Hydrangeas TY Smiths

 

Here's a watercolor painting of a gift I got some time ago.  Mother's Day, in fact.  I started painting it from life and got distracted and didn't take a photo so I had to make a lot of it up.  It took awhile, but I am happy with the result.  It is on handmade paper from India with a deckle edge.  I didn't crop the photo so the edge will show up.  When I frame it, I will seal it with a few coats of wax medium instead of glass.  I will then float it on a mat.  I haven't decided on the mat color yet. Since I got the hydrangeas from the Smiths, they will have first "dibs" on it when it is framed.

Thank you Sue

It was quite a while ago, in June, that I went to my friend Sue's patio for a visit.  I wore a mask to walk over and brought my own food and wine.  Sue has a pretty big patio area so we were able to "social distance."  It was fun to catch up.  Sue had been to Trader Joe's and saw these really sweet rose bushes in a metal planter with a twine tie.  She liked them so much that she got one for me.  It will go into my garden, but I still have it on the windowsill.  

Peacock on Park Bench

This was fun because I used it for two of my monthly challenges.  One challenge is through the Capitol Hill Art League CHAL) where, for the past few months, we have a subject and members create art work related to that topic and post it in a google group.  July's challenge was "Chairs" so I posted this with the title "Peacock Uses a Bench for a Chair."   Another monthly challenge is Draw a Bird Day due by the 8th of each month.  Here's my bird for August.  Mission accomplished before the due date.

The August challenge for CHAL is "Knives Out!" When you love birds, it seems like a bad idea to combine that with a bird bird painting for September 8. It could get little gory..

Jerry Looks Out the Window

I did this painting in May, but evidently didn't post it here.  It was part of a challenge to post what you see out your window.  I chose to post my cat Jerry looking out the window.  He is a rescue cat and, as far as I know, has never been an outside cat....but he is fascinated by life beyond our four walls.  He pushes the curtain aside so he can "monitor" the back yard that has trees, birds, squirrels and who know what else.  Well, Jerry knows.  This is one of those curtains that had a rod at the top and one at the bottom, but I had to take off the bottom rod.   It's OK.  We just want to have good experiences, not a "perfect home." 

BTW, he was rescued from an apartment with 35 cats.  People complained because of the smell.  You can imagine.  I looked it up on-line and the woman who had the cats voluntarily gave them up to Humane Rescue Alliance.  He spent some time in the shelter and then with foster caregiver Chantel Sheaks.  Chantel knew Jerry and I were a good match because he likes a lot of dog things and I am a lover of dogs..  He plays catch, comes to great me when I have been out, and loves to be told he is a "Good boy.."  He's a cat, so I don't think he remembers his past, but I constantly feel he knows he has a good life with me with routines that include daily "mousey-mousey" which is Temptations treats in a plastic mouse that he bats around and that dispenses the treats.  He also loves "TV time" and watches the news with me---getting petted of course.  Recently we discovered a pate treat from Fancy Feast for a daily "din-din."  He loves it and knows a good life when he lives it!  He is a Good Boy.

SCRIBBLE PORTRAIT OF SOPHIA

This requires a little explanation to appreciate it.  This is a portrait from a photograph taken about 5 years ago.  Sophia was learning to sew and made a dress.   

I call it a scribble portrait because of the method I used to draw it.  In my Wednesday Studio class, Ellen Cornett taught us how to enlarge or transfer a drawing to watercolor paper using scribbles.  It's a system that you can find out more about on-line by googling David Popa.  It uses a free app called Photoshop mix.  

It's too hard to explain the whole process in a blog, but you overlay a photo of your scribbles with the reference photo you are using.  In this case, this is what it looks like:

The scribbles provide guidance on where to draw the figure.  Using the scribbles on the paper, it is fairly easy to find where to put various parts of the drawing.  That's what I did.  I drew through the scribbles. When I was satisfied that I had the drawing, I erased the scribbles and then did the painting.  

It would have been easier had I placed more scribbles in the facial features, but I think it worked pretty well.  Even more importantly, I think Sophia liked it.

 

TY JAN

Another fun thing that I got for my birthday was a journal with a magnificent dragonfly on the cover.  My little painting is a big simplification of it!  The cover not only has a beautiful dragonfly, but also flowers and leaves and gold leaf sprays.  I admit I was intimidated to tackle it.  

This journal is from my friend Jan.  We like to exchange "dragonfly" gifts.  This one is particularly useful because it has pages that are lined, unlined and some graphs.  I am going to use it for notes from my "Wednesday Studio" art group.  

Thank you, Jan, for this thoughtful gift that combines my love of art with my love of dragonflies.

TY ERIK AND JEN

This is a very fun birthday gift from Erik and Jenifer.  You can't tell from my little painting, but it is a bracelet that has Van Gogh paintings as the jewels.  I just couldn't paint small enough to fit them in---Sunflowers, Starry Night, Self Portrait in a Hat, and more!  I recall that Jen and I went to an amazing Van Gogh show at the Phillips Collection a couple of years ago.  Thanks for the bracelet...and the great memories it brings back.