Spirograph Fun!

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Pineapple Conure. 5" x 5"

Pineapple Conure. 5″ x 5″

Well, it’s day 3 of the painting challenge. So far I am doing good. Still time in the day for maybe one more painting (this way I can post that tomorrow, because tomorrow it’s back to the day job!). I bought a spirograph set just after Christmas and I have been eager to try it. They are mesmerizing and truly as the advertising states…endless hours of fun. They do however take some time to perfect.

I decided to pair up my painting and the fun with the spirograph. I think I might do some more of these. This is casein, ballpoint pen and graphite. The casein ground went down first, then the spirograph designs in green ballpoint pen and then a casein wash followed by casein to block in the bird. Graphite over top. I had forgotten how nice graphite works over the casein…it has just the right amount of “give”. #30paintingsin30days!

 

Challenge Day 2!

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I started off with the ambitious proposal to myself of 3 paintings today. I did 2. One was not worthy of posting, the other I am happy with. Maybe tomorrow I will get 3 that work well. I am fearful that in order to keep up with this challenge I will have to stockpile!

This piece is resourced from my Animals: 1419 Copyright-free illustrations of Mammals, Birds, Fish, Insects etc as well as images that I found on google. It is a cross between an American and European Avocet (which may be the same, I don’t know). Regardless, I think that they are elegant!

Medium is watercolor ground with salt and graphite over top.

30 Paintings in 30 Days

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It’s a challenge! It really will be. I will have to double or triple up on some days in order to meet the quota for this. But, it will motivate for sure! What a great idea. Here is the link to the challenge if you are interested: 30 Paintings in 30 Days

I don’t really think of myself as a “painter” so that had me a little worried.  But, looking at the work that some are uploading it looks like there is quite the variety. I am going to keep my pieces on the painterly side with some drawing thrown in.

Day one: Angel fish on casein ground with water-soluble graphite. Challenging to work on the casein as it remains workable when you use any water over top. I think this needs a little paint spatter…I might add that.

Happy New Year everyone, hope 2016 is a super great one. Paint and Draw!!

Oh, almost forgot, I jumped off the edge and created my own website. Scary…but it’s done! Check it out. AnneMarie Welsh Fine Art

Watercolor & Graphite

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The days are flying by! I am working on some oil paint studies, some are working, some not so much. But, I am learning and gaining experience. This is such a busy time of year with the holidays…I find that setting up for oil painting is a little harder to manage.

The great thing about watercolor pencils and graphite is they easily go anywhere. I have been doing the water color grounds first and then drawing on top. Sitting in the living room in a cozy chair with my journal and pencil allows me to visit with folks coming in and out of the house.

After tomorrow I have a few days off, hope to get back to oil painting.

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Style Departure

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The goal for this painting was just to try out the oil bar paint on paper, but with a gesso ground. When I use just the paper, of course some oil seeps through over time. While the feel is different on the gesso ground I think it is a better choice for longevity of the work. For the drawing and subject I just wanted to do something simple…so I chose the pelican in a very graphic depiction. And, I had a lot of fun doing it!

It’s a total style departure. Fun to do something totally different.

Studies

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small study: oil bar, 5" x 6"

small study: oil bar, 5″ x 6″

It’s so interesting to me that sometimes the studies that I do to warm up for a “finished” painting turn out better than the final. Maybe it is the carefree attitude. I suppose I could try to trick myself into doing larger “studies”! No doubt the more I do, the better I will get at being less worried when faced with canvas or large substrates. It’s all a process.

The last few days have been spent working with the oil bars and some ink and water color projects. Ink is a lot of fun. I like going back and forth between these two mediums…they are so different. I think switching over to a different medium helps my easily distracted brain!

Trigger Fish: Ink & Watercolor, 5" x 7"

Trigger Fish: Ink & Watercolor, 5″ x 7″

Cloudscape

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Oil Paint Sticks on Paper

Oil Paint Sticks on Paper

Maybe I am on to a subject/theme with the oil paint sticks. I have never really been drawn to using clouds as a subject matter for painting…I think because I see a lot of them by other painters. However, it might be a good learning subject for me. They are difficult! But, they are also fun, open to interpretation and I have lots of photo resources in my personal library!

Not only will I learn a lot with the medium, I will have a bunch of pieces that look like they work together! I still don’t know how important that is, but the subject matter will make it happen anyway. I wonder how many of these I will actually do before I get distracted.

Great tip from my friend Susan Renee Lammers for adding color into the clouds…I am not sure I didn’t overdue it, but I feel good about the direction it took me!

Beach Clouds

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Oil Paint Sticks on paper: 10" x 8"

Oil Paint Sticks on paper: 10″ x 8″

Back to the oil paint sticks on paper. I was thinking that the simple shapes of a beach scene would be a good way to practice with the oil paint sticks. And, it is, but it’s not easy by any stretch! Beaches are difficult in their simplicity! Clouds are much harder than they seem! But, I do think that this is a good approach for me, scenes that are not too complex, and I can concentrate a bit more on how to lay down the paint…mixing on the paper and layering to achieve what I want. An artist friend gave a great suggestion that I will employ next, bring some sand color up into the clouds.

I found my friends blog post as a good resource to go back to: Edward Seago Inspiration

A Sporadic Inktober

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Watercolor and Ink

Watercolor and Ink

I am doing a miserable job of keeping up with #inktober. But, I am inspired to do as many ink drawings as I can. This year I am not feeling so bound by rules…so while ink is the main ingredient, I feel fine adding color with other mediums.

While I was in Frisco, NC I stopped in to the Indian Town Gallery and they were gearing up for their Tiny Art Fundraiser. I decided it would be fun to donate a piece of art for this. Everyone that participates gets a 5×5 canvas to paint on, at the show all works are $20 donated to a good cause. I am only sorry that I can’t be there for the show! Tiny Art Show

Sardine Surprise: Tiny Art Donation

Sardine Surprise: Tiny Art Donation

Feeling a little unsettled about subject matter right now. Not so much for sketching and experimenting, that comes pretty easy. But, I still feel a little overwhelmed by my goal of completing a body of work. I am not very disciplined…or maybe I am just easily distracted. Maybe I should make a list of what I want to paint, settle on a size for all, and just dig in to that. If I could get 2 oil bar paintings and two watercolor/ink pieces done I would be happy with that. That is two less than I hoped for.

Puffy Fish: ArtSnack materials

Puffy Fish: ArtSnack materials