I Never Met a Flower I Didn't Like

Tulips again

Here is an updated version. I darkened the garish blue and added a table-like idea with shadows. (This will teach me to draw the main subject without thinking about the background-undisciplined.) I am still considering the cutout solution - or I may just paint another of tulips.

Judy Patti, my former watercolor teacher, used to say that every picture goes through an ugly period. I am not sure if I'm quite out of it with this one, but it is better.

More orange tulips

Here is another before and after. I added the blue background after experimenting in photoshop. I don't know that it improved it, but I learned something about going strong with a complementary background color.

Pillow (colored pencil)

Here is my finished portrait of pillows. Thanks for the helpful suggestions. It is easy for an artist to "fall in love" with their pieces at a given stage and not be able to look at it critically (and without the emotion attached to the object). A friendly observer is often just the push one needs to go the next step.

Pillows (in progress)

Pillows is the colored pencil painting I am working on to enter in a competion. I am still adjusting colors and blending, but I have not decided what to do with the background. I put it in Photoshop and came up with a possible graded aqua blue (on top) to a cream yellow on bottom. Do you have any suggestions?

Walking to the Train, Pasadena

The walk: We had been to breakfast and were walking from the cafe to the Metro station to head downtown LA. It was a beautiful morning with the sun bright and casting strong shadows.
. . . .
The painting: transparent watercolor
After I laid in the beginning colors, I knew I needed to changes Zane's jacket color. I put the picture in Photoshop and experimented with colors. I ended up with this green. Kristin was wearing a black leather jacket and I had a lot of work to do on it.




Experimenting with color in Photoshop.

. . . . .


Beginning layers of paint. A long way to go.
"Be aware of the seduction of impatience."