Cactus Monday

Since I have only a couple of cactus, which might be considered succulents and not cactus anyway, I decided to go to a cactus identification site to look at what was there. They have pictures of cactus very nicely arranged in alphabetical order. I am going to go through the alphabet to paint cactus. I just love cactus but the ones I am familiar with don't grow in our zone. So here goes... Acanthocalycium ferrarii.

Luna Experiment

I experimented with some tissue and glue to give Luna a big ruff that she has. This is exaggerated but I don't mind how it turned out. It isn't exactly as I saw it in my mind but it turned into an intersting experiment. I have done flowers before with this techinque and it is better for that purpose I guess. I just love working with watercolors but obviously need more practice.

Spring Haiku

The prompt at One Single Impression is Spring. The following are my contributions.



Spring flowers sing
in pink, yellow and blue hues
a joyful chorus

Forsythia Blooms

are often surprised

with snow bonnets

Tiny Art Book

I got some inspiration from Anita when looking at her blog. She is a great journaler and artist. She has made some Tiny Art Books which is what I have attempted here. The closure is a ribbon and I have used dark colors because I want to give this to my Brother-in-law who gave me the inspiration to paint the pictures of bird heads. He has been getting some great pictures of bird heads lately. I have never thought of just the heads of birds before this. I think is group is a nice selection of birds that he gets in his area this time of year.

This is the back of the TAB. So this is my first attempt at such a thing, good practice for me.

Circle

The prompt this week for a Haiku at One Single Impression is Circle.

Filled Page

The Daily Drawing prompt a couple of days ago was to fill a page with animals, objects, lines whatever. I have never done this. It was a struggle for me and this was a small sheet of paper. Here it is all done in graphite pencil. Yawn...

Circus act going wrong

Daily Drawing group's prompt was Stunt or Circus Act Going Wrong. I drew a clown falling off of a ball. Black ink with watercolor wash. The scanner doesn't show the color quite as vivid as I painted it.

The prompt for the daily drawing group was 'draw something violet and yellow'. This is what I came up with. When it was scanned it turned a little more blue and you can barely see the yellow centers. But other than that...here it is.

This weeks prompt from One Single Impression is KINDNESS.

Portrait drawing 1

I have been inspired by Teri at Teri's Painted Daisies to do start a portrait drawing series. This is my first drawing of the series. I don't have a number of portraits that I want to do like Teri who is trying for 50. I just want to use this exercise as a way of improving my skill.

This little fellow is Judah, my Great Great Nephew. Is is a little doll in my eyes and I am the typical old auntie that just wants to pinch his cheeks. Il try to resist but it is difficult. The small picture is what I used for a model as you can't get a 9 month old wiggle worm to sit still long enough for me to sketch. I am very s l o w. When I finish a drawing I always look at it and see what I should have done. I think one eye looks a little unfinished. Hmmm Definitely room for improvement...onward an upward.

Chickadee on a Chain

This is the first post on my Artsy blog. I have decided to make this art blog because I want to keep my art seperate from my garden blog. I feel like my garden is certainly a creative endeavor just of a different sort.

I want to use this blog as a sound board so to speak. I am hoping to paint more, therefore improve my painting.

If you have any suggestions I wouldn't mind hearing it. I want to learn to paint better with watercolors.

My problem so far is that my paintings appear to be paint by number. I want to learn to do a more loose painting. Then when I let go and let it flow I get all nerved up and start straightening. UGH

Often I choose subjects that are originally a photograph. This was painted from a photo by Sherry at Q's Corner. She takes manyportrait pictures of birds in her garden. I like simple subjects for time being and bird portraits are a good challenge for me.

I also draw some and use colored pencils so this won't just be watercolors. I dabble in poetry too so this should be a fun site with mixed media. I hope you will drop me a comment. I would love to hear what you think about my endeavors.