This entry was originally posted on Sunday, December 31, 2012
Now
that you have been armed with knowledge of how to conquer watercolor,
grab
that brush and paper, and
Go
Forth and Paint!
Wishing
all of you painting success in 2013.
And in this case, 2023!
Thank you once again for being a part of my watercolor journey.
This entry was originally posted on Sunday, December 30, 2012
Today's
Sunday Secrets is from Jenny in
She asks, "Now that your year of daily tips on Watercolor Weapons is almost over, what do you plan to do?"
Yes,
tomorrow is my last day for posting a watercolor tip each and every day.
I
can't believe it is almost over!
It
has been a wonderful experience and I have enjoyed meeting so many other
watercolor enthusiasts.
Your
work and your thoughts are so inspiring!!
Thank
you for sharing them.
So
now that my year is over, the first thing I am going to do is take a short
break from the blog.
(don't
worry; it will only be a couple of weeks)
I
plan on continuing with my painting tips.
However,
it won't be daily.
More
like weekly or biweekly.
Right
now I have another artistic goal I need to focus more time on.
It
is my Masters of Art Education.
My
thesis and the paintings associated with the thesis need to be done by the end
of August.
It
is an exciting prospect and I am thrilled to have an opportunity to continue to
learn and to teach.
I
hope that you will continue to share your thoughts, your paintings, and your
own artistic goals with me.
This entry was originally posted on Saturday, December 29, 2012
It
is that time of year again where we start to think about New Year's Resolutions
and Goals.
This coming year, try to make art your resolution and your goal.
If
art is already a part of your life
(and
I am sure for almost everyone reading this, it is),
be
more specific about an aspect of art you want to do.
Is
there a workshop you want to take?
Do
you want to master the art of trees, portrait painting, or a different medium?
Is
it time to finally keep a journal filled with notes about your artistic
adventure?
What
is it that you really want to accomplish for you and your art in 2013?
Be
sure to write it down and keep it visible to remind yourself or your goal.
Also
remember that art is a journey and a process.
It
will lead you places you have never imagined possible.
This entry was originally posted on Friday, December 28, 2012
Framing
makes a world of difference to just about any painting.
It
feels complete and real.
It
now has presence and cannot be pushed under the bed and forgotten.
It
needs to be hung and admired by all.
Don't
forget to sign it before you frame it though!
The
world needs to know who did that fabulous work of art.
This entry was originally posted on Thursday, December 27, 2012
I
keep several white mattes of different sizes on hand to matte my work with.
It
helps to give the work a finished look.
The
matte also allows me to see my mistakes better and if the painting is
working.
It
is amazing what a matte will do.
This entry was originally posted on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
There
comes a time in your painting that you need to realize that it is what it is.
There
is nothing wrong with the painting even though you may think you see all sorts
of mistakes.
Stop
criticizing the work (and yourself) and learn to approve and love what is
there.
In
other words,
own
it!
It
is no longer a mistake but you meant to do that.
You
wanted the paint to run that way or you muddied that section to help the focal
point glow.
And
so on, and so forth.
Be
confident in your mistakes.
It
is part of the key to success.
Accept
and embrace.
Then
learn and move on.
This entry was originally posted on Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Wishing
all of you a Merry Christmas!
May
you have a wonderful day renewing your creative self by being with loved ones
and admiring the beauty of the season.
This entry was originally posted on Sunday, December 23, 2012
Today's Sunday Secrets is from
"When is a painting really done??"
That is an excellent question,
According to Leonardo da Vinci,
"Art is never finished, only abandoned."
Figurative painter Euan Uglow once said,
"I don't really finish a painting, it stops."
I have to agree with both da Vinci and Uglow.
I try to assess the painting to determine if it is finished by going through all my critiquing techniques of surprising the painting, and reducing it, among others.
But to be honest, a painting does just stop.
Then it starts to become overworked.
I am a better judge of when I start to overwork a painting
than when I am finished.
An overworked painting loses its freshness.
I become tired and bored.
My mind wanders to other things.
That or I have run out of time. (deadlines help a lot!)
As soon as I feel that this is happening, I stop and sign it.
It is done.
And as Robert Genn says,
"80% finished is better than 2% overworked."
Quit while you are ahead.
This entry was originally posted on Saturday, December 22, 2012
Brain
studies suggest that by learning something new everyday,
you
increase your overall health and well being.
I
have been painting for many years yet
I
have no doubt that every time I pick up a brush and paint, I am learning
something new.
Spend
time painting everyday
and
you will be learning something new.
Your
brain will thank you.
This entry was originally posted on Friday, December 21, 2012
Water
washes away most mistakes.
As
long as the paper and/or paint are wet, water can wash away unwanted dribbles,
drips, and strokes of bad judgement.
Remember
to keep a spray bottle handy to help wash those mistakes away.
This entry was originally posted on Thursday, December 20, 2012
"Artists
who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything."
-Gustave
Flaubert
This entry was originally posted on Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Back
when I first started this blog, I mentioned some guidelines to follow when
starting a painting.
One guideline was to separate yourself from your genius.
I
also mentioned that when you are ready to paint, your creative genius might show up
in the studio or it might not.
However,
when that creative genius does decide to come into your studio, make sure you
entertain it.
Think
of it as a guest coming to stay for the day or the week.
What
do you normally do when a guest arrives at your door?
Most
of us make time for our guests.
We
clear our schedules.
We
don't answer the phones.
We
don't make other commitments.
We
excuse ourselves from doing other things because our guest needs our attention.
The
guest has arrived and we will entertain and be entertained as well.
I
know it can be hard to entertain certain guests but think of the creative
genius as your favorite guest.
Clear
your schedule for the day.
Turn
off the phone.
Cancel
or postpone your appointments.
Ignore
all the Facebook posts.
Your
best friend just arrived at your door and you need to spend some time
entertaining your guest.
And
if you make time for that creative genius of a guest, it will become your best
friend.
This entry was originally posted on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Today
I had a call from a friend that had a problem with her watercolor paper.
She
had dented it when she pressed too hard with her pencil.
My friend reminded me of the time when I had a similar situation and asked how I removed the dent and hoped that it would do the same for her lines.
My
painting happened to be a beautiful commission portrait of a young girl.
I had spent many hours on it and as it was nearing completion, my lamp next to my table fell over on top of it. The lamp ended up putting a huge dent right in the middle of the forehead. Fortunately it did not tear the paper. It just left that dent.
Instead of panicking,(okay I did panic a little) I asked myself how this little disaster can be fixed.
I decided that maybe I could iron it out. But I was afraid to use an actually iron. So instead I used a hot spoon. First I dipped the spoon in boiling water (for the heat and the moisture) then I very carefully ironed it out on the back side. (a butter knife also works)
I
am happy to say that it worked!
There
was no evidence of the dent.
Since then, I have had a few mishaps with dents and pressing too hard with my own pencil and this method seems to work well for me every time.
This entry was originally posted on Monday, December 17, 2012
When
trying to assess if your painting is working, track the movement of your eye.
Make
sure it stays within the painting and isn’t led off the paper.
You
want the viewer's eye to stay in your painting and not have it go to the
painting next to it.
Your
eye also needs to keep going back to the focal point.
If
your eye keeps going to an element that is not the focal point, perhaps some
adjustments need to be made.
This entry was originally posted on Sunday, December 16, 2012
Varnished
Watercolor
11x14"
Recently I have been varnishing my watercolors so I don't need to frame them under glass.
Since
I have started varnishing, I have had several people ask if these paintings are
allowed in competitions.
My
answer is that it depends on the competition.
Watercolor
and watermedia competitions usually request that paintings be on paper and
framed under glass.
So
no, they would not be allowed, especially since they would not be framed under
glass.
Some
watercolor competitions request transparent watercolors only.
(Transparent
Watercolor Society of America is
one of them)
That
means that the use of white, gouache, or acrylic is not allowed.
There
are some other specific requirements that are usually included in the
competition rules.
Other
watercolor competitions are also watermedia competitions.
Watercolor,
egg tempera, gouache, and acrylic are all allowed as long as they are on paper
and framed under glass.
You
can also mix watercolor and acrylic into one painting.
Then
there are competitions that cover all forms of painting.
A
varnished watercolor will be accepted in these competitions.
You
can call it either a varnished watercolor or mixed media (since you have added
another medium to varnish the painting.)
Most
mediums are still porous until they are varnished.
Varnishing
a watercolor would be similar to varnishing an oil, an acrylic, or an egg
tempera.
Be
sure to check the competition rules before you enter though.
It
will make things go so much more smoothly if you do.
This entry was originally posted on Saturday, December 15, 2012
"In
watercolour, playing around on a scrap piece of paper, or the reverse side of a
"disaster" invariably produces something interesting and uninhibited."
-Wayne
Robert Hall
This entry was originally posted on Friday, December 14, 2012
I
love putting tape around the edges of my paper, even when I stretch and staple
the paper.
That
is because when I am done, I can take the tape off and have an instant border!
And
what a difference that white border does to the painting.
This entry was originally posted on Thursday, December 13, 2012
One
of my most favorite gifts to receive during the holiday season is the gift of
art.
I
am blessed to receive many of such gifts from my students.
They
almost always come in the form of a card that features a painting that they
completed during the year.
It
is a joy to know that they put time, thought, and a lot of themselves into such
a wonderful gift.
This
year you might consider giving such gifts to loved ones.
Art
is a way to share the beauty of our world, the joy of painting, and the
awesomeness of you.
Could
there really be a better gift?
This entry was originally posted on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
One
of the wonderful things about working with watercolor on paper is that
adjusting the size is an option even after the painting is finished.
It
is also one of the simplest ways to fix a painting.
Cropping
your painting into a smaller size or if you are lucky, into 2 or more paintings
can work wonders.
To
create an adjustable cropping tool,
cut
an old mat into 2 L's.
Now
you can play around with cropping all your old and forgotten paintings into
fabulously new works of art.
This entry was originally posted on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
There
are times when we have painted something really awesome into our painting.
The
object is well rendered, the texture may be awesome, and the concept is really
cool.
However,
it doesn't fit with the painting as a whole.
It
is times like this that it is better to sacrifice this really awesome portion
to the greater good of the overall painting.
For
instance, in my painting of Yellowstone Gold, the dead tree near the bottom
center had a beautiful trunk.
It
was all twisty on the bottom and it looked really wonderful in the photograph.
I
also like the concept of the dead tree because of battle with nature that is
part of
The
earth sometimes just can only sustain growth for a short period of time.
However,
when it was painted, I struggle with the composition.
The
dead tree now stuck out like a sore thumb.
I
had to make the decision to cut it down.
The result is much better.
