Snow on Blue-Violet Range (Acrylic Watermedia as of Mar. 31, 2018)

I worked on this painting today. I am painting the mountains, drawing from my imagination and my memories of Colorado. This is acrylic used with water on Aquabord. Today  I added some transparent white washes to the sky, to tone it down a bit.  Then I added white and pale pink to the mountain peaks.  This is still a work in progress. To be continued. . . 

Happy Passover Video

The latest from Randiart. I made this video on my iPad with Procreate. It took too long to get my ducks in a row, but am sending this out to say Happy Passover to those celebrating, and to send good wishes for happiness and freedom for all.

Snow on Blue-Violet Range (Acrylic Watermedia as of Mar. 29, 2018)

This is the painting I started yesterday, and I did a bit more work on it today.  Last night,  a friend made a comment that let me know that he was seeing a mouth in the painting. ("Nice lips.")  I think he meant this as a joke, but I took it seriously. If you are an artist, it is a good thing to have friends who will tell you what they think. I thought I knew what might be creating that illusion of a mouth for him, so my main goal today was to address the problem.  I added a periwinkle wash to the sky (which I think he had been "reading" as an upper lip), and also made the lines of the mountains a bit more jagged and a bit less symmetrical.  I hope that solves the problem, but in any case, I think the painting looks better.  This is still a work in progress. To be continued.

Snow on Blue-Violet Range (Acrylic Watermedia as of Mar. 28, 2018)

I started a new painting today, another mountain landscape. I knew I wanted one mountain peak appearing from behind another row of mountains. I sketched in the composition with pale violet paint, and then started painting in layers of blue-violet and periwinkle blue. Because I am painting mountains covered with snow, I inverted my usual way of beginning,  applying the darkest color to the lowest part of the mountains. I am using acrylic paint with water, on Aquabord. This is a work in progress, so I will say, "To be continued. . . ."

Rough Sketch for Cod Auction: Shelli

For the past few years, I have participated in Marblehead Festival of the Arts' Cod Auction, and I have just agreed to participate this year, too.  The Cod Auction is a fund raiser in which local artists decorate wooden codfish cut-outs, which are displayed and then auctioned off to benefit the arts in Marblehead, Massachusetts.  I already have an idea for this year's cod project, and made this rough sketch today, using the shape from prior years.* My idea is a kind of visual pun in which the make the fish scales look like sea shells.  I decided to call this fish "Shelli."  (I always name my codfish creations.) I am thinking about using a turquoise background, with seashells  in off-white and gold.

*I understand the wooden cutouts have been revised, so I may need to adjust my design. . . . 

Magenta Canyon (Acrylic Watermedia)

This is the painting I have been working on, and as of this morning, I am willing to say it is finished.  This is one of my "Mountain Daydreams," painted from my imagination and my memories of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, where I grew up.  Today I worked on detail, adding pale pink highlights to the edges of the mountains, adjusting the color of the moon, and modifying the color of the diagonal (jet trail) line (that pink line in the sky.)  This is acrylic used with water, on Aquabord, 16 x 20 inches.

Magenta Canyon (Acrylic Watermedia as of Mar. 25, 2018)

This is the painting that I worked on this morning, a mountain landscape in progress. Today I worked on the sky.  I used a pale wash on the highest area, and a purple wash on the lower area to make the difference more dramatic.   (I used to include straight lines in some of my earlier mountain landscapes, and I decided to bring them back.  I like the contrast of the straight line with the curving, often irregular lines of the natural world. I often imagine they are jet trails in the sky, the forward edge of a storm front.)  I think this one is almost done.   

Magenta Canyon (Acrylic Watermedia as of Mar. 24, 2018)

This is the painting I started yesterday, another mountain landscape done in acrylic paint on Aquaboard.  Today I started by working on the sky, using a wash of pale pink (almost white) over the sky, above and below the diagonal line.  (I am bringing back a feature from earlier paintings, straight lines in the sky. I like to think of them as jet trails.)  Then I added purple to the lower part of the painting, to give some depth to the canyons.  To be continued.

Magenta Canyon (Acrylic Watermedia as of Mar. 23, 2018)

I started another painting today, using acrylic paint with water on Aquabord.  This is another "Mountain Daydream," painted from my imagination and my memories of the Colorado Rocky Mountains.  Just to vary the composition, I put a diagonal line in the sky.  That may become the line of a storm front or perhaps a jet trail (bringing back something I used to use in my paintings).  Just getting started here. This is a work in progress. To be continued. . . .

Portrait of Sandra (Revised)

This is portrait of my friend Sandra. I drew this  in 1969. I met Sandra and her husband René in 1968 at the University of Colorado.  My husband and I were newlyweds living in married student housing. One day I heard an unfamiliar language outside my window, and it was Sandra and René, two students from Brazil. They were trying to find their new apartment. They were also recently married and we all became close friends.  I remember drawing this before Sandra left to go back to Brazil, and I really doubted I would see her again. But through phone, internet, and travel, we have kept in touch over the years.  When we visited Brazil in 2016, I saw my drawing of Sandra framed and on display in  in her house.  I recently edited it a bit on the computer, and then used Painter's posterizing effect to add some color.  Today I posted this drawing on our food blog (Seasonings for Every Palate). It is an illustration to accompany a recipe for Sandra's  Brazilian rice.  You can see it at https://seasoningforeverypalate.wordpress.com/2018/03/22/sandras-brazilian-rice/

Orange Ridge (Acrylic Watermedia)

This is the painting I have been working on, and as of this morning I am willing to say it is done. I am glad I took a day to think about what to do. This morning I followed the plan I came up with yesterday. I restored a bit of purple to shadows, especially to the mountain in the foreground. I added a bit more orange and yellow to the tops of the mountains. I lightened the magenta outline a bit. And I used a pale blue wash on the sky to simplify it a bit. After that, I made a lot of tiny corrections that aren't worth noting. I now recognize this as a kind of ritual that lets me know I think the painting is just about finished. Anyway, it is time to go on to the next one. This is acrylic used with water on Aquabord, 16 x 20 inches. Another day, another "Mountain Daydream".

Orange Ridge (Acrylic Watermedia as of Mar. 19, 2018)

This is the painting I have been working on, as it looked yesterday.  This is another  of my "Mountain Daydreams,"  painted from my imagination and my memories of the Colorado Rockies. Although I liked the purple shadows I had added, I began with the idea of adding more orange. My first idea was to use a translucent orange wash, but I pulled back when I saw that it was killing the purple, turning it brown.  So then I worked more selectively, intensifying the orange in some places.  In one or two spots, I painted through a screen with thick orange paint, on top of the purple. I was happy with that.  I also added a yellow wash to the tops of the mountains.  Finally I added magenta to outlinethe tops of each mountain.  I often add outline like that, but it is usually very pale, almost white.  When I was done for the day, I kind of liked what I had done, but was also feeling uncertain about what to do next. (That uncertainty is not necessary a bad thing.) So I have been looking at this painting and thinking it over today. Tomorrow I think I may restore some of the purple in a few places, and continue to intensify the orange toward the bottom of the picture.  I like the magenta outline, but I may make it a bit lighter in a few places, to indicate light hitting the mountains. I may also add another pale wash to the sky, to simplify it a bit. To be continued. . . .

Orange Ridge (Acrylic Watermedia as of Mar. 18, 2018)

I have continued to work on the painting that I started a few days ago, another mountain landscape.  In the last version posted, you can see I was starting to add a bit of blue-purple to suggest shadows. But I wasn't sure this was a good idea. . . I decided to put the words "orange mountains" into Google and look at the images that came up.  I saw lots of different photos, but in many cases, I saw purple shadows on the mountains.  And I liked the idea of the contrast of purple and orange. Everything I learned about color theory said yes. So I decided to go ahead even though I was afraid to lose what I already had.  I once had a painting teacher (Robert Daigle) who taught me to welcome fear as a sign that I am moving out of my comfort zone. Besides, I am painting for my first solo gallery show this summer, and the title of the show is "Exploring in the Mountains of Color."  Explorers must be brave, so I go forward, using the color wheel as my compass.  What you see here is a work in progress. To be continued...

Orange Ridge (Acrylic Watermedia as of Mar. 17, 2018)

This is the painting I started recently, as it looked yesterday.  This is acrylic paint used with water on Aquabord (16" x 20").  This is part of a series of paintings that I called "Mountain Daydreams" because they are painted from my imagination and my memories of the mountains of Colorado.  Yesterday, most of the work I did was on the sky.  I also began  to introduce some purple shadows to define and differentiate three mountains.  To be continued. . . .

Reposting: Ring of Kerry (Watercolor)

This is a painting that I did some years ago. My friend Herman asked me to paint this scene of the Ring of Kerry, in County Kerry, Ireland, as a gift for his wife, whose name is Kerry. A few days ago, Kerry sent me a photo of her living room, decorated for St. Patrick's day, and this painting was hanging over the fireplace. 

Orange Ridge (Acrylic Watermedia as of Mar. 16, 2018)

This is a painting that I started this afternoon, and this is just at a very early stage. I used acrylic paint with water, and lately have been painting on Aquabord.  I use water washoff to get some effects that look like monoprinting, and in this painting, I also applied some paint through a screen.  To be continued. . . .

Golden Foothills (Acrylic Watermedia)

Today I worked on this painting.  I spent a lot of time on the sky, adding yellow, pink, and orange washes until I was happy with it. I also added some pale yellow to the hillsides.  This is acrylic used as watermedia, on Aquabord (16 x 20 ").  This mountain landscape is part of a series based on my imagination and my memories of the mountains of Colorado.  I think it is finished.

Golden Foothills (Acrylic Watermedia as of Mar. 14, 2018)

This morning I worked on the painting I started yesterday.  This "Mountain Daydream" is a pun because the title contains a color, but Golden is also a town in Colorado.  Today I concentrated on the sky, and I started with pink and pale yellow (sunrise colors). I also added a pale yellow wash to the hillside.  The is acrylic used with water, on Aquabord, and is a work in progress.

Golden Foothills (Acrylic Watermedia as of Mar. 13, 2018)

I started another painting this morning. This is going to be another "Mountain Daydream," landscapes painted from my imagination but inspired by my memories of the Colorado mountains.  I don't usually begin with yellow, but I am trying to make it all the way around the color wheel.  This is acrylic used with water, on Aquabord 16 x 20 inches. To be continued. . . .

Purple Canyon (Acrylic Watermedia)

This is the painting that I have been working on, and I finished it this morning.  I added some pale yellow and pink to the lower part of the sky to suggest light peeping over the tops of the canyon.  Then I added some blue violet to lower part of the painting.  And then, as I always do when I am finishing a painting, I made a lot of very small changes to fix tiny things that are bothering me, often little problems that perhaps no one would ever notice. Anyway, this one is done.  This is acrylic on Aquabord, 16 x 20 inches. This painting is part of a series called "Mountain Daydreams", all painted from my imagination and memories of the Colorado mountains.  

Purple Canyon (Acrylic Watermedia as of Mar. 11, 2018)

I started a this painting yesterday, another mountain landscape.  This is part of a series that I call "Mountain Daydreams," paintings from my imagination and memories of my home state of Colorado.  Today I worked on the sky, adding some clouds and trying to suggest a bit of light above the rim of the canyon as the sun sets.  To be continued. . . .

Purple Canyon (Acrylic Water Media as of Mar. 10, 2018)

I started a new painting today.  This is acrylic paint used with water, on Aquabord (16 x 20 inches). This is one of my "Mountain Daydreams," painted from my imagination and from my memories of the Colorado Rocky Mountains.  

Spring Green Mountains (Acrylic Water Media)

This is the painting I have been working on, and I finished it this morning.  I added some layers of green and yellow to the mountains, and more pink layers to the sky.  I made small changes to make the sun more obvious and the pink outline less obvious.  I made a lot of very small changes but finally was ready to say that this one is done. This is acrylic used as watermedia on Aquabord (16 x 20), and is one of my "Mountain Daydreams," landscapes painted from my imagination and my memories of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. 

Spring Green Mountains (As of Mar. 8, 2018)

This is the painting I started two days ago, and it is still a work in progress.  This is part of a series that I call "Mountain Daydreams," landscapes painted from imagination and my memories of the mountains back home in Colorado.  This is acrylic on Aquaboard (16 x 20"), and because I am working with water, I can build up layers of color.  Today I started by added a translucent layer of pale pink to the sky, to tone down the blue.  Then I added layers of yellow-green to the mountains.  I also changed the color of the sun and added some pink outline to the mountains. There is a little more to do, but I hope to finish this one tomorrow.  To be continued. . . .

Spring Green Mountains (As of Mar. 7, 2018)

This is the painting I started yesterday, a mountain landscape painted from imagination and memory (one of my "Mountain Daydreams).  This is acrylic paint used with water on Aquaboard (16 x 20 inches).  Today I started working on the sky, putting down a couple of layers of blue.  This is still a work in progress. I plan to tone the sky down a bit, but I like to have some suggestions of clouds, rather than just flat blue.  To be continued. . . .

Spring Green Mountains (As of Mar. 6, 2018)

I started a new painting today. This is acrylic on aquaboard, 16 x 20 inches. This is part of my series of mountain landscapes. I call them "Mountain Daydreams" because I paint them from my imagination and from my memories of growing up in Colorado.

Coming into NYC (with Woodcut Effect)

Yesterday's post was a photo from my recent train trip to New York, a picture of the first glimpse of the Manhattan skyline. Today I am posting the same photo, but with Painter's woodcut effect add.

Coming into NYC

Another photo from my recent train trip to New York City (on February 19th).  I was trying to catch my first view of the Manhattan skyline from the train.  Tonight I used Painter to create a version of this image with a woodcut effect added.  I hope to post that here tomorrow.

Leaving Penn Station (Pink Sky) (Posterized Photo)

Yesterday I posted another image from my NYC trip. As the train pulled out of Penn Station, it was nearing sunset and the sky was pink. The reflected pink light looked great on the buildings, so I took a picture. I took this picture through the window of the train, which created some more reflections.  I like the original version but I thought it would be interesting to enhance the interesting reflections and colors, so I opened the image in Painter and added some posterizing effect, and here it is.

Leaving Penn Station (Pink Sky)

Another image from my recent trip to New York City. When the train pulled out of Penn Station, it was early evening and the sky was turning pink.  I liked the look of the reflected light on the building. I took this picture through the window of the train, which created some more reflections.  Tonight I also created a posterized version of this image, which I plan to post here tomorrow.

Through Connecticut by Train (Posterized Photo)

Here's another photo from my recent train trip to New York.  The train from Boston to New York City goes through Connecticut, along the coast.  I usually sit on the left side of the train with views of the ocean.  But I was distracted and sat on the right side. But I still saw some nice views of water on the "inland" side.  In the original version of this photo, I noticed reflections of the train windows.  I thought it might be fun to posterize the image to see what would happen, and that created the bands of color in the sky.