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Lily

8×10

Watercolor on Paper

Commission

Meet Lily, Rocky’s sister.  Boy it’s difficult painting black dogs!  I had to paint layer after layer of paint to get the blacks black enough.  I’ll be painting one more piece with the two dogs together.  

The Cancer Society event went really well.  My custom pet portrait offer sold in the silent auction for a much higher price than I had expected to a very nice couple that have a 16 year old dog.  They know he wont be around much longer.  I’m so happy they won the bid!  It’s nice knowing that the painting will mean so much to them and that it raised a nice amount of money for a good cause.

Rocky

8×10

Watercolor on Paper

Commission

Meet Rocky, a cute little chihuahua that I was asked to paint.  Isn’t he cute?  I had some fun painting this little guy.  I really enjoy painting precious little puppy faces.  His face looks so kind and gentle.  I’ve been asked to paint a lot of pooches lately.

Tomorrow night I will be volunteering to work at a fund raising event for the American Cancer Society at House of Blues.  It’s a concert and auction called Give ’til it Rocks.  I’m sure it will be a lot of fun.  I donated a custom pet portrait for the event.  I’m hoping it raises some money for the cause – and I’m looking forward to seeing the sweet little face I get to paint in return.  

Happy Saturday everyone!

Hula Girl

5×7

Watercolor on Paper

Here’s the latest painting of the Tropical Trio!  I really love the wave in this one.  I tried some different techniques in this painting and I think I’ll use them again.  Here’s how the trio looks together.  🙂

Hawaii

5×7

Watercolor on Paper

This little painting was created as a companion for the last little tropical painting I created.  There is one more to come with a sexy hula girl!  

A Florida Girl and Her Gator

5×7

Watercolor

I don’t have much of a story to tell about this painting.  I just wanted to paint a sexy girl on an alligator. Haha!  I had fun with this.  I’m actually thinking about starting a series of similar paintings…we will see.  🙂  

Paradise Inspired

16×20

Watercolor

Have you ever been somewhere and the moment you got there you knew your life would never be the same?  That’s how I felt when I woke up to a beautiful sunrise on a Kauai, Hawaii beach.  

Before our kids were born, my husband, myself, and a couple of our best friends traveled 20 hours and finally arrived in Hawaii but it was too dark to see the paradise that surrounded us.  The next morning we woke up in time to see the sun rise off the east coast.  It was one of the most surreal times in my life.  We stood there amazed by the beauty that surrounded us.  I will never forget that moment. 

A year ago, Alex and I went to visit his brother, who moved to Hawaii several months earlier.  Even though it was our second time there and we stayed in Honolulu instead of Kauai and Maui, we were still completely overwhelmed by the beauty of the islands.  This painting was inspired by Hawaii.  One day I’ll live there…I may be old and gray but one day….

I follow a lot of art blogs online but one of my favorite blogs belongs to artist, Carrie Waller.  I discovered Carrie’s art after listening to a podcast on Artists Helping Artists.  She was doing an interview with another artist I admire, Crystal Cook.  I was awestruck by her paintings.  I had never seen compositions that looked so realistic  – and the way she captures light in glass just blew me away.

Fortunately, the said ‘yes’ when I asked her if she’d answer a few questions for my blog.  Check out her work – I think you’ll fall in love just like I did!

Website
Blog
Daily Paintworks

How did you get your start watercolor painting?

I graduated college; got married and moved to Germany all within a few months of each other (my hubby is in the Air Force).  I quickly realized that it was going to be difficult for me to find an Interior Design job in Germany so I taught myself how to paint in watercolor.  I checked out every watercolor book I could find at the library and experimented.  I eventually started teaching classes in watercolor.  I chose watercolor because we had cats at the time (now pets and kids) and I wanted something that would be safer around them.

How do you make time for your art with such a busy home life?

It’s a constant balancing act.  I make a concerted effort to get brush to paper every day.  It doesn’t always happen but I really make it a priority.  Once I made the decision that I was going to make this a career I treated it as a job.  With my little boys at home I paint at nights, on the weekends and miss sleep often.  My oldest is now in kindergarten so he has school hours.  My youngest is in preschool, he goes to school twice a week.  I’m still working with my new schedule.

How do you choose your subject matter? 

I’ve been working a lot recently with childhood memories.  I’ve taken objects that I remember from my Grandmother’s house and have set them up to bring out their beauty.  I’ve even acquired objects from her home, her old wash tub chair, a set of blue ball jars that I can’t wait to paint, crystal doorknobs, etc.  My most recent works are for an exhibit and the themes have come out of research for that exhibit. 

You do an exceptional job using light in your paintings. Are there any techniques that you use to help create the illusion of light?

Thank you.  I spend a lot of time focusing on my composition.  Having a degree in design really helps.  I want my still life subjects to be lit dramatically.  I only use natural light so I have to rely on a sun shiny day.  I follow the light around like a crazy lady some days.  It’s been fun observing the light from the sun at different times of the day and months of the year.  Sometimes I want cooler light and other times I want more golden light, I take these things into consideration.  I will warn you that one time I was using a crystal ball in my still life and I had it all set up waiting for the perfect light.  I kept checking periodically and at one point I noticed smoke rising from the set up.  The crystal ball acted like a magnifying glass and when the sun hit it just right it set the fabric it was setting on, on fire.  So be careful!

 I don’t know if I really define my style.  I really don’t put much emphasis on a “style”.  When I first started painting there were so many artists that I would talk to obsessed with that, that I felt it was hindering their progression.  I just decided to paint what I wanted to and see what would come out of it.  We are all evolving as people why wouldn’t our styles just evolve right along with us.

What tips, websites, books, etc. do you recommend for improving techniques?

I read every watercolor magazine I can get my hands on.  I also love to read and look at art and design blogs, there is a ton of great information out there.  As far as improving techniques I would say take a workshop, you get so much out of them.  I’ve only taken a couple but I learned a lot not only from the instructor but also from the other artists in the class.  Also teaching has helped me learn things about myself and my own style.  You really have to analyze your own techniques to teach others.

Which artists inspire you most and why?  

I have so many favorites it would be a novel to list them all.  I would say that blogging and the artists I have met blogging has been one of the greatest inspirations.  I have met some fabulous people.  It’s such a great support system.

If you could give advice to a new artist, what would it be?

Paint every day.  You don’t have to complete a painting but make yourself sit down and put brush to paper/canvas.  Get in the habit; it will only make you a better artist.

Start a blog, can’t say enough about the positive things that come from this.

Do painting challenges if you lack inspiration, Daily Paintworks has a weekly challenge and start there.

Don’t be afraid to reach out to your favorite artists.  I have done this and become friends with some of the coolest people.

Carrie will be hosting Artists Helping Artists in October and I know it’s going to be awesome.  I hope you willl all tune in.  You can learn more at http://artistshelpingartistsblog.blogspot.com.

Thanks again, Carrie for taking the time to answer my questions…you are truly amazing!

Okeechobee Underwater

8×10

Watercolor on Paper

I grew up in a VERY small town in south Florida.  There wasn’t much to do there.  The town had a total of seven stoplights – if you’d blink, you’d miss it when driving through.    Needless to say, I had a lot of time to draw and explore.

I am thankful to live in Orlando now but there are pieces of me that really miss the small town I grew up in.  Clewiston is on the south side of Lake Okeechobee and is known around the world for its sugar crops (US Sugar headquarters is located there) and fishing.  To this day, I love going home to visit my parents.  Things have changed – most of my friends have moved away and businesses have come and gone, but one thing will never change.  It will always feel like home.  

This painting was inspired by the area I grew up in and the wildlife I’d see on a daily basis.  If you look closely, you’ll see a turtle and alligator in the background.

Ganesh

11×14

Watercolor on Paper

Commissioned