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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

"Too Pretty to Eat" watersoluable pencil art


I finished this today.  I did this totally with watersoluable color pencils.  I used the dry pencils on top for the finishing touches.  I had fun with this and was very impressed with how the pencils cooperated!!

Monday, September 19, 2011

"Dancing in the Light" pastel painting

14 x 11 pastel on toned board
I've been working on this one on and off for about a week.  I took the photo a year ago when the rabbit brush was in bloom.  But I never had the chance to paint it until now.  And right now the rabbit brush is in bloom again.  Time flies...

Progress report: vegetable basket



I am coming along with this drawing.  I am also working on a pastel painting and I will post that next time.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Vegetable basket progress

Here is the up-date on the veggies.  So far, I've only used waterbased pencils.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Painting on the Plane

Thanks to a smooth flight, I was able to work on this.  I think watersoluable pencils and water reservoir brush work great on a plane! 

Thursday, September 8, 2011

"Vines and Moss" pastel painting

12 x 9 pastel
The big old oak trees here are amazing.  I only painted a small portion of one.  Their limbs are massive, and spread out like an octopus.  The moss hangs down all around.  Ferns grow on the top of branches.  All kinds of vines grow up the trees. 

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Work in progress - pastel painting

This is something I am working on.  This is spanish moss and a trumpet vine and moss growing on the old oak trees. 

Most of the day we were out and about.  Here is a picture of an alligator we saw:


Tuesday, September 6, 2011

"North Channel" pastel painting

I began this painting with a watercolor underpainting on white Kitty Wallis paper (see below).  This was a lovely view from the North Beach area of Hilton Head Island Sea Pines area. 

Monday, September 5, 2011

Iguana - watercolor and colored pencil

I had planned on renting a bicycle this morning and going for a ride while my husband was golfing, but vacation laziness set in.  So, I worked on this Iguana drawing instead. 

Here are some pictures of the lighthouse at Harbour Town, and the spanish moss growing on the trees here.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Lizard phobia? Painting on a plane...


After giving up so much art time to moving into a new house, I vowed to paint every day on our vacation, including on the plane.  I took my favorite sketchbook, photo references, watercolor pencils, and water container brush in my carry-on. 

Isn't it interesting when the passenger next to you tries to ignore you?  You go through 3 or more hours, never saying a word or exchanging a glance.  This young guy read his book and figited the entire time I worked on this iguana.  Every now and then he would sneak a glance at my drawing.  Either his book was creepy, violent, or suspenseful, OR, he had lizard phobia, because he gnawed on his fingernails for 2 hours straight, pulled at his shirt neckline, flung his arm out (kink in elbow?).  Once I went to reading my book, he played with his I-phone and finally seemed relaxed and calm....

The first day of our visit, we walked around and explored Harbour Town, Hilton Head Island, on the coast of South Carolina.  It is very, very warm and humid - very different from the hot and dry climate of home.  Here is the sunset from Harbour Town.


The next morning, we woke to rain.  It is from a hurricane off the Gulf of Mexico.  So we stayed in and I added watercolor to my Iguana.  The rain has now stopped, so we will go out and explore some more.

In case you are wondering, we saw these iguanas along the riverbank trees in Costa Rica.  It was mating season and the males turn from green to bright orange.  They are interesting creatures - lots of scales and spikes and detail - for my detail fix.