Inspiration...

I believe that each family has one person, who keeps the family together. In my family, next to my Mom and Dad, that person is my sister Marta. Marta is the eldest of 5 children, and she definitely possesses the characteristics of a first-born child. She is very smart, has a great sense of humor, and I believe she can accomplish anything she sets her mind to. She is also very creative -- she is a great singer, interior designer, crafts person, gardener...and even shopper! (She finds great bargains!)

In addition, my sister keeps us all in the loop, organize events, and encourages us to succeed. She is quick to offer assistance whenever needed, and I love and appreciate her so.

Today is my sisters 55th Birthday. I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish Marta a very Happy Birthday, and to thank her for being the person that she is. Marta, you are a lovely woman and I am proud to call you my sister. You are always so encouraging and you inspire me to keep moving forward. Thank you, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Deborah

Genius or idiocy?

It is 2 AM and I can’t sleep, so I thought I would get in a little painting time. I started these clay board paintings a couple of weeks ago, but haven’t had an opportunity to work on them…until now. I don’t know if it is a good idea to work on a painting at 2AM. I’m awake, but a little groggy…. Oh well, I have to remember, this is all experimentation anyway!

I made what looks like a dark hole on this one, so I will either lighten up the space between the first two flowers, or darken the bottoms of all the flowers and the edges of the pitcher. I'll post the revised version as soon as I've had another painting session...hopefully NOT at 2 AM = )

Keeping in practice...

I used to play the flute. I say, “used to” because it has been quite some time since I even attempted to play, and without practice, I have forgotten some of the fingerings and my breath control is certainly not what it was.

I don’t want this to happen to my art, so although I haven’t had a chance to paint lately, I am trying to keep in practice by drawing a little something every day. A fellow artist gave me the idea, when he showed me his miniature journal. He is very organized about the process and draws something specific every day. For example, one day he paints “mammals,” another day he paints “reptiles,” another day “flowers”, another day, “sea life” etc. He prepares for the next day’s drawing session, by looking at reference materials the night before, and when he awakens in the morning, draws a somewhat abstract, warm up drawing of whatever his subject is for the day, then he draws a second drawing with more detail. Both drawings are small, about 3” x 3”.

I’ve not gotten so organized yet, but like I said, I have at least picked up a pen and paper and drawn…part of a plant, the ceiling fan, a corner of a table, a doorway...

My drawings are not detailed, but at least they are keeping me in practice until I can paint again….

If You Always Do What You've Always Done...

You’ll always get what you always got.

I guess I should call this “my experimental phase.” I have always used Arches 100% cotton rag watercolor paper -- 140# cold-pressed in the early days, and 140# hot-pressed and 300# cold-pressed more recently.

About two years ago I heard about clayboard, a clay-coated hardboard panel that is comparable to cold-pressed watercolor paper, but allows color to be lifted back to white easily, while also leaving the richest, most vibrant color possible. The truly amazing thing about clayboard is that finished watercolors can be sealed with a Fixative and displayed without glass!

Okay, so not only did I “hear” about clayboard, I actually bought 4, 4-inch squares to try out. Well, those squares have been sitting in one of my "supply" drawers…until Saturday. When I took a break from my “collage” painting, I was in the mood to paint and found those little squares of clayboard. I grabbed them from the drawer, drew a quick pencil sketch directly onto the board, and started painting. I couldn’t believe my eyes! The surface is very much like painting on cold-pressed paper, BUT there is much more freedom, for people like me who like to work tight and detailed.

The clayboard surface allows you to paint in layers, but the colors are much more vibrant, and I’m sure I used less paint! And the true beauty is that if you make a mistake, I mean, if you change your mind = ), it is easy to lift off and re-work an area.

One painting

Led to another….

There is still work to be done on both, so I will be fine-tuning and re-posting them so you can see the finished product.

Have a good day and try something new!

Out of my comfort zone!

I’ve painted long enough to know that I prefer using Schminke’s Phthalo Blue over Winsor Newton’s French Ultramarine or Cobalt Blue, so I don't know what possessed me to start a painting with French Ultramarine Blue! Well, I am definitely now, out of my comfort zone!

Let me back up a bit. First, I am learning that to be an artist in a Morro Bay gallery, I need to be sensitive to the fact that many of the people who visit the gallery are tourists, and they want to take home a reminder of their visit to Morro Bay, or California. Armed with that information, I thought I should paint something Morro Bayish. I’ve enjoyed seeing the brown pelicans enjoying life in the Bay, and so I thought I would paint a pelican on a pier piling, with Morro Rock in the background.

I sketched out the drawing, transferred it to my watercolor paper and thought, hmm, it has been a long time since you’ve painted a sky using French Ultramarine Blue. So I did. I painted a rather dark sky, waited until the sheen was gone from my paper, then grabbed a paper towel, wadded it up and tried to lift out clouds. That is when I remembered that French Ultramarine Blue is a staining color and there would be no clouds in this sky. Well, once I realized what I had done, I had a dark sky, in a color that I don’t love, and the rest of the painting before me.

I tried to ignore the sky and focus on the rest of the painting, but the big, dark, blue sky was like a Grace Jones face on a Grace Slick body (see previous post) and I just kept thinking, “well here is one for the trash can.”

If you know me you know that I am not a quitter, and so I thought,“what else can I do with this

painting?” And so I grabbed the scissors and cut the painting in two, and this was the start of a new experiment – a collage!

I haven’t worked out the details of the college yet – I don’t know if I will simply attach another piece of watercolor paper to the back of the pelican/Morro Rock piece and paint in another sky, or if I’ll get crazy with it, but I will keep you informed of the progress. (Don't worry, I'll work on the water too!)

If you have any ideas for finishing the piece, please contact me.

Oh well, I guess I had better get back to the laboratory…I mean studio!