TINY SUNFLOWER #2 watercolor painting

Tiny Sunflower #2

watercolor 3 x 3"

$15
I spent all day working at the library, and I am SO glad to be back home, working in my studio all by myself, with no one to interrupt me (I can ignore the phone here).  Sometimes, like now, I really appreciate what I do for a living. So, pardon my short blog, but I must go paint.

TINY ROSEBUD watercolor rose

Tiny Rosebud

watercolor  2 x 4"

$17

Another teeny painting. I'm thinking about Valentines Day. This would make a nice gift with a sweet poem penned in calligraphy. Too bad I'm not a calligrapher. Or a poet. That will have to be up to you.

TINY SUNFLOWER #1

Tiny Sunflower #1

watercolor  4 x 4"

$15

I have a handful of these itty bitty paintings. My thrifty nature compels me to use every piece of paper bigger than 5". It's really not worth it; as it takes a bit of time to paint even a tiny picture. Lots of folks think that paintings are priced per square inch, but actually, I consider the length of time it took to paint it. That's why one of my large florals will often cost less then a smaller still life.

I was able to duck out of Washington DC just before the big snowstorm hit. I thought the temperature was mild, compared to the low 20's we've had here. Met the new artists hired by the Mint, and was able to share some of my experience with them. And, it was a delight to see the other folks that I've known for nearly 3 years now.

I am finishing up a portrait here at home; actually 5 portraits; 2 Grandpas and the 3 grand-kids all on one piece of paper. Challenging!  Still a little stressed about all the work I have to get done this month, but at least I have a good start on it.

PAST PINKS rose floral watercolor painting by Barbara Fox

Past Pinks

watercolor  15 x 21"

This was fun and challenging to paint. LOTS of different pinks. Warm pinks, cool pinks, light pinks, dark pinks. The challenge was making sure it wasn't just a bunch of pink blobs, but that each flower looked like it's own unit. I like these "blousy" roses, but they are much harder to paint than the more formal shaped roses. Funny, that.

I am off to Washington DC today for a conference of US Mint artists. I'm hoping I'll have time to go to the National Portrait Gallery.

Please contact me for purchase information of this painting

bfoxart@yahoo.com

FIAT LUX trompe l'oiel painting by Barbara Fox

Fiat Lux

watercolor and gouache  8 x 16"

This painting is for an exhibit with the theme "Fiat Lux", which means "let there be light". Each artist can interpret this phrase any way they choose. The writing on the paper is "let there be light" in Greek, and the old etching is an image that immediately popped into my mind when I was invited to join this exhibition. For some reason, I have great recall of artwork I've seen. Tracking the image down was a challenge. Thank goodness for Google!  

The exhibition will be at the Oxford Gallery in Rochester New York in March.

http://www.oxfordgallery.com/

WHITE HOLLYHOCK watercolor painting

White Hollyhock 

watercolor  6 x 7"

$55
Just returned from another fun and enlighting evening with the Creative Woman's Alliance. We had a good time eating and chatting (always on the agenda), then knuckled down to a creative writing project and discussing future projects. There were some great ideas, and I'm very relieved to not have to come up with something to do every month. I'm just not creative in that way. Also, I'm a visual artist, and our projects seem to migrate toward that area of creativity. There are more writers in the group, and a handful of photographers, and I'm happy to have some projects that embrace their interests too.

FRANGIPANI watercolor painting

Frangipani

watercolor 7 x 8"

$100
Even the name of this flower sounds warm, and sweet smelling, and tropical. Or, does it sound like an Italian candy? Both are good.

SWEDISH HEIRLOOM Iris painting by Barbara Fox

Swedish Heirloom

watercolor  7 x 8"

$85

Irises are my favorite flower, and I love the color of this one; a pale, icy blue with tinges of purple, and dark blue veins. I've been buying myself flowers from the grocery store. Not too expensive at $12.99 a dozen, and they last for a few weeks at least. And, it makes me so happy to see a vase of flowers on the table. A real cheerer upper. Women DO need visual beauty in their lives, so splurge a little and indulge in a visual treat......flowers, art, a new screen saver, pretty buttons on an old sweater, visiting a gallery or museum, gazing at your own lovely child while they sleep.

WILD APPLE watercolor painting

Wild Apple

watercolor  6.5 x 6.5"

$65
This painting was done on a hot-press type paper. The pigment doesn't sink into the paper very well, so it's hard to build up intense colors or dark values. It does make for a light, fresh looking painting though. I won a bunch of this paper in an art competition, so I'll have to think about what paintings would look good on this paper.
I know of a watercolor portrait artist, Ted Nutall, who paints gorgeous portraits using this paper. He has a very unique style.

He is giving a workshop at Cheap Joes Art Stuff in Boone, NC in July.

 Check out the class at

http://www.cheapjoes.com/art-instruction/artist-workshops/10-ted-nutall.asp

ASK,BELIEVE, RECEIVE watercolor painting

Ask, Believe, Receive

watercolor and gouache  9 x 15"

I've been painting like a fiend the last few weeks, but haven't managed to do any Daily Paintings. I did finish some others; here is one. The watercolor show season is starting up, and I need to have a good supply of new paintings for those. I sent out 6 applications for juried WC shows yesterday. Last year I had pretty good luck having work accepted, and managed to win a few awards, which helped offset the expense of shipping paintings all over the country.
Yes, I know I spelled receive wrong. I'm trying to decide if I want to fix it..........

RED BARTLETS watercolor painting

Red Bartlets

watercolor  8 x 15"

$235
I set these little red pears on the windowsill in my mudroom (the only room in the house other than the bathroom that gets morning light). I love the very faint reflection on the window glass. There is something about the shape and color of pears that really fascinate me. I've painted them a lot of times! I like the red ones because it is challenging to get that really deep tone in the shadow, and they don't have the teeny freckles that the green and yellow pears do. Hate painting those little spots.

GLADIOLA & VAN GOGH watercolor painting

Gladiola & Van Gogh

watercolor  7 x 21"

please contact me for price

Just back from my figure drawing group. We got off to a late start because the person who volunteered to call a model forgot. Fortunately, one of our artists has a very sweet and willing beau, who showed up with his dorky cowboy hat, and we had a wonderful 2 hours of drawing and laughs. I have gotten so much better at drawing from life, and drawing portraits. I really focus on just drawing heads during our session. It is paying off, because I've gotten a few more portrait commissions lately.

This is a portrait of my friend Cathy, who was kind enough to dress in one of her old-fashioned dresses for our drawing session. She was good at sitting still, and sat for 2 hours in the same pose. (yes, we let her take breaks.) Most of our models are a bit squirmy, so we are thrilled to have someone who can sit still for more than 10 minutes! and having a costume made that evening quite wonderful.

Wow, we artists are easy to please, aren't we?

WHITE AS SNOW Iris painting by Barbara Fox

White As Snow

watercolor  7 x 9"

$85
I've been doing lots of painting the last few days. Good, except for issues with my watercolor paper. I contacted Arches about it, and they sent me some "replacement" paper, but that paper has the problem too! A weird "resistance" to the paint sinking in, and leaving the dry paint with tiny unpainted holes. It looks dusty, or scuffed. The worst part is, it is not that noticable until at least 2 layers of paint are down, and the more layers of paint the more noticable it is. Which means, a lot of work is wasted. This problem is intermittant, but seems to be a problem throughout each package of 5 sheets I buy. I use 300 lb paper, but a friend who uses 140 lb is having the same issue. We tried everything, even soaking the paper for 24 hours to remove sizing. It's not the sizing. I think it is the cotton fibers themselves. Some weird genetically modified cotton that doesn't absorb water???
Wouldn't surprise me.
Anyways, I've been painting on Jack Richeson paper for several months now, and really like it. It absorbs like crazy! so, it is not so great if you like to scrub out or lift areas of color. It's more expensive, but I suggest you give it a try if you are getting the "dusty" effect with your Arches paper. Jack Richeson paper is available at Art Supply Warehouse
http://www.aswexpress.com/

JOSEPH'S COAT rose watercolor painting

Joseph's Coat

watercolor and acrylic  6 x 8"

$100

If I had a green thumb for roses, I'd plant a Joseph's Coat climbing rose. Every rose I've had though, succumbs to the winter weather or is ravished by Earwigs and Japanese Beetles.

I love the intense yellows, oranges and pinks on this rose.

IRIS DANCE floral watercolor painting

Iris Dance

watercolor and acrylic on board  5 x 10"

$85

A trio of teeny tiny Irises.

Watercolor and acrylic, painted on watercolor board, so you can frame this painting without using glass.

I was asked how I make the light areas in the background of some of my florals....

When the paint is still wet, put your finger in a paper towel and touch the surface of the paper. Immediately add a drop of water to the dabbed spot. Make sure the water touches the edge of the painted area. The water pushes the pigment back, making a nice round spot. You can make little spots or big spots with this technique. The spot will vary according to how dry the paint is and how much water you use on the spot. It's tough to get exactly the same effect every time, so practice.

For the little pink spots in this painting, I added pink paint instead of water after I'd dabbed the spot dry.