Cotton Picker

Who knew such beauty would be found in a cotton field. They call it "Delta Snow"

3 little kiddos walking down the path

I do love watercolor. 

Finished pastel

Today I finally finished my pastel project!! Yeah! 

Little details

I think his toes are one of my favorite things about this pastel

And here's a close up of the little boy's outfit and his mama's arm lovingly wrapped around him.

Tomorrow hopefully I will get to those hands (well, one hand and a teenie tiny part of the little boy's hand. Then that's it. I will spray it to fix it and then it will be done!! Praying the dog doesn't eat it. She's been trying to snatch my pastels throughout this whole process. She got a few, but fortunately she's ok (the pastel, not so much).

Charlie

Today I decided to take a break from pastels for a couple of reasons. First, there are sometimes when I work so long on something that I start to feel discouraged and forget to have fun. Art should be fun. So, I'm taking a "fun" break.  Second, my nephew and brother have birthdays coming up and I wanted to whip up a little something to send them, so I painted this picture of their dog, Charlie.  It was fun, so mission accomplished!!

Pastel in progress continued

It's amazing how much concentration and effort goes into a fold which is what I spent most of the day doing. I love the shadows and lights though that you see in clothing. I love trying to create texture with just color and value. Obviously not finished, but here's my latest progress.

Pastel in progress

I decided to post progress pictures of this next project. I loved pastels in college but haven't worked a lot with them in a while. So, I'm teaching myself as I go. 

I started with a line drawing. This project is 24x30 so composition and is very important to get right from the beginning. This is actually not my original composition, 

This was actually the first sketch, done in watercolor just to see about colors. It was ok but it didn't feel just right, so hopefully the new one will work.

Here's my work station. Trying to absorb the light as I work best with natural light. I live in Washington, and the rainy days are coming😁...I better get busy!!

So, I say to myself..."just do it" and since I'm right handed, I start on the left so I don't smudge the whole thing as I go along. Pastels are very smudgy.

I put the paper so I don't smudge if I do get some on my hands. I get a lot on my hands. I think this is messier than paint!!

And that's all for today. I am really liking this project. 

Ok, it's a new day now. Here's today's' work. It's amazing to me that a highlight or a line shifted ever so slightly can change the look of a person entirely! And that dreaded 3/4 view of the face is ever so tricky! But it's coming along and as I see it in pictures I see more what needs to be accentuated or de accentuated.

Yes, I changed the shirt color to green. 

So, my light is fading and my kids are home, so more to come tomorrow. 

Sweet little Kobe

Romance is in the air

This teacher loves sand cranes, so here is my little beachy themed sand crane canvas

Just Beachy

Pretty in purple

Did you ever notice how much purple is in nature?!? It is everywhere! Our eyes get used to it though and we just forget to "see" it. That's why I love studying a picture when I paint. It reminds me to stop and see the colors. Living in Washington, I need this little reminder: )

Our new sweet puppy! Not a painting, I know, but I am sure to post something soon since she'll be this size for about 10 minutes. We get to bring her home on Christmas Eve!!! Shhh!!! She's a surprise!! I sure hope my girls don't see my blog!

Teacher ornaments

For years I have spent most of December doing these for everyone, but since we just moved, I have only done a couple of these (for me sweet home Alabama friend). Oh and of course I will be doing one for each of my girls' teachers...yeah, I better get on that! Next week is the last week of school before winter break!!!

Fun little wedding ornament

To commemorate their first Christmas as husband & wife I made a whimsical ornament for these two love birds. They are such fun people so they needed something not so stuffy, I mean serious looking. Marriage IS serious, don't get me wrong, but it's also a lot of fun. Celebrate!!!

Colorless watercolor

Ok, ok, so it's all black & white, but what a great study of values and contrast! I loved doing this one. Great photo. Adorable young love. Happy marriage to you two!!! (Look close, her bouquet is all vintage jewelry or something...wish I knew the stories behind that special piece)

Sweet friendship

Leaving friends when you move is never easy, but we are thankful that our daughter (left) met such a special friend and I trust they'll be friends for life. 

Happy Anniversary

Another happy marriage. I pray it continues for many more years!!

Bogey

Pets...I love 'em! This little guy isn't my pet, but I understand the sentiment that goes along with loving and losing a precious pet. This is a good reminder to me to paint a pic of my precious babies (I have 2 dogs & a cat currently, but we're soon adding another pup to our family)

Tiny impressions

I did these little 4x4 canvases in an impressionist style. The paint is really thick and it is exactly opposite from how I normally work, but it was a fun exercise.

Pretty little shadows house

Shadows are some of my favorite things to paint. Every time I paint shadows I am reminded of how we need shadows in life  to remind us of the presence of the sun. 

Super gorgeous people

I loved this portrait. These people are stunning and look so happy! I don't know them, but I pray for them to have a marriage as beautiful as they are.

Wedding watercolor

This was from a photo that a client sent me. I love the blurry background next to the detailed flowers. I can almost smell those roses! 

50th on the Lake

My parents stayed in this Chicago hotel on their honeymoon. The hotel no longer exists, but I found a vintage postcard and did this watercolor for them. They're so cute, but my dad looks underwhelmed in this picture...I think they liked it?!?

Treasure frame

This summer my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. We surprised them with a week full of family fun in Tennessee. Our theme for the week was "treasure" as the 50th is the Golden anniversary. This was one of the "treasures" I made for them. We put a vintage photo from their wedding in it and it looked great.

Truth for Drew...truth for us all.

A dozen little owl bags

I painted these bags for my friend's preschool class. I used the owl motif that she was using in her classroom. Painting on canvas bags is really easy. Especially if they're already white. You just add a little textile medium To regular craft paint (found near the acrylic craft paint or sometimes next to the fabric paint at Walmart or Hobby Lobby). You don't need much. I did 120 bags last year and used about 1 bottle. Paint in large areas of color first, then outline with Tulip brand puffy paint. I like that paint because I can draw with it. I always use it to write words on the bags because it's very neat (as long as you give it plenty of time to dry.) I guess I should have taken step by step pictures to show the process. I will do that next time!

Don't worry!!!

Philippians 4:6. One of my favorite verses.

Cars canvas