Watercolor Artwork

16x20" Watercolor

The girl who commissioned my first painting (outside of the friend/family circle) actually advertised for me and sent me a friend of hers. I got a message from a fellow wanting something for his girl who just lost her beloved pet rabbit, Buns. He had an image of a silhouetted dandelion blowing in the wind, and the bunny and I morphed them together.

I started out with the bunny since I felt that was the most important and then I expanded from there. I left the seeds and dandelion for last because with watercolor it's very difficult to go back and fix things around other things. I worked a lot wet-on-wet, but I used a 'negative' painting technique to make the seeds stick out more.....I should stop talking though cause it's really not that exciting unless you actually wanted to know how.

12x16" watercolor

This image has been in my head since the summer. I was driving back with the Howard side of the family from the beach and we passed this tree that was cut down but strangely sitting on it's limbs, kind of hovering above the ground and retaining many of it's leaves. I thought how it would translate into a cool painting with a small girl with ringlets next to it with a large ax. I also knew I wanted an old plantation looking house at the top of a hill behind.

I have actually been enjoying the watercolors. Usually they frighten me a bit because mistakes are not as easy to cover up. I tend to paint too lightly and have a 'finished' product that looks less finished because there is a lack of contrast. God is teaching me to trust him and the skill he will provide. I actually prayed about it this morning that I wouldn't be timid in my art work and use of rich color.

Watercolor is so interesting because it's an ongoing learning process. You are working with forces such as water, wet/dry paper, wrinkles and curves that pop up, and the paint habits which change with every variable. I just keep learning new things and improving, and that's fun.

Sketchbook Project: Part 2

This is continued from my previous post. These are pictures of my sketchbook that is now in Brooklyn preparing to travel the world with the rest of the Sketchbook Projects.

My tribute to my summer working in Dollywood.

This page has some doodles that I have done numerous times, but mostly I just wanted to draw some fun critters to fill space.

Hunter.

Remembering some times in Korea that I spent in hanboks. I hope Chelsea doesn't mind that I drew her feet in my sketchbook ^_^.

We took our honeymoon in Guam.

I really love Miyazaki films. Although I admit I was really running out of things to draw and Totoro is quite easy.

It's a pretty good story above if you can enlarge it enough to read it.

The poem "The Great Minimum" by G. K. Chesterton

Sketchbook Project: Part 1

So I was informed by a friend about this sketchbook project, so I jumped on board this past fall. You fill up a sketchbook using a chosen theme (that you may or may not follow), send it to Brooklyn, and then it goes on a world tour with other sketchbooks; a kind of sketchbook traveling library.

So I chose the theme 'I Remember You' and I tried to capture different memories or times in my sketches. The opening page is more of a tribute than a memory.

I guess I didn't sketch dark enough, because all of the pictures of my sketches are pretty thin.

Midge. So glad my first barbie was a redhead.

That was my wedding invitation.

Pensive Dragon is a character I came up with in Korea. I actually began writing the story during my classes when my students were doing work, but I never finished.

For those who don't know, I spent many summers in my youth in Japan, as well as a gap year.

The paper in this collage is actually from some wrapping paper used for a wedding gift from a Japanese friend.

A Haiku for Japan.

I was actually in Korea when the tsunami hit, but I had lived in Sendai so it was pretty terrifying trying to e-mail old friends and make sure everyone was ok. All of my personal friends survived, but many lost homes or loved ones. Japan will always have a sweet spot in my heart. I don't know if I'll ever have a chance to return, like I once promised a lot of students, but I think of them often.

There are many more pages to come so stay tuned!

Many Mini-Paintings

I have been doing a lot of small paintings lately. I wanted to do some fun quick work that perhaps would be affordable and get some more people checking out my etsy.

I have actually put my favorites first.....well at least the first two.

I realize that I find horns fascinating. I mean the Lord put beautiful sculptures that grow out of animals heads that serve real purposes too.

I have had an ongoing doodle habit of adding little tiny people shapes to drawings I've done; I felt the deer was an appropriate place for small people to ride.

I must admit, I do not like how a varnished painting photographs.... anyone know how to not have a sheen? Anyhoo, I did the dragon in honor of my 2nd grad students who are painting their own Chinese New Years Dragons. I am truly excited to see the outcome of my students work.

This circus scene is from an in class drawing I had a Korean class do; I would tell them something to draw like, 'Draw a ball.....draw an elephant on the ball....etc.' I rather enjoyed my original and made it a bit more sturdy in paint.

A lot of birds....I wanted to do some cartoon type feathered friends. I think they are rather fun.

(again, hate the sheen from the gloss finish, it really does look better in person)

An Ode to the Beginning of Love.

Another run with oil paint sticks. It was fun, but I must say the paint sticks are much better on canvases larger than 5x7 inches.

Sakura Meets a Giant Friend: This is actually one of my favorites that I have done so far. I just think they are great characters. This idea again came from an old drawing I did alongside my korean students.

I am experimenting with oil paint on tiny canvases, but so far I neither have the patience nor the tiny brushes necessary for such a thing..... i.e. it doesn't seem worth my time.

I feel I did salvage this little fellow. I enjoyed scratching off some paint to create more texture, but I still think I enjoy painting larger more.