The Year of the Dragon

2012 is the year of the Dragon!  Here is a painting that I am currently working on to celebrate.  Again on a recent trip to NYC, (I should just move there I think) going through the SOHO area there is a store called "Pearl River".  Love this store for the color explosion and intriguing items from the Orient.  They have paper dragons hanging from the ceiling, lanterns all over and bamboo bird cages.  I have been harboring some photos that I took and am now bringing it to create my first painting of the new year.  What better than to start off with a dragon theme in honor of the Chinese New Year.  Here so far is my step by step progress on developing the painting.

Discover & Download Revisited

I started this painting last year. Liked it but was not satisfied with it.  I put it aside for a few months and got it out again during my time off in December.  It was a good thing that I did not scrap it, because looking at it again, I made some adjustments to it that seemed to suit me better.  This is the result.  A little background on the painting...took a trip to NYC what is now a couple of years ago and took some pictures while in Times Square.  Just the place for someone who like a lot of 'eye candy' in their paintings. What I adjusted were the people in the foreground.  I put them more in the shadows. I enhanced some shadowing and some reflections.  All in all, I will now have it part of my new collection for the new year.

It's been an Interesting year!

I'll say it again.....its been an interesting year.  Quite a bit was accomplished and I am on to a fresh start for the new year.  Cleaned up my studio, have some new ideas and new projects.  I feel like I am just now getting started with what is to come in the future.  This is a good place to be.

I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas around the world. Thanks for the interest in my art and the comments.  Happy Holidays!

Photos from my Solo Show at GM Design Center Gallery

It was a success! Beautiful gallery location over looking the lake at the GM Tech Center grounds and in a beautiful building built by Aero Saarinen.  And to top it all off, I had a prestigious guest at my opening, Balthazar Korab.  Famous photographer and architect who worked for Aero Saarinen in designing the building that is the headquarters for GM Design.  What an honor!  As the photos show my watercolors looked great and attracted a good turn out.  Thanks to all that helped in making it happen for me.

Solo Show-GM Design Center Gallery

I am having a solo show coming up this month at the General Motors Design Center Gallery.  This is my first solo!

Thanks to the GM creative design department, this is the poster that they designed to announce the exhibit.  They incorporated my Reflections III painting to use as the background for the type and design.  It will be running from 10.20.11 thru to 11.28.11 with the opening reception on 10.20.

I will let you all know how it goes.

Commission for the "Love Bridge", (Ponte Degli Scalzi) Venice, Italy

How would you like to be proposed to? On a bridge named Ponte Degli Scalzi in Venice, Italy? Well it did happen for a lucky couple and I have been commissioned to immortalize that moment in watercolor. I wish I could have taken a trip there to gather my reference photographs and sketches but such a luxury does not always exist. Thank god for the internet for supplying the necessary views from the bridge on the Grand Canal in Venice.

Maybe next year............I will be the lucky the girl. To go to Venice, I mean. (or maybe for something else.) Any way, I hope for the best for everyone. Just as long as Linda & Tony are happy that is all that matters. And who is Linda & Tony?? There will be only the special few who know.

10,000 Views!

Well I just crossed the 10,000 mark of how many views there have been to my blog! I thank all the avid watercolor artists out there interested in the medium and curious to see someone else's approach. I believe a lot of the exposure was due to being on the cover of International Artist Magazine along with my crazy cousins who have discovered an artist in the family. LOL to all the cousins! I love that they have taken such an active interest in my art. But beside all that, I truly feel that with the onset of the internet and how we are able to network globally, has given us the opportunity to learn and enhance the quality of our individual artwork.

I have been taking a brief break this summer and recharging the creative batteries and I will soon be back putting my various ideas to paint. I can only hope to keep this all alive and interesting as I have found the blogs and websites of my followers to be equally as interesting.

To all my international followers and people that have sent me emails from other countries and locally, I thank you for your compliments and it has been exciting to be discovered overseas.

Michigan Watercolor Society 2011

Here are the photos from the 2011 Michigan Watercolor Society Show. The painting shown above the logo for MWS is the painting that took the highest award. All in all, it was an interesting show highlighting the talent in the State of Michigan. I have had people ask me how large My "Going Green" painting is. With me standing beside it, now the proportions can clearly be seen.

There was a good showing opening night with about 200 to 300 in attendance. I'd like to personally thank my cousin Linda and her husband Tony for coming in from Ann Arbor to lend support and interest. Also long time friend, Dale, who spiffed himself up to mingle with the art crowd in Birmingham.

Also thanks to Jerry Bowman. Glad to have met you and talked with you for such a long time. Your watercolors are awesome.

Michigan Watercolor Society Show

My painting "Going Green" has been chosen to be part of the 2011 Michigan Watercolor Society Exhibit for 2011. This is the first time for me to do something locally and I am excited to see the show. Miles Batt is the Juror for this show and will be giving a lecture the night before the opening on May 20th.

Stay tuned for further postings about the show.

Venetian Gold on Front Cover of International Artist Magazine

About a year ago, I received an email from Vincent Miller Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of International Artist Magazine in which he was interested in doing an article about me and my watercolor art for the magazine. There was a file sent as to what kind of information they were looking for and the structure of how to send everything to the magazine. I was just getting back to work about that time after a long layoff from the automotive industry here in Detroit and still going to school to pursue my digital art and animation degree so I didn't send it off right away. About three months later, I thought I should pursue this and plug along with getting all the package of information they wanted me to submit. I got it all done and sent it off to Australia where the magazine originates from.

I have been busy. Very busy. It crossed my mind a few times but thought maybe they decided not to do anything with it. I went out to my mailbox this last Thursday after getting home from work took out the mail, carried it into the house and let it sit there for a few before I went through my mail.

I had to do a double take when I got to my April/May copy of International Artist Magazine. I took one look at the cover and I was at a complete loss for words. There was my painting "Venetian Gold" on the cover.

It took me by surprise! Thank you International Artist for the honor!

Art Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

The latest technology makes it possible for an artist to publish their own art book. How great is that!

Linge de Maison

This is it! Linge de Maison. Which means household laundry in French. How appropo with laundry hanging out the window to dry. I added more texture and enriched some areas with another layer. Now it is no longer a WIP.

WIP 3

I am close but I still want to play with it for awhile. I get an idea of what I am trying to achieve and sometimes it comes together and sometimes it comes close. Still adjusting some affects. Will let you know when I am satisfied. When you get to certain level with your art, you would think that it comes easier but I am seeing that each painting poses its own challenges. I want to see what I can still make of this painting. I could leave it to the point it is at right now. Maybe I might, who knows. Later.

New Watercolor WIP 2

Progressing on my painting, I have now worked out more texture on the building facade and have put in more detail on the shuttered windows. I also added the wrought iron balcony with pots hanging from it. One thing I can say about both France and Italy is that they do make there windows interesting will all the things they put on display. Still much to work out.

New Watercolor WIP

Hi! It feels like a long time since I have been able to sit down and concentrate on my watercolor painting. Life gets in the way of what I should be spending all my time working on; that being my painting. Work and school for me have taken me away unfortunately. For all artists out there, you know what I am talking about. And now that I have more of a following, I feel it necessary to produce which is a good thing. Enough about that. What I have here is the start of a new composition and hopefully a new series of paintings (3) of exteriors that I found interesting in the South of France. I have decided on an elongated size to add interest and emphasis. This particular building was one that I came upon in the old part of Nice, France. I love the texture and age of the building and the things that the residents hang outside of their shuttered windows. There was a French Linen shop below. You will see as I develop the new painting.

The Launch of my new website

It's official! I now have my own .com! I have been working on this site for sometime and I am thrilled to have it up and running thanks to the technical people at GoDaddy.com.

After taking a semester of Dreamweaver, the result is now having the expertise to not only create my own but also to offer my services to others. Click the title of this posting to link to it. Any comments are welcome. You will find that I have included several links to other watercolor related sites that I have been personally involved with. So if any of my fellow artists would like a website designed for them or would like to refresh what they already have, feel free to contact me.

Featured on: Chris Beck Blog

Hi everyone! This must be my lucky week! I am being highlighted on Chris Beck's blog. I see that I already have a few new followers and I would like to say a collective welcome to my blog! I'm sure that I will be equally interested in checking out all of your paintings as well. So for those of you that have not discovered the above links to Chris's blogs, do so and you will be pleased.

All you have to do is 'click' on the title to this post.

"Venetian Gold" in Splash 11

The new edition of "Splash 11-New Directions" is out on the bookshelves! My painting "Venetian Gold" made it into this book because of the new direction that my paintings are taking recently.

The quote by Anais Nin is one that I supplied keeping in theme with the book. The quote reads:

...."and the day came when the risk it took to remain all tight in the bud became more painful than the risk it took to blossom."

This is so true in many areas of life. We don't care for change but in order to grow and blossom, you have to move forward even when it seems painful and scary to do so. I recently went through a scary time of uncertainty, not knowing what was going to happen in my life, but you have to trust the universe to help you out along with yourself. I'm happy to be a part of this wonderful book and I feel that the design and layout of this one is the classiest in the series. Check it out yourselves.

Discover & Download

"Discover & Download" is finished! Accept for a few "twikings" here and there. This painting shows a snapshot in time back to 2007 to Times Square in New York City. This was the year that I won the Gold Metal from the American Watercolor Society. Many photos were taken of the city at that time. What drew me to this one was the abstract design. Each window which shows reflections of the city or the times we live in had a contained abstract design which made a whole composition of abstraction. I wanted to show the energy of the city in this painting.

For the most part, it is finished but I might just make a few small, subtle changes.

International Artist Magazine is Out!

The April/May edition is out with my painting on page 13. Along with the painting is an artist statement about my inspiration, design strategy and working process. And of course, contact info. I am happy to be going international with my art especially when I see that I have people following my blog from across continents. Spring is here!