I recklessly painted the right hand side of this piece, then set it aside for several months. After deciding it was worth pursuing, I tried to capture that same reckless abandon as I worked on the other two thirds of the painting. Of course, as soon as you try, on purpose, to paint recklessly, you become immensely aware of each movement, therefore not painting recklessly. 
Painted several years ago, this YUPO painting shows the patriotic leanings of a business owner in our town. Soon after 9/11, he had one of his semi cabs painted to resemble a waving flag, and it gets a lot of attention. After capturing the truck on film (in the days before I had a digital camera,) I knew I wanted to paint it. 
Here I go again. Same picture but I think a much better composition than the demo I did last Friday night - see January 12th post. 
that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!
new design composition, and a new mother color. 
Lasts night's demo went okay. It was a lot of fun to do, but there were some tense moments when I wondered how I was going to pull it off. You can see all the supplies I used, including a small bottle of rubbing alcohol to clean the surface of the YUPO right before I painted. The 3" and 4" Jack Richeson brushes are brand new (part of a prize I received at the Watercolor Society of Indiana art show:-) It was great to have some good sized brushes to work with on the full sheet of YUPO - 40 x 26." 
I'm posting older paintings right now including some of the first YUPO paintings I tried. Anything with bright colors seemed a natural for YUPO, and the fish theme worked very well.
This was actually painted 'on location,' while I was sitting on a ridge above a lake on a summer day. Our neighbors' cottage had old concrete front steps with a neglected geranium growing beside them. I'd only been painting in watercolor a couple of years and wanted to give plein aire a try.
It's fun - and sometimes appalling, too - when you look back at old work you've done. The next several posts will be earlier works which I liked when I did them. Now I see changes, VAST CHANGES, that would improve each painting. I remember one instructor wisely saying that an artist's work should always be changing. To paint what we're good at may be comfortable, but to push ahead and discover new ways to paint and express ourselves is absolutely crucial for a thriving artistic journey.
Painting on the slick YUPO surface challenged me for several years, then I quit painting on it altogether, wanting other challenges. Much later, I did a class demo on YUPO. WOW! I'd forgotten the joy, the excitement, and spontaneity that painting on YUPO gives me. Now I'm challenging myself in other ways on YUPO, other than just knowing how to control the paint. Pushing ahead ..... how are you pushing the edges of your artistic journey?
Each new year, I select what I think is my weakest area in art, then focus on improving it. This year I chose 'expressing specific concepts' in my paintings. (I'd written 'conceptual art' earlier but changed the wording to more accurately define where I want to go - see comments below.) I'm hoping to rely on the versatility of YUPO to help me pursue the concepts that I want to convey in my art.
"BOY, OH BUOY!" Transparent Watercolor on YUPO 17 x 12"
This is an older painting that I really liked a lot and didn't ever want to sell. Soon after I'd painted it, a local art group I'd joined had a show, so I put this in the show with a high enough price on it to 'keep' it. Wrong. It's a weird feeling to appreciate the nice check you get for a painting yet wish you could get the painting back instead. The great people who purchased it love the painting very much, and they've said I can come visit it if I want.
Eagles are incredibly majestic. The first ones we saw in Alaska took our breath away, but in a matter of a couple of days, we'd say, "Oh, that's just another eagle." Same for the puffins we saw. We never saw enough otters or whales to feel that way about them.
While Marianne and I kayaked across an Alaskan bay with our guide, Howie, we watched as a silver gray seal followed our kayak for a long, long time, keeping about twenty feet between him and us. An otter swimming near us maintained a much wider berth and turned to always keep his feet pointed at us. Being outdoors, seeing wildlife, being an artist .... it all goes together for me.
"EAGLE EYE" Transparent Watercolor on 140# CP Arches, 14 x 11" SOLD
Next week I'm to paint a demo for the Cincinnati Art Club. It's one of the oldest art clubs in America, and the dinner meeting will be well attended. 
When I paint on YUPO, I feel like I'm having a party. The ''''rules''''' of watercolor, which can be so daunting, are no longer in effect on YUPO. It's all play and fascination watching the paint as it moves in its peculiar ways on the slick surface, and I'm always intrigued by what happens without my help. 
A blank canvas or piece of paper affects artists in different ways, even causing some to say that it paralyzes them. But I always feel excited when that blank piece of paper is before me, waiting on that first brushful of paint to liven it (and me) up. 
Thank you, Barb, for 'seeing.'"FOREVER FREE" Transparent Watercolor and Gouache on 140# Hot Pressed Arches, 54 x 22" SOLD (giglee prints available)
Until I saw an actual live Bird of Paradise flower blooming in Maui, I had no idea why people thought they were so neat. WHEW! The striking vibrant colors and unique flower structure are breathtaking for sure. Any time a watercolor painting calls for vibrant color, I consider YUPO paper first. 
What a treat to welcome in another new year. Last night was spent painting a still life (with lots of people watching) until midnight, finishing it after the new year arrived, then soaking in my brother's hot tub with a wonderful view of fireworks and stars over the city of Austin, Texas. It was a great evening. Today will be art lessons, probably capped off by another hour or so in the hot tub tonight.
This painting started out with an overall wash on white gessoed paper, creating a medium to medium light value of randomly placed colors over the whole sheet. After the paint dried, I lightly sketched in the subject matter, then lifted off the lighter areas. Darks were added as needed, but almost half of the painting remained untouched, leaving the original color wash in place. Painting on both YUPO and gessoed paper is like making new year's resolutions. If you don't like how it's going (the past year,) you can wipe it off and start fresh (like our new year's resolutions.) May all your resolutions for the new year result in positive, creative growth in your life!
"AHOY" Transparent Watercolor on Arches 140# CP covered with gesso, 14 x 21"
It's hard to know how much to say in a painting, and it's so easy for me to overdo it. But this painting seems unfinished, possibly needing a little more detail or color, but where?
The four grandkids are back with their parents, and we are digging out our house. All had a very good time and even went to a special luncheon at Don and Ritzie's house yesterday. Ritzie's an artist, too, and loves children, plus, she's an awesome chef, gardener, and also plays the piano. So much talent in one person always amazes me. 
This painting's from a dozen or so years ago, and working from a live model is still one of my favorite things to do. The collector who had purchased this asked several years later if I'd take it back in trade for another painting, since he was re-doing the room it was in. What do you say? Are you offended? Is art (if this is art) so expendable? Would you make the trade? Are we just decorating houses? Matching sofas? Maybe it's just that I consider paintings to be 'too' special. I don't know....... Paintings from friends or ones that I have purchased, even if I have no place to display them, cannot be discarded, at least not by me. It seems they are a part of the artist, a part of their very soul. I even keep the hand painted cards I receive.
On another note, I can easily pitch out my own paintings when they are pathetic. An Ohio artist, Judy Anderson, (who recently spoke at our Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society meeting) calls them 'barkers,' aka dogs! Pretty accurate. Once my sister rummaged through my trash can and retreived some of those dogs, framed them, and I still see them them hanging around her place, even though I've supplied her with better work. I know --- one man's trash is another's treasure.
"MONA LISA SMILE" Transparent Watercolor on 140# Arches CP 22 x 30" SOLD
Color can be a blast when you take liberties with it. Black never has to be 'black,' instead rich magenta and vibrant turquoise and deep burnt orange. 
This painting of our four grandkids was created from a couple of photos taken this summer. Actually, I took well over 100 photos before this one spontaneously happened during suppertime. 
Holidays, family, home, gifts, kids. Everyone has memories of holidays, and everyone makes memories during holidays. Today two of our grandkids helped Grandpa make cookies and helped me make lasagna. They loved those big noodles and spreading out each layer in the casserole dish. This year will be very special for us since we'll be at our son and daughter-in-law's home for Christmas morning. Watching four young children enjoy the magic of Christmas can hardly be beat. I've been making puppets of the whole family, including the pets, and our younger son bought a great puppet stage. Let the productions begin!
This painting on YUPO could be about a woman preparing for the holidays....or just going through the daily routine of life. The painting speaks to me about family, somehow, and home. I really got a new slant on what home really is - or isn't - when I read 'Same Kind of Different as Me.'
Enjoy the memories you make. ENJOY and relish the moment!
"JOURNEY HOME" Transparent Watercolor on YUPO 25 x 19" SOLD
Covering the whole wet paper with color BEFORE defining the iris was the most exhilarating part of the painting. Seeing those rich colors flow into each other and create mystery enticed me to leave it alone and not lift anything.Once I did start lifting out the petals, the swirl of the brush took on a life of its own. Rhonda painted jelly fish using this technique (see sidebar for her watercolor blog) and, I think I may have to try to paint them, too.
The class had a great day and a good Christmas party. Each of my classes has a personality of its own, and Tuesday morning class is a blend of people much like the picture above, certainly full of surprises, humor, and beauty. I look forward to Tuesdays.
"LUCKY LADY" Transparent Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico 140# 22 x 15"
Once in a while, a special friend and I get together to paint. I drag my array of supplies to her studio, and we drench ourselves in making art from day break til late in the evening. 
These pointsettias were not painted, but rather lifted out of the paint, a la Cheng Khee Chee's method with his saturated wet technique. It's certainly one of the most difficult techniques to pull off as far as I'm concerned. 
Painted en plein aire, aka 'on location,' forced there by one of my classes .... and painted on YUPO. WHAT was I thinking - or not thinking? 
Visiting northern Italy caused my love of textured surfaces to go absolutely bonkers. The walls, the rocks, the stones, the streets, the roofs, the shutters, the doors, the windows, the boats ....... incredible textures everywhere. I was on overload trying to absorb it all and record it on my camera. I would have crawled inside one of those walls and become part of the texture if I could have.
Birch trees were always one of the most asked for trees during the twenty plus years that we owned our nursery business. Painting them is certainly easier than growing them. 
It's refreshing sometimes to not plan a thing, just paint a picture on impulse. After I made a rough sketch, with more consideration given to the shapes that were sunlit, I painted this quickly. Some paintings really take a long time to complete, but not this one. I like how immediate it feels to me, not fussed with or overworked....my downfall, usually.
It's amazing how many times I've taken steps to close my world in instead of exploring the possibilities that are before me. This painting has something to do with that idea. 
The shadows and sunlight seemed to be playing hide and seek in the curtains and shutters of this old restored house. I wonder if the old quilt is homebase??? The stories they could tell ... and that's what I often hope a painting hints at.
A good friend gave me a really great giraffe gift yesterday that delighted me. I've loved giraffes since my early teens, when one was born on my birthday at the Brookfield Zoo and named 'Sandy.' We even have a giraffe-themed bathroom that the grandkids use.
It seems we all travel highways that are constantly being repaired. Late one afternoon, the cast shadows under the van in front of me, along with the ones created by the familiar orange barrels, made the best patterns and shapes, ones I had to paint. 
Windows and doors fascinate many artists for some reason. I really liked this old, old house with its ancient windows. I think George Washington even slept here! 
This is one of my earliest YUPO's done with a loosey-juicy treatment, and the rug almost looks like it's the thing that's rocking the chair. When I look at the painting, I notice the lack of accomplished skill and technique, and yet, there's a strength of emotions that speaks to me. 
painted and the miskit removed, I spritzed some diluted yellow-green paint over those sharp leaf shapes to help soften the harshness of the miskit, then jiggled the piece of YUPO to try to loosen the edges of paint a little. The leaves could have been lifted out with a moist brush, but miskit helped create crisper edges. 
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