Day 1 - 30 in 30 Days - Orange Slices

It has been almost a year since I have blogged. 

There was one post in October 2013 after I was involved in 

my last Leslie Saeta 30 day challenge.

It has been an incredible year and a hard year with lots of 

blessings and lots of challenges - most that had nothing to do with art. 

I may or may not share about that along the way.

And if I do I will not bombard you all at once.

But one thing for sure - when life is hard, God is Good!. 

So here is Day 1 of the challenge. 

ORANGE SLICES

 8"X10" - Arches 140 lb cold press

I just got in a new set of Golden QOR watercolors

from Dick Blick!!! They are so vibrant and concentrated!

I also made a video of this painting but I have to edit before I post.

Hopefully I am back for awhile but 

I am not making any promises.

I do have a few videos that I have recently put on youtube. 

They are from the classes that I have been teaching at

WTC- College on the Square.

So when you have a minute or soooo...check them out!!!

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; 

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

John 10:10

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.

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!!!

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.

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!

Grapes in a Crystal Bowl Watercolor

 

Beautiful crystal bowl, plump grapes and morning sunshine.

I love this image. I love painting glass. 

This is my first attempt at painting cut or faceted glass

Wet Canvas has 1,000's of great, free images

in their reference library.

 

It has been a little while since I have made a WIP 

(Work In Progress) video. I thought this would be a

good project to do that with.

I look at these big, fat juicy grapes and think 

about the land that God promised His children...

When they reached the Valley of Eschol, they cut off a

branch with a single cluster of grapes. Two of them

carried it on a pole between them. Numbers 13: 23

Our God is more than enough!

MAA Spring Show and "Old Keys"

Last night was the "Meet the Artists" reception and awards for the Midland Arts Association Spring Show.
It was a beautiful, well attended event.

There were 75 pieces selected from 279 entries.

I was excited that my "Old Keys" watercolor

was juried in. The show runs until April 10th.

I didn't win an award (this time). At first I was

disappointed, then His peace filled my heart.

I will keep painting and honing my skills.

I truly believe this is a divine season in my life.

I want to be faithful with the talent that He has

blessed me with.

Kyndal in Grandma's Yellow Hat Watercolor Portrait

Watercolor on paper 11"X14"

Kyndal is my great niece. She got all dolled
up wearing Grandma's yellow hat and her pearls.
She has the most beautiful big, blue eyes and
long, dark lashes. What an irresistable model.

Sunflower Study - Watercolor

This is a little watercolor study I did. It is 5" X 7".

The sky was actually that clear and brilliant blue.

I love sunflowers!

I love painting them, photographing them,

picking them, looking at them, and I even like

eating their seeds! Yum!

Several years ago when I was clowning, my persona

was "Sunny". I was a sunflower clown. If I can find a photo

I will share that with you.

I guess my favorite thing about

sunflowers besides their happy color and easy to paint

shapes is the fact that they face the sun.

There are sunflower fields between here and Lubbock

and it is so fun to see the whole field with the

heads of the sunflowers turned to face the sun.

Hebrews 12:2  Fixing our eyes on Jesus,

the author and finisher of our faith.

Red Grapes Watercolor 5"X 7"

I love grapes and I love to paint grapes.

Just about any time I paint them I think about

the children of Israel and the 10 that went

to spy out the land that God had promised them.

Numbers 13:23 Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol,

and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes;

they carried it between two of them on a pole.

(27)“We went to the land where you sent us.

It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit...

(33)There we saw the giants; and we were like

grasshoppers in our own sight,

and so we were in their sight.”

The promises of God are Yes and Amen but

what we accomplish is often based on how

we see ourselves and how

we think others see us

How do you see yourself today?

Red, White, and Rust

Watercolor 5" X 7"

I am not sure why I am so intrigued
with rust but I am. On a girl-friends weekend to
San Angelo, we browsed the antiques shops.
In the basement of one shop, I spotted this neglected
and out of place red, white, and rusted enamelware coffee pot.
It wasn’t upstairs in a prime location.
It wasn’t displayed with the expensive china and crystal.
But, I could tell by the water lines on the inside
that this little pot had been well used and probably
had a story to tell if anyone would listen.
Not pretty, not elegant, not expensive just a
little coffee pot that had seen better days.

Send The Rain Watercolor

Watercolor 5" X 7"

We are so dry here. I woke up this morning

with the prayer, "Send the Rain".

I painted what a West Texas thunderstorm looks like.

And then during our awesome worship service

the songs were about the rain. Thank you, Lord.

This painting has been listed in my store at

Nathalie Kelley's Art Facebook Fan Page

My Great Niece Watercolor Portrait

My great niece is so delightful and the moment she

sees a camera aimed at her she goes into beauty queen

poses. This time she didn't see the camera and this very

relaxed and natural image was captured by my brother.

I couldn't wait to try this with watercolors.

Watercolor 11" X14"

Guadalupe River in the Fall - Watercolor

I just finished this. Landscapes are a bit of

a stretch for me, but I keep trying.

I love all the rocks and the beautiful, orange cypress

tree. I can almost hear the water rippling.

Apricots in a Paper Sack - Watercolor

This spring we had abundant rains

and the last cold snap was not cold

enough to kill the young blossoms.

In 16 years this is only the second time

that our apricot tree has produced fruit.

I gathered the fruit just a little bit green and

put it in a brown paper sack to ripen.

After a fews days -

Voila!

First- peel, pit and put some in the freezer.

Next, a painting, of course.

Tomorrow, fried pies.

Apricot fried pies are my favorites fried pies

We thought about cutting down the

tree since year after year it did not bear

fruit but we decided to leave it in hopes

that it would eventually.

It had fruit once before and maybe it would again.

God sees the potential in each of us even when

we are in the barren, unfruitful seasons of our life.

He knows the plans He has for us,

for a hope and a future...

Cherries in a Fiesta Yellow Sugar Bowl

A handful of red, almost black cherries,

a yellow Fiesta sugar bowl, a vintage tablecloth,

and some wonderul morning light --

all the ingredients for new watercolor painting.

My parents are antique dealers and

have blessed me with many wonderful pieces of Fiesta.

The smaller vintage tablecloths and tea towels

have been my newest quest as I visit antique shops.

Old Piano and Old Jar Watercolor

I just entered my first art contest.

This is the painting that I submitted.

The piano is at the

Manhattan Coffee House.

Good Coffee!!! The glass jar, tied with sisal rope

and filled with stones and

Texas wildflowers, was sitting on

a little table by the front door.

I thought the combination would

make an awesome painting.

I was thrilled with how it turned out.
I think I will make limited

edition prints of this one.

I think it also needs a good name.

Any ideas?

Low Tide

I am teaching a watercolor class

at College on the Square tomorrow

(it's so late now, it's almost tomorrow).

This is one of the pieces we will be painting.

Name the Painting!!!

This painting needs a title, so I am having a contest.

Submit a title and if your title is the winner

you will receive a free print!

I look forward to hearing from you.