365 Days of ACEOs

Moving Over to Follow My Heart Studio Blog

2010-09-18T20:08:00.001-07:00

This is the last post for 365 Days of ACEOs. I will be now be posting all information on my new blog http://followmyheartstudio.blogspot.com/

I will now be turning my focus to creating art jewelry from my original paintings and photographs. I will be selling these pieces through my Etsy store at http://www.etsy.com/shop/FollowMyHeartStudio

Thank to everyone who took the time to come visit my blog this year and for your wonderful comments and support.

I hope you will continue to follow me as I move forward in my new endeavor.

All Images Now Available on Redbubble

2010-09-18T19:59:00.000-07:00

All images from my 365 Days of ACEOs have now been uploaded to Redbubble for purchase. Prices start at $2.39 for note cards and $17.10 for prints.

To visit my Redbubble page please click HERE

October 2009 Now Available on Redbubble.com

2010-09-11T16:39:00.000-07:00

To go to my gallery on Redbubble.com please click HERE

Paintings from September 2009 Now Available as Prints

2010-09-07T20:56:00.000-07:00

All September 2009 paintings from my 365 Days of ACEOs have now been added to my RedBubble profile. Note cards are $2.39 each and prints start at $17.10.

The nice thing about RedBubble is that the print sizes are much larger than the original painting at 8 inches by 11 inches or larger. They also come in your choice of matted, canvas, mounted on board or posters. It really gives you options for how you would like to display the images rather than being limited to a miniature painting matted under glass.

To view my art works available on RedBubble click HERE.

365 Days of ACEO Jewelry

2010-09-05T13:29:00.000-07:00

Is there a particular painting from the 365 Days of ACEO project that you love but you prefer functional art over a painting to hang on the wall?

If so, I also create jewelry using my original paintings and photographs.

If you would like one of my images made into a necklace, set of earrings or ring please contact me. I will be happy to create a custom item for you.

E-mail your request to followmyheartstudio@gmail.com

All the Latest News on My New Blog

2010-09-01T17:16:00.000-07:00

I have started a new blog that will cover everything about my art and projects. I will be updating the blog with my latest works, announcements on upcoming shows as well as information on where you can purchase my original paintings, prints and jewelry.

So come on over to Follow My Heart Studio I will be happy to see you :D

Purchase Prints Through RedBubble

2010-08-29T22:43:00.000-07:00

My show and sale is officially over. It went quite well with a lot of interest in my art and also in the blog.

Over the next week I will be adding the paintings to RedBubble.com for sale as prints. You can purchase the images as greeting cards, postcards, matted prints, framed prints, canvas prints and posters.

Purchase Prints Through RedBubble

Official Invitation to Show and Sale - click on image for larger view

2010-08-16T17:50:00.001-07:00

365 Days of ACEO Show and Sale

2010-08-11T20:50:00.001-07:00

Now that the 365 Days of ACEOs is completed I will be spending the next couple of weeks getting ready for the show and sale.

The show and sale will be on Sunday, August 29, 2010 between 1 pm and 5 pm. The location is at Serious Coffee in View Royal which is beside the Burger King and across the street from the Casino.

I will post more details as I get them.

August 10, 2010 - Day 365

2010-08-10T23:28:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

The last painting is done. This one is also titled. It is called "On the Outside Looking In". I can't believe that every day for a whole year I have painted something. I feel such a sense of accomplishment. It is great!

Now I have two weeks to get ready for my art show. For those of you who live in the Victoria, BC area the show will be at Serious Coffee in View Royal on August 29, 2010 between 1 pm and 5 pm. All my paintings will be for sale at that time.

August 9, 2010 - Day 364

2010-08-09T22:32:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Today's painting was another one where the title of the painting had a great deal of influence on the final outcome. This one is called "Alone in a Crowd".

August 8, 2010 - Day 363

2010-08-08T23:00:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I really like the way this one turned out today. The key is to wet the paper just the right amount. Too dry and the colors don't flow but too wet and the colors become faded and weak.

August 7, 2010 - Day 362

2010-08-07T22:32:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Pegasus for tonight's painting. I feel that I should be writing a lot more in my posts but I am just done with this project. I have put a year into creating these paintings and while it is the best thing that I could have done for my art career it has been a long road to get here.

August 6, 2010 - Day 361

2010-08-06T22:58:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

A unicorn for today's painting.

August 5, 2010 - Day 360

2010-08-05T22:19:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

A Rainbow Reflection flower today. Only 5 days to go! I hope I don't run out of my Permanent Rose watercolor that I have been using. I am getting right down to the end of tube and I won't be able to go down to the art store to pick more up before the end of this project.

August 4, 2010 - Day 359

2010-08-04T23:16:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I am really lacking inspiration and creativity these last couple of days. All I can think to paint is these Rainbow Reflection landscapes.

August 3, 2010 - Day 358

2010-08-03T23:03:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I wasn't very inspired tonight so I just created a Rainbow Reflection landscape.

August 2, 2010 - Day 357

2010-08-02T22:55:00.002-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

This one reminds me of a busy cafe or a library.

August 1, 2010 - Day 356

2010-08-01T22:26:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

In today's painting I see a big horn sheep shying away from a pouncing cougar.

July 31, 2010 - Day 355

2010-07-31T21:59:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

As I was painting this one today I thought it reminded me of a school of fish. It was only after I had scanned it into the computer that I saw it as a school of pirahna in bloody water. Horribly gruesome isn't it :)

July 30, 2010 - Day 354

2010-07-30T23:17:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I have been working on a new series of Carousel Horses for the August ACEO theme week on eBay and I guess that has me seeing horses in my Rainbow Reflection paintings again.

July 29, 2010 - Day 353

2010-07-29T22:46:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

This was the third painting I attempted today. Third time lucky I guess. I thought I was going to have to put up just another abstract design but thought I would try one more time to create something with some meaning.

I like this one because it reminds me of a smoking hot day over the city. The heat holding down the smog and creating heat ripples across the landscape. As the sun sinks towards the horizon the shadows slowly creep in but the heat remains.

July 28, 2010 - Day 352

2010-07-28T21:45:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Another abstract tonight. I find that for the most part I am not inspired to create anything specific. I am not forcing it though. I am just going to continue to create these Rainbow Reflections and see if they develop into anything more.

I am going to continue through with the same color scheme for the rest of the project. I find that it really helps me to become inspired by ideas or concepts rather than the colors.

July 27, 2010 - Day 351

2010-07-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Today I saw ballet dancers stretching when I started to scrape off the paint. It was completely by accident that I created the effect of a mirror behind the dancers.

July 26, 2010 - Day 350

2010-07-26T23:03:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Just another abstract painting tonight.

July 25, 2010 - Day 349

2010-07-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

For the majority of this project I have refrained from naming the paintings but there have been a few days where I was not only inspired by the flow of the paint but by the title that occurred to me. Today was one of those days. As I started laying in the sgraffito it looked to me like an angel flying and the title came to me "When Angels Take Flight".

July 24, 2010 - Day 348

2010-07-24T23:05:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Not much to say about today's painting. As I started the painting the colors in the upper left hand corner of the painting reminded me of a volcano erupting so I tried to create the look of lava flowing throughout the rest of the painting.

July 23, 2010 - Day 347

2010-07-23T21:58:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Just an abstract today. Nothing inspiring came to me while I was painting. There were no hidden forms in the flow of the paint tonight.

July 22, 2010 - Day 346

2010-07-22T23:13:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

It appears that I am doing a series of fish paintings. I haven't planned to do that but for the last couple of days when I start the paintings I am seeing fish in the flow of the paint. These fish remind me of those Siamese Fighting Fish that you see in the little tanks by themselves at the pet store.

July 21, 2010 - Day 345

2010-07-21T21:44:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I was very happy the way that this painting flowed into the images of Koi fish in a pond. I really like this one.

July 20, 2010 - Day 344

2010-07-20T21:35:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

My first attempt at a painting today failed totally but on my second attempt there be dolphins.

July 19, 2010 - Day 343

2010-07-19T23:12:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I thought I would switch it up a bit and just do a Rainbow Reflection landscape. I like this one because it reminds me of a river a night.

July 18, 2010 - Day 342

2010-07-18T22:40:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I like the top left corner of this painting but hate the whole right side. Since this blog is about 365 days of ACEOs the paintings have to be 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches. If I didn't have those size restrictions I think I would have cropped it to look like this:

July 17, 2010 - Day 341

2010-07-17T22:20:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I find myself wanting to explain my paintings or critiquing them when the whole point of this project was not to do either of those things. I don't have much to say for these abstract paintings because I have commented on the process in previous posts nor was I wasn't trying to create any specific subject. I have just been "going with the flow" and seeing what kind of results that I get.

July 16, 2010 - Day 340

2010-07-16T23:05:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Nothing much to say about today's painting.

July 15, 2010 - Day 339

2010-07-15T22:59:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Just an abstract Rainbow Reflection. I like the colors and flow of it. It kind of feels like an alien planet to me.

July 14, 2010 - Day 338

2010-07-14T23:33:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I really like the way this one turned out tonight. I see the Northern Lights taking the shape of horses. My son sees dragons and valleys. That's what I love about these "Rainbow Reflections" - everybody sees something different.

July 13, 2010 - Day 337

2010-07-13T23:30:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I am still keeping with the horse theme and the color scheme. By keeping the same colors it helps me to focus on the image that I am creating rather than worrying about how different colors are going to flow together and mix on the paper.

This is one of those paintings that I know what it is suppose to represent but I don't know whether other people will see the same things that I see. As I was painting this the title came to mind "Heads and Tails". Usually if you see horses standing together in a field they stand head to tail so that each horse's tail will flick the flies away from the other horse's head. That's what I see when I look at this picture.

July 12, 2010 - Day 336

2010-07-12T23:08:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

This one didn't turn out the way I planned. It had potential but I just couldn't pull it off. I guess my head just wasn't in the game for painting today. It was a rough day at work and I came home to a sick child puking his guts out. Even as I write this entry he is laying on the floor int he bathroom moaning. I hate it when my boy is sick!

July 11, 2010 - Day 335

2010-07-11T22:50:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I really don't have anything to say about today's "Rainbow Reflection" horse except that I liked yesterday's painting much better.

July 10, 2010 - Day 334

2010-07-10T22:50:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

This is my new favorite Rainbow Reflection painting. Nothing else to say tonight.

July 9, 2010 - Day 333

2010-07-09T23:04:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I am sticking with the "Rainbow Reflections" and the purple/pink/blue color scheme. It also appears that I am keeping with the horse subject as well. I meant to create something else but once again my mind drifted to horses. I really like this painting and may just keep it for myself when this project is over.

July 8, 2010 - Day 332

2010-07-08T23:30:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I really like this "Rainbow Reflection" painting. I started to create a landscape type painting but as I scraped away at the paint it flowed into these horse shapes so I ran with it :D

I am finding that my approach to painting has changed from when I first started this blog. Previously when I created "Rainbow Reflection" paintings I would have an end result in mind. It might be a waterfall or a desert landscape. Now, especially with the paintings I created yesterday and today I found that I was able to just allow the paint to flow without planning it. I think I was able to do that because I wasn't afraid of "wasting" materials or time. My attitude has changed with the realization that sometimes I may have to waste some materials before I get the results that I want. So be it.

July 7, 2010 - Day 331

2010-07-07T22:37:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I went darker with tonight's "Rainbow Reflection" but I stayed with blue and red. Last night I made a mistake and used Pthalo Blue instead of Ultramarine Blue which I prefer.

July 6, 2010 - Day 330

2010-07-06T22:30:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

For August 29, 2009 I did a "Rainbow Reflection" painting. I was first taught this sgraffito technique by Alan Mark Cross of Victoria, BC. In his class he showed how to create a sunflower painting by putting layers of thick paint onto wet paper and then scraping back areas with a palette knife to create leaves and petals. I went on to use it for landscape type paintings.

I call them "Rainbow Reflections" partly because they are created using pure colors but also because what you see in the painting reflects who you are. Some people see an abstract painting while others see a landscape. I even had people who saw fairies hiding among the leaves. These "Rainbow Reflections" also reflect me and my love of color.

They are fairly simple to create but I probably only have a 25% success rate with them. They either work or they don't. There is no middle ground with these paintings. I would like to be able to at least achieve a 50% success rate so I think I will do a series of them in order to improve my skills.

July 5, 2010 - Day 329

2010-07-05T22:45:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Strathmore Windpower watercolor paper

Last in the "Breakfast" series. I am going to start a new series tomorrow I think but I don't know what it will be. I am finding it easier to create when I am completing a series because it narrows the choices in subject and color that I have to make.

July 4, 2010 - Day 328

2010-07-04T22:22:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Strathmore Windpower watercolor paper

This painting went well for me tonight. I got the color and intensity of the washes right the first time for a change.

July 3, 2010 - Day 327

2010-07-03T22:53:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Strathmore Windpower cold press paper

I had a migraine all afternoon today and I didn't know what I was going to do if it didn't go away. Luckily after a nap, an Advil Migraine and a bath my headache went away enough that I could complete today's painting.

I am very happy not only with the results of my painting but with the calibration of my scanner. It turns out that my scanner was set at too high of a dpi so it was basically picking up more than it should. Once I dropped the dpi it only required minor adjustments of the hue, saturation and lightness.

July 2, 2010 - Day 326

2010-07-02T22:27:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Strathmore Windpower cold press paper

The painting today came together easier than yesterday's. I am also getting closer to calibrating the scanner but the colors are still off. The color on the inside of the bowl should be more blue/grey and a bit darker.

More accurate image achieved by using digital camera

then adjusting colors and contrast

July 1, 2010 - Day 325

2010-07-01T22:22:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Strathmore Windpower cold press paper

Decided today that I was going to start another series of paintings. I think this time the theme will be breakfast. Today is eggs in a stainless steel bowl. I reached a stage where I should have stopped but I worked on it just a little bit more and messed up the inside of the bowl.

I also got a new scanner that is much more sensitive than the old one. I don't have it calibrated right yet and the scan isn't totally accurate. The eggs have more shading to them and the bowl isn't so grainy. It will take some time and fiddling with the settings before it scans the way I want it too.

June 30, 2010 - Day 324

2010-06-30T23:26:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor and Prismacolor colored pencil on
140lb Strathmore Windpower cold press paper

I was really stuck again tonight. I couldn't decide what to paint because I have done everything before in this blog. I didn't want to do another fruit or vegetable still. I didn't want to do any more flowers because I just had a run of 14 florals. I just did a series of 7 sea/silhouette painting. I just wasn't interested in repeating what was done before.

The idea of creating lime green circles on a blue background popped into my head so I ran with it. I think it would have looked better with a lighter blue background and fewer circles but it is what it is.

June 29, 2010 - Day 323

2010-06-29T22:48:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on

140lb Strathmore Windpower cold press paper

For tonight's painting I decided to just put in a loose dark wash for the rocks and drop salt into the wet wash. I think it turned out rather well.

June 28, 2010 - Day 322

2010-06-28T22:57:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I am pretty happy with this painting today. While I would like the rocks to be more realistic the colors are almost exactly the same as the reference photo. I am very happy about that because it is one of the things I have struggled with for this whole project.

June 27, 2010 - Day 321

2010-06-27T23:36:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor and ink on
140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

When I started to paint tonight I had every intention of painting this in a realistic way but then out of the blue this idea came to me. I really like this one but then again I am prejudiced because it was from a reference photo of my son and his best friend trying to catch fish and crab at the beach.

June 26, 2010 - Day 320

2010-06-26T18:45:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor and ink on
140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Not much to say about this one. I think it is going to be the last of the silhouette paintings.

June 25, 2010 - Day 319

2010-06-25T22:47:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor and ink on
140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I don't have much to say about today's painting. I liked yesterday's much better.

June 24, 2010 - Day 318

2010-06-24T22:12:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor and ink on

140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I think this painting turned out well. I really liked the way the water sparkled in my reference photo. I created the sparkles by scraping the dried paint with a craft knife. At first I just created small specks but then I accidentally created a larger white speck and it really looked good so I added more. The larger white specks really help to create the illusion of waves sparkling in the sunlight.

June 23, 2010 - Day 317

2010-06-23T19:12:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor and Prismacolor colored pencils

on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Another painting based on my trip to Witty's Lagoon yesterday. I loved how the figures were silhouetted against the water in a lot of my reference photos. I also wanted to capture the distinctive rock formation in the distance.

June 22, 2010 - Day 316

2010-06-22T23:35:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Today I went on a field trip with my son's class to Witty's Lagoon near Victoria, BC. It is so beautiful there and the mountains looked so close. I think I took 200 reference photos while I was there. It was a perfect day with the sun shining brightly.

This painting is created from two reference photos. One was of the boy with the skim board and the other photo was of the mountains. I am happy with the results.

June 21, 2010 - Day 315

2010-06-21T22:28:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor & Prismacolor colored pencil on

Strathmore Windpower 140lb cold press watercolor paper

I attempted to paint this twice in watercolor but I couldn't get my washes even. In frustration I grabbed my colored pencils and just colored over the watercolor. To increase my frustration I found that even though I have 8 shades of blue colored pencil I didn't have just a plain primary blue or a very light blue. I tried layering my blues with white but still didn't achieve the color on the background hills that I wanted.

All that aside, I think that this would make a nice painting if the color was applied properly.

June 20, 2010 - Day 314

2010-06-20T22:23:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I wanted to try painting the Fisgard Lighthouse, Victoria, BC. I had taken a reference photo from a long way away and it was blurry and dark. The only thing I could really make out in the picture was the lighthouse.

I like the way the lighthouse is silhouetted against the dark pine trees but I had problems with the rocky ground in the forefront. I also had problems with the windows. I just couldn't get them to look right. I am finding that with this size painting I do better work on close-ups of subjects. As soon as I try to paint a subject that is a little farther away the detail becomes to small for me to do.

June 19, 2010 - Day 313

2010-06-19T22:58:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Last of the poppies and last of the flowers I think. Time to move on to something else.

June 18, 2010 - Day 312

2010-06-18T23:23:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I liked yesterday's poppy so much I thought I would do a series! I just love this bright red against the dark background.

June 17, 2010 - Day 311

2010-06-17T22:55:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Since I have been having such great success with my flowers I thought I would try another flower that I love but have never been able to paint properly. I think these huge red poppies are just amazing because of the bright red color with the dark purple centers.

I am happy with the brightness of the colors. If you have been following my progress you will remember that one of my frustrations is getting the colors bright enough. I realized with the California Poppies that I needed to use almost straight rather than try to build up the color with a lot of thin washes.

The red of this poppy is Napthol Red (Mid-Tone) basically straight from the tube with very little water added. I created the light areas by lifting the color with clear water and a tissue. The darker red was created by adding a touch of dark green to the Napthol Red. The purple was created by mixing Napthol Red and Cobalt Blue.

June 16, 2010 - Day 310

2010-06-16T22:47:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I like the simplicity of this flower and the way the bands of dark and light create the form of the petals.

June 15, 2010 - Day 309

2010-06-15T22:43:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I love California Poppies and have always wanted to capture the bright cheerfulness I feel when I look at them. I had gone on a walk-about last week and taken more reference pictures of poppies in bright sunlight. When I decided to paint the poppies today I had forgotten that I had attempted them in September - two days before the roses in yesterday's post.

I love the way today's painting turned out and it was exactly what I was hoping to achieve.

June 14, 2010 - Day 308

2010-06-14T23:39:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

What a difference 8 months has made in my art! On September 27, 2009 - Day 48 - I attempted to paint a rose (top picture) and failed miserably. Tonight I painted another rose and the results are so much better. The funny thing is that from what I can remember I used the same technique to paint both roses.

I think the difference is that over time and with experience I have learned how to see the form and subtle value changes that I was unable to see before. My first rose painting was like a child's drawing. You could tell what it was suppose to be but it didn't look realistic because it lacked the correct value and form.

I used to think that if I wanted to get better at painting a certain subject that I would have to paint that subject over and over again. I realize now that the subject isn't as important as seeing value, contrast, shadow and highlights. By improving in those areas I was able to improve all my paintings.

June 13, 2010 - Day 307

2010-06-13T23:22:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

For tonight's painting I used a two different techniques to paint the flower. For the dark purple petals I started with a dark wash and then lifted the color using clear water. The white petals and centre of the flower I built up the color with multiple washes.

June 12, 2010 - Day 306

2010-06-12T22:37:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I love the way this turned out. I used packing tape to mask the flower before painting the dark background. That seemed to give the petals a nice crisp edge.

June 11, 2010 - Day 305

2010-06-11T23:36:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Nothing to say tonight.

June 10, 2010 - Day 304

2010-06-10T23:08:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I discovered with this flower that the key to watercolor (I think) is that the fewer washes the better. I only put on 3 to 6 washes on the flower and was able to get the majority of the flower right the first time. I did the most re-touching on the yellow part of the flower.

I remember reading that in watercolor you want the white of the paper to shine through the layers of paint but I never really understood what that meant until today. Basically, the reason why some of my watercolors look flat and lifeless is because I put on so many layers of paint that the luminosity of the paper could not shine through. The effect was "muddy" and greyed colors.

June 9, 2010 - Day 303

2010-06-09T20:29:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I decided today that I would continue on with "white" flowers. This peony almost worked but the light parts aren't light enough. I went much darker for the shadow areas in the beginning than I usually do but I still ended up darkening them quite a bit. Then they were too dark so I had to lift some of the color. All in all not too bad for such a complicated flower.

June 8, 2010 - Day 302

2010-06-08T23:41:00.001-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Bockingford cold press paper

I made numerous attempts today to try to create a floral painting by using controlled back-runs or "cauliflowers". I thought if I laid down a dark wash and then added drops of paint or water at the right time that it would create a floral effect. I almost succeeded with one painting but there just wasn't enough contrast. Since that didn't work I decided to just do a straightforward watercolor flower.

June 7, 2010 - Day 301

2010-06-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci watercolor & Prismacolor colored pencil on
140lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

For the last couple of weeks I have been wanting to go back to watercolor and colored pencil paintings. Usually I would paint the watercolor first and then touch up the painting with colored pencil but today I thought that I would try something different.

I completed the sailboat first in colored pencil and added broad strokes of white colored pencil over the water area and the distant snow-capped mountains. I then applied blue washes over the colored pencil. The wax of the colored pencil acts as a resist and the paint doesn't stick to it. This worked out even better than I thought it would.

I also had a "happy accident" with the middle mountains. As I was darkening the color it created back runs or "cauliflowers" which I think look really good.

June 6, 2010 - Day 300

2010-06-06T23:03:00.001-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

Day 300 is finally here and I am glad to be finished with the ink and wash. There are some paintings that turned out very nice but on a whole this isn't my favorite medium.

For the last 65 days of this project I am not going to limit myself to a specific medium or subject. One day I may decide to paint a flower in acrylics and the next day might be a still life with watercolor and colored pencil. After spending 300 days experimenting with new subjects and techniques now is the time to follow my heart and paint wherever it leads me.

June 5, 2010 - Day 299

2010-06-05T22:52:00.001-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

I wasn't sure if this one was going to turn out today. The grass/trees in the far background weren't coming together for me but I just kept adding dabs of color until it looked right. Overall I like the look of this painting.

June 4, 2010 - Day 298

2010-06-04T23:09:00.001-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

When I was growing up my aunt had a little yellow canary that used to sing all the time. I wanted to paint a canary for her but it didn't turn out at all. I guess ink and wash wasn't the right medium to try to capture the delicate nature of that little canary.

June 3, 2010 - Day 297

2010-06-03T22:48:00.001-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

I don't really have anything to comment about this painting today. It's a parrot. What more can I say?

June 2, 2010 - Day 296

2010-06-02T22:52:00.001-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

I don't have much to say about my penguin except that the background was a happy accident. When I put in the first couple of brush strokes I accidentally left quite a bit of white between them. I was going to change it but then I realized that it looked like floating ice so I continued on in the same manner for the rest of the background.

June 1, 2010 - Day 295

2010-06-01T23:23:00.001-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

Today's painting turned out fairly well even though I really didn't know how to paint the leaves. I ended up bringing the sky color down over top the leaves and once that was dry painting yellow over the blue. I added a couple of dabs of darker blue and a bit of brown and called it done.

May 31, 2010 - Day 294

2010-05-31T23:14:00.000-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

I am not happy with this one at all. The bird, post and wire are all accurate but the painting as a whole is totally uninspiring and flat. I think the main problem is the background color. Originally it was a light raw sienna (yellowish brown) but that didn't look right so I tried making it darker but that didn't work either. I think with the right color background this painting would really "pop" but I don't know what that background should be.

May 30, 2010 - Day 293

2010-05-30T23:00:00.001-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

Well with only 8 days left using the ink and wash technique I realized that the easiest way to complete this medium was to start another series of paintings. I haven't done very many bird paintings throughout the course of this project so I thought it might be a nice way to end this section of paintings.

May 29, 2010 - Day 292

2010-05-29T23:15:00.000-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

I was stuck again tonight so I went back to what I was comfortable painting. I really didn't want to do another ink and wash painting nor did I want to do anymore animal paintings. So I created a still-life painting.

I am going to be so happy when June 7 rolls around because that will mean that I have 65 days left in the project. I won't be limiting myself to a specific medium for the last 65 days so one day may be watercolor and the next might be colored pencil. I can't wait.

May 28, 2010 - Day 291

2010-05-28T23:33:00.000-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

Nothing to say tonight.

May 27, 2010 - Day 290

2010-05-27T23:26:00.001-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

I am very happy with the way that this turned out. At first I thought that the black lines would be too dark but as I added the watercolor washes it really came together.

May 26, 2010 - Day 289

2010-05-26T23:11:00.000-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

I tried to create an orange tabby cat by doing an ink drawing first and then adding watercolor washes on top of the ink. I think you can tell it is an orange tabby but because of the black lines I don't think it looks as nice as the darker cats.

May 25, 2010 - Day 288

2010-05-25T11:14:00.001-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

I love the way this one turned out. I think I am on a roll with this type of ink and wash painting. So far I have done cats with obvious dark markings but I don't know how this technique will turn out with cats/animals that are all one color or that have light markings.

I think tomorrow I will try an orange tabby cat and see if I can get the same results. I think it will be difficult to get the marking right because the orange stripes are so light compared to the markings I have been doing with the grey tabby and the Siamese.

May 24, 2010 - Day 287

2010-05-24T22:47:00.000-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

I was totally stuck tonight on what to paint. I want to move on from the ink and wash but still have another 13 days to go with the medium. I was going to do a still-life but I really wanted to challenge myself with creating animals in pen and wash. I have not been happy with the way they are turning out but I really didn't know what to do about it.

When I am stuck for ideas I like to go the Wetcanvas.com. This is a wonderful website for all artists. It has forums for all the different mediums as well as thousands of copyright free reference photos. This website is my favorite place to go for all things art.

I decided to check out the Pen & Ink/Caligraphy channel. There were so many talented artists showing their work. I was able to see how amazing pen & ink drawings could be and this motivated and inspired me to try again.

I love the markings on tabby cats especially the "M" shaped lines on their forehead. I went to the reference photo library at Wetcanvas.com and found this beautiful photograph of a grey tabby cat. I wasn't sure how it would turn out but I started by putting in the main features and then the black lines. The rest of the cat I just tried to put the lightest lines possible in the direction that the fur would naturally go. After it was dry I added the watercolor washes. I am really pleased with the result.

I don't know if I will be able to duplicate the results tomorrow night. Once I started the painting tonight everything just flowed. I wasn't even in a mood to paint but sometimes the painting just turns out. I don't why - I wasn't any more inspired or motivated tonight to paint than I was last night.

May 23, 2010 - Day 286

2010-05-23T22:29:00.000-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

I kind of like the way that this one turned out because of all the different colors in the fur and the background.

May 22, 2010 - Day 285

2010-05-22T23:33:00.001-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

Another try at creating a dog with pen and watercolor. Better than yesterday's painting but still not right. I don't know if I tomorrow I will try again or if I will move on to something else. I only have 15 more days with the ink and wash and I will be glad to be done with it. I liked some of the paintings I created but for the most part I was not inspired by this medium.

May 21, 2010 - Day 284

2010-05-21T22:00:00.000-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

I really liked yesterday's painting so I thought that today I would attempt to improve the technique or at least duplicate the effect. I finally had to admit defeat on this one because I just couldn't make it work.

May 20, 2010 - Day 283

2010-05-20T22:56:00.000-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

I like the way this one turned out. I used the pen to create the reflection in the water and to sketch in the direction of the fur. I then used washes of blue and dark brown for the black parts fo the dog and light blue and light brown for the shadow areas on the white parts.

May 19, 2010 - Day 282

2010-05-19T22:18:00.000-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

Last of the cow paintings. I think I will move on to other black and white animals like Border Collies and tuxedo cats. That's the plan tonight. Things may change completely by the time I sit down to paint tomorrow. I could be having my morning coffee and suddenly be struck with the inspiration for a completely different subject. Only tomorrow will tell for sure.

May 18, 2010 - Day 281

2010-05-18T23:29:00.001-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

This one is so simple but I really like it. Maybe I like it because I can remember being very small and watching the cows come home for the nightly feeding. They would follow the same path every night in single file. The path they took remained visible on the side of the hill decades after the last cow had been sold.

May 17, 2010 - Day 280

2010-05-17T21:48:00.001-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

More cows. I like the way this one turned out. I did more pen sketching than I normally do and I like the effect that had on the background trees.

May 16, 2010 - Day 279

2010-05-16T22:59:00.000-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

Absolutely nothing to say about today's painting.

May 15, 2010 - Day 278

2010-05-15T22:24:00.001-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

I wanted to do something different tonight so I decided to paint a cow. Nothing fancy - just a cow. I had so much fun with it that I am going to do a series of cows. Moooooo!

May 14, 2010 - Day 277

2010-05-14T23:40:00.001-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

I am too tired to write tonight. It is 11:45 pm and I have just completed today's painting. I don't really have much to say about the painting anyways.

May 13, 2010 - Day 276

2010-05-13T23:29:00.000-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

This one turned out OK today but I think that like yesterday it needed more contrast between the background and the object. The lock seems to blend in to the background too much but I have re-worked it for the last hour with no success. I am at the point where I am going to ruin it if I continue.

May 12, 2010 - Day 275

2010-05-12T23:08:00.000-07:00

Ink & Watercolor on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Paper

On my walk-about the other day I found this really interesting cement thing down by the boat launch docks. I don't really know what it is but I think it might be something that keeps the docks secured in place. I just thought it was interesting with the rusty chain and stained cement.