Orange Lilies in a White Pitcher

I am so proud of my watercolor students. They are

doing so good! I really felt like they were ready for 

this piece. We didn't just jump straight into the piece.

We painted leaves,

and we painted the white pitcher.

I love the simplicity of this pitcher.

The orange lilies were from my niece's wedding,

the leaves were from the oak tree in our 

front yard, and the doily is from my 

stash of vintage crochet.

We took our time and painted for several

weeks.

My favorite teaching quote:

Tell me, I will probably forget.

Show me, I might remember.

Involve me and I will never forget.

And we have learned - practice, practice, practice

paint, paint, paint!

Above all, we have fun 

and enjoy each other!

P.S. If you can't attend my classes or workshops, 

visit My Etsy shop and look at my instructional dvd's.

A Long Way From Home

My good friend, Renee has moved a long, long way

from home (home being West Texas).

She is settling into her home (temporary) in North Dakota.

Let me say again-a LONG way from home.

One of the first things she did in her new "land" was

to seek out a place to worship, 

which can be like trying to find a new family

.

Along the way she took a few pictures 

of some great, perfectly aged churches. 

When I saw her photos on her blog I

asked if I could paint this great window.

The window nor the building is the important thing.

The important thing is worship and the freedom

to gather with others to worship.

But the hour cometh, and now is, 

when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit 

and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

God is a Spirit: and they that worship 

him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 

John 4:23-24

Thanks, Renee!

W.I.P. Copper, Grapes and a Pear Watercolor

 

I wanted to share this little Work In Progress video. 

I absolutely love painting metal! And grapes! And pears! 

Well, you get the idea. I love to paint. 

I haven't painted much in the last week or two. 

There has been a lot of road time; shows, workshops,

conferences, doctors' appointments, etc.

And I have been "fall" cleaning. The cooler weather has

been a welcomed change to the hot and dry summer.

Change is in the air. I have a feeling that our

winter will be as extreme as our summer,except

where the summer was hot and dry this winter

will be cold and wet. We could use the "wet".

Here is the finished work.

Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God!!!

How To Create a Faux Stone Look Trompe L'Oeil Part 2

Well, it has definitely been more than a few days. Time sure

goes by faster these days. You know, life is like a roll of

toilet paper! The closer it gets to the end the faster it goes.

Anyway, let's finish this canvas. Let me share with you

this trompe l'oeil (to fool the eye) technique.

Measure in about 2" and applied painters tape. Leave 

1/2" and apply another row of tape. In the upper right

corner you will see a little piece of tape at a 45% angle.

Top and left side is deep gray. Note the miter corner.

Right side and part of the bottom is white or pale

gray. This would indicate the the light source is

on the left.

The white or light gray will touch the edge of the scroll

design. I transferred the design onto the canvas using

graphite paper (not shown).

 I photographed this great piece of scroll work on

an old building in Mineral Wells. You can see the 

light is on the left side of the raised areas.

Side load your brush with light gray. Apply to light areas.

Again using a side loaded brush, use dark gray to add

shadows. Go easy!!! You can always add more but

it can be frustrating to try to lift color that is too dark.

Also, This is IMPORTANT. The paint needs to be thin

and a bit transparent so the texture of the base will show

through. Now you can add text or just about

anything you want to.

Hope you enjoy this project!

How To Create a Faux Stone Look

 It has been a while since I have posted a decorative how-to

project for you. I recently painted the above faux stone effect on canvas.

Then I added a quote in a fancy lettering style. Anyway, I thought you

might enjoy this step by step instruction.

 Start with 3 similar paints. These are latex wall paint but you could use

acrylic craft paint. You will need a small liner brush or 

a feather (goose or chicken), a spray bottle with water, and
you will need a sponge. A sea sponge is good.

The one I used was an inexpensive wanna-be from WalMart.

 Puddle/swirl the 3 different colors of paint. I like them 

mingled on the plate and then mingled on the canvas.

This technique can be used on the wall, a board, a countertop,

a  floor, just about anywhere.

 Spray the surface with water. This will help mingle the paint

and slow the drying time so you don't feel pressured.

 Dip the sponge in the paint catching some of all the colors.

 Dab, dab, dab onto the surface. Be sure to change directions 

with your sponge so you get a random pattern not a repeated pattern.

 To get a good stone effect don't just dab, occasionally press 

the sponge into the surface so that

more paint is released and the edges are softened.

Before the paint starts to dry, spritz a little water here and there.

This will cause the paint colors to flow together. Don't over spray!

And this part only works if your surface is laying flat.

To create the veins use the edge of a feather or a small

liner brush. Using the feather, drag thru a couple of the colors

then pull across the surface. Using the small brush, touch 

into a couple of colors (not mixed) 

then roll and pull (at the same time) across the surface.

The effect is nice if the paint is still a bit damp on your surface.

Also a little spritz of water here and there can soften the

vein and make it appear to go into the stone.

I hope you will get a chance to use this technique and I would

love to see your project. 

I will be back in a day or two to show you how to 

make the stone look like it has been carved.

Freedom-Don't Take It For Granted Watercolor

 

I am so excited!!! I just won my first award!

This won 3rd place at the Watercolor Horizons

show at the Ellen Noel Museum in Odessa. 

The inspiration for the painting:

Joe and I were at a job related training and the instructor

opened the session with a short documentary about

Frances Scott Key and "The Star Spangled Banner".

I was moved to the very core of my being at the 

sacrifices made by our founding fathers.

"O, say does that star spangled banner yet wave?

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."

or BECAUSE of the brave.

The flag is displayed on the porch

with the rocking chairs.

Comforting and comfortable.

FREEDOM-Don't Take It For Granted!

Memories - Acrylic on Canvas

A potential client called Tuesday. 

She wanted a painting of a horse 

for a staff member that was moving?

(Her) Can you paint a horse?

(Me) Yes! What's your budget? 

Acrylic or watercolor?

Canvas or Paper? What size?

What color horse? The head only or

standing, running, rearing up, bucking,..?

You want it when?

Thursday? Sure!

(Her) Can you add a windmill and water tank?

(Me) Sure!

"Memories" 11"x14" Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

SOLD!

Fishers of Men Commission

It has been a busy week! Thank you, Lord!

I have finished several commissions. Our good friend, Mike

asked me to paint one for his office. He wanted a stormy

sky, a stormy sea, a huge rock with a man hanging on to

it reaching out to someone in the waves and a sinking

boat in the background. Hmm!?! 

What should I use as a reference. We are in a drought. 

Our lake is at 2 percent-not 2percent low. 

That would be 98 percent low. 

So, no waves! Storm clouds have been scarce as 

hen's teeth. With the moral decline we have seen

a lot of shipwrecked lives. 

The waves behind the figure in the water

are dark and pulling. The wave in front of the figure

is light and figure on the the rock is holding 

on tightly with a strong right arm.

The precious thing about this painting is 

the model for the figure on the rock is Joe 

and the one in the water is our son, Stephen.

Jesus is our Rock! He is our Redeemer! He draws

us up from the deep! We ought also to reach out

to those who are overwhelmed and drowning in waves

of fear, depression, poverty, illness...

Make us Fishers of Men and Women!!!

3 Chilies in Watercolor Class

When I was in the produce section at the grocery store

I spotted these Anaheim Chilies. I picked these 3 that were

changing colors and I knew they would be fun to paint.

It was so fun that I taught in this weeks class

I am so loving teaching my watercolor classes.  I love

seeing their work, how they are progressing, 

and the friendships that are growing

Last week we had a special treat. 

We met at Laurie's house. She is such a gracious hostess.

She has a beautiful home and we enjoyed a yummy brunch

and then splashed around in the paint while 

Zach splashed around in her pool.

Squash Blossom Neacklace Watercolor

Watercolor on paper 8 X 10

My watercolor class students requested or suggested

that they would like to paint a squash blossom

necklace. One of the students had this lovely piece

I took a bunch of photos with an assortment

of backgrounds. This one was photographed on a 

turquoise painted table. I think I really like it on white.

Tomorrow I will make sure I get a good image of it.

With All My Art - Nathalie

My Website

Watercolor Class Geraniums

Here is the class finished pieces.

They did a good job, don't you think so?  

I am so proud of them. I have enjoyed teaching 

color blending, washes, which brushes, why wet in wet, etc.

But, my favorite part has been getting to know the

ladies that had been taking the classes.

Chatting over palettes of freshly mixed paints and a new piece

of paper is just as good as sharing over a cup of coffee.

We might have to paint this sometime.

Thanks for stopping by!

Teaching a Watercolor Class

"Geraniums and Clay Pots" 

This will be the watercolor class lesson today.

I started teaching a watercolor class in February of this year. 

It has been an amazing time. 

Them: Why do you mix those colors? 

Why does her green look different than my green? 

How did you do that? Oh my! I have a bloom! 

Now, what do I do? My painting doesn't look like your painting? 

 

Me: (Not the answers to the above questions) 

Wow! That turned out nice! I really like that effect!

Let's see if we can fix that. Hmm!?! 

What if you add a ...? Wait! Don't get ahead of me. 

You need more water. You need more pigment...

You know who has learned the most by teaching the class?

ME!!!

One of my favorite teaching quotes:
"Tell me and I will probably forget.
Show me and I might remember.
Involve me and I will never forget.."
That is the method that I try to use in my classes.
Check be later and I will show you what we did in class today.

More New Technique - Loose, Detailed Watercan

I really enjoyed the bright, colorful technique I
used on the San Miguel Mission watercolor.
So, here we go again.

I reserved my white areas with masking fluid.
Then, I brushed the entire surface with clear water.

I dropped in colors. The colors look randomly placed
but they are not. Burnt sienna was placed in the
flower pot area. Purple and turquoise in
the shadow and watercan vicinity.

I splattered in sap green, olive green, cad yellow,
and cad red. While the greens and reds were still wet,
I dropped in purple in the areas that will be
in shadow and a bit of burnt sienna just because.
After the painting was dry I began to add some
loose detail. This was the s-t-r-e-t-c-h for me,
since I love details
Hmm! If it's detailed,  how can it be loose and
if it's loose, how can it be detailed?

"Some Water, Some Plant..."

8x10 on Arches Paper
"So neither the one who plants, nor the one
who waters is anything, but only God,
who makes things grow."
1 Corinthians 3:7

San Miguel Mission - Trying Something New

The San Miguel Mission in Santa Fe
is the oldest mission in the United States.
Joe and I visited Santa Fe several years ago and I
found many wonderful sights to photograph.
The mission was one of those.
Well, this afternoon I decided to try a technique that

I have never used before. I started with just loose color 

mingling. Then, some details. I really enjoy the challenge 

of watercolors and realism so this semi loose

style is a stretch for me.
However, I do like the brighter colors.

Might have to try this again sometime.

 I painted the one on the left in '09and it is my watercolor
class project for thenext two weeks.
Just wanted to try some watercolor drama.

Let me know which one you like best.
Thanks for stopping by!

Texture Tuesday - Grandma's Berries

It's Time for Texture Tuesday. The theme this week

is gardening. These are Grandma's Berries. Actually, I think

they are Papa's. But she and I were in the berry patch to take

this photo. I have cropped it, used a guassian blur, added

Kim's Bentpages edges. If you love playing with your camera

and your photoshop, pop on over to Kim Klassen's Cafe.