Sunrise At My Backyard

.

Tuesday Class Demo

Tuesday classes started with basic washes and students did a fantastic job.  I tried to make it easy with a demo of one tree, but lots of ideas were flying around.  We had chickadees, owls, church steeples, and many others.  Basic washes and anything that makes an interesting contour line drawing for the silhouette makes a good painting.

On Line Classes

I’ve video taped the basic washes and plan to put the lesson on line as soon as I’ve done the audio.  I’m probably over doing it a bit, but I want it easy to understand and follow.

Just for fun, I did a tiny watercolor of Toes Goes To The Woods.  4.5 x 6.5″ on paper For sale on my paintworks site.  Ever contemplate your own toes?

]]> http://www.debiwatson.com/2012/03/toes-goes-just-for-fun/feed/ 0 http://www.debiwatson.com/2012/03/march-madness/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=march-madness http://www.debiwatson.com/2012/03/march-madness/#comments Sat, 24 Mar 2012 12:15:46 +0000 debiwatson http://www.debiwatson.com/?p=1519

Godess

.

I am part of a wonderful blog – Artcolony - of painters from around the world.  We share paintings and ideas and Ona came to visit from Canada last year.  I’ve really enjoyed the camaraderie.

The challenge this month was march madness – paint something totally different than your usual style.  This was my entry – The Godess – a stylized figure done wet and wild.

.

Most watercolors are quick paintings, but I tend to spend as long on a watercolor as I would an oil.  For teaching, however, I need something quick, that can be finished in a session.  This was the demo from Monday’s class, done with big washes and a sponge.

I had planned to put some deer in the meadow, but my students insisted it just cried for a fence, disappearing into the distance.  They were right, of course.  I added the butterflies in the front, and then the sun to balance them out.

Whitetail Doe From My Back Yard - in Watercolor

.

Outfoxed By A Doe

I am a nature lover.  Springtime brings out the best in nature – flowers, birds singing and baby critters.  This doe was hanging around my bushes.  Did she have a fawn tucked away somewhere?  I watched and watched (with my camera on tripod glued to the window), but never saw a fawn.

painting in progress

Improving Your Composition

On the right is the unfinished version of this painting.  I posted it on facebook for a critique and the consensus was to darken the area behind the doe – maybe put a bush there.  The bush grew into a couple of trees while I was painting, and I cropped off some of the forsythia so my viewer’s attention stays on that beautiful doe.  She certainly held my attention, and outfoxed me, too.  Wish I could have seen the fawn.

For Sale

This 6.5 x 6.5 miniature watercolor painting is for sale on my daily paintworks - start your collection today!

5 x 7 miniature painting on folded notecard paper

Early Winter, Yellowstone.

There are four seasons in Yellowstone – June, July, August, and Winter.

This is an original watercolor painting in miniature – 5 x 7 inches, matted to standard 11 x 14″ mat for convenient framing.  I painted this on the front of watercolor paper folded in half so it could be easily removed from the mat and sent as a card (envelope is included), or hung as a miniature painting.

Auction

This is for auction on my first auction on my daily paintworks site – click here to see it and bid.  The site has a fun ‘zoom’ feature, so check it out.

Dappled sunlight, small boys, old cars – these are some of things that say small town America to me.  I really enjoy putting all the little details in, just as they are in real life.  Buildings and poles are rarely straight and there always seem to be trash cans and window air conditioning units, but that’s America for you.  This scene was an alley in Lancaster county and a friend contributed the photo of the boys that make up my center of interest.

Philadelphia Watercolor Society Juried Members’ Exhibit

I had a piece accepted into the PWCS exhibit.  The awards reception is March 25th at the Montgomery County Community College in Pottstown, PA.

Watercolor For Sale on Daily Paintworks

.

This is a 8.5 x 7″ watercolor on paper of Pink Hollyhocks done as a class demo.  I don’t paint many flowers, but the light on these was quite nice.

Vacation

I’ll be away from home Thursday, February 16 thru Sunday, February 19.  I’m going to Niagra Falls with the family.  I’ve never been there, but hear it’s impressive in it’s frozen state.  I’m hoping to get some pictures and get refreshed from the winter doldrums.

.

.

.

.

.

This weeks painting for sale in the Sweet Young Things subject is ‘Schoolgirl’, a 10 x 8 watercolor on masonite aquabord, varnished and ready to frame.  This pretty young schoolgirl was reading at the Portrait Museum in Washington D.C.  I liked her colorful stockings.

For Sale for $60 on Daily Paintworks

Here’s the deer !  A herd of does usually hang out in my backyard in the winter and I’ve been photographing them.  I put out apple peels to draw them closer.  This is a watercolor on paper, 9 x 12 of two of the does – a full grown doe and her yearling fawn.

Painting Snow

I used cobalt turquoise light and permanent rose (mostly) to make the rosey gray background and spattered in Pro White while it was wet to get some soft snowy effects.  I spattered with masking before I started painting to get the hard edged snow effects.