04--26-16: Art Class with Fred

3:24pm

Time to toddle off to art class - I'm going to try to paint this. I like the old water mill. This would be someplace I'd like to hike. I think I'll put a little more red in the leaves though. Not sure yet as I don't know how it's going to turn out. Once I start painting it's as if the painting takes on a life of its own and I'm just trying to catch up with my paintbrush.

 

5:36pm

Art class was cut short today because the gallery café closed early. Fred taught me about gradient washes and how they can be used to paint skies, seas and trees. They will come in real handy when I attempt to paint the picture above. I hope I don't make a mess of it.

Watercolor Classes with Fred

I discovered Bible Journaling on Pinterest (under Mountain Sprite) and got hooked using watercolors. It inspired me to start taking watercolor classes with a professional artist in Banning. Fred is a wonderful teacher. This is my first watercolor. It's of the Point Pinos Lighthouse in Pacific Grove, CA. Eric and I went there for our 10-year anniversary and I took some photos.

 

 

The next piece is a pencil sketch of the Luther Mills Bridge in Bradford County.

 

This pencil sketch was me just goofing off.

 

And this is a watercolor of a koi pond. It's my second watercolor.

 

 

My First Original Acrylic Painting

I haven't completed this yet. It's a work in progress. I took some art lessons from Sharon Rachelle at her art studio in Yucaipa, but then we moved and I stopped going. I will need to pick them back up again.

This is a painting I was doing of our cabin in the fall. I was going to hang it over the mantle, but that all changed. Now I don't have the heart to keep working on it as the cabin is no longer my home. It belongs to someone else.

Acrylic Paint-by-Number Kits

These paintings were done over the course of three weeks. I found them very addicting. The only thing that was very disappointing was that I couldn't find any folk art paint-by-number kits. At the time I painted these I was going to do a nautical theme in the cabin or a cottage theme with nautical accessories. In the end we moved and now I'm going to do our new house with a prim décor so I won't be able to use them. I suppose I can hang them in my art studio.

 

This lighthouse was the first kit I did.

 

This one is called Café by the Sea. It was the second painting I did.

 

This one is called Cottages by the Sea. It was the third painting I did.

 

This one is called Moonlight Paradise. I changed a lot of the color scheme on it.

 

This one is called Lighthouse by Moonlight. I finished it but didn't take a picture that's why the lighthouse isn't complete. I'll upload one tomorrow.

 

I ordered this one thinking it was a Kinkade. Imagine my disappointment when it wasn't. I changed the color of the trees and flowers and the waves.

 

 I ordered a Kinkade from China which I am working on. You can't buy them in the U.S. I will post it when I'm finished with it. Right now it's too cold to paint in my craft room. I also ordered a Kinkade of a boat on a stormy sea. I love painting these because they are very relaxing for me.

Acrylic Painting: Lighthouse - June 2015

In June of 2015 I started painting with acrylics. This was my first piece. It was a paint by number kit but I made it my own. I had a lot of fun doing it and it was very relaxing so I ended up getting hooked and then did several other kits. I had hoped to hang them in the cabin, but then we moved and now they won't fit the décor of the new house.

As you can see in the photo above the picture was very drab. I wanted it to be more vibrant. I changed the color of the roof on the lighthouse and added flowers. The colors shown on the sample above were nothing like the colors in the tubes so I had to mix my own combinations. 

Santa's Journey: Day 9

So far most of today has been spent stitching in the tree. Whew! a lot of work and color changes. The ornaments add to the three dimensional look.




































I was off one stitch on the left side, and had to tear some out, but not as much as usual. I found the error fairly quickly.

Santa's Journey: Day 8

I finished the sled, completed the holly bush, and added the french knot berries. I also completed the cardinal pair. There were a lot of color changes in these birds, which always poses a problem for me when it comes to burying my threads on the back.




I stitched in Santa's beard and face. I left the eyes out though; it's just a quirk of mine. I always do the eyes last. I also stitched in the toy sack and Santa's hat. I stitched the gold cuff on the hand holding the base of the Christmas tree, and got a start on the tree as well. I stitched a lot of the shading on the left of the piece above Santa's shoulder. This area is where the tree will go.