Faded

Here is a group of pansy

paintings I did, using last years pansies that had been pulled from the planter. Laying them out on the snow, I fell in love with the beautiful colors and shapes they formed. Click pictures for yummy close-ups!

Watercolor Painting - Sticks & Stones IV

Sticks & Stones IV 7x10" watercolor on Arches 140lb CP

Well I am definitely in the grips of the winter blues, but have been fighting bravely against it...lots of chocolate, painting, music....and of course, the meds. Winter will end, and it will be warm again....

In the meantime...here is the third for Myrna's challenge:

Triangular composition (she says she threw that one in just for fun...twisted) ; Texture; and Quin Gold. I think I covered all the bases. It was hard to get the color right...there should be more dark in the flower, but then the background gets too dark. Ah well, you get the idea...just imagine some darks.

I love Quin Gold...it can be just about any color on the orange-yellow section of the color wheel you need...and mixes so interestingly with other colors. I cheated a bit on the texture part...used plastic wrap - never tried it before; it turned out okay I think. Of course, my children think I'm brilliant. Bless their little biased hearts...

Off to bed...drop me a line and let me know what you think...about...stuff.

Watercolor Painting - Sticks & Stones II

Sticks & Stones II 7x10" watercolor on Arches block

I had decided I would do a series of paintings with these three objects...to explore different designs and techniques...composition, color, different elements of design...and then lo and behold, there is Myrna Wacknov with her monthly challenges using these very things! Will the fun never end... I'll do these 'challenge' paintings in a 7x10 format, and decide which ones I will paint larger.

So here is number two in the 'series', and number one in the challenge...don't really know if I did it right, but it was kinda fun. This is supposed to be a vertical composition (I think I got that), using a base color (a mother color, she calls it) for unity (my new fave red-orange: Quin Gold & Aliz Crimson), but I don't know if I got across the design element of Texture here...the spikey dried petals, dried leaf, thorns on the branch, and negatively painted petals in the border. But it was fun...and it's done...on to the next!!