Sunflower Watercolor-A Progression

   

What you see above is a series of photographs that I took of my latest adventure in floral watercolors.
It portrays a sunflower blossom in the process of opening up.
Sunflowers always bring a smile to my face with their bright yellow sunshiny faces!

Using a technique commonly used by European Impressionist painters like Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, I chose a background rich with purples since purple is the complementary (opposite) color of yellow. Placing complementary colors side by side increases the intensity of each individual color.

I don't believe it's finished yet. I think I would like to see some more development and refining happening in the petals and leaves. Maybe go darker still in the background.

What do YOU think?

Christoph Niemann: A refreshing imagination!

Hey there, all you colorful autumn leaf lovers!

I just had to share this.

I found an awesome artistic avenue for expressing the beauty of fall leaf colors!
Click here to see it!=

Imagination is a wonderful thing. Practice using it daily.

Busy Week/Secret Project

This past week has been busy. Wednesday was my monthly ARTsisters meeting; Friday was the monthly meeting of the Delaware Valley Art League. This morning I spent a little time working on my secret project, then in the afternoon, took advantage of the unseasonal, warm weather and raked some leaves outside!
Want to take a guess at what the secret project is?!?

"Who Does She Think She Is?"

I saw a terrific documentary this past Sunday at Theatre N in Wilmington. called, "Who Does She Think She Is?" The movie focused on a few creative women, their art, how the world sees women artists, how these women artists survive in the world, and many issues with which many of us creative women deal on a daily basis. It was enjoyable to watch, informative, and inspiring. My only regret was that there was such a small number of viewers in the theatre. Too bad. Maybe they'll show it again sometime.

Many thanks to Jeni Barton for informing me about it.

Behind the Scene/Seen: An Artistic Response to the Holocaust

A fellow artist and friend of mine, Linda Dubin Garfield has just recently posted on You Tube, a short video which she created from images she captured during a trip to Europe. It deals with the holocaust in a sensitive way, and makes the point that we must make the motto 'Never Again" become a promise.

I urge you to watch the film. It's about four and a half minutes in length. Here is the link

Behind the Scene/Seen: An Artistic Response to the Holocaust

Watercolor vs Pastel(or other...)

I love to create artwork using different mediums; not usually at the same time, as in mixed media pieces, although I do combine them occasionally What I mean is, I love to paint in watercolor. I also enjoy working in soft pastel*. Then there's acrylic painting on canvas. And cyanotypes. And colored pencil . . .

Which medium I use depends a lot on the current situation. For instance, if I am at home and want to work in the evening, but I also want to spend time with my family,. I have found watercolor usually works perfectly.

I have a little area set up in my living room where I can work on small-sized watercolor projects while still keeping an eye on what other family members are viewing on the tube. Watching television is a popular evening activity in our house, so watching TV with my kids is one way (granted not the most ideal way, but oh well!) that I can stay tuned into my kids' lives. Even though TV watching is considered a passive activity, my family tends to converse and interact while watching. Often someone will make a comment about a situation in a show and that spurs on a discussion.

We also often enjoy interesting educational shows like Nova, programs that show us glimpses of our  natural world that we hadn't yet had the chance to see for ourselves. This can make watching while painting a somewhat inspirational event, since much of my art revolves around my fascination with nature, using images from our natural world.
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By the way,....
I recently read an interesting article about the nature-loving quality of people. You can read it by clicking here:
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So, although painting while watching TV can mean a less pinpointed focus on my artwork, for me, it is the perfect solution to the problem of having so many loves (two being art and family) and not enough time. (It is certainly better than not painting at all!)

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*Regarding soft pastel mentioned above:
Since I discovered the danger of breathing in pastel dust, I have stopped using them indoors when I'm near family members. More info about the dangers of pastels below.

*Click here for a link which I found with tips for pastelists to stay healthy and clean while using pastels.

~ also ~
Richard McKinley has a terrific post for fellow pastel artists called "Dealing with Dust" on his Pastel Pointers blog.

Shhhh! It's a Secret... for now.

As usual, there are tons of visual images floating around in my head today. I have several new ideas on which I want to experiment, but haven't been able to devote the time to start them. However, there is one fairly new avenue of my art that I have been able to work on. Only a few people know about them though, because it involves surprising a couple people with a special gift.
These people just might be reading my blog and I want to keep the surprise a secret for now. Once the secret is out, I promise that I will post pictures and details!
Have a terrific day!

Election Day Tomorrow

Don't forget to vote! It's important.
If you're in PA, there's a video with some helpful information about the PA courts and the democratic judicial possibilities. Click here to view it (scroll down once you get to the page)