Day 26

Today I had a little talk with myself, and we decided that I really could do watercolor animals, I just needed to stick to one brush, three colors and only touch the surface one time: in other words, no fiddling!  I am very  happy with the result, and just hope I learn from my mistakes!  This is a pretty decent depiction of my cat Manny.

Today's big adventure will be to see if I can hook up my zip drive to the laptop I am using now.  I think I put a bunch of photos on zips before we got rid of my last PC....but you never know.  I am worried about drivers, it seems when I want to use old things on my new computers, I can't get drivers. I have a very cool program that will digitize photos and turn them into embroidery files for my embroidery machine, but I can't find a new driver.  I hope the zip drive is an exception!

After posting this pic on Wet Canvas I got some great constructive criticism, and redid the painting, can you see the difference?

Day 25

Well, any thoughts of doing "pet portraits" are over....and that is all I will say about this one! I tried using watercolor pencils, and we just don't get along. This whole process is about trying different techniques and discovering what I really enjoy using...

Roxie was a JRT we were lucky enough to adopt. She was elderly when we got her, but we had never had a little dog before, so it gave us an opportunity to try one out. Lets just say the next time we go dog shopping, we will be looking for Roxie II, Roxie was awesome, bad breath and all.

Day 24

A quick oil of the marsh near Thomas Bay. I plan to do a larger painting as soon as my big easel is empty. The new french easel worked well for this small size, it was very comfortable to use and I can not wait to get it outside and see how it holds up to wind.

Today we took a relaxing 13 mile ride along the Kennebec River. I think I prefer the colors after the peak season...they are spotty and they make a great contrast to the bare bones of the trees and rocks.

Day 23

This is a pen and wash I did today for Bill and Doug's pen and wash challenge on Wet Canvas. The subject is a Yorkshire Farm. The challenges are fun, and they always get me out of my comfort zone.

We biked a fourteen mile loop in Bethel today,a (mostly) flat ride. The bikes are still on the roof of the car, so who knows where we will go tomorrow.

Oh, and I picked up a french easel today, so this makes....6? Hopefully this will work for either pastels or oils....I just love easels!

Day 22

A quick pastel of a marsh in the settlement of Pretty Marsh, but I don't think it is Pretty Marsh.

On my Christmas List will be a proper pastel box. I have several sets, (and one more on the way) all still in their boxes and it is impossible to paint this way. I need to separate them by six different values, and then those from cool to warm. Aside from the new set of pastels, I have some Wallis paper coming too!

Just sorting them properly will be educational, and will require my brain to work hard. Artists that use pastel have the most amazing collection of colors, I can't wait to get started on mine.

Day 21, Marsh near Thomas Bay

Finally a watercolor that looks like, well, a watercolor!

So, it has been three weeks and I have learned a lot, mostly about myself. That voice that whispers, "what are you thinking, you can't do this", is still there, but she has my attention for shorter periods. Some things I have posted have been rough for me to share, but I did it. I realize now that when I did one of those "bloopers" before, I would just give up and stop painting. This commitment is helping me work through the rough times.

Day 20

Another portrait of Lilly. I intended to do a wash over this, then decided that I should just stop and not overwork it....so it is technically a drawing, not a painting. It is a good thing I make the rules.