Painted over ten years ago, this little still life really should have been painted on YUPO. The colors would be so exciting and vibrant. There's even some Indian corn in the studio ready to be captured in a painting so maybe tomorrow morning's class will have to watch another demo. 
Little children peddling bikes into the morning sunlight through the narrow passages in Venice made me wonder where they were going. The backpacks they wore meant they must be headed to school somewhere. And the scene meant it must be painted, too, when I got home.
The second photo shows how the painting looked as I demo-ed it in one of the Wednesday classes. They insisted I stop at that point, that it was completed, but when they left, they all knew I would have to add more to it before I called it completed. 
The original first draft is the really dark painting that's shown next, which was hurriedly done in the workshop and posted last month, too. I do love the warmth of the street in this one, though.
The last photo, my photo reference for this painting, was taken during those four glorious days in Venice. Lots has been left out and lots has been added. It was only a reference, an inspiration from that moment last year in Venice. In fact, in class, now I so often quote Alvaro's wise advice, "Don't let what you're looking at dictate what you paint." 
Yesterday's morning class began the time consuming technique of pouring a painting, using miskit to preserve the correct shapes between each layer of pouring. This first photo shows the final painting which has been adjusted considerably after all the pouring was done and the miskit removed. 
Both splattering paint and adding popcorn salt helped create subtle textures in a few areas, too.This next photo shows the painting as it looked after all the miskit was removed. It was easy to see that some major corrections had to be made. The lower left flower was misformed badly (cropping may help,) and the lower right one needed less value changes from the darks to the lights (adding color to the whites would help there.) 
The inside of the main flower needed to pop a whole lot more, and the warmth in the background was stifling and dull. I wished then that I had known to pour all cool colors for that last pour. Too late now - and I wasn't going to re-miskit the whole painting. Also, I felt the flowers needed a suggestion of a stem or two.
This photo shows some of the corrections. The center of the big flower still needs more pop, and the background simply must be cooled down, (which I did NOT want to do.) But it was robbing the sunflowers of impact because it was too warm. Cooling it down with Indanthrone, if painted on in a juicy - poured-like manner, would help give some relief and rest for the eye from all the heat.
Leaving some of the background showing as the stem for the lower right flower would help to anchor the flowers - see the top finished photo. Does it need another stem from the top flower to angle off to the left? 
The reference photo above seemed better flipped sideways. Minor adjustments were made for better positioning, etc. before the drawing was completed. Though I seldom paint flowers anymore, this was a good challenge.
"SASSY SISTERS" Transparent Watercolor on 140#CP Arches 20 x 17" COLLECTED
Some of the paintings from last month's YUPO workshop are here today! When theses artists brought their work in to share with the weekly classes, they gave me permission to take photos of them and share them with you on this blog.
Several of her YUPO paintings are also in the art show this week.
Leslie Spillane's "View Out of the Window" effectively takes advantage of what paint does so well on YUPO with the way those curtains are painted. The foliage outside the window creates a fascinating pattern with the fence and flowers.
Learning to paint watercolor portraits of young children is one of the many challenges of painting. In November, I'll be teaching a weekend workshop for people who want to learn how to better paint children's portraits. The dates are Nov. 14 and 15, a Saturday and Sunday, and it will be held in my teaching studio near Lawrenceburg, Indiana, close to Cincinnati, Ohio. 
paper available for sale at $4.75/22x30" sheet, plus tax. Many artists are likely to paint several portraits during the workshop, and all will go home with the expertise to pursue painting portraits on their own.
Each day of our Watercolor Society of Indiana workshop brought new challenges. On Thursday, Alvaro started his painting with a wide red sign that hung in front of a meat market. It was a stunning, HOT painting, so I tried to find something from my photos that could be adapted to his approach. 
Last week's workshop allowed very little painting time. Each day, Uruguay artist, Alvaro Castagnet, painted two demos while we watched, all the while wishing we would be able to paint with as much exuberance and liveliness as he did. 
The second painting posted here started off really good, but the composition didn't hold together. I'll recycle the paper by gesso-ing over the surface someday and then eventually create a new painting on the gesso-ed paper. There's a good chance, though, that I'll also redo this same subject soon, developing a better composition before picking up the brush again. 
Watercolor PURISTS would never ever use Chinese White watercolor paint in their paintings. Not ever. However, in Alvaro's workshop, we were encouraged to paint beautiful paintings, to not be conformed to 'rules' that would prevent us from succeeding. 
The Watercolor Society of Indiana sponsors several workshops a year, and last week Alvaro Castagnet taught for five days in Indianapolis. There were 24 of us taking the workshop, and although most of the time was spent indoors, Friday morning we sipped our Starbucks while watching Alvaro paint en plein aire on Monument Circle.
Some paintings sit in a drawer for a very long time before they're pitched. And some paintings get to be reinvented, like this one was. To show the YUPO workshoppers how to 'save' an old YUPO painting, I began by wiping off some of the old paint from the still life that was on this YUPO paper. Since it had been drawn on originally with pencil, I used a tissue dampened with rubbing alcohol to help lighten some of the graphite lines. Then I scribbled more graphite lines to diminish the importance of the remaining recognizable image and lightened them too with the alcohol.
Next, I added some scribbles of charcoal pencil, applied wet, so that it was intense, then painted over much of the existing watercolor, graphite, and charcoal mess with fluid acrylics. I purposely shaped an inner light area for containing the focus of the painting.
After drawing in the chickadee with a Derwent watercolor pencil, making sure to tie it into the background somewhere, I lifted out the shape of the bird from the existing paint and began painting her in with the fluid acrylics, using them like watercolor. Popcorn salt applied to the damp acrylics helped create a bit of fluff to the bird's feathers.
The strong darks on the bird were made with the wet charcoal pencil. Finally, some branches were suggested using a squeegee and paint. Twigs were sketched in using the charcoal pencil.
It's a small sized painting and took less than an hour to complete. Lots of fun, no risk, saved part of an old painting ..... thank goodness the demo worked. Life is too good!
"SURPRISE VISITOR" Transparent Watercolor, Fluid Acrylics, and Charcoal Pencil Medium on YUPO 12 x 9"
The first morning of this weekend's workshop, everyone stretched artistically as they experimented with various ways to manipulate paint on the slick YUPO paper. In the afternoon, they all watched me demo this painting on YUPO while incorporating as many of the techniques as possible.
Our YUPO workshop concluded today and really should have been a three day affair. The Fluid Acrylics and other supplies shown here are all that's left in the studio now that everyone's packed up and gone home. 
Tomorrow begins a new adventure. We're doing yet another weekend workshop in my teaching studio, but rather than bringing in a nationally known teacher this time, we are exploring YUPO with me as the guide. And I LOVE to teach about all the possibilities of creating art on the slick YUPO surface!This painting, on YUPO, was painted several years ago while I was on a week long painting holiday with three other artists. Maybe it should have been cropped at the far shoreline, eliminating the trees, shoreline, and sky???
There will be lots to post when our workshop is over Sunday evening. See you soon!
"TIDE'S OUT" Transparent Watercolor on YUPO 13 x 9" COLLECTED
Masking tape and paint, layered time and again, helped to create this painting which was also pulled out of my archives. While recovering from surgery, I'd planned to 'paint' more with masking tape, but the time went by too quickly, with other paintings tugging at my interest. 
This painting was created nearly fifteen years ago. This afternoon after class as I watched the hummers, chickadees, tufted titmice, and finches visit the feeders, I remembered this gold finch. He may be singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Bob, one of the best artists I know. Today's his birthday, and I hope it's been grand!
Commissions often require boundaries that can stifle creativity. . . boundaries like 'matching the couch' or looking 'exactly' like the photograph. Commissions can also put limits in my head, like 'they won't like that color' or 'this is too intense for their taste.' 
When I started painting in watercolor, we owned a landscaping business, so naturally painting plants became a high interest of mine. These delphiniums were one of my first commissions, from one of our landscape customers. 
This blog began as a record for my family, specifically our grandkids, of the awesome art journey I've traveled. It's become a teaching tool, a means to share and receive input from others, and a special way to 'meet' very special people. 
In 1991, a little over two years after signing up for beginning watercolor classes, I took a workshop near our hometown with Catherine Wilson Smith, from the Chicago area. The first day, she strongly emphasized the importance of value studies. . . 
Getting to paint with friends is such a treat, but this week I realized that rest had to come first. It's not been three weeks since surgery, and my body gets tired way faster than I expect.
Last week after washing off most of the paint from the YUPO surface of an old unfinished painting, I started a detailed painting of a Red Tailed Hawk that I'd taken pictures of over ten years ago. The background textures became part of the new painting. It needs to be cropped in more to balance the hawk and make him seem more powerful. What do you think?
I stayed safely on the deck outside the studio while Kathy and Rhonda devised their plan. Let me tell you, Rhonda's very good at breaking and entering. The fact that she's lost 15 pounds helped her slip effortlessly through the window. At the precise moment that she stepped into the studio, the lights came back on. We were happily painting five minutes later. 
Delphiniums must surely be one of the most exquisite flowers that God ever made. (I figure He created orchids after the delphiniums.) June made my day last week by sending a bouquet with many varieties of flowers, and this sprig will go back to her as a thank you. 
This is one of my much earlier YUPO paintings. In a couple of weeks, I'll be teaching a weekend workshop with YUPO, sharing many diverse techniques and processes that can be used when painting on this slick and wonderful surface.
Recovery from surgery has been wonderfully easy, in part because of good friends who are willing to take the time to come visit me - and stay and paint for several hours:-D Sunday, Marianne and I painted until dark, and this is the 'thank you card' I painted for her. She'd sent fresh flowers on Friday (am I getting spoiled?) and this is just a part of the bouquet. There are yellow daisies, white delphinium, honey dew/melon colored gladiolus, along with spectacular sunflowers. Had to be painted.
Today was a great day to paint ... and see the nurse and physical therapist, too. Painting with a good friend was the BEST part though. 
Home! It's good to be home, but the hospital stay went very well..... except for the bed pan part. Since my room had no paintings, I felt obligated to provide a little visual enhancement of the area yesterday afternoon - notice the toes with the lovely foot stocking wrap.
Bed pans have one very good purpose - to prompt patients to get out of bed in order to use the toilet. I'm a slow learner, but after the third bed pan, I decided that getting out of bed, no matter how much pain was involved, was the best way to go.
Today I walked the halls a couple of times, put my full weight on my new knee, and bent that precious knee to a 90 degree angle. Without that bed pan motivation, I might still be laying there.
The doctor did an excellent job, and I feel very blessed to be in such good shape only 56 hours after surgery. Time to paint! And maybe it's time to sell Jewish Hospital some paintings for their walls, too. If only I were motivated to market my stuff.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. MUCH appreciated.
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