Daniel Smith Cobalt Teal & The New Black

I've just completed a commissioned painting, a four cat portrait for their human Mom's birthday. I took photos along the way and I've gotten permission from my client to post the WIP on my blog.

I want to give a shout out to Daniel Smith for their fabulous Quinacridones. I doubt I could've achieved the results I did without them. Quin. Burnt Orange is perfect for orange kitty fur and a few flourishes of Quin. Violet bump it up another notch. One of the cats was predominately grey and black so I went with Quin. Sienna and Indigo for my black mix. I normally use burnt sienna but no more. I was thrilled with the black the Quin. Sienna produced. Very clean and rich and it watered down to a nice neutral grey. But grey is still grey and it needs help. This is where the Cobalt Teal came into play. I had planned to use it in the background so I needed to work it into the cats somehow. I added a light glaze on the grey fur and wow! That grey came to life! It was one of those ah HA! moments I love. It never gets old. I'm happy, my client is happy...now I hope the birthday girl will be happy.

Morels 2 ~ complete

And here is the finished painting all float mounted and framed and ready for a buyer. If you like what you see let me know. If not this will probably go to the gallery. In the meantime I've started work on the next work of art. This time I think I'll be painting trilliums and I've got an interesting palette chosen. Actually it's a entirely new approach, new to me that is.

Kitty Kocktail ~ complete

I finished this one up this morning. It sat staring at me with those big soulful eyes so I had to finish it. I didn't do much actually. Just a bit here and there. Some reflections in the granite countertop, adjusted some values, darkened the tile backsplash, etc. A lot of little fiddles.

Silverbark at Sundown ~ complete (acrylic and collage on paper)

I'm going to call this done now. It doesn't look like I've done much since my last post but I spent a lot of time just looking at the painting and deciding how I wanted to create the leaves. I finally settled on a paste paper that I copper leafed on one side, painted on the other. I used tracing paper so the copper leaf would show through and tone the yellow. This produced a fairly accurate representation of birch leaves in Fall. Then the issue was where to place the leaves and how many wouldn't be too many. Did they distract or benefit the painting? Branches were never where I needed them and I knew I should've added the leaf placement to the original drawing. Dang! Ah well, a Chinese white pencil and a violet Prismacolor Verithin solved the problem. Cutting those teeny, tiny leaves was a chore, as was using tweezers to handle them. I think it was worth the effort and time, though. I'm pretty happy with it. :) The final size is approx. 6 1/2" x 29".

Work in progress

Evergreen ~ collage (complete)

With so many metallics involved, this collage was difficult to photograph. I had to resort to using the flash on my camera to pick up the green hues which, in turn, blew out other colors. I'm afraid this is the best image I'm going to get and the closest to reality.

It has occurred to me that summer is coming to an end soon. Colder temps mean closed windows so I'd better get out the alcohol inks and get painting before that happens. Proper ventilation when using these inks is a must because of my COPD. I do miss ink painting and I can and will return to collage during the winter months. In the mean time I'm having a ball sourcing/creating decorative papers, stamps and discovering techniques that I can apply to this new (to me) art form.  

Miss Willmott ~ WIP 2-3 & completed

Complete

WIP 3

WIP 2

Rather than keep posting updates I skipped ahead, taking photos as I progressed. I just finished the painting this afternoon and managed to get a pretty decent image for once. I think I've found the perfect spot for photographing my watercolors, weather permitting.

As I went along I wound up tweaking my palette a little although no new tube colors were added. I also wanted this to have a loose look but not go overboard. I did employ a spray bottle in several areas and let the paint run where it may. Then I went back in with a darker shade, carving out the shapes lost that were important. I didn't worry about color accuracy or capturing details. My intention was to give this a morning kinda 'vibe'...soft light and muted colors. I think I accomplished my mission. 

Note: Sorry for the blurry images if you choose to enlarge them. I don't know why that's happening. Man, it's always something.

Fancy Goldfish ~paper sculpt complete

I just put the finishing touches on this. I chose the warm palette because the coffee filters took on a yellowish appearance when the gloss medium was completely dry. I added two wooden beads I found for the eyes. The beads were red so I gave them a coat of Adirondack Pitch Black alcohol ink and glued them in place with Mod Podge. The entire piece is mostly Adirondack alcohol ink. I did add some DS Duochrome Hibiscus watercolor to the scales and DS Pearlescent Shimmer watercolor to the smaller fins. Painting on gel gloss medium is a unique experience. The watercolor pigments became permanent as soon as applied, which surprised me. I did have more control over the alcohol ink, though.

JUGGS ~ complete

It's finished! I fixed all the boo-boos and did a little clean up overall. The designs on the ladies' sweaters look more snowflake-y thanks to the Ranger alcohol mixatives and it's time to walk away. Put down my brushes and just walk-a-way. It is what it is and hopefully my client will like the results.

Pecking Order ~ complete



I mounted this on 144# Yupo two days ago but had to wait to get a photograph. The weather finally broke long enough to allow me to capture a decent photo of this piece. I took it outside today on a bright hazy, 5 degree F day...perfect for photographing art. Well, the temp wasn't perfect but tolerable and the lighting couldn't have been better. I added a digital 'frame' with my photo editor. The final dimensions are approx. 11" x 18". Hope you like!

Note: My photo reference was courtesy of Sharon Whitley on Paint My Photo.

House on Thistle Downs Drive ~ complete (?)

SOLD

I think I'm going to call this complete. Once poured alcohol ink is on the Yupo, the less manipulating it receives the better. I could easily fiddle this to death with a brush. For colors I used Ranger's Terracotta, Willow and Cloudy Blue. I saved the white of the dragonfly wings with masking fluid as well as a few other areas of the composition but the contrast was too great to leave all but the wings. Too many pristine white spots proved distracting. I did remove some ink with blending solution here and there and re-inked several lines which had faded during the inking process.

Board Meeting ~ complete

 

I had planned to paint this as a work in progress but it's been so gloomy lately I couldn't get decent photos of the steps. Finally I decided to forge ahead or this painting would never be finished and I completed this last night. And today we have sunshine! Perfect timing (for once).

The chickens (and one rooster) were painted with transparent watercolor, the background is tinted gouache. As for the steps/tips, chicken feathers(or any feathers for that matter) equal a nightmare for me. I hate painting tedious details so I made short work of them. With my easel at a sharp angle, I applied my various mixtures of watercolor in the approximate areas they belonged, letting them run and blend as they will. I came back when the paper was completely dry and lifted out a feather here and there, hopefully to create the illusion that I did much more than I actually did. The lifting also helped give the chickens contour and volume. My entire palette consisted of FUB, Quin. gold, burnt sienna, Quin. red and white gouache. I tinted the white gouache with Quin. gold for the background and applied it with a 1/2" synthetic flat in crisscross strokes. I love using gouache for my backgrounds because I can get a very painterly effect that works well in contrast to the watercolor.

Regarding my new Silver Black Velvet brushes, I was very happy with them. Especially with the rounds. They hold a nice sharp point so I didn't have to use so many different brushes to get the job done. They carry more water than straight synthetics but are stiff enough to control. I highly recommend them to artists who want more from their brushes but don't want to spend a fortune.

Note: my reference photo is courtesy of photographer Anita Guinane from PMP

Note #2: It seems I can't get a decent photo of this painting although not w/o lack of trying. I hope the background looks like a soft ocher on other monitors and not neon greenish yellow like on mine. *sigh*

Red Hat Ladies ~ completed

I made my tweaks and added a pale yellow wash to the background as planned. The wash doesn't show up as much on the right side of the painting but trust me...it's there. I graduated the wash, heavier on the left and lightening up as it moves toward the right. I also added some pale yellow reflections to the ladies's skin and it gave the painting a glow it was otherwise lacking. I hope the image I post is close to accurate colorwise. I received three Windows updates that threw my monitor for a loop. Now everything has taken on a greenish cast I can't seem to fully correct. Because of this, the image has only been resized and sharpened in my photo editor.

Red Screech Owl ~ complete

I just completed the finishing touches on my owl painting. I didn't do much more with the owl but did tweak the birch trunk a bit. I added another knot and some white gouache to simulate the look of birch bark. Also I was able to get a more accurate photo. My thanks to Steve Haas for the wonderful reference photo as well.

Donny ~ Complete

SOLD

Better photo, colors/values more true to life. Donny has also been slightly revised. Marcia told me the dark area on the left side of his face by his whiskers was more than likely a tear stain, common in Persians because of their tear duct issues and particularly apparent on the white haired of the breed.

I just completed Donny. I added a little soft pastel to his body fur and white gouache to his tail to give it that feathery fur look. I used primarily DS Moonglow, DS Indigo and warm sepia throughout the painting. The only exceptions were a bit of cerulean blue and FUB for his eyes and permanent rose for his tongue and one ear. I'm very pleased I went with the pedestal. Donny has a habit of perching on top of hampers, trash bins, etc. The Greek pedestal will bring him up in the world in other ways.


I created a panorama of Marcia's three furbabies so I could see what they will look like hanging together. Umm...not bad. Donny does stand out, though!

Garlic Braid ~ Complete

I just finished this a moment ago and wanted to post it so I could check for problem areas and make tweaks if necessary.

The braid and the loose stem tops were painted with DS Undersea green, burnt umber, raw umber, a little violet I mixed up with Crimson lake and mauve and various greys I made from palette muck. I removed the drawing gum and finished off the roots with a mix of mauve and burnt umber. The twine is also palette muck grey. I'm not going to do a background. I like this as just a simple vignette. I even left the Fabriano mfg. mark clearly visible which I've never done before. It seemed to work with this painting as part of the composition.

P.S. This is my first painting done entirely from life. Working from life has it's challenges but I enjoyed it much more than anticipated.

Fraise Des Boise ~ Complete

SOLD

Done! I decided the red of the berries was enough to break up all the green. I was afraid adding burnt sienna would 'muddy up the waters'.

This is fairly small...10" x 7". To complete the berries I did an underpainting using indigo mixed with a little crimson lake to indicate the shadows and create volume, then finished with a few washes of crimson lake to get that strawberry red color. There's probably more I could do to this but it's time to set it aside. I'll get it back out in a few weeks or months and if I still like the way it looks it'll be 'officially done'.

Bearded Iris ~ Complete

This is one of those paintings that I could fiddle away at for days and days but I think it's time to call it done. It's already slightly overworked for my taste. Iris 'Chasing Rainbows' lived up to it's name. I think I used almost every color on my palette save for red.

Landscape #2 ~ Complete

Here I attempted to highlight the shapes I saw when looking at the reference photo. The obvious focal point in this painting is the area of paper left white in the small rectangle, center of image.

I just finished this one. It's loosey, juicy and kinda messy but I wasn't planning on offering it for sale so it doesn't matter. I think this has potential as a do-over. I like the composition and the colors. I switched to the quill of a feather for some of the fine branches, did the rest with the squirrel quill brush. Bit of a sloppy job but I'm not concerned in this case. Colors and color placement are so important to a landscape but composition even more so. Where the various values are placed is critical, too. At completion it's all got to make some sort of sense no matter how creative I wish to be. I operate primarily on instinct being self taught so if it looks 'right' I just go with it.

Peacock Orchids~Complete

SOLD

Finally(!)I'm calling this one done. I did manage to get a better photo of it today but I'm still not entirely happy with the shot. I seem to have problems photographing larger paintings. Not sure why either. Maybe 8 mega pixels isn't enough to capture small details at a greater distance or I need to experiment with the settings. Subtle shading on the white petals was also lost. I'll try to get some closeups to post after my camera batteries recharge.

Rudy~Complete

SOLD

I think Rudy is finally done. I may do some minor tweaking but I'm pretty happy with the results at this point. I kept to my original palette with the addition of some Crimson Lake for the mouse's ear and nose. I may give him some whiskers, too. Not sure yet. I did wind up softening the edges of the cat's fur and tail with a little white soft pastel.

Note: Tweaks have been completed and the first image has been replaced by the final. I decided not to add whiskers to the mouse. Rudy had enough for both and I felt they would be distracting.