Ukrainian Snow Girl

 

This is my 2022 holiday snowperson....a Ukrainian snowgirl.  She was fun to do and seems so happy.  Her people are strong!

So far, I can't send the cards out.  My printer has failed and I am waiting for a new one to be delivered.  Hope it will be soon.

Tree Climbers

                                             

 This is a painting that will be part of the "What Brings Me Joy" show coming up at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop.  The reception is November 12 from 5:30-7:30.  The closing date is December 9.  

I m pretty happy with this painting. I made it from a picture I took in about 1980 of my daughters (Louisa and Jen), my nephews (Jake and Ben), and family friend Ethan crawling on a tree in the backyard in Nevada City, California.  I don't feel like it looks like those specific children...but catches their spirit.

I have four other paintings in the show--"Butterflies", "Daddy/Daughter Time", "Sunflowers", and "Hrvesting Oranges."  These are all things that bring me joy--love that theme!

Hummingbird

 

I do a bird almost every month for "Draw a Bird" Day, which is internationally recognized on the 8th of every month.  This is my October bird.  I was trying to follow directions in BevJozwiak's new book Confident Brushstrokes.  I kind of lost my way, but learned a lot and will keep trying.  I like painting a little looser and the strong colors.   

My friend Marian Wiseman puts birds she gets into a monthly blog for the Draw a Bird day.  Below is a link if you want to see some other birds....and she does other posts about art as part of our Wednesday Studio group.

https://thewednesdaystudio.net/

FINDING MY WAY

 

This is a painting that was juried into the upcoming Capitol Hill Art League show, "Parallax."  It is a labyrith with stepping stones of varying shapes and distances from each other--some overlapping.  The lines are done with metallic gold pen,

I have two other paintings in the show.  One is a watecolor of the Japanese Garden at Hillwood Estates and it is done on mineral paper, which is very slick.  

And the third painting is a view of a tabletop through a silver vase that has a pierced pattern:

The show is at Capitol Hill Arts Workshop and it  includes many local artists and a variety of mediums and sizes.  The address is 545 7th St SE in Washington, DC.  All are invited to the opening reception on  October 8, 2022, from 5:30-7:30.

TY SOPHIA

 

My granddaughter Sophia has been interested in crochet, knitting and needlepoint...among many things.  She made a needlepoint picture for me of dragonflies and I love it.  My little painting doesn't show how pretty and textured the original is.  I had a little trouble converting the needlepoint to watercolor, but I wanted to keep up my tradition of making a watercolor thank you card for the gifts I get.  The framed needlepoint is on my mantle, reminding me of a special granddaughter.

LABOR OF LOVE

 

I made this painting from a picture of my grandson, Griffin, when he was harvesting oranges while we were visiting my dad in California.  The Capitol Hill Art League has an upcoming show at a local shop, Frame of Mine,  The theme is "Labor of Love."  This was hard work for a little guy...I think he was 2 1/2 years old when this was taken.  It is also a "labor of love" for me to make a painting of him.  

Daddy Daughter Time

This is a scene from a Northern California beach.  I had the photo and found it conveyed the sense of a special time.   It was fun to do and I tried to keep it "loose."

It will be in a show at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop starting next week.  The reception is July 30.  

CRASHBOAT BEACH

 

This is a boat on "Crashboat Beach" in Puerto Rico.   I decided to make a painting of it and it was fun to remember the good times at several beaches, including this one, in Puerto Rico when I was on a trip with some of my friends.  

We rented a house in Rincon and took day trips to various beaches.  According to what I read, the name goes back to when it was part of a military base and rescue boats waited there to be called in case of a crash.  It also might be because the boats just crash into the beach to land.  Either way, it is a beautiful spot and I enjoyed the memories while I painted this.

BUTTERFLY

This butterfly painting was a class assignment for my Wednesday Studio group, and I am entering it in a student show that will be at Capitol Hill Arts Workshop starting June 7.  

I had a lot of fun doing it, and built up layers of paint and then was very loose with the backgound.  It is called a Red Spotted Purple Butterfly, but in the photo I had it is very blue and the spots were orange. 

TY SOPHIA

 

Still more flowers on Mother's Day.  This is a bouquet from Trader Joe's that Sophia brought to me...along with a bagel from "Call Your Mother," a neighborhood bake shop.  I put the flowers in a special vase that my mother bought for me when she had her first visit with Louisa.  We were in Vancouver BC then.  My mom aka "Gammy" would have been totally enchanted with Sophia...maybe even more than she was with Louisa and Jen. We'll never know as she died in 1993.  As you can tell, I still reflect on her on Mother's Day.  I feel sad that she didn't get to meet Max.  

The hearts are on a tablecloth I had on the table.  It really has hearts all over it, but I just included a few on this little thank you card.  

Thank you Sophia!

Fuschia!!! TY Smiths

                                                    
This fuschia plant was another Mother's Day gift.  I am catching up on getting them done and posted.   I had a lot of fun with this one because I sketched in the hanging planter, but not the leaves or flowers.  I did the flowers and leaves completely freehand in watercolor.  It was a lot of fun and I did it sitting outside with a view of the planter.  It is hanging from a stand under a tree and there are some shrubs and plants around it, but I decided the fuschia is the focus and so just did a loose background the color of the fence.

I love this plant and can see it from my kitchen window and love how the different times of day influence it.  It is hot today, but I just checked on it and it is doing fine.  I think they don't do very well in extreme heat so I need to keep checking.

Thank you Peter and Louisa.  I also got a tomato plant at the local nursery on the same trip when we found the fuschia...oh, and some basil seeds.  It is a great time of year.

THANKS TO THE BLUMS

Mother's Day celebrations expanded for me when I learned that Max Blum, the baby I gave up for adoption in 1969, was matched to me with a DNA test.  We learned about our relationship in March 2020.  We set up regular zoom calls to get to know each other and that was fun.  Even better, I was able to visit in June 2021 at their home in Santa Rosa, California, and meet him, his wife Sally (an actual California winemaker) and my grandchildren Violet and Roland.  Max is a designer.  It is all very very special!  I know "very very" is a writing no-no, but I can't resist.

This year they sent me some flowers in a nice vase that looks hand made.  Of course, I had to do a small watercolor card and send it.  Thank you, Blum family!.  I also got a very fun card.

Spring Fling

The Capitol Hill Art League has a monthly challenge for members and it is a lot of fun.  Artists can submit up to two pieces each and winners are selected.  The first prize winner each month is the juror for the next month.  No money, no prizes...just recognition.

I don't participate every month, but did during April when the challenge theme was Spring Fling.  The above painting is of Bleeding Hearts in my backyard.  I had fun keeping it loose and using a pencil outline.  

Below is my second painting for the month of pansies in a little vase I have.  I love the pansies, though the vase is a little "wonky" in the painting.  Fun to do.  No, these weren't "winners" in the challenge, but they were fun for me and not too complicated.

Flagfish-Jordanella Floridae

 

In my Wednesday Studio art class, teacher Ellen Cornett assigned us the task of painting a particular fish from a photograph and urged us to be very particular about the details.  Above is my version.  I like the variety of colors and it was a good exercise for me to pay more attention to details.   I didn't use masking fluid at all and painted around the white spots.

This was actually my second version.  My first version was done on a handmade paper and I used masking fluid to block out the white.  Well, that was a problem because when I rubbed the masking fluid off, some of the paper came off too. It has a lot of texture, so it has a certain charm.  This is how it looked:

Crab

 In my Wednesday Studio class, teacher Ellen Cornett challenged us to paint a crab.  This is my version.  I am still struggling with painting from photos, but I did enjoy doing it and trying to meet the challenge of the colors.  I doubt I would have seen this crab in person anyway and have it stay in position long enough to paint it! 

Twists and Turns

I have two paintings in the Capitol Hill Art League show, "Twists and Turns."  It opens tomorrow at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, 545 7th St SE in DC.  The opening reception is 5;30-7:30.   The painting above is called "The Way Out" and is based on a labyrinth in Ravenna Italy.  My other painting in the show is "Tree Labyrinth" shown below.

I got a chance yesterday to see the show as it is hung and it is amazing--there is a lot of stimulating original art work in a variety of mediums.  It is fun for me to participate.

 

Eastern Screech Owl

 

I think I have mentioned it before, but I participate in a group that paints a bird every month on DAB (Draw a Bird) Day which is the 8th of each month. Our birds are assembled and published on a blog called Wednesday Studio.  Marian Wiseman is the one who makes it happen.

For the month of February we painted birds found on or near the Anacostia River.  Above is mine, an Eastern Screech Owl.  Our February paintings are being exhibited in conjunction with an installation at Capitol Hill Arts Workshop led by artist-in residence Billy Friebele.  The installation is called "Inversion/Subversion" and covers many facets of the River.  It will be up until February 26. 

Billy also led a workshop on his project and Louisa and I participated.  As part of that workshop, we made mixed media paintings of geese that Billy will organize into a video.  I can hardly wait to see it.  These are our paintings from that workshop:

Show at Frame of Mine "The Hill We Climb"

 

The painting above is called "Going There" and it is in a show at Frame of Mine in my Capitol Hill neighborhood..  Every few months the Capitol Hill Art League, my art association, has a show there.  This painting is an abstract based on the teachings of John Salminen.  I love the colors and I think the show will be fun.  I saw a few of the other paintings in the show today when I took my work in and they are top quality.

I have another painting in the show called "Edges and Bridges."  It is also inspired by Salminen and I did it in a workshop he conducted several years ago.

The show will be up until February 26 for those in the DC area. Yes, it is an actual show with paintings hung on the walls and not "virtual."  Whew!   I'm happy about that.

Wing

 

This is unusual for me.  It is a bird wing of a dead bird.  I did this drawing from a photo sent to me by Ellen Cornett.  Ellen is my wonderful art teacher and she is encouraging us to look more closely at the things we are drawing.  She said we should be accurate in the number of feathers in each row on this wing.  It took me awhile, but I did that and am pleased with the result.  It is pencil--brown and graphite.