Many beginning students come to my watercolor classes with an array of brushes. One student even had about 30 brushes! That's all well and good, but most of them are surprised to learn that mostly I use only ONE brush to paint most of my watercolors. Well, the reasons are that I don't like switching brushes and I feel that I can get the job done with the one brush - a #8 round. If you get a high quality brush you can get a nice fine point at the tip for detail. A #8 brush is substantial enough to fill in washes. Occasionally, I will use a large #30 round brush for large washes and to paint skies. Recently, I have also started using a #4 for very fine detail. The #8 brush I am using currently was purchased at Blick and says Utrecht 228 sablette. I also have a #8 round Robert Simmons S85 (purchased at Jerry's Artarama) for a back up. Thanks for stopping by! Happy painting!
The Gates
If you missed the artist, Christo's installation art in Central Park, NYC in 2005 ( 7503 vinyl "gates" along 23 miles of pathways in Central Park which stood from February 12, 2005 until February 27, 2005) here is a link to a wonderful clip of the experience. Not to miss his closest work of art to the northeast, I traveled to NYC with several family members on a cold, snowy day in February, 2005. Soon, the cold evaporated into a warm, welcoming experience. Words could not do the installation justice so I set out to relive the experience in the way I often communicate - through painting. Not until I finished the first painting did I realize that creating this work in the month of February was utterly appropriate. The warm, saffron colored curtains set against the cool, blue winter day was a match of divine inspiration.
Collage
I've learned that a lot of my students like to hear the "back story" of a work of art. I haven't made many collages, but I love the creativity of that art process and I love mixed media. A dear friend and gifted artist, Judy Lanfredi (judylandfredi.com), has worked extensively in collage (one of which I am a proud owner) and I have always admired her work. Well this is how I got started in collage. Last winter we remodeled our kitchen and I wanted to hang one of my paintings in the kitchen. The problem was that the only available wall ( not blocked by appliances or cabinets) had our heating thermostat right smack in the middle! OK, I knew it couldn't be moved and I didn't consider it art on it own. My solution? Work with it. I created a 3D collage around the thermostat. I cut out the back of the collage so it fit around the thermostat and it became part of the art work! " Necessity is the Mother of Invention". Challenges and mistakes can take you in the most interesting directions!
Firetrucks
I will begin with one of my paintings. I walk almost daily and I pass by these old firetrucks in a field. I love the rusty color of the trucks and the way the weeds were growing around them. After receiving permission from the owner I took several photos of the trucks from many angles. I then did a detailed drawing and painted them in watercolor. I used the image of this painting in the publicity for my last exhibit. A friend, a retired fire chief, saw the painting and purchased it from me. You never know where your inspiration will come from or with whom your art will strike a chord.
watercolor painting
Photo
All things art
This is my first attempt at a blog. The direction I would like this blog to take is to share with you "all things art". I would like to share with you my artistic discoveries: inspirations, websites, art work, students' work, basically, "all things art" that I have found to help take you on a wonderful journey of enjoying the art process.