Showstopper - SOLD, and perceived failure

Showstopper sold

5" x 7" watercolor and gouache

This painting did not turn out the way I wanted it to. I painted the horse first, which I was pretty happy with, and then painted the background. This my friends, was not a very smart plan.

I often leave the background until the very end, especially when working on a portrait, because I don't want to risk dark colors flooding into the glowing skin tones I've worked so hard to achieve. But, alas, twas not a good idea in this case. 

Because I didn't plan how I wanted the background to look. I just kinda thought I would splash some colors in there, make it all fresh and nice looking, and voila! Instant beautiful background!

Yeah. . . didn't work out like that. The wash I laid down was lackluster and just the WRONG color. It looked like a horse from Hades. Seriously, it did.  

Which ticked me off because I was so happy with how I painted the horse.

So I thought about what, if anything, I could do to save the painting.

Then I remembered that I had seen watercolor artist Jean Pederson use gouache on some of her backgrounds to give them a chunky oil-type look (which, ahem, she does intentionally, not as a rescue effort).

So I thought to myself, what do I have to lose?

It was a scary thing to put down that opaque gouache and totally obliterate the transparent watercolor background, even as ugly as it was. But I told myself to be brave and just go for it.

And. . . Huzzah! I LOVED the results. The horse is purely watercolor, but the background is mostly gouache that I tinted with some watercolors. I think I'm going to be using this technique again, intentionally this time.

So, even though originally I thought I had failed, really I didn't. I just had to change the way I was looking at it. And that made all the difference. Sometimes when we think we fail, it's really us just not seeing the new opportunity that's opened up. A new chance to push ourselves in a way we wouldn't have otherwise. 

"If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again. " ~ Flavia Weedn

Anybody want to share a failure turned success story? I'd love to hear it. :)  

*Special thanks to Sarah Inskip of Dantona Stud, fellow horse enthusiast, artist, and awesome photographer, for letting me use her photo of this gorgeous horse. Thanks Sarah!  

Pastelbord is a beautiful thing, new colored pencil work in progress

Untitiled colored pencil on pastelbord work in progress (detail)

Way back earlier this year when my computer got sick and had to be rushed to an electronic medic I took some time to experiment with my colored pencils.

I'd been hearing good things about using colored pencils on pastelbord (which is basically a sanded surface mounted on hard board), mainly that:

1. it's faster because of the sanded surface there is no need to layer color super lightly (which takes hours) 

2. colors appear brighter and more intense on pastelbord than on traditional paper 

3. there is a possibility of framing a piece painted* on pastelbord without glass.

Which meant of course that I had to rush to my local art supply store (Ogden Blue FTW!) and stock up. 

I came home SO excited I could hardly stand it! And as soon as I had some free time I laid out all my lovely pencils and got to work. 

And here's what I found: Numbers 1-2 were dead on.  

It was faster! Because the tooth of the sanded paper is able to hold much more color, much more quickly there is no need for laborious layer upon layer of colored pencil! Of course there is still some layering involved, but not nearly as much because the tooth of the surface fills up pretty quickly. Which means that you must be decisive and accurate about what colors you will layer early on.

So, basically I'm in love with colored pencil work on pastelbord. It is a beautiful thing. :)

Huzzah! See you next week everyone!

*colored pencil work, when done in a way that the entire surface is covered with pencil is often called 'painting' even though there is no paint or brushes involved.

P.S. I don't think I've taken the time lately to let all you guys know how much it means to me that you read my posts, look at my work, tell others about it, and say some very nice things to me and about me. Thank you, my friends, so much for your support and kindness, you rock in an all out glorious way. :))))

Beauty Inside SOLD

Beauty Inside SOLD

6" x 6" watercolor

click here to bid

Kiwi's are ugly little beasts aren't they? Well, at least on the outside. I wonder what in the world possessed the first person to slice that hairy brown *thing* up and take a peek?

 Hunger induced madness? Pending zombie apocalypse? Or just plain old curiosity?

I don't know, but I would have loved to have seen the look on their face when they saw the beauty trapped inside. Because they are beautiful once you slice them open.

Jewel bright and shining with all those lovely unorganized, yet sort of organized black seeds. And that gorgeous semi-transparency that lets sunlight flood in and just sparkle and glow.

*sigh*

Yessss, precioussss. The inside of a kiwi is very pretty indeed.

This is technically my first official still life*. And I rather like it. It was a lot of fun to do and I can see the value in painting subjects that I don't paint very often. It forced me to do some experimenting with color mixing and value.

And probably most important, it gave me a chance to really push myself and see how much drama and interest I could come up with when painting something other than a human face.

So, keep an eye out for future still lifes from me. I'm already thinking of what I should paint next. Ideas anyone? ;)

* I credit two artists for inspiring me with a desire to paint a still life. The first, Kim Rempel, for her lovely brushwork, exciting color combinations, simple-yet-striking composition, and her ability to turn something very ordinary into a thing of beauty. And the second, Carol Marine, for much of the same things that I admire about Kim's work. This painting was created in Carol's honor for her birthday at the Daily Paintworks Challenge.

Pointed Conversation - SOLD

Pointed Conversation

5" x 7" watercolor

A few years ago I saw this massive Clydesdale at a horse show and just stopped and stared at her for a while. She was dozing while her owner and another person talked and gestured around her. I even saw a toddler in a trike zooming around her feet (!!!). She didn't move a muscle. Truly a gentle giant.

The horse person in me was drawn to her beauty, power, and kind disposition.

The artist in me was drawn to that fantastic sunlight and dramatic light and shadows. Huzzah! 

I've had this photo hanging around for about six years, just waiting for me to paint it. It's from an ancient film camera too. Sometimes I'd pull it out and look at it and want to paint it so much. But I was scared.  

It wasn't a really clear shot, and it was kind of dark. And I wanted to paint it BIG so that ginormous horse would have lots of presence and drama, but wasn't quite sure I'd be able to pull it off. 

Then last week I decided to give it a try as a small piece. I intended to just paint a study of the horse and leave the background white. But then I thought the figures made a nice story and added interest.

After the horse was painted I felt a flash of bravery (or possibly recklessness, depending on the outcome), so I splashed some bright colors around to make some background shapes for the barn and shadows. And really liked the result. :)

Now that I've done this small painting I think I have the courage to paint this baby BIG! Isn't it funny how sometimes fears that we have, usually of failure, have such a powerful effect on what we do or do not do?

Be gone fear!  

Be brave! Huzzah!

Devotion, Katie's story

'Devotion'

6" x 6" watercolor

$100

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."

- Unknown

Since this seems to be the year of Trying Something New for me I've been searching for new subjects that inspire me as much (well, maybe not AS much, but close) as my children. And I've come to realize that something that will always inspire me is faces, whether they be, people, animal, or possibly reptilian (more on that later).

I found Katie, the English Setter above, at an animal adoption at our local Petsmart. Now, first of all I try to avoid these adoptions because I know I will see some sweet face that I will want to take home but won't be able to. And that will hurt my heart. Two Giant Schnauzers leave little room or time for any other pets. Also, my husband would not be happy with me if I brought home another furry family member. Not. Happy. At. All. 

But, I needed dog food so off I went, with my camera slung across my shoulder, hoping to find a little boa constrictor face to paint (that's right I said boa constrictor. What? I think they have kind of cute faces, they look nothing like Voldemort I swear).

The boa was hidden and not at all willing to model as my muse so I headed over to the dogs, steeling myself against all adorable canine wiles. Or so I thought.

That's when I saw Katie.

She was so calm, mellow, and sweet. I instantly fell in love with her. And she looked so sad, like her heart was broken. I don't know what circumstances brought her to the shelter, but I could not imagine how anyone could willingly let this sweet girl go. I watched her for a while, and saw the dogs next to her get taken out by new families. But none came for Katie. 

Eventually she did find a home, hopefully this time for the rest of her life. She deserves it, because a sweeter dog I have never met. A portion of the proceeds of the sale of this painting will be donated back to Katie's shelter, The Utah Animal Adoption Center, a no kill shelter for dogs, cats, and horses.

I think I'm going to be painting more puppy faces, because Katie was a joy to paint. And I'm still looking for that elusive boa constrictor. . . :)

Have a great week everyone!

Huzzah!!! (It's been a while since I said that, so I just had to.)

Without Guile, Daily Paintworks Challenge

'Without Guile'

watercolor 5" x 7"

I talked a little about this before in my post Sunshine, so I won't elaborate too much (or try not to anyway, I'm rather long winded have you noticed? ;)

Last week the challenge for the Daily Paintworks was The Color of Music. I'd been thinking for a while about one of my favorite songs by the Black Keys, 'Everlasting Light', and how it reminded me of my third son. This song could apply to all of my children really, but I associate this song with my youngest.

After he was born I fell into a deep depression. Which seemed so unfair since my heart was full of love for this baby, and all I could think of was that every little thing about him, his soft downy hair, his snuffling sounds against my cheek, his sweet smell that I still can't define filled me with nothing but joy. But still, there was this incredible sadness that I felt weighing me down.

It was the thought of his smiling face waiting for me that got me out of bed every morning. So I let household chores go and sat and rocked him and felt him heal my heart. He's my everlasting light.

Let me be your everlasting light

Sun when there is none

I'm a Shepard for you

And I'll guide you through

I'll hold and never scold

In me you can confide

When no one's by your side

Loneliness is over

Dark days are through

They're through

A train going away from pain

Love is the coal

That makes this train roll

Let me be your everlasting light

by the Black Keys

The Seven Links Project

My good friend Sandra (who is an amazingly talented artist and an amazingly sweet and funny person) tagged me in the 7 Links Project, which is "To unite bloggers (from all sectors) in a joint endeavor to share lessons learned and create a bank of long but not forgotten blog posts that deserve to see the light of day again."

So, here are my top 7 links in these categories:

Your most beautiful post
Your most popular post
Your most controversial post
Your most helpful post
A post whose success surprised you
A post you feel didn't get the attention it deserved
The post you are most proud of

Then I tag other bloggers and it goes on and on. I think this is a great idea because there are some gems hidden in most bloggers archives so this is a great way to dust them off and let them be seen again.

Here we go!

My most beautiful post - 'Painting With Feeling'  This is one of my favorite paintings because of the memories it brings back to me, and I think that there are few things more beautiful than a newborn baby's tiny hand wrapped around your own.

'Timeless Remedy'

10" x 14" watercolor

My most popular post - 'Motivational Monday - Why Do You Paint?'  This one surprises me with how popular it is, it continues to get more hits than any other post of mine every day I guess because it's a universal question among artists, we're all trying to understand why we feel so compelled to spend time and make sacrifices so we can create. At least I know I am.

'Blue Eyed Innocence'

5" x 7" watercolor

My Most Controversial Post - 'Adventures with Claybord' This was a tough one to pick, I don't write a whole lot of controversial posts, but it was filed under 'ranting and raving' and I sure felt controversial while painting it so there you go.

'Emerge'

24" x 24" acrylic on the dread claybord

My most helpful post - Perplexed - a step by step watercolor portrait I think this is the most complete step by step post I have on my blog and I think I was able to get my working process down a little more coherently this time. :) But I also think that any of my posts filed under Motivational Mondays might be helpful when you find yourself ready to strangle your artistic muse, if they'd just show up that is. ;)

'Perplexed'

10" x 10" watercolor

The post whose success surprised me the most - Ten Things I've Learned From Painting a Self Portrait Lots of comments on this one, which made my day because I was INSANELY nervous to post it. Maybe because we're all a little self conscious, especially when it comes to painting ourselves, or looking at ourselves for extended periiods of time which you kind of have to do when painting yourself. Sheesh!  

'A-Punk'

8" x 10" watercolor

The Post you feel didn't get the attention it deserved - Valentine This was one of my first successful paintings and I just really like it. And I wrote about my husband, who is awesome and my best friend. :)

'Fascination'

10" x 14" watercolor

The Post You Are Most Proud Of - Like No One Is Watching I felt like with this post I was able to write exactly how I felt and that people who read it 'got it', you know? And the painting was a success for me because I was able to put things I'd been studying about edges into practice. Also it's my boy, which I guess is self explanatory. :)

'My Light'

10" x 14" watercolor

This was a lot of fun to look back at my posts and paintings. Now I pass the torch and hereby tag these fellow bloggers. Huzzah!!

Carcol Blackburn

Prabal Mallick

Maddy Rose

Vinayak Deshmukh

meera

Kim Rempel

Michelle Teacress

Have a great weekend everyone!

Diminutive, and the benefits of working in more than one medium

Diminutive

8" x 8" acrylic on canvas panel

click here to bid 

When I was little my parents got me a pony that I just loved. But she, on the other hand, was not too fond of me when we first met. She was very shy and wouldn't let me get too close to her. So I did what any rational ten year old girl would do: I stuffed my pockets full of apple slices and headed out to the pasture to make friends with her.

It took a few days of patiently following after her, and watching her prance away from me, but eventually she let me get closer and closer to her, and soon she was eating the apples out of my hand and following me around.

This painting is not of my childhood pony. The pony in 'Diminutive' belongs to my Facebook friend, Alpha Farm Horses, and when I saw the photo I based this painting on it reminded me so much of my own pony that I had to ask my friend if I could paint her. I can almost feel her warm breath in my palm and the sticky sweet apple slices in my pocket again. Good times. :)

This painting was actually my second attempt. The first painting was a smaller size and MUCH brighter in color. So much in fact that when I finished painting it I stepped back, tilted my head and said to myself:

"Dude. I just painted a My Little Pony."

Pony in Technicolor was not the look I was after. But, being annoyingly persistent, I painted it again, a larger size this time, and really liked the results.

This year I've kind of felt like several different artists crammed into one person. I paint in watercolor, then switch to colored pencil, then back to watercolor, then switch to acrylics, then back to watercolor. . . You get the picture.

Even though sometimes this has made me feel a little, um. . . crazy, it has been really great for me as an artist. Because it requires me to think differently with every medium. Color mixing with acrylics is so much more direct, I can mix brighter colors right off the bat (remember Pony in Technicolor?), and it satisfies that part of me that wants to paint looser and more impressionistic-like.

So, when I go back to painting with watercolors I bring everything that I've learned with acrylics and try to apply it in some way. Which results in more growth, and an appreciation for the familiarity I've gained with watercolors after years and years of work.

And, switching back and forth, always trying something new, is GREAT for keeping artist's block at bay. At least it has been for me, so far. I'll try not to jinx it. :)

How about you guys? Anyone else seen the benefits of working with more than one medium?

Until next week my friends! Huzzah!

 

"Perplexed" A Step By Step Watercolor Portrait

'Perplexed' 10" x 10"

watercolor by Crystal Cook

Sometimes I just get an itch to paint a simple portrait. I am endlessly fascinated with expression, especially the eyes. I took this photo on a cloudy day, when me and my three boys were at the park a few years ago.  While the two oldest boys ran around the playground, my youngest and I sat under a pavillion where that soft, diffused light bounced off the cement on the ground and back onto his face. 

He was about six months old, and by this point was pretty used to me taking pictures of him a million times a day. But still, he gave me this confused sort of look. Like, why in the world are we sitting in this pavillion taking yet more pictures when we could be out sliding and swinging? Hmmmm?

Suzanne Berry asked me what moves me to paint a specific subject and I guess it's almost always those two things: lighting and expression. Lighting is something I absolutely will not compromise, it has to be inspiring to me or else I will hate the painting process and then the painting will be. . . eh, *shrug*, so-so. Which is really not what I'm going for. ;)

Suzanne also asked me what my feelings are prior to the first instant I put brush to paper. I would say, excited. Because that's when I still have a perfect image in my head of what I want this painting to be, I'm still having all those giddy feelings that prompted me to start the painting in the first place. I can't wait to get started and put all those images, thoughts, and feelings into this piece.

Step One: This is the most important step. I start out by painting the lightest values in the darkest areas. In other words, I start by painting the shadows that give the face shape and contour, but I use a very light value to do it. Here I've used burnt sienna because it has a long range of values that's easy to adjust to just about any skin tone. This is where I flesh out my line drawing and start to develop a likeness.

I go over the burnt sienna with a neutral grey color that I mix out of either burnt sienna, cobalt blue, and permanent red, or brown madder, raw sienna, and french ultramarine. So basically all I'm using to make this grey are three primary colors in varying strengths and intensities. I want this to be a neutral grey, neither warm nor cool, so that later, near the end, I can push the shadows one way or the other.

Then I block in the basic shapes of the lips, eyes, and hair, paying attention to color temperature shifts.

The two main things I'm thinking about right now are: color temperature and facial structure shapes. If I get those two things right then I've already got a head start on the two most difficult aspects of painting a portrait (at least for me).

Step Two: Once I have step one done I tend to relax and play a little bit more. This is probably my favorite part, strengthening the color and picking out areas that I want to exagerate, like the blue on the sides of his nose and between his eyes. Every color that I lay down now will show through in the end (at least to some degree) so this process is a little bit like chess, thinking ahead to my next move and how that will affect the next move and on, and on to the end.

The colors I've used for the skin tones are permanent rose, raw sienna, rose madder, pthalo red, and cobalt blue.

I like to get the eyes finished right away so that I know I've got them right. It motivates me to finish it and to pay attention so I don't mess it up!

Step Three: This is pretty much the same as step two, just taken even further. I'm darkening the values and refining the shapes. I'm being extra careful to just get in and get out when I lay my brush down. So far this has been painted wet on dry paper, softening the edges with clear water just slightly after I lay the color down.

Step Four: The finish! This part takes the most time because there are all those little things that need finishing. And because I set the painting up and step back and look at it about a hundred times to see what else it needs.

I finished the hair with some lifting (I use a stiff oil painting brush that I've cut the ends off of so that it's kind of a little stub) and then some pastel for a few highlights. The colors in the hair are brown madder, burnt sienna, cobalt blue, raw sienna, and sepia.

Something that I'm thinking is important lately is to paint quickly, confidently, and then to not go back in and fuss around. Ok, ok this is something that I've always thought is important, but working with acrylics has helped me understand this even better, and has given me the practice I need to really be able to do it.

So, while there are some things I would have liked to have turned out better I restrained myself from going back in and touching it up because I knew it would lose that sparkle and freshness and I knew that I wouldn't make it any better, possibly worse.

And I like it like this anyway. That's my baby, looking perplexed at something his strange mother is doing. :) I hope you guys aren't getting tired of seeing his portrait, because I'm not going to be stopping anytime soon.

That's my portrait painting process in a nutshell. Hope you liked it. :) 

Huzzah!! 

Rising Dust, and. . . what's with all the huzzah's?

'Rising Dust' sold

8" x 8" acrylic on canvas panel

So, yeah. I say Huzzah. Kind of a lot. Which got me thinking that I should probably let you guys in on why I say it so much. But first, here are a couple of definitions I found.

Huzzah

huz·zah also huz·za (h-zä)

interj. n.

Used to express joy, encouragement, or triumph.

1. A shout of "huzzah."

2. A cheer.

Huzzah *
Origin: Pirate
Meaning: A term used by pirates meaning "Oh yeah," "Hooray," or "WORD DAWG."
Side Note: Pirates preferred to be called American buccaneers.

*This one is my personal favorite, because I can just picture ye olde American buccaneers shouting "WORD DAWG" while sloshing around their rum. Tee hee. :)

I say huzzah because it makes me happy, just by saying it. It makes me feel like a kid again and as this is the year I turned 30 I need all the help I can get in that area. This word makes me more aware of small victories in my life, when large victories seem hard to find sometimes.

So, when I set down my brush after finishing this painting the other day and saw that it pretty much looked like the painting I was envisioning I whispered a little "huzzah" to myself, even though no one else could hear me.

Until next week my good friends! Huzzah!

Up Next Week: I'm working on a step by step watercolor portrait post for next week, that will talk a little bit more about my process. If anyone has any questions or things they'd like me to talk about in more detail feel free to email them to me (crystal@crystalcookart.com) or leave them in the comments. :D

Sunshine

Sunshine

10" x 10" acrylic on canvas

I've been feeling a little. . . melancholy lately as I've been at home with my boys this summer. I love having them home and out of school. We play games, go to the park, go swimming, hang out and pop popcorn and watch movies in the middle of the day and it's just such a sweet time.

But, being the pessimist that I am I'm also watching them and thinking of last summer and how much they've grown and changed since then. I'm feeling sad that time is passing and they're growing up. It's already almost July, there's only two months left of summer vacation. Am I cherishing this time as much as I should? Am I taking enough pictures, writing down all the little things they do that is unique to this stage of their life that I never want to forget?

I hope I am. I guess one day when they are all grown up we'll find out. :)

I painted this of my youngest son, when he was about six months old, a few weeks ago and when I was finished I looked at it and remembered those first days and weeks after he was born that were so incredibly sweet, but also so incredibly challenging. 

It was much harder to balance the needs of three children instead of two. I was sooooo tired all the time. I remember some days looking at my sink full of dishes, and gigantic laundry pile and feeling so completely overwhelmed. There were lots of days when I'd just start crying for no reason at all. Hormones, the baby blues whatever you want to call it, I had it. 

But then I would hold this baby, and feel his little hand wrap around mine, his breath soft on my cheek, his face tucked in close to my neck and I'd feel better. Who cares about dishes and laundry when I have this perfect little baby to hold and love all day and all night? 

Just holding him made me feel better. He was my sunshine that broke the dark clouds and chased them away. He still is actually.

I try to remember this and all the other happiness each of my children has brought me when I hear a little outraged voice for the tenth time that day say, "He started it!!"

May The Force Be With You

'May The Force Be With You'

10" x 14" watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper

This is number three in the Work of Childhood series

One benefit of being a mom to three boys and having a very manly husband too is that my house is usually filled with very. . . 'boy-type' things. Like super heroes, action figures, Nerf gun battles, lightsaber fights, things like that.

Maybe some moms would not see that as a bonus. But me? Well, I was the kid who loved He-Man just as much as She-ra and got up early on Saturday mornings to watch the latest X-men cartoon.

There, I've done it. I've suppressed my inner dork long enough and can hide it no longer! Confession: I have a thing for super heroes. Cool gadgets, tricked out cars and hovercrafts, mutant powers (speaking of which, the new X-men movie, First Class is completely AWESOME!). I love em all.

And when the last Star Wars movie came out I was the one who had to talk my husband into going to see it.

Don't look at me like that. I mean, come on, it was the making of Darth Vader! Epic coolness!

But I digress. This painting was the result of a sunlight filled morning and my middle child playing with his lightsaber and wearing a hoodie. He looked like a Jedi (or a Sith, but let's hope not!) in training and I thought it would make a great addition to my Work of Childhood series.

Imagination. Can't get much better than that for childhood work now can you?

Have a great day everyone and. . .  may the force be with you!   :) 

Huzzah! 

Still Life Interruptus #3, Just A Peek

Just A Peek

#3 in the Still Life Interruptus series

8" x 10" acrylic on masonite

Last week the Daily Paintworks challenge was to paint a gift. So of course, the first thing I thought of was a set up of my son and a big ol' wrapped present he could wreck mischief and mayhem with. This is how it went down, step by step:

1. I went to the store, bought some shiny pink wrapping paper, a ginormous curly-ribbon bow, and a small box of treats for my son's modeling fee. 

2. Came home, wrapped up a box (which happened to be one of his older games that he hasn't played with in a few months, and I wrapped the treats too, because it would just be mean to have him open up a big box of nothing right?) and set the shiny present in the perfect spot of sunshine.

I did all of this without my little model underfoot, thinking he would be more excited and interested if he didn't know what I was doing. . .

3. I bring my son upstairs and show him, very nonchalantly of course, the shiny little present on the floor and stand back, camera at the ready for what I'm sure is going to be the biggest bunch of cuteness I've seen in weeks.

4. He stands there, prods the present a little bit, then walks away and comes to ask me if he can go back downstairs to play with his brothers.

5. My jaw drops. I'm flabbergasted. For real. Wasn't expecting that lack of interest. Hmmm. . .Change of plans.

6. I bring out the much smaller box of wrapped treats I got for him and let him open it. A-ha!! Now he's interested. He heads for the other present and in about fifteen seconds has it completely unwrapped.

Pretty pink paper lies shredded all over the floor.

But somehow the curly-ribboned bow managed to survive.

And there's now a smudge of chocolate on my son's face as he brings me the newly-unwrapped-old game and asks me to play with him. 

So I do, of course. :)

He beats me, 2-1.    

A little later, when I'm holding my boy on my lap, I wonder if John Singer Sargent had this much trouble with his models? I kinda doubt it. But, I bet he didn't have as much fun either. :)

Still Life Interruptus

Still Life Interruptus

10" x 14" watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper

The second painting in the 'Still Life Interruptus' series

A couple of weeks ago I thought it would be fun to try and paint some vegetables. By themself. In a still life. My son (the two year old above), however, had other ideas.

I had them all set up on the table right in the perfect spot of sunshine. Then my other son, who was getting ready to go to kindergarten and couldn't find his backpack, called for me. So, I left those poor defenseless tomatoes all alone on the table and went to track down a Spiderman backpack.

Now I guess I miscalculated the appeal of tomatoes left unattended because when I came back I found them with little bites taken out of them, one still in the culprit's hands, with tomato juice dripping down his chin.

I stood there with my hands on my hips, surveying the carnage and trying not to laugh when he looked up at me and said, "Not an apple."

Then went back to eating the tomato.

Final score: The two year old still life interruptus, fruit and vegetable snacker-2 

Mom-0

I don't think I'm meant to be a still life artist. But I can't complain, this painting was a lot more fun and interesting than what I had planned. :)

June 8 edit: I love the spontaneous feel of this painting so I'm going to have a new series of paintings called, yup, you guessed it, 'Still Life Interruptus' of which this painting is the second. Here is the post for the first painting 'Please?'

A note about the painting process for 'Still Life Interruptus': When Alvaro Castagnet came to the Utah Watercolor Society demo last month he said something that really stuck with me. He talked about how watercolorists have one chance to gain the attention of the big galleries. One chance against the 'king' of media, oils. Paint with passion, be bold, take risks, strive for mood, ambience, grit. The unexpected.

I pushed myself further with this painting than I usually do, although I don't think it was intentional. I wasn't thinking of Alvaro's words at the time I painted it, but remembered them when I was finished.

This painting came from my own intuition, rather than a set of rules to follow, or any acedemic knowledge of 'how one should paint'.  

I exaggerated colors and lighting. Pushing them further with each glaze. A couple of times I set the painting across the room, stepped back and looked at it, and felt sure that I ruined it. Then decided to try one more thing, which worked (Huzzah!), and made it into the painting I'd been envisioning the whole time.

Sometimes we need to just go with our gut. Trust our intuition. Paint what we feel, with passion and boldness. Rules be danged. :)