A snowy Christmastime...

Here are some images of the pre-Christmas snowfall.....when it was still technically fall! We were so excited to get this snow. We knew it would hang around for Christmas day, guaranteeing a white christmas. We actually love lake effect snowstorms. Often an inch or more falls every hour. As long as you don't have to travel in it, it's very beautiful. It gets very quiet, as the heavy snowfall acts to muffle all the outdoor sounds.
I don't know that I could ever capture in a painting a lake effect snowstorm. Maybe these storms are best captured on film!

A gift for the holidays....

Now that my father-in-law has his Christmas gift, I can safely post my latest painting! This is his fishing boat that he co-owns with 2 other fishing buddies....hence the name "Tres Amigos." We had SO much fun going fishing in this boat! On our last trip to Florida we went just about every other day, and absolutely had a ball. Nothing like sitting on a fishing boat, watching the sun come up, gazing at the lake and just enjoying the feeling of getting away from it all.
I had fun doing the painting, and it did resemble my motorcycle paintings in a way I hadn't thought of before. I had to paint things I saw in the photo....while having absolutely no idea what they were! I was glad how it turned out, and twice as glad that everyone seems to love it.
Can't wait to get out on it again!

It's all in the details....

The saga of the custom chopper painting continues!! I've had some time this week to spend in the studio. I really love when there's an end in sight! I still have some large areas to block in, and I'm hoping to get those in this week. Detail work is what it is. It is, by nature, time consuming work....yet it is so worth the effort. The lighting effects on this bike will make the painting so unusual. And if something is worth doing, it is worth doing well and taking all the time it needs to be the best it can be.
I've been so thankful that I bought new brushes with their fine points. Detail work practically requires new brushes- I suppose like a new sewing project requires a fresh needle. I'm also loving the Maimerblu color "Dragon's Blood" (cool name) that features prominently in the painting. Not only a great color for florals, but I never would have thought it would be put to great use in a motorcycle painting!

A snail's pace.....

Sure wish I could show more progress on my painting, but with the holidays upon us......!! I actually am baking some bread for my Thanksgiving table right now- we women certainly multi-task, don't we?
Back to my painting- I've been adding more detail throughout, and the motorcycle is gradually coming together on the paper. I need some long stretches of uninterrupted time to lay in the larger green sections. Bright greens are really difficult to use, and they are very unforgiving if you "mess up" so I'll need to work on those sections when I know I'll have the time. Watercolor is certainly a medium that requires planning, sometimes many steps ahead- like playing chess, for example. Using staining colors definitely requires pre-planning! Hopefully I'll be able to complete this before the end of the year. I sure was right when I talked about it being cold and snowy when I finished! I'll especially be thrilled if I can say I completed it in 2oo8!!

Bluebirds...

I went out for a brisk walk this morning, and even thought it is quite chilly with a cold, cutting wind, I saw four bluebirds flitting around a bare tree, looking like they were having a wonderful time! I think they're my favorite bird. I never saw one until just a few years ago, when I spotted something blue like a sparkling jewel darting around the yard. I was so excited to see one, and later that December, I saw 2 fluttering around my birdfeeder, seemingly oblivious to the bitter chill.
I would love to get some photos and do a painting of my own, backyard bluebirds. I think capturing the elusive beauties will prove difficult, however. Nevertheless, since I saw these today, I'll keep my camera at the ready!

Busy, busy....

Here's the latest on the motorcycle. I haven't had as much time as I would like to work on it. I'm an election inspector, so on election day I worked from 5:30 in the morning until 9:30 that night. Coffee is a wonderful thing!! Loved the outcome, too! Afterwards my hubby has come down with the flu, and I guess this flu is a tenacious one- he's been sick for a while now. So painting time has been scarce, understandibly. I've been gradually adding more detail to the painting. I do need to do the large, green areas, but I'm waiting for a large block of uninterrupted time to tackle those! On an earlier post, I was jokingly wondering if it would be snowy and cold when I finished the painting. No kidding! It's really cold today. I would like to get this done this month, if at all possible. If I get this flu, it may not get done until the new year!

Back to work.....

Halloween has come and gone, so now it's back to motorcycles! I've been slowly (obviously) adding more and more detail to the painting. The actual bike was painted using such a vibrant, bright green, and green in watercolor is a bit tricky. Windsor Green and other pure greens are very bold, staining colors; certainly colors not to be used by the faint of heart! Handling a large section of a painting using a staining color requires a lot of concentration....and certainly taking the phone off the hook is a requirement! A lot of artists shy away from the staining bold colors at first, understandibly so. However, paintings such as this one require strong colors and values, and you just have to jump in and go for it!