Red Velvet

Red Velvet Cup Cake, 5x5" Oil on canvas

Well, it has been a long week. My daughter has been ill, but - I've also found myself unhappy with a lot of what I've been doing artistically this week. I imagine all artists go through this from time to time - I have before... It is part of the "work" of being an artist: looking for new perspectives, trying to express myself in new ways, etc. I'm posting this little painting - which is the result of a cupcake I found at a restaurant I visited last weekend. But, this seems like (although delicious looking) a painting that is quite traditional ~ and I have been feeling the need to stretch myself in new directions! Stay tuned ... I hope I'll have some new things to show you soon!

Night Prowler

Night Prowler, 4.25 x 5.5" Mixed media (watercolor, acrylic, ink) on paper

Still at work on the contemporary cat paintings, as you can see. I now have 6 of them in the collection. To order a set of notecards featuring the first 4 paintings, please click here.

I really enjoy the colorful, playful images doing cat things! Hope you do too. :)

Floral

Green on Blue, 5x7" Oil on canvas

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Still working on some of the flowers that came home with me from the grocery store last week.
This one was somewhat challenging. First, it is a carnation. Need I say more? It is a ruffly mass, without a clear center and radiating petals. The shadow areas became quite abstract as I began to study the subject. The colors were also quite similar from stem through petal. A green carnation on a green stem. So - here it is - a little early for St. Patricks, but green none the less!

Daisy - colored pencil

Daisy, 4.5 x 4.5" Colored pencil on illustration board

Paint is drying - and so I'm posting a small drawing that I did with Prismacolor pencils. For my money - Prismacolors are the top choice for really fine results with colored pencil. They are soft, mixable, and worth the investment. This little drawing was challenging. It is mostly white - but of course, not really! There are shadows and areas where light and darker come into play.

metaphors ~

Empty Nest, 6x6" Oil on canvas

Yes, this represents something personal. As I contemplate the fact that my kids are growing up, it seemed rather appropriate to use a metaphor to explain it. Of course, the feelings that this place in life inspires are as tangled and interwoven as the nest itself... For awhile, it is not entirely empty - but without looking forward too far in time, it is easy to see that it will soon be empty indeed. What will that mean? Time will tell.

Once again...

Cat Nap, 4.25 x 5.5" watercolor/ink on paper

Back by popular demand! Another cat painting. I'm considering the future of these small cat paintings - already a set of notecards are available.
Perhaps a calendar in the future? I'll keep you posted!

An inside look

Yellow Floral, 7.25 x 5.75" Watercolor/acrylic on paper

Being completely disenchanted with winter - longing for spring to arrive - I purchased a small gathering of flowers at the grocery store this past week. This flower, very delicate - speckled - was almost lost in the profusion of carnations and mums. I was intrigued by the lovely swooping stigma and stamens, the intense yet delicate colors, and how the inside of the flower gracefully spilled out ward. The speckles attract our attention and draw the eye into the deeper recesses where the color becomes even more interesting. This painting is a first study and as I return to it to work on this subject again, I will probably exaggerate and abstract the shapes.

The other thing!

10" wooden bowl - mixed media

This is the finished commission I mentioned earlier in the week. Yes - there is a glare. The concave surface is extremely difficult to photograph... I do best outside in natural daylight - but, with a windy below zero, snowy climate right now - going outside for any reason is to be avoided! This will be going to someone who is retiring from a 16 year coaching position.

Belated valentine!

Berry Bowl, 6x6" oil on canvas

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Belatedly, I'm posting a valentine because it was too wet to scan yesterday. Clearly, I am attracted to strawberries this winter!

Below, I have posted an image of just getting started on this painting. As you can see, I toned the canvas first with a golden yellow. Not much (if any) shows through on the final painting - however it may give a warmish tone to the painting in places - especially the berries. I drew the set up in very light washes of color... that is the purple and blue you can see in places. Also, I used many transparent colors - on the berries in particular... I like the dimension of color that gives as that area gets built, layer upon layer. (On these steps, I used liquin to give a bit more transparency and speed the drying.) My final steps involved deepening the values, especially on the berries and in the shadows behind and around the berries, and working on shadows.
The last step was to add some highlights. They look pretty white here - but in fact the color I mixed was a definite yellowish hue. BTW, the berries were as good as they looked! I ate them at lunch today :)

Early progress on Berry Bowl

Multi-tasking week!

Pelican - Scratchboard - 8x10"

It has been a busy week - thus my poor posting this week. At the moment, paint is drying, so I'll be posting a new painting shortly. But I've also been working on a commission this week, and I've been experimenting a bit with some ideas I'm revisiting from several years back... a sort of mixed media endeavor with paint/mylar/and graphite. I hope to post some of those explorations soon.

In the meantime, this is a scratchboard drawing, done as an example for my students. Working with scratchboard is a lot of fun - although some types of board are much better than others! Also some styluses are much better than others. My favorite stylus is actually an exacto knife with a new blade. Once you allow yourself to think in the negative, the scratchboard drawing comes together much like other types of drawing.

Daisies in Cobalt Print Now Available from Imagekind!

Daisies in Cobalt

A Ray of Hope

Snowscape - Dawn, 8x8" Oil on canvas

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The midwest has been hit many times this season with snow... much more than we've had in recent years. Another storm is due to arrive this evening. (more shoveling!) So, in honor of this fact and the fact that snow is about all that can be seen, this painting depicts fields of snow with the play of light across the expanse. The play of light is what is important to this scene. In a way, a ray of hope!

Squidoo

I've just created a squidoo lens! On it, I've included a link to a book that I've found useful,
Creating a Life Worth Living, by Carol Lloyd. It is written especially for those of us who are artistic or entrepreneurial and are searching for a more creative way of life! Also, toward the bottom of the page, I've begun a chapter by chapter overview.

Check it out: http://www.squidoo.com/HelenCRead
Favorite it! I'll be adding to it and changing things from time to time.

Virtual Garden

Hosta in Bloom, 7 x 7.5" watercolor/acrylic on paper

Last night, we got about 8" of additional snow. This morning, after the subsequent shoveling, I'm feeling ready for some green and some lushness ... not that the snow isn't beautiful - but I'm a warm weather kind of girl! I really miss my garden in late January and early February!

I started this painting a few days ago - it has been awhile since I worked in water color. I started with water color then finished up with acrylic used as a water media. It is done on 300 lb. water color paper. This came from a photo I did in the summer in my front garden. This particular hosta is large and very beautiful in bloom. Today - I'm looking forward to June when it is back in bloom!