Watercolor in the Village

"Mom and her "Girls"

The "girls" from left: daughter-in-law Tina, youngest daughter Marilyn, granddaughter Jennifer, granddaughter Rachel, elder daughter Beth, and Mom!

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, my daughters , daughter-in-law and 2 granddaughters went on a "Girls' Weekend" last weekend. We went to the outlets at Jeffersonville, spent the night at the hotel, and then were off to "The Greene" in Dayton, the next day. Being with the girls is so much fun, but admittedly i can't keep up with the girls with their shopping, so it worked out fine to spend the afternoon with the granddaughters at the hotel pool while the daughters attacked the outlets again! Our waitress took our picture after dinner at the "Ole Smokey BBQ" restaurant where we had a great dinner! All in all it was a great time had by all!

Watercolor in the Village

"West Chop Light, Martha's Vineyard"

15" x 22"I finished this painting of the West Chop Lighthouse this week. I painted it from a photograph I took while we were vacationing at Martha's Vineyard in 1992. What they say about the vineyard is very true - it is lovely, interesting architecture, fascinating history and a whole lot of local color. One of the most interesting characteristics of the island is the "light" - not the lighthouses, (though they are beautiful) but the way the sunlight illuminates everything. The late afternoon cast shadows are most beautiful, and that is what fascinated me about the West Chop Light that afternoon when I was driving around the island taking pictures of the lighthouses. I was also attracted to the beautiful clean lines of the lighthouse - the simplicity of the structure. I did a pencil drawing of this photograph several years ago and have wanted to do a watercolor of it. When the July project for the Watercolor Workshop was announced to be anything "red, white, and blue," this photograph came to my mind - the deep blue sky and water and the red, red roof and, of course, the white clapboard of the house itself. This picture was perfect, and "voila!", the result! It also brings back memories of a magical week!

Watercolor in the Village

I submitted this to the artists of the Watercolor Workshop and had some very constructive criticism. I redid the background so that it did not compete with the foreground, added another smaller piece of driftwood to help direct the eyemovement up and around the painting. I also deepened the shadows on the umbrella and hopefully it is a stronger painting now. I have thought about adding some shorebirds - one on the table and one in the foreground on the right. I haven't decided about that yet.

Watercolor in the Village

Well, I had good news today - all 3 of the paintings I entered in the St. Mary's Summer Artfest were juried in to the show and one of the paintings, The Old Crow, was awarded the Wright State University Watercolor Award. Bountiful, the painting with all the pumpkins was awarded an Honorable Mention. Needless to say, this made me very happy. The Gala is next Sunday when awards will be given out. I will have pictures then. It is a very nice show!

"Barb's Tropical Tables"

22" x 15"Well, I finally finished the July picture project for the Watercolor Workshop. Hurrah! I still have one to go - the red, white and blue painting which at this time is about 1/2 finished.

This weekend is going to be the "Girl's Out Weekend." My daughters, Beth and Marilyn, daughter-in-law Tina, granddaughters Jenni and Rachel and I are off to the outlets tomorrow morning. We spend the night in a hotel and Saturday we go to "The Green" the new shopping center in Dayton. Rachel, 6, is VERY excited to be going on 'vacation' with the girls! Needless to say, I won't get any more posting done this weekend.

"Blackwater Falls, Davis, West Virginia"

15" X 22"

I just finished this painting this afternoon. It was done from a photograph I took while on vacation in 1996. It was taken from the lower level of the lookout next to the falls. I painted it in transparent watercolor on 140 lb. watercolor paper covered with a layer of gesso. This is one of my favorite places!

Watercolor in the Village

Lake Loramie Artists Cooperative

15" x 22"I belong to the Lake Loramie Artist's Cooperative which is sponsored by the Gateway Arts Council and has a gallery at Lake Loramie State Park. The gallery is open from March through December every year. The artists get together occasionally to paint and visit. Last year, during an artist paint-out, I painted a view of the front of the co-op gallery. It was a lovely, sunny day and every time I see the painting I am reminded of that day and the good time we all had painting. I have since donated the painting to the co-op so I get to see my "baby" during visits to the gallery.

Watercolor in the Village

" Color My World"

30" X 22"This painting is a watermedia piece that was created first by pouring liquid acrylics and then defining shapes by negative painting. It was finished by using diagonal strokes of watercolor crayons to further define the shapes. The actual painting is not as intense as this appears. It is painted on a full sheet of 140 lb. cold pressed Arches watercolor paper. It is one of my entries for the St. Mary's Summer Artfest show which I will enter tomorrow.

"Deep in the Cypress Swamp"

15" X 22"

I just finished this painting - finally - it seemed like it took forever. Some paintings are like that. This painting is from a photograph taken by Jim Pierce, an artist in the Watercolor Workshop. He has kindly allowed his fellow artists to use his photographs as source pictures. Thank you, Jim! It was taken in Florida. I randomly applied liquid mask first to retain the whites for the sunshine and then poured wet in wet background over the entire painting except for the heron. After removing the mask (which took forever) I completed the painting mostly using negative painting around the tree forms and foliage.

This is another painting I have prepared for the intermediate watercolor class I am teaching this summer. The objectives for this lesson are learning to paint a stone wall using a wet-in-wet wash, the use of liquid mask (friskit) to retain white or light areas, and painting with a limited palette. Because the source image is from the internet, I will not display or sell the painting after using it for this class. This is strictly for teaching purposes.

Watercolor in the Village

This is a painting I did a few years ago of a barn in the Fingerlakes region of New York State. A good friend, Sally Hendrick sent me several pictures she had taken of barns knowing that I love to paint old barns. I dug this out of the pile yesterday because I am preparing a drawing for a class I am teaching in intermediate watercolor, and thought my students might enjoy a tranquil farm scene. "Tranquil Farm"

15" x 22"

Yesterday I posted a painting I did of our granddaughter, Rachel. Today it is Ryan's turn to be featured. This was painted for our Christmas card in 2006 from a photograph I took of Ryan in May of 2006, when he was two years old. We were at a restaurant celebrating the 16th birthday of our granddaughter Jennifer. Ryan was not happy because he had been confined to a high chair for some time, and that unhappiness was reflected in his expression. Oh- by the way... Santa was not a guest at the party!