FRIDAY RECAP OF MY WEEK -- What I Have Been Up To

Painted a few wet-in-wet underpaintings, for my faces.

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Taught a one-day Watercolor Landscape Workshop at my home, on Wednesday --

Eleven ladies were here for the morning session, when we painted this landscape with tree in the foreground.

Five women joined me for the evening session, and we painted this sunset landscape together.

We never quite got around to the last landscape I had planned. 

I guess that one will have to wait for another day --

WINSLOW HOMER -- (Random Thoughts for Thursday)

"The Sun will not rise, or set, without my notice and thanks."

                                                                          -- Winslow Homer

Winslow Homer quote, written on Pat Howard demo painting

Happy Birthday (tomorrow) to Winslow Homer (1836-1910), one of the great American artists, and considered the father of the American Watercolor Movement.

A self-taught Boston illustrator, Homer worked for "Harper's Weekly" during the Civil War.  The watercolors came rather late in his 50-year art career.  For over 30 years, his winters were devoted to oil painting, while summers were for outdoor life, and executing hundreds of watercolors.

When asked by a biographer to evaluate his own work, Homer replied, "You will see; in the future, I will live by my watercolors".

Fresh Air, 1878. Watercolor with opaque white highlights over charcoal on paper.  Signed and dated lower right: Winslow Homer/1878 (Dick S. Ramsay Fund)

TOP TEN TUESDAY -- My 10 Favorite Sketchbook Pages

Ten of my favorite pages from some of the sketchbooks I've kept over the years -- the oldest one in this list is from 1994. 

 In no particular order . . .

MONDAY MANDALA -- My Funny Valentine

At our Surprise Yourself  Creativity Retreat, 16 women collaborated on 12 different mandalas -- one for every month of the year.  Each mandala had a song theme and used different media.  The mandala for February was "My Funny Valentine", done in watercolor. 

Eight different artists worked on this one:  Connie Voss, Maggie Sauer, Kris Ryall, Pat Howard, Leslie Hawkins, Debbie Wyckoff, Barbara Bond, and Linda Greenberg.

Some of these women had never painted in watercolor before -- I thought they did a fabulous job!

SUNDAY FACES

The faces I drew this week, as part of my face-a-day project.  Clockwise from top left, HRH Prince of Wales, Brand New Shirt, Meet Julie, Spartacus, The Drop Earring, Pete Coors, and Marie de Sevigne.

BEHIND THE SCENES SATURDAY -- Photo Reference Collages for Watercolor Paintings

"Love, Durango-Style"

Using my photos, I make collages (left) -- not as finished art pieces -- but to use as reference tools for my watercolor paintings (right).

"Farmer's Market in Durango"

                           

I suppose I could do this on Photoshop, but I really like the process of cutting out parts of different photos, spreading them all out and moving them around, on the floor or table.

"Sunflowers at the Market"

"Saturday Morning at the Market"

"Flowers or Veggies?  Beets Me!"

This way, I can try out different color combinations and arrangements/compositions, before I glue it all together.  Then, I get started on my drawing and painting.  This all takes awhile, but it's enjoyable and well worth it.    

FRIDAY RECAP OF MY WEEK -- What I Have Been Up To

This week, I finished a portrait commission,

"Shirley's Girls"

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I also submitted one of my paintings for the USA Pro Cycling Challenge --

This race will begin in Durango this year, so I thought I would submit this painting that I had done for the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic.  I changed it just a bit, "erasing" the Iron Horse logo from the back of the one guy's jersey.  If they decide to use this painting for a poster, I'll have to pick up the actual painting from Sorrel Sky Gallery, unframe it, and actually change the painting -- not easy to do with a watercolor (but still possible!)