Slaying the Dragon

"The Sound of Silence"   $2500, framed
Original watercolor, collage, and acrylic
Image size:  22 x 30"  Framed:  30 x 38"

This painting took me 4 days to complete.  I whined all the way through it! 'as I tell my students who whine,  "Would you like a little cheese to go with that whine?"   It was truly a lesson in perseverance.   There were so many times when I wanted to quit and make it into a journal cover, something I do with my rejects.  But this voice kept telling me that my best paintings are the ones that involve a struggle.  When this happens to you, here's my advice:  

1.  Ask yourself why you are painting this.  Be sure to get that message across to the viewers.

2.  Keep telling yourself to have fun!  Learn from your mistakes and go forward a wiser person.

3.  Draw a value sketch if your design is faltering.

4.  Remember my 3 words:  Repetition, Variation, and Dominance.

5.  Take photos of your painting in progress.  You will see values lots better in the tiny screen.

Now, that I'm finished, I'm so glad that I continued the good fight and truly did slay that dragon!!! This painting is for my solo exhibition in Miles City, MT at the Waterworks Museum on Oct. 15 - Nov. 10th.  My opening reception is on the 15th at 1:00.  Everyone is invited to attend! 

Day 16: 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"Favorite Meditation Spot"     $99   (SOLD)
11" x 12"         Watercolor and charcoal pour

I am playing catch up, after hosting our daughter and 2 granddaughters at our condo in FL for the past 3 days.  (Great time!)  When we were swimming in the pool, I floated on my back and it felt so good to just BE.  I think I'd like to make that a part of my every day routine.  Finding somewhere that is special to me to meditate.  When in MN, that place is the North Shore of Lake Superior, where the sound of the waves, lots of birch, pine trees, and great rocks make the perfect spot for me to get back to my soul.
This painting started with a charcoal pour, where I sprinkle ground charcoal on a paper and throw a huge bucket of water on the paper, which disperses the charcoal towards the outer edges with great force.  Below I have my start to this painting.  I could envision a landscape from this beginning. Using a credit card loaded with paint, I scraped in the markings on the birch trees.  It's a great technique.  This was a very limited palette, so that the charcoal markings could match the paint.  I used burnt sienna mixed with ultramarine blue.  At the end, I added a little raw sienna to warm up the painting.

Charcoal Pour Start

Day 10- 30 Paintings in 30 Days!

"Birch Trees in red and green"     Original Watercolor

11" x 11"      $99 (during January, 2017

My favorite color scheme these days is red and green.  My house is decorated in those colors, and I wear those colors often.  I remember a workshop with Donna Watson, where she said you should keep to the colors you love.  Her paintings are lovely variations of grey.  I love the simplicity of her paintings.  My problem is that I love many other colors too.  But red and green are my favorites.  You probably will see many more birch paintings with different color schemes.  I think it would be a fun challenge within this challenge!