CHALLENGED

Working with YUPO and fluid acrylics last week at a workshop, I was challenged to stretch beyond my comfort zone. Our extraordinary workshop instructor, Sandi D'Allesandro, asked us to not only title our paintings BEFORE we started but also to determine the content of the message we wanted to convey.

Like most artists, nearly every painting I do begins with a new, self imposed challenge to help me push forward, but this direction was way out of my comfort zone. Whether it's good or bad, I seldom know or realize what I'm actually 'saying' until the painting is completed. That's one of the reasons I paint - to express myself. It's much easier for me to express myself with paint than get tangled up with words or with ideas that I can't verbalize. Though I so admire content-driven artists, it's not usually the direction I choose.
The future painting was to be called 'MARRIAGE' and its focus was the last 42 years spent with my honey. Apples and giraffes would certainly show up in the painting, but besides that, my only plan was to have fun and explore. The final painting, finished today, is the photo posted first. The next photo below shows the painting yesterday when it came really close to going in the trash. How ugly could I make it? The colors were nasty in places, and overall, there was no pattern of design to grab the eye. This next photo shows the piece as it was last Sunday at the end of the workshop, (when I thought it was completed.) After looking at it in the studio for several days, I realized that it had a long way to go before I'd want to look at it for any length of time. The last photo above shows just the beginning stages of the painting. Approaching work with this type of Chaos to Control offers such a wealth of learning experiences. When I began, I had a general idea of what would happen.... wrong!

The painting was a big struggle, but now I'm really enjoying it. And yes, it does speak to me a whole lot about marriage, in its design as well as in the effort it took to make everything work together in the painting. The bonus? My honey liked it, too! The new title is FORTY TWO 'n counting.... on heavy weight YUPO 26x20"

WORKSHOP EXCITEMENT Addition

May 1st - just in - Kathie Rice's finished painting has been added here, completing all the works from our workshop in April. Hers is posted at the end of this post and has some rice papers added to enhance it further. Check it out.

April 26 - It's so exciting to show the results of paintings created by the artists who were at the Watercolor Society of Indiana workshop two weeks ago. After the explanation of the process and my demo, each artist worked to create her own masterpiece, using bits and pieces of masking tape to 'save' shapes and values as she went. All the work seen here is transparent watercolor on paper. Realize that some tweaking will be done to several of these, since most of the photos were taken immediately after the tape had been removed, before adjustments could be made. My apologies to these artists if the color is not quite true.

By NORMA DAVIS - What an unique view up onto the deck, enhanced by strong values changes of sunlight and shadow and the poetic use of color. The textures are fantastic! This painting is a half sheet of paper - lots of taping and painting involved. Today I got a card in the mail from Norma with this on the front of it! Thank you so much.
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By LINDA BACHOFNER - How I wish you could see this in real life. There is such a powerful emotion in this sensitive painting. The subtle color and value changes make the viewer almost be able to hear the water lapping against the sides of the gondolas. Also on a half sheet of paper, created with Linda's favorite palette of colors. You have to agree that this shows the often painted Venice in a special new way.
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By JAN BROADDUS - This is an extraordinary painting with an immensely effective pattern of dark and light value shapes. The broken lines created by the paint leaking around the taped shapes add to the jazzy feeling of this old New Orleans sight. This painting has such a 'WOW' factor to it due to Jan's choices of colors and care with composition. It is stunning and on a full sheet of paper, too!
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By LEE PAPAI - Although created with such a limited palette, this painting evokes a strong response from the viewer. The warmth in the focal area (actually warmer than shown here) really pulls the viewer into the painting, and the incredible textures created by the batik/tape effect add exciting interest when seen up close. It seems as if we are peeking through some trees at an intimate moment. Shhhhhh. Don't scare the fish away! Also on a half sheet of paper, but done using the green frog painters' tape, possibly causing more leaking/batiking effect.


By JUDY GLORE - This painting involved many, many layers of tape and paint, and Judy made just a few adjustments to it before calling it completed. What an outstanding design of curved reflective lines against the man made structures by the canal! Painting 'water' with this taping technique is challenging, but this one works so well, and it's on a FULL sheet of hot press Arches. Congratulations, Judy!
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By BARB STARK - This, too, arrived in the mail today for critique. The glow around the potted plant and buildings captures the light of Italy so well, and the illusion of a figure in the lower part of the painting adds interest, also. When the foreground wall is darkened, the painting will have even more depth. And what a beautiful use of warm and cool temperatures to move our eye through the picture. Also on a half sheet.
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By MARCIA RELLER -This has to be the most layers of tape and paint ever done with this process - 9 layers! - but well worth it for the dynamic effects Marcia achieved. She still plans to make several adjustments to the painting. The depth and intrigue of colors and textures behind the organic shapes of the flowers and leaves on this painting have resulted in an eye catching painting. And it's also a FULL sheet of paper. Can't wait to see the final results.
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LINDA MEYER-WRIGHT - This journey through a wooded wonderland may be complete at this point... a bit playful, yet mysterious, with an abstract quality that Linda does so well. The batik-look adds just the right amount of texture to this colorful painting. Some of us at the workshop wondered if that maybe Hansel and Gretel had been there??? Also a half sheet of paper.

By ARLENE WHEELER - Capturing emotion is one of the requirements for a good painting, and I laughed out loud when I saw this delightful creature. The structural straight lines certainly make a perfect contrast for the voluptuous, rounded shapes on the pig. It's great to have so much fun with art. Even the color choices here are playfully fun. This is nearly a half sheet. also.
By SUSAN PORTER - This is another one that I wish you could see in real life. The poppies seem strongly illuminated from behind, and the background textures look like a rich tapestry. Slightly abstracted, the painting certainly captures the sense of a garden full of bloom. On a half sheet of paper, too. Most of these took about three full days of work to complete.
KATHIE RICE's own koi pond was the inspiration for this painting. She's also collaged in some rice papers to add to the illusion of water on this large painting - a full sheet of Arches. The intensity of the colors certainly adds a summertime feeling to this vibrant, whimsical painting. Thanks for sending it, Kathie.

Feel free to leave a comment for these artists. The work they did in just four days was terrific!

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Here's another partially finished painting, an abstract, by JUDY GLORE. Many of the artists worked on a chaos-to-control type painting also, using the tape as a resist between layers of paint.

WSI is offering 3 more workshops this year at the same facility I taught at, near Castleton, on the north east side of Indianapolis. The Birgit O'Connor workshop has a waiting list, and Mary Ann Beckwith will be teaching there on July 13-16, with George James teaching a YUPO workshop starting September 21. Having previously taken workshops from both of them, I HIGHLY recommend Mary Ann Beckwith if you want to stretch your creativity and would very strongly recommend George James if you want to learn new approaches to design and composition while exploring some exciting, new surfaces to paint on. Happy painting.

DEMO FOR WORKSHOP

Our "TAPING" batik workshop in Indianapolis last week resulted in some exciting and dynamic artwork. For four days, artists cut and tore small pieces of masking tape to create their own exquisite masterpieces. I was very impressed with the paintings they painted, and surprisingly, there was hardly ever any whining for such a tedious technique. We had a really great group of artists at the workshop.

This painting shows my workshop demo with all the tape removed and adjustments made. The dark batik-like textures were created when the paint leaked between pieces of torn or cut tape. The reference photo is also posted here.

Soon I'll post some of the workshoppers' masterpieces. EYE CANDY TIME:-) Off to another workshop later this week..... Life is so good!

"POPPING WITH COLOR" Transparent Watercolor on 140#HP Arches, 19 x 15" COLLECTED

CHARLOTTE'S KITCHEN

Back to an oldie... painted many years ago and inspired by the intrigue of glass and reflections. Yesterday my camera was mistakenly left behind as I headed home from my week of grandchildren-sitting/spoiling, so there will be no new paintings on my blog this week. Or next week.

During the week of April 12th, look for updates of the workshop being held in Indianapolis, by the Watercolor Society of Indiana. By then my camera will be back, and the events of each day, including some of my demos, will be posted. We will be exploring the exquisite possibilities of creating paintings using masking tape and watercolor! There's still time to sign up - see the right hand side bar for details.

Check out the May 1st and 2nd YUPO with FLUID ACRYLICS Workshop to be held at my studio, also taught by me. Would love to see you there if you can join us! It will be full of color, texture, and great creative possibilities as we use the acrylics on YUPO.

Be back in two weeks. Until then, happy painting.

"CHARLOTTE'S KITCHEN" Transparent Watercolor on 140#CP Arches, 11 x 17" Collected

FIRST GRADES!

Painting with First Graders should be a requirement for any adult wanting to learn to paint better. Yesterday I was the 'visiting artist' in three First Grade rooms where our triplet grandchildren go to school.

After giving a short demo of a cardinal on a Redbud branch, helpers passed out the supplies so that everyone could paint. What an amazing group of children! And very well behaved, too.

How fascinating it was to watch as each child carefully considered what to paint. They followed directions so well about making puddles of color, and many noticed, excitedly, the accidental color combinations that occurred in their palettes.

With only an hour to paint in each room, the time flew by. The first photo shows one of the galleries of art that they created.

This age group seems so spontaneous with the brush as well as being so trusting that the painting will be beautiful. It was a delight to be with each class.

They used palettes I'd ordered from Viking Woodcrafts in Minnesota, along with Da Vinci watercolor paints to paint on a fourth sheet of 90# Fabriano artistico paper. Every round and flat brush from my studio had been gathered up for this venture, along with water containers, small sponges, and a broken credit card (for making lines, branches, grasses, stems, etc.) They were well equipped to paint with professional supplies.

Some of the masterpieces will be displayed today in the cafeteria hallway so that the whole school can see them. Most wanted to take their paintings home with them right away, but I'm glad that others will get to appreciate their artwork, too.

Years ago, I was an elementary art teacher and have always loved seeing artwork created by children. Next month when our grandchildren visit our house, we will have an art show in the studio of their work created in the past year - wish you could all attend. Refreshments will undoubtedly include Easter candy.

Tonight we'll be painting here at their house with some of their friends. After last night's gorgeous sunset, they want to know how to paint beautiful sunsets. It will prove to be a very busy evening for me, I'm sure.

It's been an incredibly busy week, mostly spent taking care of four special children, doing lots of laundry, and fixing meals. The painting time was a bonus for sure!

On Monday, our Daughter-in-Law's Fourth Grade Class will be painting with me. Then I'm ready to head back home.

THIRD GRADE

This week has been full of many activities, including time to create special art. Our older grandson's third grade class invited me to his school to share a watercolor lesson with them on Monday.

My demo for his class included a bed of pink and red tulips with a lost baseball tucked between the flowers. They watched attentively, and then it was time to create their own, one-of-a-kind masterpieces.

They loved knowing how to mix colors to make brown and black, and many were quite pleased with their finished paintings. I'd provided the paint palettes filled with primary and secondary colors, as well as the paper and brushes. It was obvious that their imaginations were going strong as they painted.

After painting, the students watched the huge SMART BOARD. (This was the first time I had seen a Smart Board.) Brant's teacher brought up my blog on her computer then the images were enlarged on the Smart Board for the whole class to see.

They enjoyed looking at my paintings on my blog and asked questions about making art. One question, "What is the hardest thing you've ever painted?" was difficult to answer. I explained that for me it was hardest to paint faces that look exactly like the person I am painting. Later I realized that the hardest painting to do was the one of all four of our grandchildren reading a book together. Click here to see that painting.

Yesterday, Brant brought home a huge stack of well composed THANK YOU letters from his class. Several third graders wrote that they would draw and paint a lot now, and many students suggested that I should keep on painting for all my life. I'm going to take that advice for sure. They were so appreciative, and when I get back home, the letters will be displayed in my studio for artists there to enjoy, too.

Thank you, Mrs. Council, for letting me teach about watercolor to your inspiring students. You have so many very good artists in your room!

Tomorrow three First Grade rooms will be learning more about watercolor. What a busy week!

FINISHED GRATE PAINTING

This is my third GRATE painting. The first one, done nearly 10 years ago, was about 5 x 7 inches, the next 20 x 26 inches, with this one being 26 by 40 inches. It's been a while since I've had so much fun while painting a picture.

The whole process, from dodging traffic while taking photos of the man hole covers and grates - to the preparation and design - to the actual wonderful painting time, has been both challenging and exciting to do. Traffic actually stopped a couple of times on that cold rainy Sunday afternoon while I stood in the center turn lane taking photos of some really great grates. The cars could have gone around us, but the drivers were so polite and careful to wait for me. At another location, a man circled around to ask if we needed help. When we told him we were taking pictures for art, he moved on. Crazy artists! Thanks, Betsy, for driving, for stopping, for joining in on the fun.

Grates have fascinated me since childhood, when I was afraid to walk on them. I love the lines and edges, the lettering, the strength they have, and especially the patterns and textures that the paint and rust make. Some are really works of art in themselves. Now anywhere there's been a neat one underfoot, a photo is a must. In my studio you can find quite a photo collection of amazing grates.

One of my self imposed challenges for this painting was to create a design with circular shapes that allowed eye movement from shape to shape. Squares, equilateral triangles, and circles are predictable shapes that usually capture the viewer's eye, to the point of stopping eye movement in the painting completely. Using both value changes and color contrasts helped to create a flow throughout the painting.

The second challenge was to paint a more curvaceous painting. When painting, I always seem to prefer straight edges over curves, so doing the reverse could help me stretch a little. Somehow the challenges helped me stay directed.

I'm super pleased with the results. Sounds like a 'pat on the back,' but it's not. It just makes me very happy with how the painting turned out, and I really enjoy looking at it. It's almost as if it appeared on the paper magically, and I had little to do with it. (That's not true, of course, since there are more than 50 hours of work (play) in its actual creation.) Check the previous post on this blog for the work in progress of this grate painting. You'll see that several changes were made from that post to this finished piece.

Don't you LOVE textures? They are so incredibly inspiring and tantalizing. Artists HAVE to paint them, don't we? Since this is Fluid Acrylics on YUPO, creating amazing textures was just way too much fun. At first, my focus was on developing a good composition, then the textures were a blast to add after that was worked out.

It's been said that texture is the 'icing on the cake.' If the painting's a good one, people will want to get closer, then be surprised by the textures and details. If the painting has a weak composition, they may pass by it too quickly, and even the most wonderful textures in the world won't make them stop and look.

I really hated for this painting to be done. And the title is still undecided. GRATE JUNK - GRATE EXPECTATIONS - ROAD TRIP - UNDERFOOT - AMAZING GRATES - ETERNALLY GRATE FULL - TREAD ON ME - HITTING THE PAVEMENT...............

Here are photos of my other two grate paintings. The 'close up' grate is Watercolor on YUPO, and the Italian Grates are Fluid Acrylics on YUPO, completed about two years ago. Now for the next one!!!!!!!

GRATE ADVENTURE

This post is the beginning of the last three weeks' adventure in painting and shows the progress of my painting process for this GRATE painting. So many times I've said that planning takes almost 75% of the time I spend on a picture. I thought that would be true this time, too, since it took over 12 hours to take the pix and develop the overall plan. But the painting time also took MUCH longer before this one was done.

After taking photos of my subject, I cut them up and montaged them onto a board to get an idea of the effectiveness of the future pattern of lights and darks. No matter how unique or fascinating a subject is, unless the light and dark values make an eye capturing pattern, it's unlikely the viewer will want to walk up to the painting. The first black and white photo of the above montage shows a weak pattern, so adjustments were made with pen and ink and a white marker - see the second black and white. Some shapes were moved slightly and some eliminated.

Next the drawing was transferred with a regular Derwent watercolor pencil onto a full sheet of heavy weight YUPO paper, and gray Pebeo miskit was painted into a few important white shapes. Then I liberally applied a colorful wash over the whole paper, as seen here, using FLUID ACRYLICS like regular watercolors. Color choices were determined by the future colors in the painting but applied in a very random manner. No attempt was made to 'color' in the lines. Creating accidental textures and wonderful color nuances seemed most important to me at this point.

Once the basic wash dried, I attempted to define specific shapes as seen in the progression of the next three photos. The last photo here indicates the painting less than half finished. There's more to come in the next post which will show the final GRATE painting.

This photo shows the fancier grate redone. In the photo above, it has a tired, overworked look, so all of the paint had to be removed, (YEAH for YUPO) then the drawing redrawn before the grate was repainted.

Thinking of a title has been fun because of the possibilities of interchanging GRATE and GREAT. Initially it was to be titled, "OVERLOOKED & UNDERFOOT." What are your suggestions?

CELEBRATE

This week has brought a wonderful change of weather. CELEBRATE! Leaves of flowers are finally popping up, and hope is in the air for winter to be about over.

These harbingers of spring were painted several years ago as a class demo. The whole paper was wet before the paint was loosely and liberally applied, then the little catkin shapes of the pussy willow were lifted off before the paper began to dry. A touch of pale pink was tapped into a few of the damp fuzzy shapes, at that point. Carefully adding just a bit of popcorn salt to some of the tips of the light shapes added a different texture, too.

Once the paper was dry, the stems and calyxes were added. One edge of the stems was lifted to give a sense of dimension. Makes a nice card to send to friends. 'Happy Spring' to all blogger friends north of the equator. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you today, Suzanne!

"HOPE FOR SPRING" Transparent Watercolor on 140# Arches, 5 x 7"

REVISIONS

Yesterday my copy of Between Two Kingdoms arrived. The author, Storyteller Joe Boyd, has blogged about how many revisions he made to his book and how it felt like he was sending his child off to college once it was finished. Probably many artists from many genre are this way about their creative work. I certainly am with specific paintings and really regret with having parted with a few of them.

This painting from last summer went through several revisions itself. It began as a watercolor batik on rice paper but is now a mixed media painting on rice paper, mounted on a wrapped canvas. It, along with a couple of other paintings, left home this week for an art show that opens this Friday in Oakley at The Red Tree Gallery, east of downtown Cincinnati.

Some may prefer the original look of the painting - see first draft posted below - but it's long gone - now covered with more watercolor, fluid acrylics, caran d'ache crayons, and some ink. The original dark border was so inhibiting, and the pattern of lights and darks in the original was too weak to capture the eye. The arch on the right appeared too dominant, and the beautiful stone wall by the steps seemed like a fussy soldier, nearly forbidding entrance up the steps.

Those were my thoughts when I began to play with the adjustments. It also seemed to need something personal in it, too, something alive other than plants. Now there's a fairly obscure woman looking out of one of the windows. Putting someone walking up the steps seemed like the obvious thing to do and too predictable, too. A cat might have been nice somewhere perched on a step???

Sacrifices of some of the good parts of a work of art are often necessary to make the whole piece pull together. That's what happened here. No longer is this so obviously a watercolor batik, but hopefully, the painting is stronger. While I totally loved the glow in the original,- shown here to the left with the dark border - the impact of the revised painting above tells the story so much better of the ancient buildings and passages in a charming village on Lake Como.

If you are interested in seeing the original with its initial revisions done this past July click HERE. Have a great week!

"COMO COUNTRY" Transparent Watercolor and Hot Wax on Kinwashi, with Sumi Ink, Fluid Acrylics, Caran d'Ache Crayons, mounted on Wrapped Canvas 18 x 24"

CALLING IT QUITS

We win some and we loose some, but when working on YUPO, there are more options to try before we have to call it "Quits." This first photo shows the results of my demo this past Wednesday for the Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society.

My focus was to explain the importance of patterns of darks and lights as well as demonstrate many of the possibilities of applying Fluid Acrylic paint to YUPO. We all had a good time, and a dozen or so stayed after the demo for a two hour mini workshop to experiment with using the Fluid Acrylics on the YUPO.

The next morning, with brush in hand, as well as a squeegee, I worked on the demo painting. At one point, it seemed like a good idea to switch the painting to a fall foliage atmosphere, as you can see here in the second photo. (The 'cool' strip on the right hand side was mostly warm but photographed cooler for some reason.)

Adding the distant tress caused the painting to look way overworked and much too haphazard and busy. They were added to help balance the busy-ness of the foreground grasses. Bad idea. And the colors look too much like the 'avocado' olive greens and 'harvest gold' oranges of the late 60's.

Alcohol to the rescue! No, not to drink, but to remove the mess on the YUPO paper. Again, the bluish cast is not accurate, but it's now very white from one side to the other where the paint was lifted.

Working on YUPO offers SO MANY options when working with the Fluid Acrylics. Mistakes can easily be corrected, lifted, covered, etc. The textures and edges that result when lifting the paint with alcohol lend a wonderful surprise to the surface too.

This is where the painting is now...but maybe it'll change again. The colors are still warm dominance, as planned, but the season seems more springlike. Possibly some of the grasses could have purple or white Japanese iris blooms atop them in hopes of adding more to the springtime atmosphere???

The journey to create is so much fun, so fulfilling and exciting, that even when the results aren't nearly as special as expected, it's still all totally worth it. Some paintings, maybe this one, need to be in the "CALLING IT QUITS" drawer, but they serve as experience for the next possible masterpiece.....hopefully:-)

"SPRINGTIME CHANGES THINGS" Fluid Acrylics and Caran d'Ache Crayons on Medium Weight YUPO 26 x 20"

SKETCHED AND READY TO PAINT

Tomorrow morning brings me the special opportunity of painting a demo for the Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society. I'll be presenting many of the possibilities of how to create watercolor-looking paintings using Fluid Acrylics on Yupo.

This 20x26" sketch on medium weight YUPO has nearly turned into a very large value study but shows my subject matter for the morning. The drawing and values have been done with a regular DERWENT watercolor pencil to help the artists see how the painting's pattern will be established with lights, mediums, and darks.

The pencil was a light gray blue color (though the color didn't photograph right,) and my intent was to show 4 to 5 values throughout the painting, using the w/c pencil. All I'll have to do is fill in the appropriate areas with colors of the right values with fluid acrylics. The watercolor pencil will almost completely dissolve when brushed over twice with paint, but if some remains, it could add textural interest to the painting. We'll see...

In the afternoon after critiques, everyone who stays will be experimenting with the fluid acrylics on YUPO using lots of fun tools. YUPO and fluid acrylics are presently my favorites for creating paintings.

There are two large 26x40" YUPO/Fluid Acrylic paintings in progress in my studio right now, which is unusual for me. Normally I must finish one painting before ever starting another. However, for some reason (unknown to me,) I have 9 different paintings, all works in progress, laying around in the studio. How did that happen? It actually seems like a lot of fun to have so many possibilities to choose from each day. And it's sure keeping me busy and, somehow, staying focused hasn't been a bit of a problem!

Sunday while I was painting, we enjoyed the treat of seeing some wonderful feathered visitors up close. Betsy, Marianne, and I saw not just one, but THREE pileated woodpeckers outside the studio on or perched near the suet feeders at the same time. Incredible for such a shy bird! They are marked so beautifully, and they are SO big. It looked like Mama. Papa, and Baby... though baby was nearly as big as Mama. Wish everyone could have seen them.

Watch for the finished painting soon, along with the other nine eventually, I hope.

ANOTHER TWENTY MINUTES

Here's another '20 minute' challenge painting, showing the finished painting, along with the actual scene in front of me, as well as how my painting area was set up. The apple by my painting supplies is my timer. Before Setting the timer for 20 minutes, I make sure that everything is ready to go and that I am focused and intent on the subject at hand.

The paper was a 5x7" piece of Strathmore Aquarius II that had previously been 'textured' using another process. The existing textures seemed to lend themselves to a snowy scene, but there was no pure white left on the 5x7" paper. Therefore, some white watercolor paint was touched into some snowy areas to help push the contrasts of values a bit. Using it in several small places helped it look like it was meant to be and not just a correction.

My inspiration was the effect of warm golden brown leaves hanging on the oak tree, surrounded by the cold of a February winter day. After finishing it, my thoughts were that just the tree and a couple of birds would have made a much more interesting painting. It's such a challenge to leave out what's not important. Seems like whatever we see, we often feel the need to put in the painting. A wise person said --- don't let what you see dictate what you paint! Great advice.

SLICK

In 'pre-YUPO' days, the unique surfaces available to paint on were either gessoed watercolor paper or watercolor paper coated with gloss medium. Aquacanvas, Aquaboard, and Clayboard for Watercolor hadn't arrived yet, and YUPO, then called Kimdura paper, was just beginning to emerge in the art world as a surface to explore.

This watercolor painting was created over layers of gloss medium. First, the polymer gloss medium was applied in two or three coats to create a slick, smooth finish, and each coat had to dry before the next one was applied.

The very week that I painted this picture was the same week someone handed me a small sheet of YUPO, back in 1997. It took two years for me to find my way on that slick YUPO surface, even more slick than the gloss medium surface. I nearly hated the crazy things that happened with the paint on YUPO then, but I refused to give up. Finally, a few breakthroughs encouraged me to keep painting on the YUPO. How I love it now! The possibilities are limitless of what can be created on this incredible surface.

Next Wednesday, I'll be giving a YUPO demo at the Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society meeting in Mt. Adams. We'll also have a class afterwards so that artists can further explore how to handle this surface. This time the demo will be with Fluid Acrylics, applied like watercolor. Hope to see you there if you live in the area.

Here's the painting reversed, to make a point of how our eye normally prefers to enter a picture from the left. Here the waterfalls is, in our minds, falling down (into the lower left hand corner,) and it seems that it's hard to go up against the flow to enter the painting at the lower left. What do you think? Is there better eye movement throughout the painting with the falls in the lower left or the lower right?

"OREGON" Transparent Watercolor on 140# Hot Pressed Arches precoated with Gloss Medium, 30 x 22"

WISHES

All of us here in the Ohio River Valley have a zillion photos now of our record snowfalls. One snowfall was beautiful, the second one was gorgeous, the third was enough but they kept falling, almost daily. This lovely hula snow honey greeted all the artists yesterday who made it to classes. It's wishful thinking that it could be warm enough to wear flip flops.

It's supposed to snow Saturday so I'm heading north, out of here. There's a Watercolor Society of Indiana meeting on Sunday in Indianapolis with artist Rena Bouwer painting to live music provided by guitarist Joe Peters. Before that, I get to do some serious 'Grandmothering.' I'm packing lots of paint and paper for them to use up when I'm at their house.

Yesterday Dawn let me know how wonderful the weather is in her neck of the woods --- in the mountains. SIXTY DEGREES!!! Makes me think about moving, but I do love it here.

Have a great weekend, and I promise - no more snow pictures. Thinking spring:-) By the way, the hula snow honey has a REAL belly BUTTON, but it didn't show up in the photo since it was white, too.