Ready for another weekend....

Because this one was just too short.

I managed to finish the Scottish Terrier. And just in time because I received an email from the winner of this years CAPS event donation ( a gift certificate for a 5x7" pet portrait) and will start that this week. Do you have an organization that depends on public funding? Do you hold events, auctions and raffles for those funds? Contact me for a gift certificate for a commissioned watercolor painting. They usually bring in a lot more than what they're worth!

I also did a quick sketch of the view out my kitchen window, which at 3:30 on a Feb afternoon in the city looked pretty urban and gray. We do have a view of the skyline, but it's much more impressive at night. I was thinking of stepping out on the porch and doing some sketching of that (maybe some pastels on black paper) but it was too cold (15 degrees F). Instead, stayed up to watch Them Crooked Vultures make an appearance as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. If you haven't heard of these guys, oh you're missing out.

Scottish Terrier Revisited

So here's the painting with out the pencil overlay. It wasn't as bad as I had anticipated with the paint & the cotman paper. I think I'm really learning how to master this. Which is GOOD, right? :)

As you know, I've joined this Challenge of being "Creative Everyday" and I have to admit I've fallen back into my old habits. Back when I joined, I was sketching everything, making food for friends and then occasionally sitting down at my desk to do some watercoloring. It's weird though, because I have this stack (and I mean stack!) of photos of different things that I feel I must paint them all. And they're all going to be watercolors. And then, when I'm out that circle - usually when I'm hanging out at the "space" where J and the boys rehearse, I'm thinking of the things I would like to do and forever have been thinking about it.

One of these is the Bug series. I'm a nature lover and have a great macro lens and started snapping pics of bugs. The funkier the better (NE Kingdom VT has some great bugs!) And wanted to take these and make BIG paintings out of them. Kind of an expose of the bugs and really how beautiful they are.... My friend P asked me (when I told him about this) "why haven't you done it?" And I really didn't have an answer. Maybe because I'm too busy with the stack of over 100 pictures of dogs?? I don't know. Maybe we'll go and do one and see where it goes from there.

Scottish Terrier on Cotman paper

So, If you've been following this blog, you know that I have a ream of Cotman paper that I'm trying to use up. Watercolors are my thing and I prefer the Arches coldpress, but got a ream of this Cotman. The artworks end up as mixed medias, but hey, that's okay too.

This is a Scottish Terrier that I'm working on. This is going to be a challenge on this paper because this dog is entirely black. The Cotman has issues holding on to the paint so that this may end up pretty smudgey.... we'll see. My other challenge is to try to keep my black consistantly black. I don't use black paint out of the tube, instead I mix Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue. So I have to try to be careful not to go too brown or too blue. And then, since this will be a mixed media piece, when the pencil overlay comes in.. that's when the blues and the browns show up.