Spring and Snow

Geraniums in the Window, 11x14
I am still working on the oil of Mykonos which is coming along nicely. I put my oil palette in the freezer while I was out of town. While I was waiting for the paints to get soft, I finished this watercolor above. The oil palette came out nice and fresh and good to work with. In regards to this watercolor, I think I took this photo in California. There are geraniums and clematis growing on the wall. With all of the daffodils in bloom and the bright sunny days, I was inspired to make this painting really sunny. Ironically, the morning I finished this painting, Dallas was covered in snow! It never snows in Dallas, until this year, that is. I am happy with the light and shadow in this painting. I did take artistic license on this painting and changed the white shutters to blue and embellished the flowers.

Look at this beautiful planet we live on. These images were in Beaver Creek, Co. this past Spring Break. I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked. That is why I had to put the one of family up there. It was the only one that shows the blue sky and the mountains behind. Look at how tiny the people are down the slope in the distance. While we were there the sky would be clear cerulean blue and as the day went on it would go to deep cobalt without a cloud in the sky. I took a lot of pictures of aspen trees as well. In the Batchlor's Gultch the ski paths are heavily lined with bunches of aspens. When you are skiing through them there is warm glow all around. So many colors are reflected off of the trees, lots of grey green, gold, cool yellow, orange and brown madder (red brown). Some of these trees are so big around. A photo cannot depict the feeling of being surrounded by aspen trees. Something I noticed from the ski lift is that even in the shadows of the aspen trees in the morning, the main shadow would be a french ultramarine blue and as the shadow of the cluster of branches went away from the tree, there would be a golden color on the snow, sort of like a halo, then the white, white snow.

European Paths

I have been working on this oil painting (second picture) of an alley in Mykonos. While I was trying to develop the foliage and plantings, I got distracted by this watercolor I had started (top photo) over a year ago. I had drawn and glazed the watercolor, but, at the time, I felt that I didn't save enough white, so I started over (Siesta in Cap-Ferrat) and put this one aside. Today, I liked the glazes I had put down. So I went back and forth between the oil and the watercolor on this day. I finished the watercolor and to my surprise, this watercolor came out much brighter than the one I completed first (posted in 2009). I will continue with the oil.

Someone asked when did I go to Mykonos. The last time was in 2002. Like many artists, I take lots of photos for inspiration and then organize them by subject. I have all of my Greece photos out right now because I really want to paint this photo of a woman walking with her donkey. Eventually....

Pears

I did these pears in a plein air class on a rainy day. We met in the studio and made some simple still lifes. We were limited to two colors and the main challenge was the painting style/technique which I cannot recall the name. I searched my notes and the internet and cannot find the name. If anyone knows please tell me. It is the style / technique were every stroke is put down with intention. No glazing or layering. If it is dark, you put it down dark the first time. Susanne Kelley is the teacher and her quote constantly is "paint what you see, not what you know". That is how I was able to paint the glass. I would like to try this again with another subject.

OIL - Ignorance is Bliss

Covered Bridge, 11x14 oil on canvas

Hot Summer Day, 11x14 oil on board

Recently I read an article about an artist that changed her medium to something else because her circumstances had changed (lost her studio, less time). I had noticed that I had been becoming even more impatient in my own watercolor experiences. I realized that I was trying to complete a watercolor in 20 minutes (my darling 2 yr. old) which is not at all the way that I have ever painted. I was not considering changing my medium, but, then I found these two oils that I had started long ago. I had taken an oil workshop from my watercolor teacher, Cecy Turner. (She is amazing in both mediums. In fact, she was just on the cover of Watercolor Artist, February issue). These oil paintings were far from being complete. The thought of completing them was daunting. There was so much canvas showing with very preliminary oil sketchings.

I started on Hot Summer Day first. This being my second oil painting, I didn't know what rules to follow. I don't even own an oil book to refer to. I had started this painting as a plein air painting with a painting group out at White Rock Lake. I started by applying paint with a brush to the sky. Painting the clouds and foliage on the tree were like playing with clay. I could move the paint around. Here, try there, no back over here, let's add some pink, what happens when you add cerulean, what about ultramarine? For the field I applied the paint with a palette knife which I had never used before. I mixed the colors right on the canvas. I loved using the palette knife. The white patches on the tree trunk and elsewhere in the photo is the reflection of the flash on the thick paint that is still wet.

For Covered Bridge (Vail), I basically applied techniques I use in watercolor. I saved my whites and I did push and pull. I think the shadows and the high contrast in the trees are what make this painting sing to me. Because I am not use to the qualities of oil, the shadows came out much darker than they would have if I were doing it with watercolor. For the detail on the aspen trees I used a red and green and applied with a palette knife which came out much darker than in watercolor. For the foliage on both paintings I mixed yellow and blue with a touch of red, "Nature's green doesn't come out of a tube," what Naomi Brotherton, another watercolor teacher use to always say. Even into her 80's, I am sure she still says that to her class. Again, it was such freedom to move the snow around and shape snow mounds, very different from watercolor.

Surprisingly, I didn't experience anything daunting while completing these paintings. It was fun, the time flew by, there were no expectations - ignorance (of your medium) is bliss! Try something new and leave your expectations at the door.

Stay warm! It's cold in Dallas, still!

Catch of the Day

I am so excited to post this painting for two reasons. First, I am very pleased with the results. Just as in the guitar players, I wanted to capture the expression and feeling in a loose style. There is still room for improvement, but, my kids recognized their aunt and I feel that I captured her look of being proud of her great catch.

The second reason I am excited is because I have to tell you about my Aunt, otherwise known as Fishing Philly. My aunt has fished all her life and even when nobody else is catching anything, she does! Really. Here she is showing a Red fish (the big one) and two black specks or also known as speckled trout. Of course, she had to mention to make sure to tell my boys that normally she catches trout the size of the Red. Yeah, yeah, another fish story? These fish were caught in the Corpus Christi Bay, my home town. Behind her is a shrimp boat where you can buy fresh shrimp right off the boat!!!!

When I told her I was posting this in my blog, her fish tales went on and on. She wished that there was not a shadow from the cap on her face because she thought it made her nose look bigger. I didn't even paint the shadow in. On the first version, I did, but, it covered most of her face, which I ended up overworking. As you can see from the shadows of the fish that the sun is nearly directly overhead. The shadow from her cap went across her face at the tip of the nose so I left it out in this painting.

Now my aunt is looking for more photos of her catches and that are more flattering of her. I guess that means it's not that bad if the subject is looking for more photos of their self for me to paint.

Have a great weekend and thanks for visiting!

A Mess of Curls

I decided to participate in James Parker's February challenge since I had good luck with it before. I was attempting to do this painting in 30 minutes so that I could get a loose effect. The top painting is the first attempt that I ended up overworking the eyes. I tried a second time. The two bottom pictures are the same painting. Although I overworked the eyes on the top, I love the hair, the overall style and feel, the colors and the depth in the girl's face. Maybe I can fix the eyes later. I think I can lift out some. The second painting is probably not complete, but, I don't like how her face is looking older than what she is. So on the advice of some of my so sweet artist followers, I am done with this one and ready to move on. Thank you to my artist friends on blogger who were full of good advice and encouragement. I have already started another painting, one of a Nice Beach. A little more complicated than 40 min. But, I have wanted to paint it for a long time.

If you would like to see the other entries or the original photo in James Parker's monthly challenge, visit Windows to the Words ART.

Thanks for visiting.

Discovering what I like about watercolor

At top are the guitar players that I have been working on / avoiding for so long. I have had a lot of questions for myself on this painting. Why do I want to paint it? Why is it taking me so long? Why can't I do it? Why am I having so much trouble with it? What do I do next? Normally when I paint flowers, landscapes, structures, it is a fun and short process. I don't always get a painting that sings to me, but, I never have the kind of trouble I am having on this painting. The reason why I first wanted to paint this is because I saw the photo and really liked the expressions and the body language of the band players. They are in an elevator, so the photo isn't a perfect photo, in my opinion. I truly believe that some photos are meant to be photos only and not painted. I am having trouble with this painting because I know one of the guitar players. I have been told it is much more difficult to paint someone you know vs. someone that you don't. So I have worked all around the painting avoiding the person's face that I know. Thanks to an artist friend, she encouraged me to go in with a dark background. I promise the day I did the background, it was really dark, although now it seems a midtone. I will go back with more washes. So now, I have time invested in this painting and I don't want to mess it up by ruining the faces. So I am avoiding them. Chicken!

What I have at least learned is that the way I like to experience watercolor is wet and loose. I find that painting on large paper allows for me to go wet into wet with colors side by side blending into each other to make a new color. I like clear, vibrant colors and I love high contrast - white as the white of the paper next to very dark.

I may not have achieved that in this painting, but, I have several ideas dancing in my hand where I can experience watercolor in this way. The subject matter is flowers, something that I am comfortable painting and that I love to paint because of the curves, turns and interesting shadows. But, I want to learn how to apply this technique to subject matters that I want to paint. My Friday painting group is not meeting right now and I am not taking any class or workshops so I feel as if I am in a rut, unless I paint, paint, paint and learn by trial and error. Also, I have been spending a lot of time looking at other artist's blogs. I have recently found several watercolor artists that I am so inspired by. Feel free to check out the artists that I follow on blogger.

On a happy note, everyone, look at our beautiful snow. We are actually snowed in today. This is so unusual for Dallas. I know in other parts of the country this would be nothing, but, for us this is a fabulous winter wonderland. If you go outside you hear this amazing sound of the snow melting and dropping from the trees. It is a peaceful whishing sound.

Thanks for visiting!

Flying Low in Santa Fe

My husband and I went to Santa Fe this past October. One of the highlights was the Georiga O'Keefe Museum. I loved seeing so much of her work together and hearing about her life. We spent our time going from one gallery to another. The main highlight for me was going hot air ballooning! Unfortunately, this is an early morning activity. It is necessary to go in the morning before the sun starts affecting the earth's surface so that you have a smooth ride vs. experiencing a lot of turbulence. Flying low is because, we did contour ballooning which is flying low to the earth right along the contours of the hills. If you ever go ballooning, ask if they are contour flying otherwise, you just go straight up, maintain one altitude, then straight down. On our ride we went up and down, felt the ever so slight wind changes, touched ground a couple of times and glided right beside these gorgeous vertical ridges.

It is absolutely amazing when you lift up off the ground and right before your eyes the ground is shrinking away and you see a very fast changing perspective. It is so peaceful and like floating. It was almost like time stopped only because it was the quietest quiet I have ever experienced. I wanted to stay up there all day. To be gliding smoothly and quietly over the earth so close to see wild rabbits.

When it was time to land, the wind and changes in air pressure had already been affected by the sun. Our speed was high, it was pretty bumpy skimming the ground for so long and the balloon wanted to keep going although the land crew had hold of our basket. With this balloon company they always end every ride with a champagne toast to remember the first balloon ride in France. When the first balloon landed on some farm land in the country, the farmers were so frightened and wanting to protect themselves. The pilots proved that they were harmless and flying the king's balloon by sharing a bottle of the king's champagne with the farmers.

The painting, Santa Fe House is probably one of the most photographed houses in Santa Fe. I thought I had found some little gem. Painting the adobe structures is very similar to painting the Mykonos structures. Very thick walls that you can catch the light on or some creative color play in shading. I used several very soft, pale washes on the adobe. I enjoyed seeing all of the light blues, lavenders, oranges and reds in the wood shutter to the side of the door. The wood door had some of these colors, but, the shutter for some reason had so many more. As you can see, I found several colors including blue and lavender in the adobe.

11x14 original watercolor, sold.

Mykonos Revisited

This was a villa down below where we were staying. The sun has already passed over the house and it is about 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon. I love Mykonos' white and blue architecture. All over the island are structures made of thick white walls with bright blue doors and shutters. These structures are great to paint/draw because they are simple, yet, have so many different surfaces and the thickness of the wall gives an opportunity to play with light and shade. The white is really bright with the sun shining on it. I have only been twice, once in March and once in April. Both times just a tad too cold to thoroughly enjoy the beach. The water is the most amazing clear blue. Despite how cold it was, I still went swimming. It was not nearly as cold as a lake in Red River, New Mexico. That water was clear green, reflecting the trees.

11x14 original watercolor

Architectural Journey

Here is a commission I just finished. For the locals, do you know which house this is? As you know, I love the architectural detail in old homes. This house was built in the 1920's, but, has been renovated recently. The architectural detail inside and out is amazing. Because of the trees and landscaping, it was difficult to get a photo. Also, I had to be discreet when taking the photos because my client was going to give it to her husband for his birthday. The first time I went to take photos, the husband came out to walk the dog so I had to sneak away. I went back on another day when I knew he would be gone and took several photos. I finally got a photo from an unexpected viewpoint which was perfect. I love how the trees in the foreground frame the entry with the trees that are in the center of the yard. This is the 4th house on this street that I have had the privilege of painting.

11x14 original watercolor by Liana Yarckin

I found these cards from a Christmas past. Years ago, before I had children, I would paint individual Christmas cards. That was when I had all of the time in the world to meticulously tape off 50 plus cards and paint one for everyone on my list. It was a relaxing and rewarding time preparing the cards. Sometimes I would paint snow scenes, Christmas trees, holly branches, every year a different theme. The above are cards from the Christmas that I had just found out I was pregnant with my first child. I don't remember exactly how I got the image for the above cards. I always loved Michelanglo's Pieta. My mom even had a small replica in her room. I remember that was my inspiration. As always, I wanted to use lots of vibrant colors. Also, another favorite technique, wet into wet. With the above 3, you can see how the results are different as the paper was freshly wet compared to starting to dry. I would line my cards up and do several at a time. I tried different colors in different areas, as well as different techniques. It was always fun to see the results. For the first few years after children I would send a watercolor card along with a photo card. When I stopped doing that, a friend called and asked if she was off of the "A" list because she didn't get a watercolor card. I told her that I didn't do them that year. She told me that she always looked forward to getting her original little painting every year.

Snowy Days

A tribute to our white Christmas in Dallas. It never snows here, so the excitement of a snowy Christmas Eve and then yards and houses covered in white snow on Christmas morning made me feel like Santa came! Some even made snowmen. Because of the holidays and also my latest project the guitar players, I have no new paintings. So I found these two to post just to say hello to you. The one on top was done years ago in Naomi Brotherton's class. She is known for her night paintings, so here I have not only a night painting, but, a snowy night painting. The second painting is not complete. I am working on a couple of house paintings, plus doing a lot of research on trying to find out what to do next with my guitar players. I found an artist that is highly regarded for his fantastic portraits. I love his work, and it is close to what I am imagining for the guitar players - just capturing the essence of their expressions, but, I am shocked that his work seems to be unfinished and sketchy, yet he is regarded as highly accomplished. Don't get me wrong, I do love his work. In the meantime, I found a book in all places, at my mom's house on our Christmas visit. This book posed the challenge for an artist to go beyond painting what you see. Create tension and vibrancy by purposefully selecting the appropriate colors. Right now all of the ideas are jumping around in my head and I have to either wait for them to calm down or just experiment to move on.

I will posts the name of the book next time (it is in the car right now). Hopefully, I will have something new to post for you soon!

Happy New Year!

English Tea

Guitar Player

English Tea

The above painting is a still life I did in a class. Up until this point I have never liked doing still lifes. I didn't want a still life to look at. They are so boring or odd. A bunch of random objects, usually from the kitchen. What is the point. But, from this still life I learned that the finish product is not really the point. By doing a still life, one gets to experiment with the medium of their choice. An artist can chose to try to be realistic or take the painting down a different path with different techniques. Also, not to mention, still lifes can greatly improve one's drawing skills. Still lifes are a good way to practice and experiment with simplifying shapes, learning about color, finding patterns, understanding positive/negative space, the way the light falls on an object, relationship between objects and the list goes on. I don't know why I like this still life. It does not sing to me, but, something about it keeps pulling me back to look at it. It is clearly not my typical color palette, maybe that is why there is no song. Something about it is working though and I am happy about that.

Guitar Player
I told you about the guitar player I was working on. This is as far as I have gotten. I started it long ago, but, am chicken to continue. I don't want to mess it up. When I am working on a painting, I am always visualizing it in my mind constantly. Whether I am driving, cleaning the kitchen, watching T.V., I sort of daydream and imagine the finish piece and then when I go to paint, I know what to do. Most of the time it is so easy for me to see the finish product. On this painting I cannot see what I want for the final product to be. I can kind of imagine it, but, it is cloudy. It is so weird, like having a dream that you can barely remember. So I keep thinking of it and waiting for the image to appear in my mind. I am so happy with what I have so far, can you believe that with the way it looks? I want to keep the sketchiness and just the essence of the gestures.

All comments welcome! Thanks for stopping by and Happy Thanksgiving!

Girl on Beach

Here is the watercolor from the ink study posted down below. The photo was taken in Nice. The girl is a young Italian girl watching her brother play. I simplified the photo, taking out all of the people, beach umbrellas, the city in the hills and focused only on the girl and her dress. I loved the way her dress was blowing in the wind and how it seemed that she had absolutely nothing to do but, take small wandering steps and twiddle her thumbs.

I have good news in regards to the two art shows I posted. Both were a success. The Grape Escape raises money for Heart House, an organization that provides after school care and activities for children. Art works by several artists were displayed and for sale with 50% or the proceeds going to Heart House. The most touching detail of the event was all of the "postcards" made by the children. Each postcard was decorated by a child with a message from them and their photo. To read the messages was both sweet and heartbreaking. Of course, I immediately took out my checkbook. I am so happy that my Aspens painting sold as well and that half of the proceeds will go to Heart House.

Then Friday night was the Annual Preview Party for CityArtCal. Great party with lots of great art by local artists. A guest found Sunbathing Poppies for a Christmas present. It sung to her and she said that when she saw it she immediately thought of her daughter. There were a couple of bidding wars going on with some of the artworks. My husband luckily won the bid on a painting that sung to him. Would you believe, aspens, but in a completely different style than what I paint.

Have a fabulous week. All comments welcome!

CityArtCal Party

Friday, November 6

1544 Slocum, Dallas

6-9pm

Great Art by local artists

Cocktails, Hors d'oeuvres, Live Music, Silent Auction

Nature Walk

Aspens

I started the aspens in a class with Cecy Turner. She is an amazing artist. Check out her website to see the most beautiful landscapes in both oil and watercolor, http://www.cecyturner.com/. Painting fall foliage is another opportunity for me to use the reds and oranges that I like.
11x14 original watercolor, Sold.


Sunbathing Poppies
I had a request to paint more poppies, which I couldn't wait to do. I love the transparency of the reds as well as mixing oranges, reds and dropping in blues and greens to get darker reds. These poppies are back lit. I love the way the way the petals glow when the sun is shining from behind a poppy. The petals look like crinkled tissue paper. They are so transparent when lit by the sun that you can see the cast shadow of petals from flowers that are behind. I love this layering effect.
11x14 original watercolor, Sold.

Sun Setting on a Country Road
I started this painting plein air when in Stowe, VT. I loved how the sun was shining brightly through the trees casting long shadows. I added some texture and detail in the studio this past week. Even though it lacks the detail of the Aspen studio painting, I like the feel that plein air paintings have. They are quick and capture the feel or mood. Plein air gives you a hint of the story and allows for your imagination to complete the picture.
11x14 original watercolor, $250

Pen and Ink

Custom Sketch, 8x10 sold

Friends, it has been so long. I had imagined that I was going to have so much time to paint and draw this school year. I am hoping to get back into my routine of painting and blogging again.

The above is a commission I had talked about previously. A client wanted a watercolor of her friend's new home to give as a house warming gift. The front of the house is very wide with a lot of beautiful architectural detail. I felt that if I did the entire house, the architectural detail would get lost. I suggested a close up view of the front entry in pen and ink.

I am currently working on more poppies and am visualizing this painting of 3 guys and a guitar.

Something to Brighten your rainy week

Red River Poppies
I have been dying to paint these poppies. It has been raining all week which I have actually enjoyed in contrast to our hot weather. I enjoyed painting these poppies so much. I didn't want the fun to be over, but at the same time, I couldn't wait to post it for you, either! This is on a full sheet so I was able to enjoy using many different shades of yellows to reds on the petals. I wanted to keep it light and vivid so I left more white in the background than usual. This painting will be on display at the CityArtCal party. See below post for link.
22x30 original watercolor, $1500

Here are two commissions that I have been working on. One is being given as an anniversary gift and the other as a birthday gift. They are in Highland Park and in Preston Hollow. I enjoyed painting each of them as I love architecture. The top one had such lush tropical landscaping which contrasts with most of the homes I have painted. Also, the top one required that I paint it in perspective instead of a straight on view. For that house, if I stood right in front of the house, the two trees were in front of the door. By stepping to the side I was able to get a better view of the house and in this case, it adds such depth to the painting. For the second home, it was really important to the client to see as much as the house as possible, especially the french doors. For this reason I did not add cast shadows because that could be distracting as the shadows would fall against the french doors.

I am happy to accept any and all commissions, no matter the size or style of the home. As Christmas comes closer, though, please keep in mind that these home portraits normally take about 6 weeks.

Summer Officially Over

Sunset at the Marina
The above painting is from a scene on the French Riviera. We found this little town when driving to dinner one night. I will have to look in my notes for the actual name. I love when driving on a trip you never know what surprise might be around the corner. My husband has learned not to react when I say, "Oh!" all of a sudden. He knows that I am going to ask him to turn the car around to take several photos of what I think would be the perfect painting.

This painting along with some of my other paintings will be on display at The Kitchen Source, 1544 Solcum in the Dallas Design District. This year The Kitchen Source is hosting the Annual CityArtCal Preview Party and have invited the participating artists to display their work there. The Preview Party is on November 6 from 6-9 with copies of the 2010 CityArtCal and a silent auction of art spanning a wide variety in medium and style. Last year's attendees were very pleased and I had someone ask me about it just today, hence the post! For more information, visit www.cityartcal.com.
37x29, original watercolor, beautifully framed, $650



This is a value study from a photo of a crowded beach in Nice. I wanted to do the photo as it is, crowded with umbrellas, people, Nice behind it and disappearing around the corner. I had just taken a workshop on oil painting and simplifying shapes. So for this painting I will have the one girl and her dress blowing in the ocean breeze. I will post that painting when it is complete.

Contrast and Compare

I just completed the painting on top for a client. It is the home they just moved out of, but since it was their first home together and where their children lived since they were born, they wanted a memento. It holds so many fond memories for them. Their new home is historically architecturally important and one of my favorite houses in Highland Park. Notice the difference between the two paintings above.

The second painting is for a fellow artist. I took a different approach for this painting. I painted this house without drawing it on the paper. Because of both the house style and the artist's style of painting, I wanted this painting to have more of an artistic style perhaps even painterly style. I did do a black and white study with gray scale markers first, then I went straight to the paper with my brush. Normally, I do an accurate pencil drawing on the paper.

It is interesting how different subjects and clients require different approaches. This is what makes each painting experience and painting different as well as special. I am about to start another commission of a house that is very wide. It is a beautiful home with a lot of architectural detail. Since it is so long, the detail will get lost. I am going to propose a pen and ink vingette of the front door area not only to highlight the architectural detail, but also to bring some intimacy and charm into the painting. Luckily, I already have a sample of something similar that I sketched years ago when living in Boston. I will show this to the client to help convey my idea. We will see what she thinks.

Thanks for visiting! Have a great day!