If you would like to receive encouraging comments on
your artwork, leave encouraging comments for others!

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Watercolor Landscape #31 Dora Sislian Themelis

Blowing off resistance isn't easy but, I pushed through and worked on this latest watercolor painting while out in my garden. 


#31 Seed Heads ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
14x20 Watercolor, Arches cold press

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Claire Paintings 16 17: More memories from NOLA Live! 2011

The signs of Fall are starting to show, and it reminds me of last fall when I traveled to New Orleans by myself to meet up with Laure Ferlita and others for NOLA Live! What a wonderful time I had!!! My journal still has many blank and half-filled pages, but I really want to fill them all up as I have so many fabulous memories from our experience together - and I don't want to forget any of them.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Quick Watercolor Landscape #30 Dora Sislian Themelis

A quick twenty minute watercolor landscape painting to keep me in the loop. It's been a tough summer of low motivation and inspiration. Maybe things will change now?

# 30 At the Park ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
5x7 Watercolor, Canson paper

Friday, September 21, 2012

Elva # 80 and 81

 A few days ago I watched an amazing sight.  Literally thousands of sooty shearwaters were heading North.  For more about the event be sure and read my blog.

I painted the shearwaters after I got home.  They were too far away to do a decent job of drawing them on location.
I sketched and inked this little painting on location.  I planned to paint it too, but suddenly the fog came in and totally erased any sign of the little island and of the sea lions and cormorants.  I could still hear them though.

Both were painted in my Aquabee sketch book.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Elva #78 and 79


One careful study and one quick sketch.   Baby toads are so sweet.  He was barely an inch long and had such a big head.  The toads have just recently emerged from their tadpole stage.  I sketched him from one of my photos and then added watercolor.

The turkey painting didn't scan as warm as the original looks.  I wanted to capture the golden grasses and the open oak forest  with lots of turkeys foraging for grasshoppers, lizards, seeds, etc.  Sketched on location and most of the color added after I got home.  Painted in my journal (which means it wasn't good paper).

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Elva #76 and 77


I'm in experimental mode.  I got the itch to paint with gouache.  I hadn't touched my gouache for over a decade so most of my tubes are hard as rock.  But I was in 'experimental mode' so I made do with a very limited palette:  White, Cad yellow, Payne's grey, and a beautiful blue -- cerulean (?).  Note: no green.

I'm not used to how thick the paint is, but it is fun to be able to paint light over dark.  I just may have to go through my old paint carefully and figure out just what few tubes I need to buy so I have a more complete palette.  I think I'd like doing some of my field sketching with gouache.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Elva #74 and 75

Both of these are quick watercolor plein-air paintings done in my Aquabee sketchbook.  Otter often visit a small pond near here in the late summer, early fall.  For several days they feast on newts and salamanders.

The falls is less than a mile from the pond.  A lovely trail leads to it.