Chanterelles

Two things were accomplished with this paintings titled "Chanterelles".  I took a photo of this scene when in France the last time. I have always been fond of it but I knew the chanterelle mushrooms would be a challenge to paint. Second of all, I wanted to try out new watercolor paper made by Windsor & Newton. It is their professional watercolor block 12 x 16 hot press paper.

As you can see, I think my painting turned out well. It was a pleasure to work on the paper and will now be using it on a regular basis. Any feedback that you might have if you are familiar with this watercolor paper, please comment.

 

8 x 8" Watercolors

 Because of an upcoming exhibition coming soon, I have created several 8" x 8" watercolor paintings. I am not sure which one I should submit, but I will be creating a page on my website just for these small paintings. I would like to offer small prints of these and hope to source them soon. Here they are:

If one catches your eye, please let me know.

4TH Annual Women in Watercolor International Juried Competition

 I am pleased to have received the following message:

Dear Artist,

We are pleased to inform you that your paintings "Reaching Out" and "Monpazier" have been accepted into the 4th Annual Women in Watercolor International Juried Competition. Congratulations!

Your paintings were two of 216 accepted entries this year out of over 1800 entries from over 60 countries, from the best of the best women watercolor artists; so you should be very proud!

And I am very proud! Here are the paintings:

New 8" x 8" April Dawn

I am working up a few watercolors in an 8"x8" format. I will reveal at a later time why. I intend to do a series which I will post on my blog. Here, I have recorded in a few steps how it looked leading to the final at the bottom. It depicts a dalia blossom which caught my eye and thought it would make for an interesting watercolor subject. To enhance the composition, I put in a lacy pattern in a strip in the background. (I discovered that "Washi Tape" used in the first image makes for a crisp edge and paint does not seep underneath.)

 

Painting Finished

 I started this painting back during covid. I put it away for awhile and made some revisions to it. Slight ones. I now feel it is ready. When an artist works on something for a period of time, it is good to stop looking at it only to come back to it with a fresh eye. I generally look at it this way and see things that can be improved upon. Maybe some little things that were not part of the reference or composition. "Low Tide at Mont St. Michel" is now complete.

Zen Redux

Sometimes as an artist, you have the desire or affliction to not be satisfied with your work. and sometimes you take a painting and mess about with it. That is the case with my painting "Zen". Here is how it has been re-worked. Still not happy with it and desire to let this one go and start fresh with something else. Sometimes you just cannot make it happen. Any thoughts on the two versions would appreciated. You can email me or write a comment.

 

Stolen Painting!

 

Some international intrigue! One of the paintings in the Detroit Institute of Arts Van Gogh in America Exhibit was reported to be stolen by a Brazilian art collector. He claims to have paid 3.7m for it. The case is currently in the courts. He attests that a third party stole it. He saw the media about the show in Detroit and immediately notified the DIA.

Van Gogh in America

 Along with my own artwork, I would like for my blog to be about art and artists. I had the privilege of attending the most significant exhibition of Van Gogh outside of Europe here in America. The exhibition was highlighting 100 years of the Detroit Institute of Arts acquiring the first Van Gogh painting ever to be bought in  the USA. There was controversy at the time even though his paintings were gaining much exposure in Europe. The museums at the time in America thought it was a foolish move. Ha! It was the smartest move ever. Even though I only found one in the collection that was done with watercolors and mixed media, I still think that my followers will be interested  in this. Here are some painting from the collection.