Watercolor Wednesdays - Flowers

5x7 Watercolor on Canson 140lb cold press paper

Welcome to Watercolor Wednesdays!  This week I haven't had much time to paint as I started a new job (as a cake decorator at Walmart).  I was originally only scheduled a few hours a day for this week but they changed it so I was only to do a small painting for now.  I wanted to just play with the watercolors and not think about correct technique or any kind of detail and this simple flower came to mind.  I did some wet on wet and some wet on dry washes and think it turned out not so bad.  I would extend the muted background out past the foliage if I were to do it again, but other than that, I'm happy with this little painting.

If you would like to share your watercolors for the week, sign up with Mr. Linky below.  Please be sure to enter the url for your post as opposed to your blog homepage to make it easier for any latecomers to find your post.

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Paint Party Friday - Tranquility

After the crazy storms and major flooding we had yesterday I wanted to paint something tranquil. A place I would very much like to be right now. And this is what I came up with, a nice little beach with an inviting view of the sea and a beckoning lighthouse. A girl can dream right?
Linking up to PPF
I will be working all day today and tomorrow (I got the job at Walmart as the new cake decorator!) and my internet is down due to the storms so it may take me a while to comment on all the wonderful artwork. I would also like to thank everyone for the tremendous response and wonderful comments you left last Friday for Drawing Drew. I can not express how much it means to me.

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Watercolor Wednesdays - Sunflower

Watercolor on 140lb Canson Cold Press Paper

Welcome to Watercolor Wednesdays! Hope your week is off to a good start.  This has been a very good week for me so far, I got the job as a cake decorator at Walmart.  Not the perfect job but something that I love to do and in this economy, I'm just happy to be employed again.  I did a watercolor sketch of a sunflower in my field sketch book the other day and I didn't hate the outcome but wasn't happy with the background.  I tried doing another on Monday and it was a complete disaster.  So I figured I'd give it a go one more time.  There really is something to be said about the whole practice makes perfect.  Not that this is perfect by any means, but it's the first painting I've ever liked enough to sign (yay me!).  And the best part is....I've sold it! The very first piece of art that I've ever sold!  To a family member, but it still counts!

The colors are slightly more subtle in real life but I love it. I think I need to play with the white balance on my camera as most of the pics I've taken recently seem a little too dark and I've been taking them in indirect light outside so they should be slightly brighter.  I really need to get the book out and learn alot of other things about the camera too but you know how that goes.

If you would like to link up to Watercolor Wednesdays sign up with Mr. Linky below and be sure to post the link directly to your post as opposed to your home page.  Don't forget to grab the button on the right and share with your blogging friends.

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Sunday Sketches - Watercolor Faces

Watercolor Sketch

Playing with watercolors and decided to try some faces.  I've never done portraits in watercolor and I had fun playing with these two sketches.  I know there are plenty of things wrong with them, I wasn't going for accuracy as much as just playing with some colors and shading.

Watercolor Sketch

There are things I love about both and things that are really off, like the mouth in this second sketch.  It's almost a Picasso! lol.  Linking up with Sunday Sketches.  Hope you are having a good weekend!

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Watercolor Wednesdays - More Poppy Play

Watercolor on Canson 140lb cold press paper

I decided to do some more poppies for my kitchen. While I love the layout of this one, I'm not loving the  poppies themselves. I tried a different technique with this one to do the flowers and after I was finished I realized they look more like upside down pumpkins.  I think the flowers in my first one turned out much better, but we paint and we learn.

I finally got the new batteries for my good camera!!  Woo hoo! But, I'm not at home and forgot to bring the adapter for the CF card and had to use my phone again. I'm also using my old laptop and I don't have any image editing software on here so I didn't edit the photo at all.

Have a wonderful week and until next time, keep creating and sharing!

If you would like to share your watercolor works for the week, add your info to Mr. Linky below and please remember to put in the URL for your post, not your blog home page. Thanks!

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Sunday Sketches - Poppies

'Poppies' Watercolor on Canson 140lb cold press paper

First off, sorry for the bad photo, I finished this in the evening and could not get good light to save my life.  The background is actually white but it keeps showing up pinkish or yellowish in the pics even with playing with it in Photoshop.  I love red and have red accents in my kitchen so I thought poppies would make a perfect painting to add some color pop to the walls.  I did a bunch of practice poppies in my field sketch book and three poppy paintings before I got to this one.  I love how the poppies turned out but I'm not real happy with the placement of the two top buds.  Sooo...I'm sure there will be more poppy painting madness in my near future.

I also did some hummingbird watercolor studies which my mom has hinted she would love for mother's day.

I just turned my spare bedroom into a studio of sorts and am loving the fact that all of my supplies are in one spot...and I have space to store everything!  It's amazing how just having easy access to your supplies can really get the creative juices flowing. I did a free form daisy painting in oils also, all in the last two days! The house is spotless, laundry is done and I had the whole day today to myself so I've been busy painting away in between watching reruns of The Walking Dead, (even though I have an irrational fear of zombies, I love that show!)

Hope you had a great creative weekend!  I'm linking up to Sunday Sketches so please stop by to visit the other lovely creations.

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Inspiration Avenue - April Showers

'April Showers' Watercolor on Canson 140lb Cold Press Paper

It's that time of year again, Spring is here and the rain is due to start early next week.  I've never attempted rain in watercolors and I think for my first try it turned out pretty good.  I'm not a huge fan of the rain, well, I guess it's more the storms than actual rain.  I may be 45 years old but I still hide under the covers during a nasty bout of thunder and lightning!

I'm linking up to Inspiration Avenue for the first time in months so I hope you hop on over and check out the other wonderful artists that are also participating in this week's challenge, April.

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Watercolor Wednesdays - Morning Glory

'Morning Glory' Watercolor on Canson 140lb cold press paper

Hello and happy Wednesday!  I hope you all had a wonderful Easter.  My very patient Honey endured shoe shopping, three different stores and about 20 dress changes, including purchasing one dress, then changing my mind and wanting a different dress so I would have the perfect look for Easter brunch.  Let's just say by the end of the day he wasn't quite so patient with me.  But...I found the absolute perfect dress and he agreed that it looked better than the original one I picked and it's a great summery dress so I can wear it again without feeling overly dressed. And...it reminds me of a watercolor painting! I'm not much of a girly girl so dress shopping with me is pretty much a nightmare.

Some Easter photos:

Me and my Honey at brunch

Me and my bestie Heather and her daughter Brooke

Anyway, this is my Watercolor Wednesday submission.  I found the pattern in the April 2013 Paint Works magazine and immediately fell in love with the look and I got to try a new technique, pouring, which I found pretty exciting as the paint just kind of does what it wants.  Then you background paint the leaves and stems.  It's not perfect but it's not bad for my first try.

If you would like to link up to Watercolor Wednesdays, just add your info to Mr Linky below.  Please be sure to link to your blog post and not your blog home page.

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Watercolor Wednesdays

Watercolor 5x8 Canson 140lb Cold Press 

Good morning!  Hope your week is off to a good start.  I did this little sketch in my semi homemade art journal and used my Koi Water Colors Pocket Field Sketch Box watercolors to paint it.  I have to say I absolutely love these watercolors.  I've tried a couple different types and brands of watercolors including the tubes and I have found that so far, these are my favorite.  They have beautiful depth to the colors and it's so small I can take it anywhere.

As for my semi homemade art journal, I found a small photo book on clearance at hobby lobby a few months ago and decided to turn it into an art journal of sorts.  I just slipped the ring off both the covers and the pages, cut some watercolor paper to the correct size, used the original paper as a guide to punch the holes, then alternated watercolor paper with the pages that came with the book so I can sketch and watercolor.  The best part is, I can add more pages as I fill it up, or completely remove the old pages and start with a whole new set!

I also FINALLY ordered the new batteries for my Canon EOS Rebel so I can start taking gorgeous pics again instead of using my phone's camera. Yahoo!

If you would like to share your watercolor artwork just click on Mr Linky below.

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Sunday Sketches - Water Lily

Good morning and happy Sunday!  I'm linking up to Sunday Sketches over at Blue Chair Diary so hop on over and take a peek at all of the wonderful sketches this week.  Sorry for the bad pic, I was drawing late last night and wanted a quick pic as I'm going to be using watercolors to color it in later on today.

Hope you are having a great weekend!

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Paint Party Friday - Sea Turtle

I have been so excited about this week's PPF since last Friday!  I actually painted this last Friday afternoon and it has taken every bit of will power I have not to post it before today. lol.  I sketched the sea turtle out a few weeks ago but was too afraid to try painting it right away because I didn't want to mess it up.  I love him!  I used liquid frisket to mask off the light areas on his body after putting down a wash of the blue/green color then layered on some browns.  After I removed the frisket I went around the brown edges again and darkened the blue/green slightly.  I had so much fun doing this one I couldn't decide if I should post him for Sunday Sketches last week or my moon, which if you missed that post, the image is below and the post is here.

To see more wonderful PPF submissions or to join in on the fun hop on over to the Paint Party Friday blog.

PS...Looked at a very cute apartment today, has all hardwood floors,  new windows, a basement with storage space and a washer and dryer!  Little smaller than the apt we're in right now but it does have a large fenced back yard and central air.  Still going to look at another unit on Sunday.  I think we're getting closer.

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Playing with Watercolors and Apartment Hunting

Well, the hunt for an apartment is still on.  The guy with the condo did email me on Sunday saying he had been called in to work last weekend and would be able to show us any time this week.  I emailed him back, twice, and have not heard back from him.  I have given up on that one.  Even if for some reason he did finally email me, it makes me a little leery.  What if we moved in and there was an emergency and I can't get a hold of him.  No thanks.  So we're scheduled to look at a different apartment on Sunday and I have a few more prospects to call still.  I have not given up hope...yet.

I bought some new watercolors yesterday.  Not the best idea I've had since money is so tight but every now and then you just have to treat yourself.  I picked up the Koi Water Colors Pocket Field Sketch Box from Hobby Lobby, with the 40% off coupon so I don't feel quite as guilty. lol.  The little scene above is what I came up with.  Not a masterpiece by any means but it was sure fun to play with new watercolors.  I love the little box they come in and it came with the water brush (where you fill the reservoir with water if you are out in the field).  I haven't tried the brush itself yet but I may give it a whirl later today.  Can't wait for PPF tomorrow.  I have a watercolor I painted last Friday that I'm super proud of.  :)

Hope you are having a good week so far.  Thanks for stopping by!

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Paint Party Friday - No A Five Year Old Did Not Paint This

Ugh, not loving this first watercolor attempt. Was almost too embarrassed to post it. Well, technically it's my second one but I have been getting books from the library to try to learn some techniques.  I just jumped right in the with very first one so I don't really count that one.  =p  My pink practice palm trees came out so much better than the ones in this painting.  I was also having problems with the reflection and the sky itself.  My buildings are all leaning to the right.  But I know everything takes practice.  If you could see the first few drawings I did a few years ago you would never believe it was the same person that drew them.  Practice makes perfect and with the help of PPF and more books coming from the library, I should be a pro in no time!

Visit all of the Paint Party Friday bloggers here.  Hope you all have a great weekend and I promise some interesting sketches coming up for Inspiration Avenue and Sunday Sketches!

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A New Medium

Well my trip to Hobby Lobby paid off.  I got so many neat things yesterday.  One of them being a set of pastels, which produced the above image.  Few things about pastels, I love them!  They are a little messy and it's a little awkward at first but I had a lot of fun playing with them.  I have a book from the library and decided to go for one of the larger images, you know, the whole learning to walk before I can crawl.  I realize now that I should have done the little exercises first but I still enjoyed working on this.  I also realized that I need larger paper for an image like this. It was hard getting the detail in a small space.  But that brings me to one of my other finds, pastel papers in an assortment of colors.  I also got a set of Watercolors in the tubes, a super neat spiral bound watercolor field journal, a book on watercolors, some watercolor card papers and envelopes and a tiny little sketch book.  Everything was either on sale or on clearance and the one item that wasn't, the pastels, I used their 40% off coupon for.

Now, if I could just get up the guts to actually use the watercolors we'd be all good!

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Watercolor Wednesdays

Join in the fun of sharing your watercolor works every Wednesday, here on my blog! Check in every Wednesday, sign up with Mr Linky and check out all of the other wonderful Watercolor Wednesday artists.

Instructions for using Mr Linky:  Put your name or the name of your blog in the YOUR NAME box. For the YOUR URL box, make sure you have already published your blog post, then simply click on your blog post, copy the URL at the top of the page and paste it into the box.  Please be sure to link to your post and not directly to your blog as it makes it easier for visitors to find your watercolor post.

Please leave a comment after you link up and enjoy!

 Grab the button below and share with all of your blogging friends!

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