Kristin 88-90: Ferry Sketches

I got to spend my weekend taking the ferry on the Alaska Marine Highway through the Prince William Sound. Here are some of my sketches (time limited as the boat moved past the scenery). It was fun to paint water, islands, and icebergs!

 Rainy day. You could only see the ocean and the bottom of the mountains on the shore.

watercolor and pen on non-watercolor paper. 5 x 7.5"

  Blue Sky and ice bergs.  watercolor and pencil, 5 x 7.5"

Turning the corner to Whittier, watercolor 7.5 x 5"

all (c) klink 2012

Four Heron Eggs #39

If you've been reading my blog, you'll find I've been watching a web cam focused on a great blue heron nest at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in New York. I never expected the eggs to be a pretty blue! Watching the web cam has been fascinating.

Watercolor on Strathmore's Aquarius II 90#. I find this paper behaves quite well even though it is only 90#.

Lorrie #82 - Cowboy

Cowboy, watercolor 7 x 9 inches

Sometimes I paint with just two colors, to keep it simple and practice darks and lights. This was done in cobalt blue and burnt sienna. I was working from a black-and-white photo from an old book about Yosemite.

Kristin 87, Pyrola

I have been wanting to paint this for a while. I think I worked from a sketch that I did last summer. Wintergreen is one of my favorites, since they seem to be shy flowers you come upon deep in the woods (though of course I find them on the side of the road too). 

6 x 9" watercolor

(c) klink 2012

Five on a Fence #38

Painted from a photo my daughter sent me. Dusk was falling and even more turkeys were resting on her split rail fence. I decided I wanted to simplify the photo, but capture the mood of the dark shapes in the dusk. I scanned this when I was tempted to quit .... but we are supposed to feel free to experiment!!! So I kept on going.

I added the big tree first -- and then realized it grew right out of a turkey's back. Oops! But then I added the little limb in front of the trunk of the big tree (thanks heavens for a little opaque white)and more trees in the background.

Which one do you like better? Should I have kept it simple? I probably should crop a little off the right side ... too plain. It doesn't bother me on the top one, but the plainness does look unfinished on the bottom one.

Painted on mystery paper -- probably Arches cold press #140. Watercolor with masking fluid and just a touch of opaque white on background trees.

Claire painting 11: Spring Surprise

"Spring is in the Air"!! I came home recently to find a charming basket of mini-Daffodils on our kitchen table. I was thrilled that my husband had thought to surprise me with this sign of Spring. It was the perfect inspiration for another page in my journal which will be a nice memory page.

Kristin #86, feather study

This one threw me for a bit of a paper loop. I decided to use the textured side of my canson paper, which I like to paint on, but I wanted to use colored pencil and found that the paper was too rough to pick up the fine details. Anyway I ended up painting on top of the pencil. Lesson learned.

7x9" gouache and colored pencil.

(c) klink 2012

Claire painting 10: Hollyhocks

Spring is at the doorstep and I'm in the mood for flowers!!

Kristin #85, moose

Was working from photos of animals again. I have this huge pile of work I am supposed to be doing, but instead I was playing...oh well, that is good for you too.

10x7" gouache, white and black pen on colored paper

(c) klink 2012

Claire painting 9: Hibiscus

I just finished Laure's Imaginary Trip to the Beach class... and I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to do another Hibiscus tonight! Lots of fun.

I may decide to add some journaling or title to this page, but I was anxious to share it with the Challenge tonight.

Into the Woods #37

I had fun painting this one. My aim was lots of control over the constantly changing values. I intentionally layered much of the watercolor. I was surprised at how much control I had. Before I started I figured I'd better do it on good paper. I'm pretty sure this is 140# cold press Arches. (I have scraps of paper tucked here and there with no record of what is what. Since I'm experimenting with paper I'm trying to reform my ways and label my paper, but I can't just ignor my unidentified paper. )

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

Bighorn Petroglyph #036

I've long had a fondness for Indian petroglyphs, and painting them is fun. This is a loose interpretation, not an exact replica of any particular petroglyph.

Painted on 90# Arches -- "Grain Fin" -- I think cold press.

Bighorn #35

.... a bit stiff for my taste. I had a good start until I started adding paint to the bighorn. My reference photo didn't have good light. My end result doesn't have good light either. I painted this when life was really hectic and pushed through on finishing it.

Lorrie #81 - Fast Food 2 a.m.

Fast Food 2 a.m., watercolor 6 x 9 inches

Couldn't sleep one night and decided to get up and paint something (such is the power of the 100 paintings goal!). But what to paint? I whipped open Sunset magazine to paint the first thing that looked fun. This bowl full of ramen...

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!

CathyO, #13, Serenity

This was a quick sketch using Vermilion, New Gamboge and Davy's gray of a Buddha I have in an alcove.  This took less than an hour.

CathyO, The Sunbeam, #12

My big old love of a cat, Stockholm, found a sunbeam on a cold winter day.  He couldn't help but toast his tummy and I couldn't resist trying to paint him.  (My photo is a little off - the background is a glowing yellow all over but it kept fading in the photo.  Don't know why....)

Strawberries #8

                                                                                     After a few wrong turns finding my way back to Elva Paulson's home, after many years was a total delight.  We caught up on what we would like to do with our painting as we had done many years prior.  I have missed the camaraderie and my sounding board friend.  

So then the white paper stared at us.  Elva offered me a choice of strawberries or a yam.  I told her that considering that my cloud painting had turned out to look like Jabba the hut, we had better go strawberries.  We both finished our paintings! It was the most enjoyable day of painting I have had for a long time. Thanks, Elva.      Camille  #8

                                                                     

Strawberries # 34

I did something today I literally haven't done for years. My good friend Camille came and spent the afternoon painting with me. We used to once in awhile when Dale still worked. It was a wonderful afternoon.

I figured it would be fun to work on the same subject .... so I offered a yam or some strawberries. Big choice! lol!

I had a secret agenda. Camille handles color better than I do. It was fun tackling something really colorful with her. Painted on #90 Arches -- "Grain Fin". It came from a watercolor pad my mother picked up years ago. I think it is 'cold press.' Arches is always wonderful paper to work on.

Kristin #84, Wood Bison

Like Elva, I like to get to study animals in captivity (though I don't get to as much as her). Each spring I make a trip (hopefully more this year) to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. This is just a sketch from a photo I took last year, made in anticipation. Sketching from photos helps me sketch from life, as it is a good way to study the animals.

Wood Bison

sumi ink, gouache, and white pencil

8.5" x 11"