Final Koi Painting

This is the finished painting. All I did at this level was to blend the dark area on the bottom left a little more to my liking. You just have to know when to quit. Sometimes, I purposely put a painting away for a month or two and bring it out to look at it with fresh eyes. So now my blog followers can see how it was done step-by-step.

Stage 5 Koi Painting

Now you can see, I have developed the reflections in the foreground and put in a darker shadow.

At this stage, it is 99% complete. I still need to look on it for awhile and see what bothers me and to look at it with a critical eye.

Stage 4 Koi Painting

Now you can see how it is developing. I have laid in the dark areas of the pond and removed the masking. The reflections in the pool in the background are worked out and now I will be putting my attention on the reflections in the foreground.

Koi Painting Stage 3

Here we are at stage 3. I have rendered more of the Koi and I have put in darker washes in the upper right corner. I did this to establish how dark I wanted it to go and adjusted the other greenish blueish color in the water in the upper part of the painting. That area is still masked off while I apply the washes.

Koi Painting Stage 2

This is stage two in the development of my painting of Koi. As you can see, I put in more washes of the water and developed the color of the central koi in the painting.

Koi Painting

I started this painting of Koi fish in a pond and decided to document the progression of how I developed the painting. This is stage 1. I put in basic washes and applied masking to areas that I want to keep white.

Macaron Poster

A friend of mine who makes french macarons wanted me to design a poster for her. I illustrated the macarons in watercolor, took a digital image of the painting and brought it into Photoshop. On my watercolor blog, of course I mostly discuss and show my activity in the world of watercolor but I also teach advanced photoshop at a local community college. I combined these skills to create this poster for her. It is good to combine the latest technology with direct painting and drawing skills. This is the result. The above image shows the design and the one on top is the actual print out.

Watercolor Workshop

Here I am teaching my first watercolor workshop! It was a success. Students enjoyed it and I did too. I was happy to share my knowledge of the medium of watercolor and hope to teach many more in the new year. This workshop was held at the Anton Art Center in downtown Mt. Clemens.

Scenes from the 98th International Open Exhibition for the National Watercolor Society.

For those of you who did not attend or were not able to, I will share with all of you the experience of spending a long weekend in San Pedro, California. Enjoy!

And here is a scene of the marina in San Pedro and my painting "Soft Landing" in the show. I achieved my signature status this year.

"Soft Landing" is in "The Art of Watercolour" Magazine

Here is the layout on page 8 in their 32nd issue out this month. Out of all the watercolor magazines out there, I feel that this one is the most professional and shows the best of the best watercolor artists around the world. I feel proud to have my painting shown in this issue.

The Meaning of Gaining Signature Status

 “The National Watercolor Society is a very prestigious organization, and the jurying in is so strict that to be able to put NWS after one’s name is really a feather in one’s cap,” Meg Huntington Cajero, a past president of the society, said. “The letters NWS matters to dealers who would be more inclined to represent an artist with them, knowing that the artist has been seen as having attained a very high level of skill and accomplishment, and dealers would point out the ‘NWS’ to potential collectors.” Yet others claim that it is worthwhile for an artist to let others know how he is esteemed by others.”

This is from an article:  Huff Post

La Cuisine Paris

La Cuisine Paris is cooking located in the center of Paris. Through a friend of mine, I had the opportunity to visit the school while she went to her pastry classes in Paris. While there, we went on a tour offered by the school called "Let Them Eat Cake" tour which meant that we were able to sample various Parisian delights of their Chocolatiers and Patisseries. Being an artist, I saw inspiration along the way for future paintings.  When I got back to the States, I proceeded to put these inspirations to paint. What became of it were two significant paintings from the tour along with of course other paintings inspired by France itself to form several paintings turning into offerings of prints and notecards.  La Cuisine was interested in letting their cliental know about the art in there latest newsletter. I am honored! Here is the Newsletter from Paris which show one of the paintings.  It is from the store called La Mazet located in the Marias area of Paris.

News Alert: Received signature status with the National Watercolor Society!

Yes, it happened yesterday with a call from Penny Hill. This has been my year for inclusion as a signature member in two prestigious watercolor societies. It is quite an accomplishment and sounds like it came so easily.  It did not. It might have come faster if I had participated more but let's face it, to get involved takes a not only a time commitment but also a financial one. Paying dues, exhibition fees to just send an image in for consideration for a show, shipping, crating, framing and travel fees if you go to see the exhibition can all add up. Hence, the cost of a painting. But the experience of it all is well worth it. When you do not get accepted or it takes awhile to acquire signature membership, it should just make one more determined to develop your painting skills and save up because when going to these shows, you get to meet some very special people. And it is a great accomplishment to have arrived to this status.

Watercolors on Display at Anne Fontaine

Yesterday, my watercolors from my travels in France went on display at the Anne Fontaine store at the Somerset Collection in  Troy, Michigan. This was to acknowledge and celebrate Bastille Day!

Celebrate Bastille Day!!

Here is the invitation from Anne Fontaine located at the Somerset Collection in Troy, Michigan to celebrate Bastille Day in which they will be featuring my watercolor paintings from various trips to France. I am excited about this opportunity! It should be fun and interesting. If any of my followers happen to be in the area on July 14 stop by to say hello.

Updated Website

What a trying two days!!! I only update my site every two years and I have to remember how I did it the time before. But after much grueling effort, it is complete! These are a few of the new pages to my updated website: paulafiebich.com

"Soft Landing" chosen for 98th NWS International Exhibition!

Received my congratulations from Penny Hill, director of exhibitions with NWS about my painting "Soft Landing".

They are checking into signature membership  as I have exhibited with them 3 times now. I will make that official announcement when I receive the information.

AWS Awards Dinner 151st Exhibit 2018

Here are some scenes from the AWS awards dinner.

From top to botton:  outside the Salmagundi Club, my  painting "French Lace", attending my first AWS meeting, fellow artist Sandy Delehanty with her painting "Notre Dame", plates getting ready for the dinner, fellow artist, Myrna Wacknov with her painting "Snapped", getting my certificate for my signature membership with AWS president Antonio Masi.

Catalog from the American Watercolor Society Arrived!

The American Watercolor Society Exhibition Catalog  for the 151th show arrived today! The quality of the catalog is first rate and nicely designed.  Excited to see the show.  I always learn something new from other artists whenever I attend the show. Honored to be a part of this as I have received my signature membership this year.

Fresh Paint (Peinture Fraiche)

Here is a new painting "Peinture Fraiche" or Fresh Paint! When on a tour of all the fabulous patisseries and chocolatiers in the Marias district in Paris, we came across this lovely very vivid yellow shop called "Maison de la Prasline Mazet". The outside had just received a fresh coat of yellow paint and they had signs all over letting you know not to touch or you will have a fresh coat of yellow paint on you also. As part of a series that I am developing of patisseries in Paris, I would like to have a collection that can possibly be turned into a future calendar or cards etc. If you look inside the shop, you will see a head of someone in the corner looking out the window. Also, of note, is the hand print to the right indicating that someone did not pay attention to the signs.

Anne Fontaine

Excited to report that I have been approached by Anne Fontaine at The Somerset Collection in Troy, Michigan to exhibit my watercolors for a special store event! They are interested in my paintings done from various trips to France being they are a store from Paris! I am honored and excited for this opportunity. Details to follow.

I have achieved Signature Status with the American Watercolor Society!

I am proud to have received notice that I have been accepted into the American Watercolor Society as a signature member! My painting "French Lace" will be part of the American Watercolor Society 151st Exhibition for 2018! When working on a painting, you get a feel for how it is developing and while working on this one, it was coming together very well. Looks like another trip to NYC is in store this year.