Onion

"Onion," colored pencil and soft pastel on 5 x 5 on 98 lb paper

The onion was the most available subject today.  I began this one with a sketch using Dahlia Purple and Parma Violet Prismacolor pencils.  It was time to pull out the PanPastels.  I did a light wash in Violet and then Yellow Ochre.  I added Red Iron Oxide for the darker spots of my onion.  I made my shadows using a combination of those colors, all in pastel, along with a little Neutral Gray.  I used the colored pencil to add some finishing details.

I wanted to use a complimentary color palette to create a recognizable onion.  My main goal was to create realistic color and texture.  I will be creating some onion abstractions in my next sketches.

Beach Scene

"Beach Scene," watercolor on 12 x 9 140 lb paper

I wanted to create an abstract landscape.  

My main focus in this painting was sky- I wanted to give the sky a great deal of depth and interest.  I used wet-on-wet for an underpainting, interweaving blues, violets, reds, oranges and yellows.  After this layer dried, I went over it in two layers of dark blue, then added table salt, as well as rock salt to allow the broken colors to shine through.

For the ocean, I mixed greens and blues, painting wet-on wet to give the impression of waves.

The hill was originally a cadmium lemon.  This created imbalance in the painting, so I neutralized the hill and also gave it more interest by layering a deep blue-violet over the yellow.  I added more salt to give the sand some texture.

Overall, I'm happy with how the painting turned out.  Next time I work a beach scene, I might abstract it further by using cleaner geometric shapes and a simpler color scheme. 

Pond at Dawn

"Pond at Dawn," watercolor on  9x6 140 lb paper

This is a wet-on-wet abstract piece; it was a lot of fun to make.

St. Jude Catholic Church

Pencil sketch on 6 x 9

Here is a little sketch I made in the dark last night.  I need to work on strengthening my perspective drawings.  I will try to do another one next week.

Tye Dye Storm

PanPastel on Strathmore Watercolor Paper 9 x 6

I played with PanPastel a bit at the fountain in front of St. Jude's Catholic Church.  The rain started falling on the paper before I had quite finished.

Frontal Perspective House

I sketched this little frontal perspective house in front of St. Jude's Catholic Church.

Stairway

Graphite on 7x10 inch Canson paper (98 lb)

I completed another exercise from the perspective book by Mercedes Braunstein. I used a 6B graphite pencil- quick, fun and easy.

Pear in Colored Pencil

Colored Pencil on 5x7 Canson 98 lb paper

I used a demo from Arlene Steinberg's Masterful Color for this bit of practice.  Despite its small size, it took a long time. 

Pouring Experiment

Acrylic on 6.75x4.75 masonite

Here is a pouring experiment with pouring medium, regular house paint and a little dusting of gold.

Door

"Door," mixed media on 98 lb Canson paper

I made a quick little door sketch using graphite, Prismacolor colored pencil, PanPastel and black ink.  I would like more practice with sketching, so I am working through exercises in a perspective book by Mercedes Braunstein. 

Pear

Here is a quick pear sketch using PanPastel and a tiny bit of Prismacolor pencil.

Pastel on 6x6 tan cardstock

Melting Moonlight

"Melting Moonlight," acrylic and oil-based spray paint on 18x14 canvas

I wanted to experiment with abstraction, so I took my canvas outside, poured water all over it, then applied flat black and metallic silver oil based spray paints all over.  I dropped in Golden High Flow Acrylic in Quinacridone Magenta, Phthalo Blue, Carbon Black and Titanium White.  I let the blue and magenta flow together to create various shades of violet, as I wanted an analogous color scheme of magenta, violet and blue.  I just had fun with my experiment, letting the paints flow freely.  Here was the result:

I wanted the subject of my painting to go along with what the paints did on their own.  When I looked at my canvas, I saw a tree and a sinking, melting moon.  I wanted my tree to be twisted, like some of the trees I noticed around Palo Duro Canyon, or even in New Mexico.  At first, my tree's branches all went to the left side.  I decided to add the right lower branch to give my painting a better sense of balance.  I wanted to use a texture paste my son bought me, Liquitex Black Lava, so I drew my tree freehand with a black paint marker, then went over it with the Black Lava.  My last step was painting more High Flow Quinacridone Magenta all over my tree. 

Black Lava Sketch

Here is a quick tree sketch using Liquitex Black Lava.  It was my first time using this medium.  It's like a fancy glitter glue!

Red Pepper

7.5 x 7 with Prismacolor colored pencils on 98 lb Canson paper.  I used an underpainting with complimentary colors, just like with my previous tomato drawing.  Colored pencil work takes forever!  Here is the underpainting:

Hilly Landscape with PanPastels

I made my first ever PanPastel sketch!  These are a joy to use.  Just for fun, I've included a before and after.

This sketch was made on 98 lb Canson Mixed Media paper using Colorfin Ultra Soft Artist Painting PanPastels.  A wonderful new medium!

A Float

My instructor, Kara English gave a demo on how to make a "float" painting last week, and so I decided to give it a try this past weekend.  I bought four colors of spray paint: paprika, oregano, aqua and flat black.  Okay, actually I purchased five- also a can of metallic silver.  However, the silver spray paint was quite defective.  I placed my canvas out in the rain and let it pour down.  Then, I sprayed the colors over the wet canvas, making the cool watery patterns.  I am told this resembles 1990s furniture patterns . . . 

Acrylic Ink Pouring Experiments

Here are my first experiments with Golden High Flow Acrylic paint on photo paper.

Tomato

Here is a tomato sketch using Prismacolor colored pencils, tan card stock and the instruction of Arlene Steinberg (Masterful Color).

Sunflowers

This sunflower doodle was made on 98 lb Canson paper using black ink.

Color Wheel

Color Wheel on 98 lb Canson paper using Prismacolor colored pencils.  I made this color wheel based on the instruction of Arlene Steinberg (Masterful Color).

The Process Red looks like more of a magenta to me.