Morro Bay Collage Update

You probably thought that I had forgotten about the Morro Bay Collage. Well, I just had several projects that captured my attention, but you'll be happy to know that they are now behind me. I was able to spend some time this weekend working on the Morro Bay Collage.

As I examined the painting, I felt like it was just too blue, so I changed the sky color once again and added some of the colors from the sky to make the painting more cohesive. I'm posting the previous version and the current version so you can compare.

Previous version

Current Version

My goal is to complete this painting this week and get the complimentary Morro Bay Collage cards to those of you who voted for the "light" sky previously.

Oh, I just remembered. I harped on the benefits of painting digitally, but found one "little" problem with the whole thing. As I worked on the painting this weekend I painted, touched up, refined, etc. and then lost all of my work -- you see, I forgot just how important the "SAVE" key is when working digitally. Oh well, lesson learned!

A Blast from the Past

What were you doing in 1969 -- if you were even born then? Me, I was in the 4th grade and evidently had a school assignment to illustrate a poem. The poem of choice was "Poor Old Lady". If you are unfamiliar with this poem, I have included the words to walk you through the illustrations.

Poor Old Lady
by Anonymous

Poor old lady, she swallowed a fly.
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Poor old lady, I think she'll die.

Poor old lady, she swallowed a spider.
It squirmed and wriggled and turned inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Poor old lady, I think she'll die.

Poor old lady, she swallowed a bird.
How absurd! She swallowed a bird.
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Poor old lady, I think she'll die.

Poor old lady, she swallowed a cat.
Thank of that! She swallowed a cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird.
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Poor old lady, I think she'll die.

Poor old lady, she swallowed a dog.
She went the whole hog when she swallowed the dog.
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Poor old lady, I think she'll die.

Poor old lady, she swallowed a cow.
I don't know how she swallowed a cow.
She swallowed the cow to catch the dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Poor old lady, I think she'll die.

Poor old lady, she swallowed a horse.

She died, of course.

The last time I visited my parents my Mom handed over this 40 year old memory. Thank you Mom, for being so sentimental and for keeping the things that we kids made over the years. I love you and can't wait to see what else you dig out of your hope chest!

A Fathers' Day Surprise

This past weekend was Fathers' Day. I didn't get to visit with my Dad in person, but did so by phone. I love you, Daddy!

My husband, David, had been wanting to take the "kids" out to the lake, to see if he could start preparing Zoe to surf with him, so we made this our Fathers' Day family event. We went to Lopez Lake and David donned his wetsuit and paddled out quite a ways. Zoe, Kip and I stood at the shore and waited for the call, "Come Zoe!" She ran/swam out to her "daddy" and climbed onto his surfboard. Then I called her from the shore and she swam back to me. We did this several times, so she would see the surfboard as a respite. Doesn't she look content?

The next step is to buy her a doggie life jacket and take her to practice in the surf of the ocean.

Okay, now the surprise.... On the morning of Fathers' Day, I opened up the July/August issue of "Watercolor Artists" Magazine

that I had received in the mail the day before. I sat there reading and realized they had published a "tip" that I had submitted on-line. The tip is actually one that Deb Festa passed on to me, and has become a time and painting saver, so thank you Deb!

When working from a photograph, write down the colors used for the various parts of the painting on the back of the photo. This way you will know exactly what colors you used and you will never have to guess how you accomplished that color mix. Then, keep a completed painting file and include the reference photo with the color notes on the back and a copy of the completed painting.

Anyway, just thought I would share. Have a great day and keep your eyes open for the little surprises that are before you!

Hello Again...Hello.

Yes, I've let my blog postings lapse a bit. Sadly, I can't really "blame" it on anything. I've been no busier than usual, and I have even been working on a new set of artwork for cards. They are very linear -- drawn with an ink pen and then "colored in" -- some with colored pencils and some on the computer using "digital watercolor."

Does this type image appeal to you? Should I keep going or stop immediately and return to doing something more in line with my "style"?

As always, thanks for your comments, your emails and most of all your support!

Deborah

Creative Challenge #14

For the last week I’ve been away from my computer, email and painting…well watercolor and digital painting anyway…

My parents went away on vacation and while they were gone, my sister, husband and I did a mini makeover in their home. My husband installed crown molding in their living and dining rooms and we painted the walls taupe, the ceiling off white, and the trim and moldings white. It was a fun project and my parents returned yesterday to find their home not as they left it…. There were a few casualties – I broke their drapery rod, ruined a rug, and broke a blind, but other than that, they were grateful = )

So, I’m back home and thinking that I need to paint…but what? I have so many projects started and I know I need to work on them, but I just received my latest copy of Corel Painter Magazine and there is a challenge posted. There are a number of images and the challenge is to take one or more of the images and make a digital painting. As soon as I saw the images an idea for a painting popped into my head – I’m not sure if it is a good one, but it is an idea nonetheless and now I am working on a challenge painting.

The images I have chosen to incorporate into the painting are:



From the above images, I have created this preliminary image…





and have painted it a bit to develop this painting…so far anyway. What do you think? It is not my “style” at all, but definitely something to stretch me.



Life provides a series of opportunities to learn and grow – I hope I never tire of being willing to try something new.