Watercolor still life....

For homework this week,

my watercolor instructor

told us to set up a still life

and paint it,

using some loose,

Shirley Trevena style techniques.

I used my Raku pot, a glass mug,

and two apples that I had.

I placed these on a linen piece I bought

in Italy a few years ago.

I took this photo, and printed it out in

greyscale to use as a tracing.

Here is my finished still life painting.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

New watercolors

I am blessed to be able to take

watercolor classes from a wonderful

local artist,

Dolores Price.

This year we are studying an artist

by the name of

Shirley Trevena,

who is very abstract in style.

For homework this last week

we were to do studies of her demos,

from any of her books.

The book I am working out of is called

Vibrant Watercolors---Shirley Trevena

Here are three of my attempts.......



Trevena has another book called

Breaking the Rules,

and she does just that,

loving blooms and 'mistakes'.

Here is another painting I worked on yesterday,

combining watercolor and acrylics.

This is from the book

Watercolor Unleashed

by Julie Pollard.

Hope you have a wonderful

and creative week.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Asheville...art, mountains, trees

I just got home from visiting

a lovely place.....

Asheville, North Carolina.

Yes, I think of art, mountains and trees

when I think of Asheville.

Many lovely things, but those are

ingrained in my memory forever.

When I returned home I had to do some art of my own,

so I painted this.....

...to remember my trip.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Gyotaku watercolor

My DH caught a 29 inch red fish

awhile back, while wade fishing in the bay.

I decided to do a (gyotaku) fish print of it.

It was the first time I had tried this technique.

In my opinion it did not come out so well,

so I decided to add watercolor to the print.

The print was done on freezer paper,

so it was a little different to add watercolor.

You can still see the print under the watercolor,

which is good,

but there were lots of blank spaces,

that didn't get printed so well.

My DH is sweet and likes it well enough

to want it framed,

even though I don't think it's good enough to do that.

But it was fun,

and a learning experience.

The next big fish that's caught...

I want to try and do a better gyotaku print,

  no added watercolor.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Watercolor paper pendants

I've been playing around

making watercolor paper pendants.

I made one a few weeks ago,

 that you can see here.

http://inkspillersattic.blogspot.com/2012/11/watercolor-paper-pendant-for-fall.html

I wanted to make some more,

but  had trouble with all of them.

The polycrylic kept bubbling up

when I put them in the toaster oven to cure.

I don't know if I put the polycrylic on too thick or what.

I don't mind some imperfections,

so I will wear these.

Here is a photo of five of the better pendants.

(I made 4 more but they turned out really bad.)

These are made from only 2 layers of watercolor paper,

instead of 6.

(Maybe that made a difference in how they turned out.)

I added some Japanese cut paper, that a friend gave me, to each one.

For some I added small round acrylic gem(s).

This is a close up of the largest one,

about 2 in. by 3 in.

Smaller ones are below...

I hope all of you have a wonderful

Thanksgiving!

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Watercolor paper pendant for FALL

Hello everyone!

I hope you are all well and enjoying FALL.

I love this time of year!

We still have some hot days now and then,

but I sure enjoy those cooler ones when they come.

It's been awhile since I have posted.

I've been dealing with a frozen shoulder,

and blogging was the last thing on my mind.

On the mend and feeling better now.

Haven't done much in the way of art,

but did do a unique project recently.

I found Ross Barbera on You Tube.

He is a realistic painter,

but also creates beautiful jewelry.

It is watercolor paper jewelry.

Here is my pendant I just finished.

I love dragonflies,

so when I ran across the tiny bronze one,

I thought it made a nice touch to the pendant.

Well, keeping this post short...

hope to be posting more soon.

Let me hear from you.

I've missed you all!

Savor the Day!

Yvonne Quarles

Windowsill Pears

PEARS...

They are known as

the 'gift of the Gods'

 'Pears and Lace'

or

'Windowsill Pears'...

which do you like best?

I worked on this painting in class today.

I've been working on putting light into my paintings.

Also at first I had the pears all wrong,

then with guidance from my instructor,

I removed most of the color,

and began again on the pears.

I think they look good enough to eat now.

"There are only ten minutes

 in the life of a pear

 when it is perfect to eat."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Savor the day...

and savor a pear now and then...

Yvonne

Another watercolor study

I once saw a painting like this...

and so I tried to remember just what it looked like,

so I could do a watercolor study of it.

I'm not sure if the original was done in watercolor,

it may have been done in oils or pastels.

But anyway... here is my watercolor study.

I try to paint every day,

from my own photos,

from original drawings I create,

from You Tube watercolor how to videos,

watercolor instruction books,

and whatever way I can practice and learn.

Studies of  other artists work

teach me a lot.

The Masters works

have many lessons in them.

Sometimes I just look at them closely,

to see just what they did.

So, how do you practice?

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Value Study

For Paint Party Friday

I am submitting this

value study.

 My instructor called it a

 whimsical type portrait.

One of these days I will learn to do

real portraits.

Learning where to put the darks,

and the lights...and

to give contour to the scarf etc.

Then for the background

I just added lots of color,

watched as the paper buckled up

(that's what cheap paper does btw)

 laid it flat and let it dry.

Doing this created lots of blooms,

but I like the texture of it.

I've learned that blooms are okay in watercolor.

It's not such a taboo thing anymore.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Hope

"Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops at all."

                                          ---Emily Dickinson

This is my painting

for this weeks

Paint Party Friday

http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/

HOPE

I like quotes and seem to add them to many of my pieces.

Below is what she looked like before the quote was added.

What do you think?

Words or no words?

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

The Heron Within Us Waiting to Fly

Casmerodius albus

 or

Great Egret

watercolor

5" by 8"

The Heron Within Us

Here is south Texas,

in the salt marshes,

 we see many beautiful birds,

and this is one of the prettiest...

with it's long white neck

and black legs.

The immature egret does not

have the plumage yet,

but is still elegant.

It is a cousin

to the

Great Blue Heron.

These birds are still hunted 

across the globe,

for their beautiful feathers,

which really makes my heart ache.

Here is a quote about the blue heron

I thought you may enjoy.

"Creativity is the Blue Heron within us

waiting to fly;

through her imagination,

all things become possible."

                                ― Nadia Janice Brown

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

So you want to be a Potter? watercolor and poem

Here is a quick little watercolor.

5" by 8"

I was inspired to paint this when I read this poem by

Alice Beer.

 So You Want to be a Potter?

Here are some rules:

nose above the centre of the wheel
to find the centre of your pot.

The wholeness of your pot

depends on being centred.

Shape your pot from the inside.

It’s not what people see

but it’s what matters.

Once you have got it right inside

the rest sees to itself. Well, more or less.

Balance your hands, make them a team,

one inside, one outside your pot.

While one hand pushes up,

the other gives support,

one as important as the other.

And keep a steady pace,

although your speed must vary.

There should be nothing sudden

to upset the growth.

I wish you joy!

                                        ---Alice Beer

I think she's talking about more than pots don't you.

You may want to read Alice Beer poems,

as her words take on a special meaning in each one.

She did not start writing until she was in her later years.

Another poem about growing old has these words...

"The ruts get deeper,

 the woods more dense,

 the bright star

 before us brighter."

Alice shows us that

 aging is not a closing down,

 but an opening up

 of visions and opportunities.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Last Two Ink Pourings

I've been having fun with my ink pourings.

These are my last two.

Let me know what you think.

Here is before...

and here is after...

Another one before....

and now after...

Can you see the horse?

Here is a close-up...

You can click on any photo to enlarge them.

Well, that's all 4 of my ink pourings.

You can see the other two

in posts prior to this one.

It's different, it's challenging, it's fun.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Ink pouring before and after

I finally remembered to take a photo

of one of my ink pourings

before I started putting on watercolor.

Here it is with only ink.

The first thing I thought was...

I put too much dark ink on the paper...

what am I to do????

Well,

I remembered a postcard I received

from Debra at She Who Seeks.

It had a dark sky

with a constellation of a rabbit...

(you can read of Lepus the rabbit here).

Another rabbit was looking behind him.

So I decided to try that image

on top of my ink pouring.

Here is the result...

Lepus is barely visible,

as constellations are.

Here is a close up of Lepus...

And here is a close up of the onlooker...

I keep trying new things with my ink pourings.

I have 2 more to work with.

Oh, what shall I do next? :)

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Two Finished Paintings

I promised I would show you my finished still life and ink pouring.

They have not been critiqued by my watercolor instructor yet,

so I'm sure there will be more changes made.

Here is the still life.

(I need more practice LOL)

AND...

here is my finished ink pouring.

(Sorry I forgot to take a photo of it

before I added watercolor.)

The Ink Pouring Process....

There were several different colors of ink

 randomly poured onto wet watercolor paper.

Then it was covered with saran wrap that was scrunched up.

Then a piece of plexi glass was put on top of that,

with books on top of that for weight.

Then you let it dry, and you never know what you will get.

I did watercolor painting in the negative, on top of the dried ink,

 for all but the red dragonfly.

It was painted in the positive.

Where I had scrunched up saran wrap on the wet ink,

there were designs,

and one thing I saw in the designs was the dragonfly,

so I painted it in. 

Then I saw leaves scattered throughout

 so I painted around them, bringing them out.

It's a different technique,

but I like doing it.

The burgandy red was the only ink

that didn't spread around much while drying.

But that's okay. 

Like I said, you never know what you will get.

That's what makees it fun!

Try something new!
Don't forget to visit Paint Party Friday
to see more wonderful art
by all the dozens of PPF bloggers...
or even better yet,
JOIN US!

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Watercolor lessons, inspiration and fun!

Every Wednesday I attend a watercolor class,

full of lessons, inspiration and fun!

Today was no different.

I recently painted my first landscape,

and got it critiqued today.

Now this is how it looks.

You may have seen it before, in a couple of posts back

http://inkspillersattic.blogspot.com/2012/05/ruby-sipper-tea-and-watercolor.html#links

As per Dolores' instructions,

I loosened up the foreground flowers,

added some purple to the water

and that's about it.

It sure made a difference.

I will be practicing more landscapes soon.

------

Today I also did some ink pourings, 4 total.

Next week I will do some negative watercolor painting on top of them.

Click below to see one I did last year and more about how I did it.

http://inkspillersattic.blogspot.com/2011/02/vanilla-beans-flowers-and-art.html

-----

We are also doing still life paintings.

Here is what Dolores set up for us.

We can do the whole thing, or just part.

There's different textures, different backgrounds etc.

I love birds so....

Below is the close up photo I took and will attempt to paint.

Wish me luck!

Remember to...

Savor the Day!

Yvonne



Ruby Sipper Tea and a Watercolor

Happy Tea on Tuesday!

Tea day with our hostess Kimmie and friends

is full of great blogging fun!

Why don't you join us?

Last week when my sister visited

we went to one of my favorite places to eat...

The Tango Tea Room...(it takes tea to tango)

all vegetarian food, wonderful teas and more.

Here I am having their

Riby Sipper iced tea.

------

I've been practicing my watercolor landscapes.

Here is one that is ready for critique

at my watercolor class on Wednesday.

What have you been doing to...

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Artist Retreat

Friday I attended an artist retreat

 at a friend's home on Lake Corpus Christi.

It was for the watercolor class I attend.

This was the third time Sheila has hosted this event.

It was beautiful weather,

and just an overall beautiful spring day.

I could feel good energy in this place.

We started with a continental breakfast, with mimosas,

then plein air painting, critiques and lunch.

I acutally did not take many photos of the group,

because many people get self conscious

when you are going around with a camera,

and I wanted everyone to relax.

Below is Dolores

with my 2 little studies

during the critique period.

If you ever have the chance.....

attend an art retreat of some kind.

It's a wonderful way to....

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Green Tea Leaf Office/Studio

Happy Tea on Tuesday all!

Green tea leaf....

that is actually the name of the wall color

in my office/art studio now.

My little space got so crowded

I had to make a change.

It's still a work in progress, but it's getting there.

 It's nice to have a pretty yet functional space to work in,

and not spend too much money on a redo.

   

This is my 6 foot long work table,

in a location with good light

 and I can get all the way around it.

These curtains came from my living room,

and so did the stained glass piece.

This is the view from my computer chair now,

instead of looking at a wall.

Much better!

This is the wall I used to face,

now it is to my left.

The watercolor is one I did awhile back.

It is called, 'He Brought me Flowers'.

The wall sticker below it

is one I got from my friend Karen.

It says, 'Friends are the flowers that bloom in life's garden'.

 I found this hidden away in a little shop,

got it for almost nothing,

and I love it.

A pretty plant will go in it this week.

Another wall sticker from Karen,

 below the window, that says,

'Every day is a gift.'

Close up of curtain tie back.

I used raffia from an old garden hat band,

and a bird button I won in a blog giveaway.

So, that's it for now.

Still lots to do. 

I'm just taking my time, no hurry.

I'm sitting here drinking my yerba mate tea this morning,

thinking of just how to organize everything.

I cleared out the closet, put in drawers and shelves.

I also have a new 9 cubbie shelf unit,

 a piece of insulation covered with fabric making it my design/inspiration wall,

 a dry erase wall calendar,

stackable files on my desk, plus a file cabinet that my printer sits on.

I have a basket for recycling paper under my desk.

 I must be careful not to overcrowd my room again,

and keep things that I will use.

Everything else is going to be donated to Goodwill.

So...hope you are having a good

Tea on Tuesday.

Join me for tea every Tuesday...

and see what all the other tea bloggers are up to

 by visiting Kimmie at

http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/

Getting organized,

having a cup of tea always helps me...

Savor the day!

Yvonne

Spring Watercolor

This little painting of a mesquite tree and wildflowers

was started in my watercolor class. 

It is a WIP.

I'm still going to work on it,

as I have a hard time with landscapes.

Maybe bring in some white highlights...

work on some shapes...

 My sister wants me to do a painting for her...

the view behind their new house.

It is a landscape with a creek,

trees, grass and flowers.

So, I need to practice!

Practice, practice, practice! 

Savor the Day!

Yvonne