Watercolor Paintings

My painting stuff has been put in storage for over eight months and since moving to Virginia I've had a lot of time on my hands.  And so I  pulled my paints and paper out and started painting.  I wanted to try something new and I'm not sure I like this painting...but it fun to try it.

My mom gave me some paints for Christmas and I found that the paints contained a beautiful pink color.  I wanted to try it out and thought that these flowers would provide a good opportunity.  And it was perfect and wonderful!

And this is the painting I finished this morning.  Do you like it?  I think it turned out really well.  I have a goal for another painting but won't share that with you all now. 

Watercolor painting

This is the latest picture I painted. The photo of the painting doesn't really do the picture justice...and the little purple dot in the upper right hand corner makes it look a little sloppy. I need to find some "white-out" and get rid of that purple dot. I was opening the tube of paint when it exploded out and got paint on the picture. One thing about watercolors is that you can't really remove color. So, I'll get that fixed someday but for right now it's there and it's okay.

I painted this picture two or three weeks ago. In this painting I was using masking...which is something very rubbery that you paint onto the picture in the places you'd like to keep white and then you can paint without worrying about painting it that spot. And when everything is dry, you can rub off the masking and do something it the white spots. I used masking to make all the white dots in the purple background and also for the beads in the fairy's hair. After taking the masking off, I painted the beads, which are hard to see in this photo...but they are there.

Been painting up a storm

This is my latest receiving blanket and I love the frogs and the matching light blue interior material. The crocheted edge design takes a little longer to do since I go around the edge three times. When doing a receiving blanket for little boys, I worry about the edging being too girly. This is one design that I think is okay for baby boys.

Here is another fairy! It was also a study of portions for me. SM asked me about backgrounds and why I haven't painted them. I need to buy some masking liquid. This allows me to paint a background quickly without getting the main figure wet. The background usually has to be painted quickly because you don't want it to dry out before you are finished. Otherwise, visually you can see different dry spots that look all wrong. So, one of theses days I need to find an art store around here and buy some masking liquid and try my hand at getting a background in before painting the main focal point.

This last painting was an attempt at painting a portrait. I struggle with faces. I can do so many other things and they look fine but I've always struggled with faces. First of all, they never look exactly like the model I've chosen...and sometimes they barely look alike. It's the same for me when sketching with pencil. I can't exactly see what makes someone look the way they do and so I can't imitate it. I do have to say that I enjoy how this face turned out...at least it's not ugly...but it's not exactly the same as the model. I wish the lips were fuller, showing more of a softness and happiness. I'll need to keep practicing to figure out what makes a face a face. Meanwhile, enjoy!

It's that time again...Spring!

I love Spring! I'm not expecting that I haven't seen the last of the snow, but don't the tulips just give you hope for Spring? I was going to clean off the table to show the flowers but decided that was too much work. And so you get a preview of my new painting.

It's that time again! SM and I started germinating our little seeds about two weeks ago and put them in little pots of dirt. The plants you currently see coming up are the tomatoes. The bell peppers are a little slower at poking their heads out of the dirt. It's crazy how much SM and I love plants. Every day when SM comes home from work he heads over to those pots to see the changes that have happend that day.

Hummingbird & a Fairy

I'm excited that I've started painting again. I painted this Fairy & Hummingbird last week. And then I put all my paints away. Am I in a slump? I don't know but that's okay. Also, I don't have much to say...I wrote my family email and now they know everything...so, nothing to say. Hugs and kisses!

A new painting

I pulled out my paints and started a new painting. It seemed I was busy enough during the days that I only had time to paint at night. But I had a couple hours each evening that I spent on this picture. I like how the painting turned out and hope that it encourages me to paint some more. Unfortunately, I don't know how to take a photo of the picture. I would like more light on the picture so I guess I'll have to work on my photography next.

Another Painting

I finished this painting yesterday...or I guess I should say I finally painted this picture. I did the sketch for this painting last summer before we moved...but at the time I felt like my creative side had jumped in the background. And I guess it really did since I packed and organized instead of painting...which was very important. Okay, enough musing. Here is another fairy painting.

Fairy

This week I picked up my paints again to continue with my fairies. The flowers are gladiolus. Growing up, my mom grew some gladiolus in with the vegetables. I really loved these beautiful flowers sticking up next to the onions. Enjoy the painting.

Fairy anyone?

Here is the next fairy in my fairy series. I actually took about a week to paint this picture. I painted the fairy in one day and then slowly painted the flowers. I actually dreaded working on the flowers...I didn't like the blue paint I was using (since it wasn't working the way I wanted it to) and I didn't like how the flowers seemed so fake. Anyway, I finally forced myself to finish the painting...and it's okay. It's not my favorite and I will never use that blue paint again, but it turned out okay in the end.

Another Fairy

Here's my latest fairy. I really like how it turned out. Enjoy!

Snowdrop Flower Fairy

I painted a new fairy...a snowdrop flower fairy. Each fairy I paint usually takes, from start to end, about a week to paint. This one was fun to paint because I had takend pictures of snowdrop flowers this spring. It really is a very pretty flower. Enjoy the fairy above and the snowdrop flowers below.

Another Fairy

I painted another fairy this week. I think I have a theme going here...and that's okay because I really like fairies. My favorite part about this fairy is her wings. They are awesome.

A new painting

I spent all day yesterday painting. That wasn't the plan. I really thought I'd get other stuff accomplished, but I sat down and started painting and the time flew by. I really wanted to finish the painting and I did, a little after five pm, and then it was time to start dinner. Phew! I'm always amazed at how hours can sneak past sometimes and at other times it just seems to crawl.

Well, enjoy the painting...I really do!