New Still Life #20 - Dora Sislian Themelis

Here I am! A lot going on here, but I am presenting #20 watercolor painting. This is the largest size watercolor I have ever painted and tried my best to get it together quickly to try to catch up.

#20 June Sunflowers ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
18x24 Watercolor, Arches cold press paper

Two More Paintings - Dora Sislian Themelis

#18 Pillow on Chair ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
Artrage digital oil painting on iPad with Sensu stylus brush

#19 Sunburst  ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
14x20 Watercolor on Arches 140lb cold press paper

My time at the easel has been limited by different events happening lately, but with the new iPad app called Artrage I've been keeping myself in the process, however virtual it might be. And in the meanwhile the latter painting was waiting to be finished.

Still Life Watercolor #17 Dora Sislian Themelis

Believe it or not, another still life watercolor painting has been finished making this one #17. The next work is already planned and waiting to go.

#17 Three Peaches ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9x12 Watercolor Arches cold press 140lb

Still Life Watercolor #16 - Dora Sislian Themlis

Another watercolor still life of the veggie haul. I keep finding interesting patches of shapes and colors in those photos.

#16 Big Tomato©2012 Dora Sislian Themleis
9x12 Watercolor, Arches cold press 140lb

Still Life Watercolor #13-14 Dora Sislian Themelis

Two more still life watercolor paintings done. Another is already in the works! 

#13 Bouquet ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9x12 Watercolor, Arches cold press

#14 Carrot ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9x12 Watercolor, Arches cold press

Still Life Watercolor #12 - Dora Sislian Themelis

Out of the loop a bit by a family vacation and the Easter preparations so I reverted to using twenty minutes of painting time to get back in the process. I visited some of my favorite shells, again, hence the title of this small work.

#12 Shells Again ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
7x10 Watercolor, Arches cold press paper 140lb

Still Life Watercolor #11 Dora Sislian Themelis

I am still working with the vegetable share photos and this is the latest work. My family and I have just returned from vacation so I am off schedule. Hopefully, next week will prove more productive!

#11 Tomatoes ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9x12 Watercolor, Arches cold press 140lb

Watercolor Still Life #10 - Dora Sislian Themelis

Here is #10 in my watercolor still life journey through produce!

Peppers ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9x12 Watercolor, Arches cold press paper

Still Life Watercolors #8-9-Dora Sislian Themelis

#8 Fruits and a Cuke ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9x12 Watercolor, Arches cold press

#9 Eggs and Basil ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9x12 Watercolor, Arches cold press

Two more watercolor paintings of sections from my vegetable photographs are up today!

Still Life Watercolors #5 ,#6, #7 - Dora Sislian Themelis

Two more watercolor paintings here, done in about an hour's time for each work. I've been using my photos of the vegetable share, cropping them and working from a quarter section. It's amazing how much of the subject you can get from one photo.

#4 A Red Onion ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
Watercolor, Arches cold press paper

#5 Three Peaches ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9x12 Watercolor, Arches cold press paper

#7 Green Pepper ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9x12 Watercolor, Arches cold press paper

3/13/12 Note: I forgot I painted another work and mixed up my count. The correct #4 work has been added here today.

New Still Life Watercolor Paintings - Dora Sislian Themelis

Thank you Laure, for the opportunity to try anew in the 100 Paintings Challenge. I'm starting off with a new energy which I will try to keep high to meet the goal. I plan to continue in watercolor paints, but I have been eyeing the oils lately since I found out there are new mediums out that do not emit harmful fumes.

As I did the last go-round, I will paint from life and from my own photographs.

Here are the first paintings of the challenge. #1 Pear and Shell Bits, #2 Bountiful, and #3 Blueberries.

Pear and Shell Bits ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
7x10 Watercolor, Arches cold press paper

Bountiful ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
15x20 Watercolor, Canson cold press paper

Blueberries ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
15x20 Watercolor, Canson cold press paper

Small Watercolor Paintings - Dora Sislian Themelis

#54 Three Friends ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
7x10 Watercolor on Arches

#55 Shells with Peach ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
7x10 Watercolor on Arches

#56 Four Shells with Rock ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
7x10 Watercolor on Arches

I photographed these small watercolors at different times during the day. What a difference in daylight colors! I might have to re-do the first two, just too much blue from the morning light.

Closing in on my year and still trying to push on.

Watercolor #48 Dora Sislian Themelis

#48 Shell, Pepper, Pot ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
8x10 Watercolor on Arches papeer

I can't be sure if it took me twenty minutes to do this still life watercolor painting and I don't know how I found the time to paint. Somehow I squeezed some time from a busy couple of days to do this one.

Three Twenty Minute Paintings - Dora Sislian Themelis

#45 Shells ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
8x10 Watercolor on Arches paper

#46 Sunflower Petals ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
8x10 Watercolor on Arches paper

#47 Rocks ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
8x10 Watercolor on Strathmore paper

The deadline for my 100 paintings challenge is quickly approaching and now that the holidays are over there are no excuses. If I can make it through with twenty minute paintings that's what I will do.

Throwing together some of my favorite shells and pebbles, and using a cropped area of one of the sunflower photos, I did these paintings. I used cast off watercolor papers not realizing one was of lesser quality and becoming discouraged by the way it handled my paints.

As I paint, I learn.

Winter Watercolor #42 Dora Sislian Themelis

#42 Winter Cardinal ©Dora Sislian Themelis
8x10 Watercolor on Arches paper

I thought there would be no way I could get to paint these last couple of weeks before Christmas. Somewhere in my day I found twenty or so minutes and decided this was it! I gathered a few items, went to my art table, arranged the table lamp to a more desirable angle and sketched quickly with just enough water to get color on the paper.

Still Life Watercolor #41 Dora Sislian Themelis

#41 Blue Vase with Sunflowers ©2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
15x20 Watercolor on Canson paper

It took twenty minutes each session to complete this watercolor painting of the last of the sunflower photographs. Some challenges were: different paper than I had been using and a larger size, individual sheets rather than a block, artificial light causing color confusion, I realized my art table is too high for painting and I couldn't get away from the work to see where I needed to go next.

Photographing the painting at the art table was awful due to the lighting so I moved it to my big dining room window and the whole painting changed. What a difference natural daylight makes!

Watercolor Still Life #40 Dora Sislian Themelis

Still Life Watercolor #39 Dora Sislian Themelis

#39 Four Sunflowers 14x20 Watercolor on Lanaquarelle paper
©2011 Dora Sislian Themelis

Another watercolor painting of the sunflowers from my photographs makes this work #39. Done in twenty minute sessions over a few days and it seems that process has been leading to finished work. Now if only I could move it along a little quicker, maybe I'd make the 100 paintings in time. At this rate I am not so sure.

Watercolor #37 - Dora Sislian Themelis

#37 Peach at the Beach with Two Shells 14x20 Watercolor
©2011 Dora Sislian Themelis

Moving along in the challenge at a snail's pace for the time being, but I'd had enough of this work and had to end it here. I am done!

Watercolor Painting #36 Dora Sislian Themelis

#36 Afternoon Sunflowers 14x20 Watercolor ©2011 Dora Sislian Themelis

The latest watercolor painting is finished #36 Afternoon Sunflowers. Still painting in twenty minute segments moved this work along, but I'm finding that the bigger my surface gets the more work one piece needs and I'm not moving along as quick as I'd like in the challenge. Besides the bit of resistance I come up against now and then, I'm crawling along pushing my limits. I'll get there. Eventually.