"Secret Message"...can you find it?

-


Saint Michael's Mount


                                           Can you find my secret message?

This summer my family visited the United Kingdom. As guests of good friends from nearby Marazion, a tour of St Michael's Mount nearby was a favorite. I was inspired, and I hope you will be too, by this castle fortress, St Michael's Mount, off the coast of Cornwall. Not only is it isolated high on a cliff on an island but no doubt has a long history which I will be exploring. But for now, in a peaceful time period of its life, with tourists climbing its colorful landscaped rock path, it looks like it could last many more lifetimes and tell even more stories. I immediately wanted to paint it and, in keeping with the Medieval customs of secret passages, secret messengers and secret alliances, I have painted a secret message in my painting, too. Let me know if you can find it.

As for my techniques, I used a tablet sheet ( 24"x 18") of Strathmore 140# paper and designed the path in a lighter color to guide the viewer up to the top of the steep slope. The greens were also intended to be a secondary path. I love negative painting so used some of those shapes within shapes to describe shrubbery and grasses, especially in the foreground. With some creative license on the colors most of them transparents, I repeated them throughout the twisting landscape.
This painting titled "Secret Message" has been entered in the Waterloo Watercolor Fall Show which will take place in September. I also had 11"x15" prints made at Coastal Giclee. Contact me if you are interested or check my Etsy store, Watergirl Art

Some steps in the process:
           

If you are in the Austin metroplex and want to take an in person class, please consider this one day Saturday work shop on Oct 8th:





Print your own merchandise including note cards, prints and more from my Fine Art America website or visit my Etsy store, Watergirl Art. Coming soon....my 2022 Holiday card!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ideas from Maui ...

-
Image
 It has been a month of travel for us! I brought a small tray of paints and some favorite brushes and did a little doodling on flights but for the most part, I enjoyed other artists' works. Time for my creating later. Some very clever ideas are out there if you go into galleries that feature local artists. I did that in Maui last week mostly at the Lahaina shops on Front Street. The restaurants are not bad either! Shouts out to Duckine, Mala and Star Noodle for their creativity with food and drinks. And did I mention the scenery is breathtakingly beautiful? Don't forget to take a sunset cruise...it's amazing. And soooo relaxing... Artists on site : I was very impressed with some of the local artists' works in an especially competitive arena. Tourists were invited to cool off and shop in lovely settings with many featuring artists on hand to chat while they explained some special details about their works. This always increases the activity in the gallery and likely resu
Read more

Merchandising Your Art

-
Image
"Dairy Queen" If you have lived in Texas, you might love Blue Bell. Even our cows do.  I hope you have considered merchandising your images. Not only is it fun to see products with your artwork on them but it is lucrative and makes a longer lasting impression of your intention and talent. It's a great gift from you, as well. Where can you get this work created? One artist website is Fine Art America. I let the people at Fine Art America print my images on notecards, prints of all sizes and on surfaces of all kinds. For example, tote bags are a popular item. Many folks aren't collectors of hanging art but they like color and uniqueness in other areas of their homes. Mugs are  another popular item because they are practical and inexpensive as a gift. You can include beach towels, tapestries, masks and notebook covers and more. Pros: It doesn't cost much, (I set my own prices) and it is working behind the scenes making income for me. You can order personally from he
Read more

Round Top Treasures... a lesson on painting reflections

-
Image
 A funny story here...my girlfriend , Nancy Kay, might be the world's greatest Christmas enthusiast. Not only is there A LOT of stuff inside and out but it is lovingly hung just after Halloween, annually refreshed and then carefully stored ( for a short while anyway) in mid January. The traditional party mix is a baking ordeal done early and given to lucky recipients. It has so much bacon fat, its best to take an antacid before munching. The candy, the wrapped staircase, the tree, the music, the smells!!! are all at their home displaying an abundance of Christmas ambiance. This silver service is always draped with pine cones and a bow and has a place of honor in the Dining Room which is lavishly decorated , set for immediate guests or for a potential drop in by royalty. This year , in June, ( painted in April) will be the Malone's 50th wedding anniversary so I decided to paint this "family heirloom" minus the pine cones for them and asked the "story" behind
Read more