Josie

This is Josie, a very natural five-year-old, I met recently. Josie allowed me to take several photos to use for a watercolor portrait.  I placed her near a window to allow the sunlight to fall on her hair.  I am pleased with the effect.

"Mist Along the Trail"

"Mist Along the Trail" 

This is a watercolor painting of a scene in North Carolina.  The source was a composite of a photo from my camera and a photo from my son's Android phone.  We were on a hike to Max Patch, a bald mountain, on top of which we hoped to see wild flowers.  However, we were a week late.  The weather was overcast and a light rain was falling. 

We trudged along the slippery trail, enjoying the glistening trees and foliage, stopping often for photos.  Even though it wasn't the hike we had in mind, we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The painting image measures 28" X 20".  Framed it is 36" X 28".

Full Bloom

On a visit to California I saw this arrangement of tulips.  I took the bouquet outside on the deck in the sunshine to take photos.  When I returned home to Tennessee, I cropped and printed one of the images. Then I enlarged the 8"x10" image to a 20"x28" size.  When my large pencil drawing pleased me, I transferred it to a full sheet of watercolor paper and began painting.  It was a slow process.  There were many challenges.

Little Pink Roses

One morning my neighbor stopped by to give me two very small rose buds she had picked on her walk.  The rose buds had no leaves, just two inch stems.  I looked for a small container for them.  The best I could find was a glass bowl about four inches in diameter.  I put the bowl with the rose buds on my table and watched them for several days as they gradually opened up.  Each day I recorded their development with my camera.  I used the roses in full bloom for the painting above.

Lavender Daisies

This is another small painting.  The image dimensions are ten inches by fourteen inches.  Framed in silver it measures sixteen inches by twenty inches.  I have found that a small size does not necessarily mean it can be done quickly.  The daisies had many petals to be coaxed to life.

"Rose Parade"

Shortly after posting "A Rose Bouquet", I painted another composition of roses.  The source for the new rose painting was just a different view of the same Mother's Day bouquet. The roses in "Rose Parade" are in front of a large window facing a deck. They seem to be bobbing and preening in the bright sunny day.

Rose Bouquet

The source for this painting was last year's Mother's Day bouquet.  It was a large arrangement with a variety of different colored roses.  I took many photos with different angles and different lighting.  I chose a small portion of one of the images and cropped what I wanted to paint.  As usual, I enlarged the image using a grid and drew a full- sized image.  I love to draw, so this was a pleasure.  When the drawing satisfied me, I transferred the image to 300 pound Fabriano Artistico watercolor.  I like to use soft press, especially for flowers.  I used mutiple light washes to get the hues and values I wanted.  No resist was used, only transparent watercolor pigment,water, and brushes.  The image measures 20 inches by 14 inches.  The framed painting is 28 inches by 22 inches,

Totally Transparent Watercolor Award

I am a member of the Tennessee Watercolor Society.  In 2006 I saw the biennial exhibit of TnWS and knew that this was the group I wanted to join.  The paintings I saw in that show were the best I had seen in Tennessee.  TnWS has five chapters and presents an exhibition every two years, hosted by one of the chapters.  I have had paintings in every show since I became a member: 2008 in Knoxville; 2010 in Chattanooga; 2012 in Memphis; and 2014 in Franklin, TN, hosted by the Nashville chapter.  In 2012 in Memphis I received my signature status, but had never earned an award.  This year in Franklin the juror, Pat Dews, awarded my painting "Dogwood Fall Foliage" the Totally Transparent Watercolor award.  I am happy and honored to have earned a place among artists I admire.

 

"Dogwood Fall Foliage"

28" x 20"

"Patterns of Light"

Last year the sunlight falling across some random items on a shelf caught my attention.  I saved that moment with my camera and later it became a painting.  The painting is shown on an earlier post.  This year I entered it in the Texas Watercolor Society Exhibition.  I was very pleased the juror, Judy Morris, selected it as an entry.  Perhaps she saw what I had seen, a special moment  in time as the sun created intriguing "Patterns of Light".  A few days ago I learned that it had earned a merchandise award in the Texas exhibition.

 

Sunflowers

Here are some bright, warm sunflowers to contrast with the dreary weather we have had this January and February. The painting was started several months ago, but was set aside unfinished. I enjoyed sketching the flowers. I turned them in different positions and experimented with several possible compositions before deciding to use this arrangement.

Colander Glow II

This is my latest framed painting.  The image is 15" X 26".  Framed the painting measures 23" X 34".  The composition is part of an earlier painting, "Colander Glow I", currently in the permanent collection of the Pellissippi College Library.  I like working with reflective surfaces.  The glow that comes from the peppers being reflected in the metal colander was my motivation.

Radishes

This is the second time I have painted this arrangement of colorful radishes.  The first painting belongs to someone else.  These large multicolored vegetables remind me of Easter eggs.  This rendition is not exactly the same as the first painting.  That was not the intention.  I just wanted to enjoy the shapes and colors of these little vegetables one more time.

Dogwood Berries

I finished this painting a few months ago, but neglected to post it.  The painting measures 20 " X 28".  It is an ambitious size for the small berries.  I was intrigued by the indistinct quality of the background shapes in my source photo.  It was fun to try to portray that.  In September Dogwood Berries won an award for transparent watercolor at the Oak Ridge Art Center Exhibition.

White Lilies

This is a painting I just finished.  I chose to use red in the background to set off the white lilies.  Multiple layers of carmine washes created the intensity of the hue.  The result reminds me of some Mexican paintings I have seen.  It has the happy feeling of a fiesta!

Patterns of Light

One morning bright sunlight came through my window onto a corner shelf.  The items on the shelf were not carefully arranged.  They were simply a purple pot with Philodendron and three blue glasses left over from an earlier painting set up. The sunlight made intricate shapes of light falling across the pot and glasses.  With my camera I saved the light and shadow design to use as a painting.  I found this painting a challenge and may try to do it again sometime in the future.  It is an exercise that I may be able to do better the second time around.

Blue Glass

This is my latest painting.  I found glass an interesting subject.  The transparency, the reflective light, and the cast shadows were a challenge.  I want to do more.  I am on a mission to find oher pieces of colored glass and interesting glass shapes.

Caylie

 

I was asked to do a painting of a little girl named Caylie.  She is adored by her family.  I had only a small image from a phone to work with.  I asked for a few more photos so that I could get a better idea of skin tone.  From those photos I found another image that appealed to me.  So, I did two small paintings of Caylie.  In the first painting Caylie is one and a half years old.  In the second painting she is five.  She is a delightful subject.  I enjoyed the project.

 

 

Dogwood Fall Foliage II

In September I painted another dogwood composition showing the fall leaves in bright sunlight.  This is the way my eye and the camera lens saw the foliage.  This is just one moment in time.  On another day the same tree will have a different look.  The sun works magic and I was lucky to see and capture that one moment.

2012 Exhibitions

This year I entered many national and regional exhibitions.  At this date I have had paintings accepted in eight venues and am waiting for the notifications from three more.  It is gratifying to have my paintings selected by jurors whose personal works and achievements I value.  Here is the list of exhibitions with references to the blog posts where the paintings may be seen.

Gibson County Visual Arts Association, Trenton, TN. April 9 - May 11.  Cheng-khee Chee was the juror. MADRONE (see blog post Sept. 8, 2010).  ROSEMARY'S IRIS (see blog post July 26, 2010).  MADRONE won an honorable mention.

Tennessee Watercolor Association, Memphis, TN. May 4 - June 20. Gerald Brommer was the juror.  LEMONS AND TANGELOS (see blog post April 3, 2010).  MELANIE (see blog post Sept.8, 2011).  MELANIE was selected to be in the Traveling Show.

Texas Watercolor Society, San Antonio, TX, June 1 - 30. Steve Doherty was the juror. IRIS TETE A TETE (see blog post April 19, 2011).

Society of Watercolor Artists, Fortworth, TX, April 15 - June 22. Juror was Robert Burridge. EN GARDE ( see blog post April 3, 2010).

Dogwood Regional Fine Arts Exhibition, Knoxville, TN, April - 27. Juror was Terry Jordan.  SUN-LIT FALL FOLIAGE (see blog post Aug. 10, 2012).  This was a brand new painting.  It was sold at this show!

Southern Watercolor Society, Nacoochee, GA, June 9 - July 7. Juror was Frederick Graff.  PARTY TIME (see blog post April 3, 2010).  I had just joined this organization and was very happy to have one of my paintings accepted.  SWS includes 19 states and an impressive membership of very talented artists.  Nacoochee is in a beautiful area of northwest Georgia.

Fountain City Art Center, Fountain City, TN, June 8 - July 12. SPLISH - SPLASH (see blog post Aug. 11, 2011).  LEMONS AND TANGELOS II (see blog post April 14, 2012).  LEMONS AND TANGELOS II won an honorable mention. 

Aqueous USA, Kentucky Watercolor Society, Oct.3 - 28.  Juror was Ted Nuttal. MADRONE (see blog post April 3, 2010).

I am waiting for notification from three other watercolor organizations. 

Dogwood Fall Foliage

This painting may look very familiar.  Last Spring I painted a half-sheet version of the same subject.  It was accepted in the Dogwood Regional Fine Arts Exhibition and was sold at the reception.  I had just finished it and it was gone!  I decided to enlarge the composition and go a bit brighter with the pigments.  This is the result: a full-sheet painting of the vibrant fall foliage of the Dogwood when bathed in bright sunshine.