petals, flower centers. 
I stepped back---before it started to muddy up. 
Even with a limited palette be careful not to overwork your colors when a painting is wet.

oldnewgreenredo

GOAL: Here's my palette at the end, I succeeded in not mixing colors in the palette--the yellow/red to the right was basically an accident of sticking a brush in the wrong place. These paints will be useable again with water added. 



oldnewgreenredo

"Primary Colors"  Sandra Magle  #WatercolorMonth Day 1

There are bits here I really love, and some parts are ugh, but the important thing is I spent an hour and a half, not thinking about the heat, my knee, or politics. 
Sigh.......!
What are you doing for your soul, today! 

Disclaimer: Any products I am using are not a recommendation, but only for reference for the reader's use. I am in no way affiliated with any of the companies or products, or have I received compensation or products. 

I'll post my painting projects in a post, on Pinterest, Flickr and Facebook with the hashtag
 #WorldWatercolorMonth 














My Commitment:Watercolor Month


AD-Free Blog

Dear Reader, I have been trapped in our house for 8 weeks, with minimal outdoor time (small bits) because I'm nursing a serious knee injury. I'm unable to go up and downstairs to the basement, drive, or ramble anywhere on my own. I have been going crazy! Surgery for my knee-replacement won't be until October or November---SO---I've had to figure out--how to survive mentally and physically to enjoy this summer.

I decided to participate in THIS:
World Water Color Month July 2019 you can follow the links on this page for more information on this experience, sponsors, and charity for children's arts.

I ran across this World Wide promotion for the arts, with multiple sponsorships---All for kids and raising funds for art supplies. The Dreaming Zebra Foundation, is a charity providing support so that children and young adults are given an equal opportunity to explore and develop their creativity in the arts.

My challenge is to paint a different watercolor everyday, and try and remember techniques I once knew. I really need a challenge and kids need the ARTS! which has always been something dear to my heart.

During my art/career years, I volunteered in schools and demonstrated throwing pottery, even when my boys were grown. This meant hauling my 100# wheel up from the basement and into the truck and into the school--etc. But it was so worth it, as children are fascinated with the forming of the clay on a spinning wheel. I was also a volunteer Art Lady for local schools-bringing in historical paintings/sculptures of artists, talking about their history, and then leading a workshop in techniques used by those artists. All ages truly benefit from the arts, everywhere. I really loved doing this.


I haven't seriously painted for over 20 years. So, I dug in my old art supplies. In the late 80's early 90's I also worked for a craft store chain. I would purchase deep discounted art supplies--and have a selection of watercolors. All these paints are at least 25 years old, if not more.

I have lots of brushes downstairs, but unable to get down there---so, I'm charging ahead and using the few 'craft' brushes I had for the Grand to use in her 'craft' painting. This will really bare bones painting, I'm not interested in results---but more the journey.

 Supplies for watercolors: you will need a flat moveable work surface, cubbyhole palette, a spritzer bottle is a nice addition, tape, and I also add q-tips, absorbent paper and paper toweling. Two water glasses--one for cleaning and one for clear water. I hope to do some paintings outside on the porch, or even down on the deck.


Way back when, I must have been pretty selective because I have a great balance of colors, from multiple manufacturers. Mind you these were picked for their 'bargain cost' and not for specific quality in mind. Those 30 year old prices are a bit scary. Wonder how much they are now?


Reds can be the most expensive, if you are interested in ratings on watercolor brands/colors here is a good link for assessing what you might want to start with is
Look through the entire article as I think you can choose watercolors for all levels of artwork, including supplies for kids. 
My objective is to have some fun and maybe try and remember the techniques I once knew.


Yellows can be pretty expensive also, but a little goes a long way. Tertiary colors-(browns, golds-earth) colors are usually pretty reasonable. Craft stores have regular sales on sets as much as 40% off of list prices--great for a beginner. I'll make a color chart of the paints I have as I use them. This is always a good reference for when you are using old paints. 


At Christmas I had purchased this inexpensive Reeves Gouache set to use with my granddaughter at 1/2 price with a coupon. Gouache is a more opaque form of watercolors, and you can work on top of the colors. I really liked using these for detail work.
This is a very complete set---since six-year olds aren't really able to mix all the colors themselves. There is no waste, as dried up watercolors can be reconstituted with a little fresh water. 

I plan on using sketchbook paper for most of the paintings, because that is what I have, now. SOMEWHERE I have watercolor paper, probably downstairs, UGH! 

Watercolor month also gives artists different prompts for each day! I will follow this--as it will help me narrow down subject matter and focus. This doesn't mean I won't be spontaneous...hope you enjoy this journey with me.

This week's Prompts are:

Day 1 Primary Palette (red, yellow,blue)
Day 2 Sunny Sky
Day 3 Picnic Food
Day 4 Family Fun
Day 5 Loose and Free
Day 6 Window View

I'll post my painting projects in a post, on Pinterest, Flickr and Facebook with the hashtag
 #WorldWatercolorMonth