Round Top Treasures... a lesson on painting reflections

 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 what I truly thought was a family heirloom. Well, as it turns out , this was not in the family but rather a find in Round Top at the biannual flea market. Let's call it what it is...a Round Top treasure! The story can be ours to invent or tbd.

Here are a few of my efforts as I accomplished this amazing reflective piece. I worked on my colors in the silver reflecting some pink flowers as well as its design. I stayed on the cool side but couldn't resist some artistic license. I assume it is a beverage server and does have a ship etched in it. Maybe it was at the Captain's Table. Lots of good advice came from the California family as I painted it while out there for a visit.

The Back-ground was saved for last but became darker and darker as I saw its effect.   

This is the matting and framing I selected with some help of Glenn Gobel Framing in Pacific Grove , California. It will be on dispaly and for sale at Austin Bergstrom International airport starting in January 2024. Check out Gate 17's dispaly case to the right of Amy's Ice Cream. $750

This was so very fun to paint, so very Texas treasure and so very much the Malones! Happy Anniversary...!! Keep this going.

PS And, also in April, I entered the Waterloo Watercolor Group's Spring Show juried by Soon Warren. Stay tuned for more on that and also scenes from Soon's workshop.

Let me see what you're painting....

That painting won a first!! Thank you Soon for seeing my joy..."Highway to Heaven"

Glorious Succulents come alive on paper!

 March 3 and 4 was a very fun time for 9 students and myself at the Lost Pines Art Center in Bastrop. We all recreated a complicated garden scene that included succulents of various shapes and sizes on a patterned background. We also threw in a garden hose and faucet just for fun! It was based on this original of mine titled "Low Water Crossing" , a 22'x30" painting that would take a longer time period. Instead I took sections of it and sketched these onto 140 # Strathmore watercolor paper (11x18) using a graphite transfer method.

Low Water Crossing

                                                     

3 beginners to this medium were in my class with intermediate and even advanced watercolor painters. The workshop is geared toward beginners but not kindergarden...this is a college level approach for adults who have had some experience in other genres , sketching and painting and even pastel and colored pencil. They were amazingly adept and we reached our goal of having the entire background completed on Friday so that it could dry naturally overnight. On Saturday we had 2 critiques so that we could all see each other's progress and make suggestions.  This is where I encouraged everyone to work at their own pace as we all have a little clock in us that should not be pushed to another time zone.

Background techniques included salt, alcohol, sponge and scoring among others. Each succulent offered the opportunity to vary our warm and cool colors and change values so that the principles of a good design were incorporated. I was impressed with their unique artwork and the personalities that were evident in their art. 

And here they are...

Vicki

Mary

Mary

Kay

Susan, Mary and Kathleen (in the corner)

Mary Jane 

Ellen

Bonnie 

Proof that Margaret (in the far center ) was busy painting:

Kathleen had the quiet spot...

I am hoping to share some finished paintings as they send them to me...I am giving them all the time they need so hang in there!

Thank you to these awesome painters and the Lost Pines Art Center, especially Chloe Brevelle!

Artsy Shark Featured Artist....Carol Sue Witt!

 This summer I submitted my name to Artsy Shark, a well respected and well followed art magazine ...and they agreed to do an article about my art. It was a challenge ( but a good one!) for me to figure out how all my creativity that has only increased over the years, evolved. And to select some of my favorites to showcase. Many thanks to Artsy Shark and especially Carolyn and Loren.

Here are some of my all time favorites:

"Snip, Snip"

                                           

"Low Water Crossing"

"Deep Roots"

                                                                                                    "Deer Me...It's Winter"

"Jingle Your Bells"

"Texas Roadside Beauties"

                                                                          

                                                                 "Jump in, The Water's Fine"

                                                                    "Show Off" 

     PS  All of these images are available in many sizes, on canvas and metal, too. 

This is a tote bag I ordered from my own website to test the quality. I was impressed. See all the possibilities at my Fine Art America store:

                                                    carolsue-witt.pixels.com

                     I hope you’ll take a minute to see my story on the link below:

https://www.artsyshark.com/2022/11/11/featured-artist-carol-sue-witt/?fbclid=IwAR2SPA1QCeCqXG8kT44znWU3xFzWCohd-sT-vj--COn-ylgpz0wkiLMgGvQ#comment-3514667

"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!

"Volunteers!" a summer surprise in my garden

                             "Volunteers"

 Imagine the hottest June on record and you might be in Austin, Texas. It easily reached 100 degrees well before summer arrived. And our normally wet May, was not at all wet.  Keeping our plants alive in this dry heat is a daily task. Imagine my surprise when a large front pot in full sun sprouted sturdy portulaca. aka purslane. These little darlings love the heat! And I love them...this is a perky and colorful, fun plant!

So, it was only natural that these blossoms and buds inspired a watercolor just in time for a demo I was doing for the CenterArt Club in Round Rock on June 15th. Many thanks to Cecelia Lankes for inviting me and to Darrell Hutchinson for promoting and introducing me. What a great group! This group meets at the Allen R. Baca Center, an enviable facility for residents in that area ages 50 and above. I stopped by the Downtowner Gallery to see their latest artwork while there. Make a point to stop by this well done art space in downtown Round Rock. Way to go Round Rock!!

I decided to paint this as a round image because the shape mimics the roundness of the leaves and blooms. I painted half of it beforehand and demonstrated, separately, the background, leaves and blooms. in the small time period.  Here is a little of that process:

First, my reference photos:

Always start with a color and B/W copy of my reference photo. The B/W is an easy value study which I emphasize as an important tool. At a minimum, you should strive for 5 values from lights to your darks in every painting. It gives. it depth, 3 dimensionality and interest for the viewer.

Have a view of these nearby to use as you paint ...

This was my half done painting prior to the demonstration. I painted on the other half while there with the aid of an overhead camera for attendees.  I used transparent watercolors such as Prussian Blue and Opera Pink for the wet on wet application of the background. The leaves are also done wet on wet with Hansa Yellow and Prussian Blue, leaving some of the white of the paper. Each petal was done separately either Hansa Yellow or a combination of Hansa with Opera Pink for my orange blooms. Mask was used on the petals for tiny water droplets.

I completed the painting later but sent it out to these painters. The center background needed to be a little different so I added Cobalt Turquoise, an opaque watercolor, as the last glaze in that area.

And, guess what, I decided to order a few tiles with this bright image on them...these are available at The Art Escape ot the Shops at the Oasis in Austin.

Thank you to the Center Art Club for having me. I knew a few of these artists ( Leslie, Cecelia, Janet and more)  and for my friends who showed up to support me, Becky and Dan. It was such a welcoming group!

Take a Workshop…you will be amazed!

 I know what you are thinking…how much more can anyone say to advance my understanding in watercolor? The answer is PLENTY! 

I just finished teaching 5 March Classes with some beginner to intermediate painters and watched them grow exponentially each week. We painted a still life, a landscape, a floral, an animal and a person. It was a great deal to cover. I always learn something when I teach ! The next week April 4-7, I attended an intense and rewarding Carol Carter ( internationally known, St.Louis based ) workshop along with 18 others held in Austin. Both teaching and attending made me grow as an artist but the deeper experience was to awaken from just doing what Carol does to making it a part of my own skill set. I hope my students got a little of that from me.

Here are some of my student’s paintings:

                                                                            Background for drama and dog fur lessons

And then I attended a very informative workshop taught by Carol Carter

Here we are at work with Carol Carter who simplified her technique into 10 simple “rules” that will make any painting better. We painted horses with a limited palette and zebras with a rainbow on all stripes followed by a wash. 

This is Carol looking at our horses and being quite complimentary!

Here is Carol during her instruction process which included a class display after each of the four paintings.

Jane was new to this medium!

Shevawn was deep in her thought process

  

Becky doing her wash

   

Rashmi working on zebra designs

 

                                                                         Me striping

Carol with her limited palette ponies

Class discussions were helpful and built a strong connection with Carol's philosophy

My next workshop is one I am teaching on May 14th based on my painting, "Nopaloosa". It's a full class and I'll be busy with this one. Stay tuned....cactus might be prickly but their blooms are delicate and beautiful!

Please visit my Etsy store, Watergirl Art or my store at Fine Art America for prints, note cards and more!