October 31, 2009 - Day 82

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Langton cold press paper

This painting is done from a reference photograph that I took near my home. I loved the way the neighbourhood had all these different colors of trees and shrubs which reflected on the water. As usual, I am not happy with the results of this painting.

I am finding that after doing that series of abstracts that I really want to complete paintings with a large amount of detail. I am not sure what I should be doing now in order to improve the detail in my paintings. Maybe, there is just too much going on in my paintings and I need to narrow the focus to one object or subject. Like the rodeo and horse paintings but with plants.

October 30, 2009 - Day 81

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Langton cold press paper

Everyday when I look out my studio window I see this arrangements of flower pots across the lane. I just love the look of them, especially now with the red geraniums still in bloom.

I think that my florals are getting better but I would still like to achieve a higher level of realism.

October 29, 2009 - Day 80

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Langton cold press paper

My head really wasn't in the game tonight. Not enough time and too much to do. I thought about just doing another abstract or inkblot painting but I really wanted to get back to realism.

I think I am going to move away from painting series and just paint whatever I feel like painting each day. I went for a walk through the park a couple of days ago and took quite a few reference photos. The scenery was so beautiful with all the fall colors reflecting off the water that I think I might try painting something along those lines tomorrow.

October 28, 2009 - Day 79

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Langton cold press paper

On to a new paper today. The Langton is a bright white paper with a bit rougher grain than the Bockingford. The background wash went on nicely and flowed well. The paper seems comparable to the Bockingford or the Aquarelle.

I think I am almost done with abstract and inkblot paintings. I am itching to do something realistic again but I don't know if I will have the time over the next couple of days because of work and Halloween.

October 27, 2009 - Day 78

Da Vinci watercolor on 140 lb Saunders Waterford paper

I really liked the look of the Rorschach inkblot painting yesterday so I am doing a series of them. I have created another 3 inkblot paintings with a bright red background and have listed them on eBay. The link to my listings is at the top right hand side of this page.

Below the picture of today's painting is a picture of the tool that I use to squirt the ink onto the paper. It is a syringe that I got when I had my wisdom teeth pulled. A lot of people think that they have to go out and spend a lot of money on art supplies before they can paint but that is not always true.

The majority of brushes that I use are so old and abused that the paint has peeled off the handles. I used to store them brush up in a mug when they were wet and the water dripped down the handles and caused the paint to peel off. I now know to put the brushes down horizontally to dry before storing them upright.

These brushes were also bargain brushes. When I first started painting I didn't have a lot of money for supplies so I bought the cheapest brushes that I could find that I liked. The price of my brushes range from $2.50 up to $15. I did splurge last year on a Kolinsky sable watercolor brush because all the instruction books said that they were the best brushes. Truth is that I prefer my old cheap brushes over the Kolinsky.

You can save money by purchasing cheap brushes and other tools but you really can tell the difference between student grade and professional quality paints and papers. I found with the student grade papers the paint does not flow or look as nice as with the professional papers. The same is true with the paint. I started out with student grade but the professional grade is so much better. The colors are more vibrant and flow a lot better than the student grade. The professional grade paints are a lot creamier and produce better washes. The other thing to worry about with student grade paints is whether or not they will stand the test of time. They may not be as durable as professional grade paints.

October 26, 2009 - Day 77

Da Vinci watercolor and India Ink on Saunders Waterford paper

Inspiration strikes again and wreaks havoc on all my carefully laid plans. I had painted another abstract for today's painting but later in the evening my mind strayed to Rorschach inkblots for some unknown reason and I decided to try creating one. Well that led to creating 3 inkblot paintings using failed paintings as backdrops as well as preparing another 3 with red backgrounds for inkblots tomorrow.

On a more personal note, I have decided that I am going to really work to make my art more profitable. My goal is to be able to eventually reduce my hours at work and one day be self-employed. To do that, I am going to be creating additional paintings in the styles that you see in my blog and list them for sale on eBay. For example: today's painting is an inkblot so I will paint more inkblot paintings to sell. I am also going back and doing more western art and cat paintings over the next couple days and will be listing them by the end of the week.

You can see all my eBay listings by clicking on the link at the upper right hand side of this page.

October 25, 2009 - Day 76

Rubbing Alcohol and Da Vinci watercolor on Saunders Waterford paper

Wow! Is this ever a cool technique! I had read about using rubbing alcohol with watercolor to create interesting textures so I thought I would try it today. I used a q-tip to put spots and streaks of rubbing alcohol on the paper and then I applied a blue wash over top. I don't know how it works but wherever the alcohol was the paint is darker. I did go back over some of the spots to make them stand out a bit more but I really didn't need to darken them that much.

I am definitely going to be playing with this technique more in the future. It will probably work really well for detailed shadow areas.