Apr30Art

We went to our friend Bob Becker's memorial service this morning, Congressman Scott attended as well as a large group of Bob's friends and his family we will all miss him very much.
I haven't messed up the date on a page in a very long time... I was distracted with the day's events I suppose.

Apr29Art

My impatiens are looking happy in their new home now, new blooms.  I've got a good mix of dark and light pinks and purples.  If the sun is out tomorrow I'll try to take a photo of them. 
I was working from home today, so I got to watch the wedding (only thing on every channel this morning)... I hope they enjoy many years of happy togetherness.

Apr28Art

Just heard on the news that the death toll for the storm is now over 200 souls... by the time it got to us it was barely enough to wet the ground good. What a disaster for the people of Alabama.

Apr27Art

Art class/workshop started again tonight, we added a new painter to the group. One of our members went to a week long Springmaid Watermedia clinic with Don Andrews... she told us all about her week and how much fun she had... but how discouraged she was by her paintings at the workshop so that when she came home she did not touch a brush for over a month. Our instructor said that was not an unusual reaction to an intensive workshop like that especially when the artist has a completely different style from your own. I've been eying those week long art class/get aways on the beach... but couldn't afford to go... after hearing about it, I think I'd still like to go some day... I think Pat Weaver teaches there and she might be fun to study under.

Palmettos on the Beach

I really messed up the sky on this one, so I cropped it out..  It looks better without the sky.  This is on 11x14 300lbs Fabriano paper. 

Apr25Art

I really love birds, I could watch them for hours... as happens to me a lot, no camera, no sketchbook at hand... so I just watched and tried to remember.

Apr25Art

A little storm blew in from the ocean this evening, wasn't predicted at all, as luck would have it not one drop fell on my new flowers, so when I got home I had to water them. My Lantana has already started to flower and I've got at least one day lily ready to bloom. I LOVE Spring.

Stinky Piggy

Another exercise in loose painting... this one is a real stinker... Colors... Opera pink, Quin Magenta, transparent Brown Oxide, Ultramarine Violet, Raw Sienna and Cobalt Teal... on and Indigo for the eye.

Apr24Art

Happy Easter....
I got the flowers planted around my dogwood tree, still have some that need to go in the planter boxes on the porch. I hope to get a little painting done this evening... haven't gotten to paint as much as I'd hoped to this weekend.

Apr23Art

Got some of my flowers planted this morning, before my back said... 'NO MORE'... I'm going to need more 'Moo Do'... didn't guess correctly on the amount I needed. It was such a lovely sunny day... I just did some sunny yellow and orange circles.

Apr22Art

It rained on and off all day long today.... the flats of flowers are sitting in the yard waiting to be planted... hopefully it'll hold off tomorrow morning and I can spread that new composted manure in the flower beds then I can get them all in the ground...

Apr21Art

In spite of bad weather a crowd of over 500 showed up for the Charleston Tea Party 'It's not just about taxes' rally tonight.  We had some inspiring speakers included our Congressman Tim Scott, who is always a crowd pleaser in Charleston. 

Apr20Art

Attended Congressman Tim Scott's townhall meeting tonight.  Actually had my question drawn from the bowl to ask in person.... first time that's ever happened to me.  After the meeting, we went out for coffee and conversation with friends...  a good day all in all.

Apr19Art

Next exercise on my painting forum getting loose is to paint a pig... I spent so much time doing this page, organizing my desk... basically putting off that first paint on paper moment that it is now almost 9pm and time to get ready for bed and no paint is on the paper except his eye LOL.

Apr18Art

Took the envelopes to the post office around 6pm... had to take the day off today to get them finished... I really have to stop being such a procrastinator and keep better records... so I'm not scrambling on the last day.... yep... I need to do that... but right now I'm going to have a glass of wine and maybe some ice cream.... they're done.

Apr17Art

We spent a quiet day today... just doing stuff around the house and gathering info for doing the taxes tomorrow. Yes I'm a procrastinator ...

Apr16Art

Met up with friends to see the movie today.. excellent movie, one of my all time favorite books.. I hope they make the other 2 parts of it... this one was great and the guy playing Reardon is HOT!!! as he should be ;-) Rearranged the colors in my paint box, to include my new colors. Dropped Sap green, Quin Sienna and paynes gray. Now the only colors in my box that are not single pigment are Raw Sienna and Hookers Green... I know I should drop the green but some days I'm too lazy to mix my greens. There's a definite leaning toward, reds and oranges in my paint box... hum.... am I color biased?
Colors are LY=Lemon Yellow, IB=Indigo Blue, CT=Cobalt teal, HY=Hansa Yellow, CO=Cobalt Blue, PB=Prussian Blue, NG=New Gamboge, FU=French Ultramarine Blue, QM=Quin. Magenta, AC=Alizarin Crimson, QG = Quin. Gold, UV=Ultramarine Violet, QR=Quin Red, RS=Raw Sienna, HG=Hooker's Green, OP=Opera Pink, QBO= Quin Burnt Orange, TO=Translucent Orange, QC= Quin Coral, PO=Perm. Orange, BS=Burnt Sienna, BO=Brown Oxide 

Apr15Art

Ron and I were delegates for the very first time.  We were both elected as delegates to the state convention, and I was elected to the executive board as 3rd Vice Chairman.  Now the real work begins.

Rooster - finished

9x12 Arches 140 lbs rough paper.  This is the final on the Rooster from yesterday.  I used Aliz Crimson, Pyroll Orange and Prussian Blue.  He was fun to do... pretty scary with no drawing before hand to guide you.

Apr14Art

Some days I just don't have anything to say.... and this is one of those days.

Rooster - step 1

9x12 watercolor based on Jean Haines book and DVD "How to Paint Colour and Light in watercolour". One of my classmates sees a goldfish here... and I do too at this stage... might be fun to try her technique for a fish next.

Apr13Art

Waiting on paint to dry, I decided to draw the psychedelic frog that a student had painted on a ceiling tile.  The kid's frog is awesome, my copy not so much... but it was fun to do.

Apr12Art

The actual rental chicks are black, but I didn't think people would know what it was if I painted the chicken black. For an extra fee you can keep the chicken if you become attached. It's an interesting idea...

Apr11Art

I've only known Bob a couple of years.  He was a kind man, that served his country as a young man, and in his senior years was doing what he could to help principled conservatives get elected.  He was a faithful member of several 9-12 groups, indeed he was part of the program at the Goose Creek 9-12 meeting last Thursday... and Friday he was gone.  We will all miss him very much.... rest in peace Bob.

Apr10Art

.Lazy Sunday at our house, finally out and about after lunch for shopping... then back home to watch the Masters on TV... exciting finish.. Charl S. (can't spell it) from South Africa won...

Fuscia #2- after Jean Haines

Tried the Fuscia again... after Jean Haines book and DVD. This time I used Quin Red and Ultramarine Violet... I mixed the green with Lemon Yellow and Prussian Blue. This time I used 140lbs Rough Arches paper... the water didn't soak in so quickly... and I was able to get similar effect and not too much mud this time.

Apr09Art

Went to the library to review school text books that SC is thinking of buying... boy was that an eye opener. Ron was cooking some beer, while I splashed some paint on paper later this afternoon. I got my new colors from Daniel Smith... yummy new colors... I do love Daniel Smith's paints.

New colors...

Testing out my new paint colors.. the brown I got for painting black people's complexions... I think it's going to add a richness that I haven't been able to achieve before... so I'm very pleased with it and with it's transparency. Roz love PB60, so I had to try some of that blue. Jean Haines loves PO71 so I had to get some of that orange... and for me I got the Opera pink... which is a really beautiful pink... doesn't show up very nice on my monitor... but I LOVE it... I'm very happy with my new colors

Fuscia - after Jean Haines

This is a 'warm up' exercise in Jean Haines book 'How to Paint Colour & Light in watercolour' . It is on 300 lbs paper, I probably should have used 140 lbs paper like she does... the 300 lbs paper soaked up the paint and water fairly quickly so some of the run I should have gotten didn't happen... and some went too far and made mud puddles. This loose painting is not as easy as it looks.. but I do love it.

Apr08Art

Chamber of Commerce day today in Charleston... rode my scooter to work and didn't really need my coat today. Went to Wild Wings for dinner and ate some sinful appetizers... we'll go back on the diet tomorrow... they were yummy.

Lavender Fields

This is a watercolor on 9x12 Arches 140 lbs rough paper. I'm not particularly happy with the foreground, nor the lavender rows on the right... too much purple it's just a bit overwhelming... but an interesting exercise none the less.

Apr07Art

It's been a busy week... great meeting tonight... good to catch up on what everyone is doing. 

Apr06Art

Another disappointing loss tonight... looks like hockey will be over very soon.  Hopefully they'll look for and recruit a goalie for next year.

Apr05Art

Hockey game tonight... we lost in over time... the team really played their hearts out... the goalie let a puck dribble in... and we lost... needless to say lots of disappointed Stingrays fans tonight.

Apr04Art

 

Got busy this evening doing color testing... and totally forgot to post to my blog... Akkk.

Color tests....

I did several of Judith’s planet color tests tonight…. I had all this almost typed in and POOF it all disappeared… AKKKK… so here I go again… On the pages I use a short hand for paint colors… 
FU and UM both mean Fr. Ultra Marine Blue…
RS – Raw Sienna
BS – Burnt Sienna
CO – Cobalt Blue
PB – Prussian Blue
CT – Cobal Turquoise
HY – Hansa Yellow
LY – Lemon Yellow
QG – Quin. Gold (DS single pigment color)
QM – Quin. Magenta

Apr03Art

Been having fun today... between loads of laundry and doing the weekly grocery shopping... boy coffee has gone sky high... 11.68 for 32 oz of 100% Colombian... Will my great grand children read this some day and think that's a high price or a low price?  I wonder. 

My first hand made Journal

I've been wanting to make my own journal for some time now... today I finally did it.  This one is only 1 signature, and the cover is watercolor paper, inside Stonehenge paper in 4 colors (going to test out my Gouache on colored paper).  I used Carole (Sketchalina)'s idea for the cover and the fold out larger pages... it is small 4x6 so it will fit in my purse easily.

Apr02Art

My little bird bath sprang a leak and won't hold water anymore... so we went in search of a new bird bath.  I like having close up views of birds without the mess of feeders... besides my next door neighbor has 4 or 5 feeders and nest boxes in her yard... so I provide the water and a place for a nice bath LOL

Apr01Art

Spent the evening playing with my new toys, new Gouache colors, Jean Haines book, and mylar sheets to make my own stencils... not exactly a success... but it was kind of fun... my next ones will be better... or not... who cares?