What I See, Is Not Always What You Get

Peaceful View

Watercolor

4" X 6"

$50

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One of my walks, on a nearby street, I saw this line of chairs. The shadows and shape were interesting. I took a photo. Later, when I looked at the photo, I kind of laughed to myself thinking, "Well, no one will want the driveway and street in a painting." Then, I thought of a photo that I had taken at the lake over the summer, where Adirondack chairs do face a lovely view. So, I decided to add an abstract "lake" to the composition I had. To see the inspiration photos, look further down. Enjoy! (I may paint a nighttime version too, when I get more paper.)

“Never, never, never give up.” ― Winston Churchill

It is so strange how alcohol ink paintings can go from one thing to another is barely more than the blink of an eye.

This "poor painting" started out as part of the Color Field experiment that I was doing for a call for entry. I had high hopes for the concept, but it just didn't end up looking like I had hoped.

Then, I reworked it and came up with this painting. Compositionally, the sun is too big and is competing with the grove of trees that actually looks pretty good. I decided to leave the trees and wipe the rest of the board clean and start over. On yupo paper this works well. On clayboard, the board doesn't release the ink as readily. As I wiped, I thought, "Wait a minute here. I like what is happening!" So, I stopped wiping, added a few drops of blender and paint and took a look.

It's one of my favorite alcohol ink paintings to date.

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." - Thomas A. Edison

Days 14 and 15 - Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days

Border Riot

4" X 6"

$40

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So...tonight I am attempting to place catch up on the artwork front. While my teen daughter was in a voice lesson, I sketched the image above of zinnias from Photostream on my iPhone. Thank goodness for technology. It isn't my best work ever, but I got a new book on painting flowers in watercolor last weekend, so I wanted to do another flower painting. I didn't really follow any of what the book recommended except it talked about petals reflecting the sky, so I did add a little blue to some of the petals, which I really like. I was also a little more aware of the fact that flowers are three dimensional. I got a little bit bored with it at the end and started abstracting the background shapes, which I also like.

Yellow Belly

4" X 6"

$40

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After I finished my flowers, I decided to finish one of my etched pieces. You would have to look REALLY closely at the turtle, but the line drawing he consists of is an etching on a piece of rice paper. I then gesso the back of the paper and watercolor the front. From there, I did things slightly differently than my normal mixed media process. I knew I wanted to include the turtle in some collage, but I feared that the watercolor would run when I applied matte medium, so for the first time, I sprayed the front of the turtle with varnish and let it dry before proceeding. I also applied him to a 300# scrap of watercolor paper instead of the printmaking paper that I normally use. (It was really wonderful to avoid the warping of paper!) I think he turned out well; I love lime green and bright blue together.

Day 1 - Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days

I thought that I would be a little ahead of the game when this challenge began. I didn't count on my mechanical pencil having no lead during a long car ride, misplacing my travel watercolors in my daughter's room on vacation or being sick for the last three days.

Anyway, today I got up and did my first of 30 paintings that I will do this month. I gave it the title "Pond Dweller." I painted it from a photo I took at a pond on the Burke Centre trails this fall. I hope you enjoy it. Come back each day to see what I am up to.

"Pond Dweller"

4" X 6"

$40

To purchase, click here.

To see more daily paintings by other artists, visit Leslie Saeta's blog.