"Snuggling Sisters" watercolor

"Snuggling Sisters" watercolor in progress

Although there might not seem like much of a difference between the two paintings, the critic within relaxes. I’ve heard famous artists say there is always something different you would do in a painting, but when it is finished, just go on to the next one. So I’ve already started Painting Facebook Photos #9!

Thank you so much for your kind, encouraging comments!

"Snuggling Sisters" 10.75" x 10.75", watercolor

Who could resist those precious faces and that hair? The mother of these girls told me they are always snuggling and love each other to pieces.

This painting has been going through what I call the “adolescent stage”. In case the term isn’t enough of a visual, I’ll explain. Most paintings have a beginning, a middle and an end, similar to a song or an outline for a book. In the beginning, I use large brushes, lots of water and relatively little paint. In the middle stage subjects take on definition. The last stage is for details with thicker paint using a smaller brush. The adolescent stage is when a painting seems to become uncooperative, stubbornly refusing to end and there is a temptation to torture it into submission. If you have ever heard “A Song That Never Ends” you will know my frustration. I know it is just paper, paint and brushes, but they do take on a personality. #8 needs a time out (maybe this one is in a toddler stage) and we need separate rooms for awhile.  I might erase the pencil lines and be happy with it and sign it or it might need tweaking just a tiny bit here or there…

I was away for several hours, looked at it and saw that there is a harsh line on the blonde girl’s jaw that needs softening because it is making her head look too big. I’ll post again tomorrow with the changes after I photograph it in the daylight. But their mother is eagerly waiting to see it so here you go, Kara!

Kara's Girls

"Ella, the Biker" 11"x 14" watercolor

When I saw this photo of Ella, I chuckled. The “slow” sign did it. She is probably not old enough to read, but I don’t think she would care if she could. The sign obviously doesn’t apply to her.

Some paintings, like “Friendly Feet”,  I paint in pieces.  I sit at my painting table and apply the paint in a “paint by number” style. I painted each shoe and ankle separate from the other. It gives a crisp, bright feel to the image. With this little biker, I wanted to show lots of movement so I stood up to paint. I wet the paper on both sides to saturate the fibers and stuck it to a piece of  plexi-glass. I used a large brush to apply lots of paint, allowing the watercolor pigment to swim together on the surface of the paper. As the paper dries, I add sharper and darker details by using thicker paint. I used this same method to paint Hagar, the dog.

Now on to #8 in the Painting Facebook Friends series. This one warms my heart.

"Friendly Feet" 9.5" x 15" watercolor

Kendra, who is a friend on Facebook, is a delightful combination of brilliance and fun. She took this photo and posted it on her wall in black and white. This image is the sixth of ten in my “Painting Facebook Photos” series. Because I know some of these colorful characters who are wearing these shoes, I wanted this painting to have fresh, clean colors. I chose to use only three tubes of watercolor; Pthalo Blue, Red Rose Deep, and Hansa Yellow Light.

I wanted the shoes to sparkle against neutral  pavers so I started with a little color sketch. The terra-cotta pavers in the top sketch are warm and sunny, but I wanted the warmth to come from the shoes and feet, so in the bottom sketch I tried a gray-blue with the clean colors coming from the shoes.  The result was sparkling shoes and clean colors.

An interesting thing to note is while the sun is coming from one direction, creating the main shadows, there is a bright window creating another subtle light source seen mostly on the boots. Am I an artist or a detective?

"Ladies" 11" x 11" watercolor

I have a friend who travels extensively, purchasing materials for her Rain stores in South Africa, Amsterdam, and New York.  She creates bath and body products that pamper all of your senses.  On top of being amazingly creative, she is generous and kind, employing as many people as she can in a country with high unemployment.

On a trip to Croatia, she took this photo and posted it on Facebook. I had to include it in this “Painting Facebook Photos” series. What are these ladies discussing? I would be so happy to have your help naming this painting. Please post something in the comments or on my Facebook page. This is going to be good!

Ladies

"Hagar" 9.5" x 9.5" watercolor

I wasn’t going to do a portrait, but I couldn’t resist those eyes. What a colorful little character is this dog, Hagar. I believe my friend, Melissa, and her husband adopted him from the animal shelter. If the story is different, perhaps she will be kind enough to give the full story in the comments.

This is the fourth in a series of ten paintings. For inspiration, I am using photos my Facebook friends have posted on their walls. In the evening, I look at photos of my friends and I smile. I have very nice friends and their photos show their love of life. Six more paintings to go. Oh, there are some delightful images for me to paint and I can’t wait to share them.

Thank you for your kind comments. You have no idea how much it encourages me.

If you would like to see the first three paintings, you’ll find them here:

1) Ballerina Buddies

2) Fall Walk

3) Claudia and Lola

Hagar

"Claudia and Lola" 8" x 8" oil

This is Claudia, whom I’ve known since she was a little girl.  Here she is with her horse, Lola. Claudia told me that when she was a young girl, she pinned a tail on herself for several months, convinced that she wasn’t a mere human. She lost the tail and is now a vice principal at a nearby school.

This is the third painting in my Painting Facebook Photos series. The first one is “Ballerina Buddies” , the second is “Fall Walk” . I’m having so much fun with these. I hope it shows in the paintings. The next one I’ve chosen is almost finished. It is a friend’s pet; a colorful character named Hagar.

Claudia and Lola

"Fall Walk" 11"x11" watercolor

Looking at so many photos of my friends playing and enjoying life has been so much fun. I’ve perused my Facebook friends’ photos and found so many delightful images that it will be hard to limit this series to ten.  Ballerina Buddies is the first and this one is the second.

This painting is from an image posted by a lovely lady who was once our neighbor. She has the voice of an angel and sang in a children’s choir here in Alaska. She is a wonderful mom and loves to do fun things with her family.

I’ve started the next painting and I can’t wait to finish and share it with you. This one will include an animal. If I use one of your photos, I will ask permission before I publish it to my blog or on Facebook.

Fall Walk Reference

Ballerina Buddies

I have a file on my desktop of some “paintable” photos people have posted on Facebook. The images in this file are “paintable” because people or animals are doing an activity that they love and it shows in their expression or their body language. I’ve decided to take ten photos and paint them, then post them on this blog. I don’t have ten in the file yet so I’d love to have you send me images that warm your heart.

This is what I have in mind: I’m under no obligation to paint images sent to me and you are under no obligation to buy, but you get first chance to purchase it. The images MUST be yours! (no professional photos) I can’t use images taken with a flash…sorry.  These paintings won’t be portraits because I don’t want to get bogged down in getting the likeness perfect. These are for fun. This one of the ballerinas is as close to a portrait as I’ll do. I’m drawn to images of children, sports, people doing things together, pets-anything with sunshine on it, but I’d really like to focus on people. Oh, and I would like your permission to post your image and an image of the painting. I’ll accept photos until the end of February.

I’ll be looking in my inbox for your photos at this email address: PaintingYourPhotos@gmail.com. Let the fun begin!

"Ballerina Buddies" 9.5"x13" watercolor

Snow dogs are wily creatures. Usually spotted clinging to trees after a heavy snowfall, they will appear only if there is no wind for several days after a snow storm.  I was able to photograph this one, but it disappeared soon afterward because of wind.  Other creatures, such as this one below often accompany the snow dogs. It looks like a member of the sloth family. What do you think?