Sitting In The Shade – The newest watercolor painting in my ‘Fast and Furious’ series of class demonstrations.  The image is 7 1/2 by 10 1/2″.  This shows how to successfully create natural green colors in a painting.  The best time of year for green is, of course, summer, when flowers rule the yard.  This painting is available for sale on eBay – click here to view.

I’ve scheduled many of my Fast and Furious demos on sale with eBay, so you’ll find a selection of sizes and prices and different subjects each week.  With Mother’s Day fast approaching, I’m putting lots of the floral and flower paintings on.

Art At Rest 

This original watercolor painting (of a messy artists studio at the Goggleworks, Reading PA) was accepted into the Louisianna Watercolor Society’s 40th Annual International exhibition and will be going to New Orleans shortly. 

Fry Guy was accepted into the 10th Annual Missouri Watercolor National Juried Exhibition to be held at the Winston Churchill Gallery at the Westminster College, to be held April 1 – May 16, 2010.  I was also awarded signature membership with this acceptance.  

Sold - ‘February and Still Snowing’ is sold, as well as ‘Cherub and Flowers’. 

"February and Still Snowing" Original Watercolor 7 1/2" x 10 1/2" $350

This original watercolor painting was my view one morning last week while on my way to Turkey Hill to get milk for breakfast.  It’s a street scene without a bit of pavement.

Passing By ~ Original Watercolor 22 x 16″ $800

When I have a painting in progress, I try to keep it in my line of sight.  I paint in the studio, then bring it with me while I work around the house.  I bond with the painting.  Yet I still ‘miss’ things that could be better.

‘Passing By’  is from a photo taken the same morning as the Garden Gate, pictured below.   Same snow, different location, and totally different feelings.

So, does this painting look finished?  I am still thinking of making the sign on the upper right of the building lighter or darker, but any comments are welcome. 

(Passing By is for sale, framed for $800, but I’m going to enter it in the Art of the State competition, so it won’t be available until a later date.)

 Boy was I wrong.

This painting is entered in the Baltimore Watercolor Society’s annual juried exhibition, so it won’t be available until a later date, but it is for sale at $1,200.  Prints will be available later.

In my watercolor painting class last Tuesday, students learned how to paint sandy beaches and seashells the fun and easy way. Letting gravity do the work, by putting color and water down and tilting, was new and exciting. There’s a lot of layering in this watercolor exercise and we use hair dryers to speed the drying.

Removing the masking to show the texture made everyone “ooh” and “ahh.” And lifting the color for the shells was another new experience for many students. It was a day of discovery and amazing results.

I started this happy snowman as a demonstration in my watercolor painting class, then I brought him home to finish in the studio this morning.   It’s all blue skies and smiles when you have friends, in this new, original watercolor painting. 

Now, available on eBay!  click here to see my listing. 

 Snowman and Chickadee is 10″ x 7″ and my first posting on the new blog I joined:  Daily Painters of Pennsylvania.  In 2010, I’m going to be offering more fun and beautiful paintings for collectors of every taste and budget. 

“Painting Shells with Debi Watson” DVD
Running Length: 42 min.
Price: $14.95

It’s tough to stay focused in the modern world, because there’s so much to do and learn.  While  there are tons of good information at your fingertips on the internet, there’s also tons of bad information.  How do you sort it all out? 

Art Marketing NOW 

If you want to learn about all the ins and outs of art marketing I’ve discovered - Kelly and I are giving a one day workshop at the York Art Association on June 5, covering art marketing in person and on-line, with space for 45 students.  We’re still putting the details together, but you can put your name on the list to reserve a spot – just call or email YAA at (717) 755-0028 or yaa1@comcast.net .  I’ll be giving you more information on it as it gets finalized, and sharing a lot in this blog.

Juried Show Opportunities – One for now and one for later 

Deadline fast approaching - the Baltimore Watercolor Society’s 2010 Mid-Atlantic Regional Watercolor Exhibit  (last year $8,000 in awards and over $15,000 in sales.)   My award winning original watercolor painting above, Wannabe Lap Dog, was accepted and shown in their 2009 exhibit.  Also, the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society’s juried show prospectus is available on-line, for anyone who wants to get an early start. 

Did you ever look at one of your older watercolor painting and have an obvious problem suddenly jump out at you?

In this painting, I toned down the white flowers on the left side, so the cherub vase stood out as the center of interest.  I darkened the ferns beside the cherubs face, and softened a few of the hard edges.

Watercolor is a terrific medium – you can change anything at any time, even a year later.