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Some recent artwork
Jan. 22nd, 2025 10:22 amI haven't done much artwork lately. Here is a quick painting with watercolor pencil of a dried rosebud in a small ceramic vase.
Delighted that the plan worked
Oct. 20th, 2021 12:36 pmI have started a tradition of using one of my watercolor paintings on our holiday card. For two of them, my painting instructor arranged for the printing. It was expensive, about $3/card. The next year, I scanned my painting on my all-in-one printer and used Shutterfly to print the cards. With shipping, that was about $2/card. This year, I thought I'd use Shutterfly again, but my painting is too large for my scanner. I asked around for suggestions on where to take it to get a good quality scan. Nothing helpful; people just took a photo of their art. That might be good enough. Then I thought about Staples, the office supply store. I had used them to copy large stained glass patterns. I'm sure their flatbed scanner is big enough.
I gathered my courage and took the painting to the local Staples. (I need to have courage because I'm hard-of-hearing and people still need to wear masks against the coronavirus.) The woman at the print center very carefully scanned the painting, checked the quality, and copied the file to my thumb drive. I noticed that Staples prints various business material, including greeting cards. I asked about pricing. It would be less than a dollar a card for the quantity I wanted. So since I was there, I decided to order cards. She started helping me do the layout. It is on their website. So I told her I would put together the order at home, since there were other customers waiting and this could take some time. I asked her what I owed for the scan. She waved her hand dismissively and said "Forget it". Wow. For the other company I used, it was $25 just for the scan.
I'm glad I decided to do the layout at home. There were so many options. I needed the time to decide on the text and I needed to crop the scan a bit. The color was a bit better than my photo. Also the scan was a higher quality, not that it mattered for a 4x6 image. I was amazed that I could get the cards the next day. (It would have been longer if I'd chosen the foil option or a better quality paper. Then it would have been 5 days, not bad.) In the past, I had to allow several weeks for printing and delivery, which was why I was starting the card ordering process in October.
I decided to do a non-folded card like I did last year. It is less wasteful than a folded card. Image on the front and greeting on the back. I usually include a newsletter, so don't need to write a long message in the card. The website also provides a proof PDF. I sent that to my husband for proofreading and approval.
I placed the order around noon and got an email at 8:30pm that the order was ready. I picked it up the next day and it looks great. The woman who helped me before was there and I thanked her for her help. I am delighted with the whole process.
It is nice when a plan works.
I gathered my courage and took the painting to the local Staples. (I need to have courage because I'm hard-of-hearing and people still need to wear masks against the coronavirus.) The woman at the print center very carefully scanned the painting, checked the quality, and copied the file to my thumb drive. I noticed that Staples prints various business material, including greeting cards. I asked about pricing. It would be less than a dollar a card for the quantity I wanted. So since I was there, I decided to order cards. She started helping me do the layout. It is on their website. So I told her I would put together the order at home, since there were other customers waiting and this could take some time. I asked her what I owed for the scan. She waved her hand dismissively and said "Forget it". Wow. For the other company I used, it was $25 just for the scan.
I'm glad I decided to do the layout at home. There were so many options. I needed the time to decide on the text and I needed to crop the scan a bit. The color was a bit better than my photo. Also the scan was a higher quality, not that it mattered for a 4x6 image. I was amazed that I could get the cards the next day. (It would have been longer if I'd chosen the foil option or a better quality paper. Then it would have been 5 days, not bad.) In the past, I had to allow several weeks for printing and delivery, which was why I was starting the card ordering process in October.
I decided to do a non-folded card like I did last year. It is less wasteful than a folded card. Image on the front and greeting on the back. I usually include a newsletter, so don't need to write a long message in the card. The website also provides a proof PDF. I sent that to my husband for proofreading and approval.
I placed the order around noon and got an email at 8:30pm that the order was ready. I picked it up the next day and it looks great. The woman who helped me before was there and I thanked her for her help. I am delighted with the whole process.
It is nice when a plan works.
I began another course with Zina conducted over WebEx. The first exercise was to use an alternate watercolor media. There are watercolor pencils, watercolor sticks, and watercolor markers. I already owned some watercolor pencils and had tried them. In class, I learned that you don't usually color in the picture like colored pencils. You draw with the pencil to apply some color, then blend with a damp brush. You can also dampen the tip of the pencil and draw with that to get intense color, or you can dampen the paper and draw.
Last year at the start of the pandemic lockdown. I visited the National Arboretum to see cherry blossoms. The magnolias were in bloom too and they were a striking dark pink. I used a photo I took then as a reference. I liked the combination of dark buds and pale petals.
The painting looks like an old botanical illustration.
Last year at the start of the pandemic lockdown. I visited the National Arboretum to see cherry blossoms. The magnolias were in bloom too and they were a striking dark pink. I used a photo I took then as a reference. I liked the combination of dark buds and pale petals.
The painting looks like an old botanical illustration.
The next exercise in the class taught by Zina Poliszuk was a snow scene with shadows. The scene was chosen from my personal photographs. Choosing my own subject is one thing I like about this class. The class is taught remotely with WebEx due to pandemic safety concerns.
Things I learned or were emphasized by this exercise:
1) Careful drawing (I enlarged the photo using a grid)
2) Water control (mainly by not doing it well)
3) I can fix things, pigment can be removed (to a certain extent)
4) Don't drop your paint filled brush on the painting.
I was unhappy with the roof of the house on the right. Of course it was the first bit of snow I painted. I was able to remove most of the pigment even after 2 weeks (dampen, then blot with a dry brush) and finally got it to the color and texture I wanted. I can now look at the painting without cringing.
I had fun with the trees in the background. I also enjoyed painting in the slender branches on the leafless bush on the left. I didn't need to do that bush, but it makes the scene more real.
Things I learned or were emphasized by this exercise:
1) Careful drawing (I enlarged the photo using a grid)
2) Water control (mainly by not doing it well)
3) I can fix things, pigment can be removed (to a certain extent)
4) Don't drop your paint filled brush on the painting.
I was unhappy with the roof of the house on the right. Of course it was the first bit of snow I painted. I was able to remove most of the pigment even after 2 weeks (dampen, then blot with a dry brush) and finally got it to the color and texture I wanted. I can now look at the painting without cringing.
I had fun with the trees in the background. I also enjoyed painting in the slender branches on the leafless bush on the left. I didn't need to do that bush, but it makes the scene more real.
Watercolor classwork: Soup Ingredients
Feb. 16th, 2021 09:38 amI was making Cream of Turnip soup. I had the ingredients gathered on the countertop and the arrangement was appealing, so I took a photo. Later, the instructor in my watercolor class asked us to do a food still life from a personal photo. (I like this class because the instructor lets us choose are own subject.) The process she told us to follow was to do a tonal painting first (greys) then paint over with color glazes. I was very careful to duplicate the colors of the parsnip and turnips.
I submitted the painting for critique. The instructor liked it overall and recommended that I increase the intensity of the color glaze. When I see the original photo and my painting photo side by side, I see her point. I was afraid of exaggerating the color unrealistically. Good thing is that it is easier to add color than remove it.
I submitted the painting for critique. The instructor liked it overall and recommended that I increase the intensity of the color glaze. When I see the original photo and my painting photo side by side, I see her point. I was afraid of exaggerating the color unrealistically. Good thing is that it is easier to add color than remove it.
Watercolor class - new session
Jan. 12th, 2021 09:01 pmI enrolled in an on-line watercolor class hosted by the county I live in. The lessons are real-time WebEx. The students email photos of their homework for critique. The first lesson was about painting glazes (diluted color) and overlapping them to achieve a color. These were fun to do. One is totally abstract. The other has an object (a bottle) but with an abstract treatment. It will be interesting to find out if I understood the point of the exercise.
Common Redpoll painting thumbnail
Jan. 4th, 2021 09:43 am
Still fooling around with how DW handles images. This is the thumbnail URL.
OK, This is nice. Gives you a preview that you can click on to see the full size.
