excited to paint

Next in line...boats all lined up...well sort of...they are quite jumbled...but the colors are what attracted me to this scene.  Painting something, whatever it may be, starts with a gut reaction.  A reaction to the contrast of lights and darks, the striking composition, the colors, the emotional connection to the subject..etc..etc.. find that special something that pulls you in and makes you excited to paint! (by the way I was interviewed on blogtalk radio yesterday...here is the link.)

Decisions

Number 3 in the series..I really like the juxtaposition of the umbrellas and their jumbled colors. It is sometimes hard to simplify a scene, especially if there is so much information.  What to edit and what to include? Decisions, decisions.

Shadow dancing

My second in the 8"x8" series.  I'll pass along a bit of advice that has made its way into my brain over the years...a shadow on anything is a darker color of the surface it is cast upon...like the shadows created by these shutters on the yellow building...sometimes the tendency is to generalize and make every shadow a blue or purple or gray.. so paint what is there, not what you think is there.

size series

I did some small 8x8 paintings on a recent trip and I'll post those the next several weeks...all with a sunny, warm and colorful look to them.  That is another way to work in a series...cut your paper to all be the same size and then once you have 10 or 12 little paintings they become quite the collection.

Art show visit

I visited the American Watercolor Society show this weekend in NYC...quite the collection of paintings in such a unique setting.  I had never been to the Salmagundi Art Club where the paintings are on two floors for the AWS show.  It's nice to see such a grouping in person and really get a close look at the art...it always trumps seeing images reproduced in magazines or on the computer!

Trying something new

These are my one minutes warm up sketches that start off the figure sessions.  This time I divided my paper in rectangles prior to the poses being struck..so I gave myself some new borders to work within.  Always trying to try something new...what do you do to stay or get re-inspired?

show news

This is a repeat posting of "The Glance", but I wanted to let you know that this piece was juried in to the New England Watercolor Society's 13th Biennial North American Open exhibition at the Attleboro Art Museum in Attleboro, Mass.  If you click the link it will take you to the NEWS website and give you info on the show.  It runs from April 19 - May 12.

Tulip cards

Here is another card set that I have available...thought it was quite appropriate for spring.  We had an early blast of warmer weather and everything started to shoot up...but the brakes have been put on and hopefully things will bloom on schedule this year!  If you are interested in the set..you get 2 cards each of these four images for $21.95 plus $3.05 s/h for a total of $25.00...in a lovely clear box...send me an email.

Train the eye

Trying the new blogger layouts...it wanted me to upgrade the other day..so it's a learning curve... Went to the figure sessions again last night..this drawing is from a couple weeks ago.  I find I'm doing more graphite work and not as much wc work...hmmm wonder why.  Either way it's good to go and train the eye!