Blogging A to Z 2017 Theme Reveal!

Drum roll please. . .

AUSTRALIA!

I visited this lovely country and continent three times and just love it there!  Check my blog every day in April as I post pictures, artwork and more!

Happy as a clam

9 3/4" x 9 3/4"

While working with defining edges and shadows

Brusho ATC Swap - Spring theme

I love daffodils - they are my birth month flower and we can grow them in Texas.  I did two sets of three - Each one turned out differently.

On Aquabee watercolor paper, I traced my sketch and sprayed Colourcraft Acrylic spray in Yellow Shimmer.  Using Lemon, Yellow, Orange, Emerald and Leaf Green Brusho and a small dry brush, I covered the lines of the daffodil.  Then I added water with a larger wet brush.  It needed a little more looseness, so when it was almost dry, I spritzed a little more water to create some movement from the remaining crystals.

Floral Time Lines

Practicing line drawing with another quick timed sketch and watercolor, using a Tombow 977 and extra palette "mud" (leftover paint washes), in my Canson sketchbook. Less than five minutes, start to finish.  I really like how it turned out.  It's fun to just be loose and play.

Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind. Nathaniel Hawthorne

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Thursday Tea Time - Afternoon, Darjeeling Tea

It pays to shop around - I found a box of Afternoon Darjeeling Tea by Taylors of Harrogate, 20 individually-wrapped tea bags for only $2.99 at TJ Maxx.  Absolutely fresh with a Best Buy Date of June 30, 2018.   And a great buy!

What a treat this was, a nice afternoon pick-me-up.  Not too strong, just right.  

Just a little splash of sugar free creamer!
Perfect!

If your local TJ Maxx stores don't have it, you can find it online also on Amazon, or even Walmart.

La vie en rose

Inspiration from a Lila Rose hang tag -- I liked the abstract line drawing of a rose and tried it two ways...scratching out while still wet with the end of my paintbrush  and then direct painting/drawing (with the brush!) and filling in the spaces.  I like both!   Strathmore Mixed Media Visual Journal

Plum Triple Play - Practice, Practice, Practice

Persistance pays off!

I marked off Fabriano 140 pound cold press into thirds. . .and painted!  Repeating - "Line, pattern, shape"

We all liked this one the best --

And I decided to frame it!

Peggy Persists in Practicing Painting Plums - Part 2

Plums
Fabriano Hot Press
9" x 12"

Inspired by Van Gogh's "Still Life with Basket of Apples" 1887
I kept it fast, easy and loose.

Wednesday Work in Progress - Peggy Practices Painting Plums

10 1/2" x 11 1/4"

Learning to make highlights by lifting and using gouache and more fuzzy shadow practice.

30 Paintings in 30 Days - Take Two...Lemons

10" x 8 1/2"

Analogous color wheel study - blue and green bottles with lemons.  The background is actually pale cobalt blue - the camera/computer makes it look more gray than blue.

Thursday Tea Time - Pear with me

Here is another one of Madame Flavour's unique blends - Delicate Green Jasmine & Pear.
Open the package and just inhale the fruity flowery jasmine fragrance.   Do watch the kettle when you are boiling the water to keep the green tea from becoming bitter - you can always add a splash of cold water to keep the temperature to about 80-85 degrees F.  The first cup I brewed for 3 minutes, next time 2 minutes.   It doesn't need any thing else to bring out the flavor - it's wonderful as it is.
Rating: 4 1/2, especially if you love green tea.

LOVE these heart infusers from Phoenicia Foods in downtown Houston!

Wednesday Work in Progress - LemonAid

When a still life hands you a lemon - practice crazy painting them! There is something quite freeing when all hope is lost. #whattheheck #justslopthepainton #painteveryday #lemonaid

Some times things don't turn out as planned.  But you know, when this particular painting morphed to overworked, it was time to try different suggestions and techniques - resulting in a rather mishmash, and layers of them.  I'm cool with that.   I learn and have fun with my "detours," I prefer not to call them mistakes.

30 Paintings in 30 Days - Color Wheel Fun "Well Red"

Matthew 5: 1-12
"The mountain to be climbed is love" - Robert DeLeon, CSC

Analogous landscape trees - watercolor color wheel fun. I painted from a black and white photograph using a DIY red value finder using red clear plastic/acetate/gel/film and a mat.  It really helped to do my checks along the way. (picture to be posted in a bit)

Part 20 of Adventures with Brusho

Hobby Lobby also had on clearance for 54 cents the tear-dropped shapes in the Blank Slate by Traditions.  I thought they looked like lotus petals, and then I thought, perhaps paint them in chakra colors!

Love how the Gray Brusho looks like a diamond!

I tried to arrange them like a lotus --

Most likely I will incorporate them individually in mixed media journal pages and/or paintings.

30 Paintings in 30 Days & Sunday Funday

"Roll with it" Rerolled bag of kolaches, two watercolor sketches in one. The dangers of painting and sketching at the kitchen table on a Sunday afternoon and the same time fending off the hands and the Q & A "Is this the bag of kolaches?"

I also tried Angela Fehr's idea of "Palette Mud" - using the leftover colors in my palette from a previous painting for the shading/values.

And I put a new Art Graf water-soluble Carbon Intense Black disc ($2.89 from the Hobby Lobby clearance section) through its paces to sketch and practice line/contour drawing a la Charles Reid.  

I thought it was fun (and the kolaches were delicious!)

Update 1-23-17 - The other sketchbook paintings from yesterday...much easier to photograph in the morning sun than indoor lighting.

House of Pies Chocolate Cream pie!

Practicing painting people!
And I enjoyed a delicious Caramel Macchiato!

Thursday Tea Time - Did you say more tea, eh? I said Yay!

If you don't have a David's Tea in your city, find someone who does or take a trip!    They have the most delicious and unusual tea flavors and combinations, including (genius!) tea-infused truffles (photo not available of those, as I carefully rationed myself to 1 or 2 per day, and well...)
Let's see -- Miami 1,188...Chicago 1,082 miles. . .

 Apple Cider!

Coffee Cake!

The golden Perfect spoon is also from David's Tea
No more spilled tea!

Nutty and Spice!

I wish they made a candle of this crazy good scent!

Nutty color!

It's probably a good thing the closest David's Tea is over 1,000 miles away.   But then again, there is online ordering...and sales!  All three of these are currently on sale - I may need to restock.   Another bonus is that these teas are so good and flavorful, you don't need to add anything to them.  Move over Teavana, there's a new guy in (out of) town.  I could do a long distance relationship.

30 Paintings in 30 Days - Day 19 -- Part 19 of Adventures with Brusho -- The Daffiness continues

OK, so this time I thought I would actually "paint" with Brusho using a paintbrush.  All the splatter and shave cream and abstract attempts aside.

I used three types of paper with varying results as you will see.    I finished each with a spritz of the Brusho metallic acrylic in Shimmer Yellow.  Each time I painted the daffodil first.

Arches watercolor paper 140#

The best result was with Arches 140# cold press
The Shimmer spray spread a little, yet retained the metallic effect, more visibly when tilting towards light.
I liked how all the colors (yellow, lemon yellow orange, blue, brown) blended in the petals, but I felt it was more a lucky coincidence.  You don't really get a second chance with Brusho once you lay the color down, especially on a grabby surface. I kept dropping in color, blending (trying) and hoping for the best.  I thought it made a nice shadow, but with more pigment on the brush I had difficulty softening the edges of the vase.  I was able to dip my brush in my water jar and add effects inside.

Bristol Smooth

Runner up - Strathmore Bristol Smooth
I thought the Shimmer spray worked the best with this surface
Somehow my brush picked up airborne brown and green in the yellows cup sections.   Not quite the daffodil yellow I was going for.  Easy to get softer edges on the vase, but again, not much lifting.

"Exploding Daffodil"
What in the name of Sam Hill?!

While Yupo does great with the splashing in previous examples, it was like herding kittens trying to control placement with a paintbrush. It was also difficult to get darker values.  I don't recommend painting directly with Brusho on Yupo unless you have a good bad vocabulary.  Hard edges, paint rolling down, going where I didn't want it to go...argh.
The Shimmer spray also activated the airborne invisible Brusho crystals.  I tried to blot them.
Keeping it real here, readers.

I still believe that if you have an open mind to an open result, Brusho can be interesting to paint with.  And the patience and countenance of a saint.   I will reiterate that if you are into card making, journal pages, abstract - Brusho will become your bestest painting buddy.
In the meantime, I have a group date with Daniel and Newton along with my honey, Gustave, later on.

30 Paintings 30 Days - Day 18 - Daffy

YAS!

Plexiglass, practice and progress all go together!  And you actually try it yourself and figure it out yourself - I thought all four of these show and tell the story.  Minus the *colorful* soundtrack (lol-  #*@%!!)  I went to Texas Art Supply yesterday to get the Daniel Smith paints Nancy used and suggested to make the background - Indanthrone Blue, Anthaquinoid Red.  The only other colors were Quin Gold (WN, the single pigment DS is on my list) and Sennelier Naples Yellow Deep and Lemon Yellow from my half pan palette.

Whoops, vase disappeared. Patience lesson #84921

Liking the iridescent vase look, background still a little too wet

Love the background. and the whatever you call the part of the daffodil center edges.
Corona!