Paco looks like such a happy dog, I couldn’t stop smiling as I painted his picture. It was a commissioned painting to be given as a wedding present to his human companions.
In 2020, at least 50% of money earned from my art sales (originals, prints, house and pet portraits) will be donated to fund voter registration drives in swing states.
Continuing my remembrances of warm and exotic places I am not visiting this winter, this is San Miguel de Allende. Three years ago, I visited my friend Linda, who was renting a house there. Here are sketches from the roof of the house Linda rented, and a scene from a local market.
At this time of year, I get an itch to go someplace warm and exotic. But that’s not happening this year, so I have to rely on memories. Five years ago this month, our son Andrew and I spent ten days in Thailand, a truly amazing trip. Two highlights were close encounters with other species. The first was a ride on an elephant, sketched here. The second has to be seen to be believed.
There’s nothing more peaceful on a cold winter day that to sit cozy inside with a cup of tea and watch the birds coming to the feeder. These goldfinches will start to molt into their brilliant yellow outfits in a month or so.
P.S. Thanks to the many people who replied to my last post “Two Versions.” Opinion was pretty evenly divided between which version of the red onion was better.
After 20 years painting in watercolor, learning acrylics continues to amaze me because you can change things over and over.
Here is the evolution of one painting of a red onion I worked on this weekend. After I finished the second version (on right), I wondered if I should have stopped at the first. Which do you prefer?
Wishing you a heart-full year!
This painting is a complement of my last post — cool colors with a warm accent of the opposite color. (Blue and orange are opposite on the color wheel.) These paintings were made with a different kind of watercolor — Dr. Ph. Martin’s Hydrus Watercolor Inks. They are applied with a dropper and are especially vibrant.
The basic principle of color is that red, yellow and blue are the three primaries that can’t be mixed from anything else. The secondary colors are made up of two primaries each: red + yellow = orange, yellow+ blue = green, blue + red = purple. Red, orange and yellow are considered the warm colors (think fire), while blue, purple and green are cool. A classic color combination is predominantly warm (or cool) with a touch of the opposite. Like this one.
