Late Again! Spring Fling

Daffodils

Just a tad late posting this...but it's still the 24th Pacific time!

Yes. I saw them in the yard. OK. So right now they are merely lumpy buds but Spring is really popping up :D

Watercolor WIP - The Leaves

First I want to thank those that are following along. At this point you should have your background done and it should be throughly dry.

At this point I lay out my palette for my leaves: Sepia, burnt umber, cerelean blue, windsor red, windsor yellow, Hooker green, quinacridone red, quinacridone yellow.

I start by giving the branches a light wash of sepia:



and then add a second darker wash on the shadow side of the branches:



Next I will lay in some of my underlying accent color, in this case yellow:



I give all the leaves a light wash of red:



Let your painting dry in between washes (I sometimes use a hairdryer to speed the drying process). I now start to concentrate on each leaf and start adding more colors to each one, I will continue adding colors letting the painting dry between layers, until I get the look I want on each leaf. In this last picture I have started working on the bottom leaves, On the two large leaves in the center I dropped a bit of kosher salt into the very wet paint (being careful to keep it just where I wanted it). When the paint is dry brush off the salt and continue painting.



I still have a lot to add but will continue along in this manner until I have completed the painting. I keep my paint fairly juicy so that in each area the paint colors will mingle with each other as I drop them in. I keep my wet areas separate from each other as I paint so that no wet leaves are next to each other as I don't want them blending into each other. I will add blues to the leaves to achieve the purplish colors found in the leaves and darken some of the yellow highlights, I will remove some paint from the veins of the leaves, and add some yellow and beige so that they will stand out. I will add salt to some of the other leaves as I like the effect it gives. I will be back on the 29th with what I hope is my finished painting. Thanks again for following along.

Joann Wheeler

I want to feature one of our artists. Her name is Joann Wheeler and she does alot of beautiful Porcelain painting, which totally intriques me.

Here's the interview with her,

1) Tell us about yourself.

My name is Joann Wheeler from Pasadena, Maryland. I love to paint and have been doing so since I was a child. I have taken classes from time to time at art shops, etc. but basically I'm pretty much self trained. I would describe myself as a porcelain and miniature artist.

2) What are your preferred mediums and art scale (miniature, large art, etc)?

My first love is porcelain art (china painting), however I also love to paint watercolors, pastel & colored pencil. I prefer miniature art (ACEO's). Since I am a prolific painter keeping it small doesn't cause me storage issues.

3) What are your inspirations?

I am inspired by God and nature. I love to paint flowers particularly and religious art.

4) Describe your art style.

My daughter describes it as realistic, but I don't think my paintings are realism. I personally dont think I have a particular style as some painters do. It depends on the mood I'm in as to how I paint.

5) Do you do anything other than painting?

I like to take recycled old jewelry and restructure it into one of a kind pieces. I wish I had more time for it because you can come up with some pretty interesting things. Periodically I will do some decorative painting on wood or glass.

6) Do you Blog, and what is your link?

I do blog. you can find my blog at http://jywheeler.blogspot.com

You can also find me on facebook

7) Where do you sell online?

http://jywheeler.etsy.com

http://bonanzle.com/electicspirit

http://www.artfire.com/users/ArtByJYWheeler

And sometimes I'm on Ebay

8) Are you opened to commission work?

Yes

9) What was your favorite piece of work?

I have so many pieces of work that I absolutely love. I couldn't choose just one.

10) Do you sell in a brick and mortar shop? If so, where?

No, just online and occasionally an art/craft show in the area.

I hope you enjoyed our interview with Joann Wheeler. Be sure to check out her shops and links.

I picked a few of my favorites of Joann's to show you. This cutting board is my absolute favorite, one side has this beautiful painting, and the other side is left unfinished so you can actually use it as a cutting board, functional art.

Watercolor Backgrounds - Continued

Good Morning - Are you all ready to start your background?

The first thing I do after I make my sketch is to mask off the areas that I don't want to get paint in. It his case I have masked the outline around the drawing. This is a 12X15.



Next I prepare my paint, I make my paint "juicy" as my teacher calls it, lots of water in the paint. I prepare all the colors that I want to put into my background.
For this picture I prepared teal, green, blue, and red. I use large and medium size mop brushes (natural hair brushes work best, my are black squirrel). I paint in the small interior background areas with my medium brush, these areas will not get Saran Wrap as they are too small.




Next I pick a large section of the background (I do it in sections on larger works, if you are working on a smaller one 5X7 and down, you can do it all at once). I wet my paper and then apply my main color (teal) to this I drop in spots of the other colors at random.


Once you have the section ready (it should be really wet) take a piece of Saran Wrap and crinkle it up, open the wrap up and place over your painted area, smashing it up a little so there will be wrinkles in the Saran Wrap, make sure the edges don't cover up the ajoining background areas.



Continue this process until all background areas have been painted and Saran Wrap applied.


!!IMPORTANT!! You must now let it dry. It has to be completely dry for this effect to work correctly. Walk away from your painting and be patient. I let mine sit overnight.

This is what my painting looked like after I removed the Saran Wrap and then a picture with the mask removed.





You are now ready to start painting the main subject of your painting. I usually start out with the parts that are the farthest back, in this case I will start with the branches. If you'd like to continue on I will be back on the 23rd to add more color to this painting.

Watercolor - Backgrounds

There are many ways to accomplish painting a background in watercolor. This is an example of a poured background. With this technique you actually make up a small container of watercolor by putting in water (amount depends on how large your picture is, I used 1/4 cup of water for each color (yellow, orange, red orange) you then add your paint until it is the color you want. You Mask out completely all areas that are not background. Wet the surface of your paper and "pour" the paint on, tilting the paper and letting it run and mingle. Let it completely dry, remove your mask and paint the main portion of your painting.



There are also washes, glazes, sprinkling salt onto a wet area, dropping alcohol into a wet area, etc. Starting Today and continuing tomorrow I thought I would show you a step by step technique that I love, especially when doing a floral or botanical painting as it turns out almost looking like folage when done. It is using Saran Wrap.

The first thing you do is "stretch" your paper, don't know why they call it that. Tape it down to the surface of your choice, I use a piece of glossy foam board. Draw your picture next. I am using a photo taken by another artist friend for this painting.

This is the picture of my photo reference (photo is the property of Audrey at Magic Miracles and Joy of being an artist, who has given me permission to paint it):



This is my prepared paper and drawing:



You can click on the pictures to make them larger. I have left this picture a little dark and also have drawn my pencil lines a little darker than I normally would in order for them to show.

Now for those that would like to follow along you must now go and mask out your main picture, It takes a lot of mask so you can just do a good border around all of your images that are not background. I am going to go and mask off my areas I do not want to get paint on and I will be back tomorrow to show you how to do the background. I use a liquid Mask that comes in a small bottle with a nib that allows you to draw thin or thick lines, some mask comes in a bottle that you can apply with a brush. Mask is also called Frisket. Use any kind that you are comfortable with, and that can be removed easily.

Here is an example of a Saran Wrap Background to show you what the effect will look like:



See you back here tomorrow.

Meet LazyHawk - Marlene Hawkins

1) Tell us about yourself.
I am a wife, mother, and grandmother who loves to paint in many different mediums, embroidery, needle felt, scrapbook, and just about any other craft that comes along. I love to experiment with new techniques and play with colors. My favorite subjects are landscapes and florals, I do have fun with cartoon type subjects as well

2) What are your preferred mediums and art scale (miniature, large art, etc)
I love to work in the ACEO size format as it is easy to carry along with me. I also like working on any size up to appx 18X24. I have painted on saw blades both straight and round and enjoyed that very much. I mostly like to work in Watercolor which included watercolor crayons and pencils, and Acrylics. I love to do drawing in graphite. I have done oils but I am too impatient for those. I also love working with fibers be it needle felting or embroidery.

3) What are your inspirations.
I get my inspriation from nature, and from challenges and themes issued in the artist groups I belong too.

4) Describe your art style.
I don't know that I have a "style" I am still trying to find myself as an artist. I am not so sure if I want to be defined with a specific "style" anyway as I get so much enjoyment from trying new things.

5) Do you do anything other than painting (jewelry, crafts)
I make jewelry, do mosaics. I have also made several porcelain dolls and enjoy that, and have done ceramics in the past. I enjoy making my own Decorative paper also, which I use in making journals and mini albums.

6) If you blog, what is your blog link.
http://marlenes-musings.blogspot.com

7) Where do you sell online?
I sell a little on Ebay under the username lazyhawk
My Shop on Etsy is: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lazyhawk

8) Are you opened to commission work?
Yes, I would love the opportunity to work on some projects for others.

9) What was your favorite piece of work? If you have a photo, include it.
I have a lot of favorites, here is one of my graphite sketches and one of my watercolors

8) Do you sell in a brick & mortar shop? If so where? No I don't.

Days rolling on By.....

Wow I don't know where our days keep rolling on by so quickly anymore, I know I can't believe how each day slips by faster and faster to me, what about you??  I have been able lately to get a few artworks out and such,

 I so ready for the spring and sunshine to comeback!! :) The photo above is from one icy morning when the sun was actually showing itself!! :)

 Please come and check out all my artwork and vintage items that I am listing on my Etsy Site ArtBylisak

What about you- adult or child?

I recently read a topic on the net (TwitterMoms I believe) that posed a question to readers and I was so amazed at the answers I had read that I thought I would pose the question here on the DAWG group to see what people would say.

At what point in your life did you realize you were not a child anymore?

Personally the question posed sort of a dilemma. I know I am an adult, but there is a part of me I believe that will always- or at least I hope always- will stay a child.
Being an artist, I sort of rely on that part of me for my creative process. It is that childish curiosity that I turn to when I pick up an object to look at it to draw or paint. I try to look at things with a child's eye -looking at something for the first time- to see things I probably would never notice as an adult. For example just picking a leaf up off of the ground. Looking at it's shape and line, seeing all of the little grooves and veins, feeling it's texture, the parts that are rough or smooth and seeing how the light looks on it when I turn it different directions.
It is that same childish part of me that helps me to appreciate the little things in day to day life. The rippling of a clear, cool stream, the sunlight through the trees, the little wonders of nature that reveal themselves to those paying attention and allowing us capture a glimpse of them in all of their glory- a little rabbit, a doe and fawn, or a groundhog. And it is that childish excitement that drives me to create the beauty of it all.
Really that is the best part of me- that childish side- it gives me hope and inspiration, it lets me believe in goodness and purity, it is the kindest, most loving part of my heart that allows my faith, my forgiveness, and my caring nature. And sometimes it is the source of my courage- courage to try new things, to seek out the unknown, to live life without fear, but with awe and wonder.
So what about you? When did you first realize you were all grown up- or have you?

Baby Snow Leopard

As Most people can tell just by looking at my paintings, I love wildlife. Animals are such a beautiful gift from God, and the world would be a bit boring without them.
This is a new painting entitled, Baby Snow Leopard. It is 16x20 oil on stretched canvas, no frame needed. I really like how it turned out.
Reference photo by photographer Daniela Pintimalli. Thank you Daniela. You can see her work here.
Did you know that the unique whisker patterns of lions are like finger prints and no two are the same? I wonder if that's true for all cats?
If you are interested in this painting it will soon be on my website and etsy shop.
You can follow me on Twitter,
Become a Fan of my art on Facebook.
Make sure you check out the artwork of our team on etsy, just type in dawgteam under search. The artwork from these ladies is amazing!

Looking for Flowers?

Valentine's Day is approaching...check out these items as an alternative to the bouquet of flowers that will last for maybe a week?

Visit Etsy and search DAWG team and flower and discover many different works of art to provide lasting enjoyment for your Valentine!

Here is just a sample of what you will find...

Etsy Buy Handmade leepierce

To see more CLICK HERE

OR HERE

Animoto.com!

Happy Thursday, fellow DAWG Group, and God Bless!

Today I'm going to make a post about a new site that I found last night, called animoto.com.

This site is great for promoting your items that you wish to sell on Etsy or those that you just make and want to show to your online friends.

For no cost, it gives you a 30 second video where you can upload your pictures and set music to your video, either music from your own computer or varied tracks that the site itself has. I didn't know any of the songs they had listed EXCEPT for some in the Christian/Gospel section, so I thought that was pretty cool. :)

You can make as many videos as you want, and it is really awesome. Please, take a few minutes and check out this wonderful, easy to use site... and come see my own video HERE!



Have a great day, ladies, and always remember, every person you come across is an opportunity to show God's love. :)

Sellin HandMade on the internet.

We have Ebay and we have ETSY but today I want to talk about ArtFire.

Below is my rapid cart, a feature you receive when you join ArtFire.
Rapid Cart is a special feature here on ArtFire.com which allows shoppers to buy items from your ArtFire studio without ever having to actually visit your studio! Rather, buyers can shop and make purchases straight from your Shop Window, posted on your blog or website.