A Tribute to Francis...painting completed!

What's on my Easel...

Let's start at the very beginning... I met Francis one year at my friend and mentor, Deb Festa's Open Studio Art Tour. Francis was out in Deb's courtyard, greeting everyone and making them feel welcome. I didn't know Francis well, but I know that he was a warm, generous man with a huge heart. Over time, I got to know him better, as Deb would share with me about her Dad. Francis was a very creative man -- he was a photographer, writer, gardener, and he loved making and improving upon things.

Francis is no longer with us on this earth, but his memory lives on today in a single flower -- an iris. Francis evidently had a love for irises, because he had a huge iris garden. After his death, his daughter Deb, dug up some of the irises from his home, and brough them to her home to plant. Deb in her typical generous way, shared some of the irises with my husband and I, and we planted a special iris garden in the front of our home. When the first iris bloomed, it was a beauty. It's funny how a simple flower can spark so much thought and emotion, but it did and I was prompted to paint a special tribute to Francis. I'm thankful for my friend Deb, for her open arms and open heart. I'm thankful for Deb's family -- they truly are an amazing family, and I'm thankful for Deb's Dad, Francis. I think of him and I feel lifted up. He lived fully, encouraged much and was so very warm and kind. This painting is my tribute to Francis...

It was painted on the computer using Corel Painter 11 and a Wacom tablet, following traditional painting methods. the painting started with a line drawing, followed by basic color choices for the finished painting...

Once I had the basic design and color choices made, I started on the background -- yellow, to allow a nice glow to the finished piece, followed by some random squiggles...

I then blended the squiggles, added more color, and blended again to make it look like undefined flowers and leaves in the background...

Then, I started sketching out and detailing the leaves...

The next step was to block in the yellow iris and start detailing it out...

With the yellow iris in, I then blocked in the purple iris and started adding details...

With the background, leaves, yellow and purple irises painted, it was now time to tie it all together. I added some yellow to the purple iris, some purple to the yellow iris, color to the leaves where needed, and darkened the background just below the irises (to ground them).

The completed painting follows:

Memorial paintings are quite an honor to paint, and it was certainly an honor to know Francis and paint this tribute to him.

From the Jewelry Box...

I had fun making this pair of earrings for Samantha, in honor of her 30th Birthday. I needed something special to package her earrings and painted this earring card with watercolor paints on 140# Arches watercolor paper, outlined the painting with a black waterproof marker, then punched two holes to hang the earrings. Happy 30th Samantha!

©2009 Deborah Jeffrey

Today's Quote...

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." ~ Anne Dillard

It's Tuesday -- Time for Another Update...

The U.S. celebrated Labor Day yesterday. I enjoyed the holiday and tried to labor as little as possible = )

Over the holiday weekend, I set up my new computer. Yes, I am one of "those" graphic designers who uses a PC and not a MAC. I purchased a Dell Studio XPS 16 laptop with a high-def. screen, extra memory and a beefier processing system. It is powerful, fast, and is managing my software programs (Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign; Corel Painter II, etc.) quite well. I enjoyed setting it up and my first painting session leads to...

What's on my Easel...

The Tribute to Francis painting is coming along. I now have all of the primary color in and will now start to refine and work towards completion. Deb Festa, you will have your painting before the month is over!


From the Jewelry Box...
My new toy (computer) took all of my free time, so there is nothing new in the jewelry box for today. My husband's niece, Kim, is getting married Saturday, so I'm certain I'll be creating something new to wear to her wedding!

Cover to Cover...
The book is progressing nicely. I met with the author yesterday and we are in the process of deciding on a printer, (there are a few more questions that need clarification before we can make the final decision). We have decided a few things, though: the page size will be 8-1/2" x 11", the format will be landscape (wide), and the illustrations will be drawn and painted on the computer on watercolor textured paper.

The next step is to contact the printers and obtain their layout specifications. Once I have that information we can finalize the overall content of each page and I can start laying out the book and roughing out the illustrations -- yea!

Quote for the day...
"What we learn to do, we learn by doing." ~ Aristotle

Cover to Cover

Happy Tuesday to you! I am very excited about today’s posting because I get to tell you about a project that has been on the backburner for a little while now, but it is now something I can share…to a degree. I will be illustrating and formatting a children’s book!

The author is local and this is her first book. The book will be a self-published, 32-page, hardcover, children’s picture book.

Since this is the first book that the author has published, we have been learning about publishing together. Because this is a totally new endeavor for me, I thought I would share the research and process involved in illustrating, laying-out, and publishing a children’s picture book… Starting with my next posting = )

At this time, I would like to thank the individuals who have offered great advice on how to approach this project. Deb Festa, for introducing me to the author of the manuscript, Fay Sirkis, for teaching me how to paint digitally, and for sharing your layout, design and illustration experience; Susan Harrison-Tustain, for teaching me how to paint watercolor portraits and for the advice about how to approach the project and publishing; Karen Sperling, for your advice about self-publishing; Stephanie Roth Sisson, for your advice about illustrating books and publishers; David, Mom and Dad, for your unconditional love and support – THANK YOU!

And now, What’s on my easel…

I have completed the dog portrait. I mentioned before that it ended up being a digital portrait, but I printed it out onto Arches 100% cotton rag watercolor paper and added watercolor paint to it. It is the first time I have attempted this, and I must say, I like it! It added that special touch that makes this a one of a kind portrait!

The Tribute to Francis painting is coming right along. The yellow flower is there, but still needs refinement and finishing touches – these will be done AFTER the purple flower is completed. The purple Iris is started and here are a couple of photos showing the progression…



From the Jewelry Box…

In my last post I mentioned a necklace idea that was inhabiting my brain. Well I must confess, the picture in my brain is not at all how the necklace turned out. I don’t have a photo of it (in it’s current state), but suffice it to say that it WILL be remade!

So as not to leave you wondering if I accomplished anything in the jewelry-making area, I did throw together a pair of black and white earrings to go with another black and white outfit.



I’m not thrilled with the design, but as Thomas Edison once said…

Quote of the day…
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." ~Thomas Edison

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!

A Tribute to Francis

I met Francis one year at my friend and mentor, Deb Festa’s Open Studio Art Tour. Francis was out in Deb’s courtyard, greeting everyone and making them feel welcome. I didn’t know Francis well, but I know that he was a warm, generous man with a huge heart. Over time, I got to know him better, as Deb would share with me about her Dad. Francis was a very creative man – he was a photographer, writer, gardener, and he loved making and improving upon things.

Francis is on my heart today, because he is no longer with us on this earth, but his memory lives on today in a single flower – an iris. Francis evidently had a love for irises, because he had a huge iris garden. After his death, his daughter Deb, dug up some of the irises from his home, and brought them to her home to plant. Deb in her typical generous way, shared some of the irises with my husband and I, and we planted a special Iris garden in the front of our home. The first iris just bloomed, and it is a beauty. It’s funny how a simple flower can spark so much thought and emotion. I’m thankful for my friend Deb, for her open arms and open heart. She drew me in and captured my heart. I’m thankful for Deb’s family – they truly are an amazing family, and I’m thankful for Deb’s Dad, Francis. I think of him and I feel lifted up. He lived fully, encouraged much and was so very warm and kind.

I will be painting this iris as a tribute to Francis. As I proceed with the painting, I will post it so you can see it.



For today, I encourage you to express your heart of gratitude to our great God who gives us life…and love.

Deborah