MONTHLY RECAP -- What I've Been Up To in April

Wow!  April was a creative AND successful month!  Let's see . . . finished and SOLD the Prickly Pear Mosaic on the same day, finished and framed the "Fire" painting, received a commission to paint a bridal bouquet, finalized dates for three workshops in 2014, acquired two new mentoring students, and took lots of pictures, including photos from a camping trip to Valley of the Gods, in Utah.



PRICKLY PEAR MOSAIC

Prickly Pear Sunset, 30" x 22" watercolor on Aquabord -- SOLD

This set a record -- for me, anyway.  Alyson Kinkade, my friend and owner of Columbine Gallery in Loveland, Colorado, saw the painting when I posted it, sent a photo to a client, and BOOYA!  SOLD!

Can you tell I'm excited?  As all of you fellow artists know, selling your artwork is usually not that easy -- it certainly isn't for me.  So, I'm very grateful to Alyson for being proactive, on my behalf.

And, no, I don't teach, or even demonstrate, this technique -- it is such slow going that it would put everyone to sleep.

"FIRE" PAINTING


Finally finished.  I realized that it is more difficult (for me, anyway) to try to recreate one of my own paintings, than to paint it the first time.

and framed . . .

NEW COMMISSION PAINTING -- BRIDAL BOUQUET

Just received this commission, so I haven't even started -- except for preparing the paper.  But, here's the picture of the gorgeous bouquet.  I hope I do it justice, and make this couple happy.  The husband commissioned me to do this, to give to his wife on their first anniversary.  Very sweet . . . 

PHOTOS FOR THIS MONTH'S PHOTO CHALLENGES

The Neighborhood

Mellow Yellow

Old Bones

Valley of the Gods  (this is a place in southeastern Utah -- not as famous as the Grand Canyon or Monument Valley, but just as awesome)

It's a Lizard-Eat-Lizard World out There in the Desert

Pastels in My Kitchen

Announcing 1-Day Watercolor Workshop in May -- "Painting the Colors of the Southwest"

I'm excited to be offering another 1-day workshop on May 29th -- at my home/studio in Durango.

photo of Valley of the Gods

PAINTING THE COLORS OF THE SOUTHWEST - 2 WAYS

One-Day Watercolor Workshop

at my Home/Studio in Durango

Thursday, May 29, 2014

10 am to 4 pm

We'll paint Southwest landscapes, with red rock formations, two different ways:

1) Layering/ Glazing -- from back to front -- to achieve atmospheric perspective and depth

2) Painting from the Ground Up -- with some negative painting and more development of the rocks

I just returned from a camping trip to the Valley of the Gods in Utah, where my husband and I took tons of picture, so we will have plenty of photo references for the red rock formations.

If you live in or near Durango, CO (or will be in the area), please join me for this fun workshop.

You'll have plenty of time to paint, and can do one or both projects.

Price:  $100 for the 1-day workshop

(this includes a light lunch and beverage)

To reserve a spot in this workshop, or for more info, contact Pat at

thepaintedprism@gmail.com

or via Facebook

(Pat Howard or Painted Prism or Pat Howard Watercolors)

Hope to see some of you in May!

PHOTO CHALLENGE: 30 Themes for April

Here are 30 themes for April, if you want to give it a go.  Try to take a photo a day for each theme.  Sorry, I know it's now the 4th, but I'll list all 30, anyway.

Doing a photo challenge like this allows you to capture little moments in your life, instead of just the really big ones.  Plus, you will start seeing your everyday life differently, and you may just see some things that you normally miss.  I don't always do this everyday, but I try when I can.

I post my photos on Facebook, Pinterest, and on this blog.

APRIL PHOTO CHALLENGE THEMES

1.  Reflection

2.  Melting

3.  Rainbows

4.  Break

5.  Tiny

6.  Sunshine

7.  Grains of . . . 

8.  Showers

9.  Younger You

10. Giggles

11. Mellow Yellow

12. Stairs

13. Something You Found

14. Flat

15. Sunset

16.  Flower

17. Life

18. Balance

19. Pastels

20. In Your Basket

21. Bottle

22. The Last Thing You Bought

23. Buds

24. Something You're Grateful For

25. Looking Down

26. Black & White

27. Somewhere You Went

28. 1:00 pm

29. Flip Flops

30. Circle

Happy Snapping!

MONTHLY RECAP -- What I've Been Up To

March felt like a creative month -- lots of painting, designing, and drawing.  New projects started and work done on my re-creation project.  I do like my "starts" very much, but nothing actually finished this month.  Lots of photos taken & a 4-day trip to Denver.  Also, following the progress on my son's mural project in LA.




PRICKLY PEAR MOSAIC painting --

This is the bottom half of a painting, which (when finished) will go to the Sorrel Sky Gallery, here in Durango.  I plan on completing a total of two paintings in this "mosaic" series, which will both be hung at the gallery.  

I'm painting this on cradled Aquabord, so I won't need a frame, mat, or glass.  I decided to stain this with an oak finish, before starting to paint.

Then I drew some horizontal lines for reference, and a few swirled lines, from top to bottom.  I then did an underpainting, with a primary triad.

Using my own reference photos (most of them taken in my own backyard last June) -- I started my painting, working from "the ground up".  I design as I go, without much planning, and with minimal drawing before I start painting.

After finishing the bottom section, I sprayed it with a fixative, before moving to the next section.

I really enjoy working this way, and am liking how it's turning out . . .

to be continued . . . 

RE-CREATING THE "FIRE" PAINTING --

Work is coming along slowly, but it is coming along nicely, I think . . . 

Drawing the lines in Pearlescent liquid acrylic, using a quill pen . . . 

Now, it's time to paint in watercolor . . . 

It's tough to know whether I am getting the colors exactly right, but as long as it's close and looks good,  it will be fine . . . 

to be continued . . . 

FOLLOWING PROGRESS OF ZACH'S MURAL IN LONG BEACH --

One of my sons -- Zach -- is painting a big mural out in Long Beach, California.  He's doing all this with spray paint, on ladders . . . 

I was worried when I heard about the two earthquakes out in LA, because I knew Zach was working on those ladders.  Luckily, he was fine . . . as was the wall he was working on!

I think it looks amazing, but he says he's not quite finished.  I don't know how he did this without using a grid ???

SOME OF MY PHOTOS FROM MARCH --

"Kids, Grandkids, & Grandpups, Too!"

"Up In The Air"

"Go Green!"

"My Bedside Reading"

"Favorite Toys"

"Me & My Backyard"

The Creative Process?

I thought this was funny and true.  Is it true for you?

 - Mark Kielkucki

The trick is making it all the way to #6!

GETTING STARTED IN WATERCOLOR: Preparing to Paint

Before I paint the first strokes of color on my paper, I like to "prepare to paint".  It's sort of a ritual for me, and I do this at the beginning of a series of paintings, or before I start a portrait.  This ritual takes place AFTER I've planned the painting, or series; and usually after I've done the drawing and mounted my paper on a board.

I like to start with a clean palette, which is not this . . .

I wipe off the inside area of the palette, as well as all around the palette.  I also clean up the yellow wells, which have usually been contaminated with greens, blues, and reds.   

After I've cleaned up the palette, it is ready for some fresh paint . . . 

I gather all the tubes of paint that I have on hand, or have recently purchased, and line them up at the appropriate wells.  (You can see that I don't always have every color.)

Then, I squeeze each color into the well -- right on top of what is already there.  

I use a palette knife to spread and smooth out the paint . . . 

I continue this way, squeezing out and spreading the paint, working my way around the palette -- until I've used every tube that I had.  (I usually don't have to use the whole tube.)

It's kind of a messy process . . . 

To set up my "painting station", I choose the brushes that I think I will need, and have them handy.  I prepare a "pad" of paper towels, made up of about 10 pieces of paper towels, folded in half and stacked.  I put this just to the left of my palette and to the right of the paper/board.

I fill up a plastic container with water and fill up my mister with clean water . . . 

 . . . and, I'm ready to paint.  Just need to turn on my music . . .