Wednesday, April 30, 2014

3 Trips to Venice

Just a short post to say that I 
finished my Venice picture this weekend..
 
 
After Sunday chores I dug out the paints
and hoped to remember which ones I started with...
 
 
You can see which ones they were on the right.
What a blissful mess!!
 
 

It's all in the details...
 
 
From left to right....
Sandi....Melysa....Shade
I think they look so cool lined up like that..
 
 
In closing...
I took this picture on the way home
from work tonight.
Had to share.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Views of Venice

I joined some friends this weekend
for a taste of Venice.
 
 
Melysa, Sandi and I broke into the acrylic
paints and tackled our own version of
another artist's painting.  Sandi tried to find
who to give credit to...but I can tell you
that ours our different enough to not cause 
concern to the original artist. 


Sandi suggested our subject matter.
It makes you want to get lost in endless
winding streets and hop on for a 
romantic gondola ride.
Aren't all of the guides good looking?
That's what I've heard!


Now here is somone who knows
how to mix paint...



Here is the original...


Here is Sandi's version...
I love the misty feel to it.
Can you believe she painted this
in two and a half hours.
Props lady...


Here is Melysa's painting...
also done in two and a half hours.
I love the glassy surface of the water.


And she just whipped out this gondola
and lucky passengers.


Brushes, paints and good company...


Look what happened when we lined them all up?
We each eyeballed these paintings.  No one laid
them out beforehand!


Sandi floating away on vacation..


Melysa gliding peacefully to new discoveries...


Where am I in all this?
Mine would be the unfinished painting
with the building that looks like it is 
going to topple into the water...
Sigh.
 
 
I don't know how they did it in that block of time
but I'll show you mine when it is finished.
 
Amazing work ladies...I can't wait for the next paint date!!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Bridges and Sparkle

The bridge of dreams
Floating on the brief Spring night
Soon breaks off:
Now from the mountaintop a cloud
Takes leave into the open sky.
~Miner
Introduction to Japanese Court Poetry, 114


 I've been playing with the watercolors again.
I saw a lovely picture of mountains, water, 
and a red bridge in a book 
and decided to do my own version.
Who could resist a vivid red bridge?
Not me!


This was a gift for my friend Stephanie
who wanted a picture with water.
That leaves a lot of wiggle room for ideas.


 In retrospect I could have put a lovely
waterfall in there.  But Stephanie was
pleased and that is what matters.



I especially liked the layer of colors on
the mountains next to the red bridge.
And the splatters.  I've become a  big fan
of adding splatters to my watercolors.
I really love the look of it.
It's a nice accent that draws attention.




My next project was to make a card for
someone leaving my workplace.



These are called Twinkling H20's.
They are hard luminescent cakes of
color activated by water.


Look at these delicious colors...
The best way to use them is spray them
liberally with water and then walk away and
do an errand, take a shower, wash the dishes,
and then come back to work with them.


The longer you let them set the thicker
the paint gets.



I used this picture from Country Living for the
inspiration for the vase.



Unfortunately I did not get good lighting
on the card so you can't see the irridecent
quality of the paints.



Closer look...



I put the painting on a layer of orange
handmade paper and then on top of some
 flowered scrapbook cardstock and connected 
the layers with colorful brads.



For more information on these paints
check out the LuminArte site here.
Dion Dior offers some good classes using the
"Twinks".  Check her site out here.

That's all for today...but I have a painting
date this weekend..so stay tuned.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Vango..Lend me your Ear

"To do good work one must eat well, 
be well housed,
have one's fling from time to time,
 smoke one's pipe,
and drink one's coffee in peace." 
      
~ Van Gogh 


Crazy thing, that bit about Van Gogh's ear!
Van Gogh was born in 1853 and grew up in Holland.
His father was a minister and Vincent would
follow in his footsteps after a stint as an Art Dealer.

He worked as a missionary in a coal mining community
but art chased his soul and his life as an artist began.
Vincent moved to Paris and hung out with the likes of
Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin and Bernard.  Brother Theo
footed the bill for most of Van Gogh's life. 



Vincent Van Gogh took his own life in 1890 after producing
roughly 900 paintings in ten years.  He suffered with mental
illness and physical decline.  Poor guy didn't gain
notoriety until a few years after his death, joining a long
tradition of starving artistry.



900 paintings in ten years!  What does that tell you?
If you want to make your mark..practice..practice..practice.



Katie and Shade...party of two...we did just that.



We headed out for a swinging Saturday night at
Vino and Vango with our personal instructor...
the "Icon-O-Guy", Brian Hahn.



We had such a blast.  I brought copies of one
of Van Gogh's most popular paintings
"Van Gogh's Bedroom at Arles".  He did several
versions of this.  For some reason in really resonates
with people, along with the famous Sunflowers
and Starry Night paintings.




We started out on track.. but I demanded that we pull
out the turquoise for the floor and then we were all
slinging the color like it was the only color to use...
which it was!  Love it..love it..love it!

The painting above is Brian's...our pilot for the evening.



This one is Katie's.



This one is mine.  I texted a copy to my friend D.
She wrote back, "If you didn't say it was Van Gogh I
would have said it was Winnie the Pooh's bedroom.
I like it."  I had to laugh..it does look like Winnie's bedroom!





I have had three excellent painting sessions at Vino and Vango.
If you want a fun evening out with the girls, or something
different to do for a birthday party, or any special event..
check this place out.  They provide everything you need
and the instructors are so upbeat and encouraging.
No painting experience neccessary.

Thank you Brian for a really great class.  I'm in turquoise heaven!



Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Here we Vango Again


This is how it all starts.
A blank canvas, a blank page..
and in my case...a blank mind
waiting for inspiration to show up.
 
It sounds rather Zen doesn't it?
But in this case I didn't even have to
think anything up.  All the better!
 
 
Supplies at the ready...
Sandi Bonn and I had a date at
Vino and Vango to paint some Zinnea's.


Here's Sandi laying down the basics.
 
 
Look at those lovely greens and blues.
 
 
My attempts show a softer palette.
 
 
What the heck are those big white circles on our canvases?
 
 
Aha...something does go there.


The shading on these flowers is beautifully done...
 
 
Sandi thought mine looks Chagallesque...
Maybe that Studying the Masters class rubbed off on me.
 
 
You can't get more Spring than this..

 
From blank to blooms..
 
 
Nothing better than a painting buddy!