When You're Bored

Picture a Day #69 – Still Life of Apples

Posted on March 9, 2012 by joanienaz

Today I went back to my still life of apples on a wooden stool to take the next step. I had already added background and foreground shadow since my last post. Next I added Cadmium Yellow watercolor for the Golden Delicious apples and the stool on which they perch. I frequently forget to allow for highlights, so the shading with colored pencil helps to remind me where the light and shadow falls. Also, with watercolor, it’s easy to lift the color with a brush or paper towel while it is still wet.

Next I added Phthalo Blue, which was a good choice. The combination of pigments looked pretty close to the actual color of the real apples, although you may not see it as accurately on your screen. You may have to take my word for it! I have learned the hard way that it is better to use pale colors until the end. The top of the stool is much paler than the apples, and there is variation on each apple as well.

I put down my brush in the wrong spot on the background and lifted color where I wanted it to stay, so I’m going to have to figure out how to fix it. Stay tuned for the dramatic conclusion of this little project of mine!

Posted in art, DIY, picture a day | Tagged art, fruit, hobbies, painting, postaday, watercolor | Leave a comment

Picture a Day #68 – Mixed-media Collage

Posted on March 8, 2012 by joanienaz

It turns out that my Prismacolor pencils were just what I needed to put the finishing touches on my watercolor collage. I used goldenrod and violet-blue. This mixed-media still life includes cut-out scraps from printmaking projects, a watercolor background, clear acrylic medium used as adhesive, and Prismacolor pencil for shadows.

First I defined the foreground and background. Then I put shadows under my floating fruit. I shaded to give the composition depth. It helped me to photograph the first step and then look at it in Photoshop. I saw that more contrast was needed, as well as shadows on the stems, and the existing shadows needed to be larger.

I thoroughly enjoyed creating something using such a variety of materials. This was a new experience for me. I was uncertain how it was going to work out, and needed time to think about my options and what I wanted to express. But I am pleased with the results. Hopefully, I will be inspired to try this again, perhaps with a landscape next time.

As I read over this post, I am already thinking about using more of those printmaking scraps in my corner studies. They might just be what’s missing!

Posted in art, DIY, picture a day | Tagged art, collage, hobbies, mixed media, painting, postaday, still life, watercolor | 2 Comments

Picture a Day #67 – Corners of the Sky

Posted on March 7, 2012 by joanienaz

I took another look at my collage that needs shadows this morning, and while I was thinking about that, I prepared these photos of one of my other recent experiments. Here I have taken a corner study and given it a twist. The sky is bursting into the scene.

I’m not really sure what’s next. I could have done things differently, like make the orange part cloudless sky or brilliant sunlight (not quite sure how to paint brilliant sunlight). I am thinking about evening out the blotchy orange section, and after that, who knows?

I was attempting to portray the conflicts between being in an enclosed area and being in the great expanse of the sky. Here the confined area is kind of exploding. It’s kind of tornadic.

I have never been in a tornado, and it’s not really what I had in mind, but there were terrible ones going on in the midwest while I painted this. Maybe the idea was leaking into my subconscious.

I will think about my corners some more. While I’m ruminating, I may have to paint in those shadows on my collage with acrylic paint. Unless I can manage to procrastinate some more…

Posted in art, DIY, picture a day | Tagged art, clouds, hobbies, painting, postaday, sky, watercolor | Leave a comment

Picture a Day #66 – North Carolina Gray Fox

Posted on March 6, 2012 by joanienaz

Technically this is a wild gray fox, a nursing mother living in the nearby woods. My brother-in-law was leaving food out for her, and she became somewhat used to him.

Posted in nature, picture a day, travel | Tagged family, fox, nature, North Carolina, postaday, travel | 4 Comments

Picture a Day #65 – Red Bird

Posted on March 6, 2012 by joanienaz

I was so busy doing SPRING CLEANING before the next storm hit last night, and got so wrapped up in my other writing, that I forgot to post this! My first missed day of the “picture a day” series…I knew it was bound to happen, if I let my multi-tasking get out of control…

So, today’s first of two posts:

This California girl saw her first cardinal at her brother-in-law’s house near Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Posted in nature, picture a day, travel | Tagged bird watching, cardinal, family, nature, North Carolina, postaday, travel | Leave a comment

Picture a Day #64 – Ringed Turtle Dove

Posted on March 4, 2012 by joanienaz

Interesting article about this “dove of the bible” which originated in Africa. This photo was taken outside my house this am. There was a small flock in the neighborhood, but a red-shouldered hawk was apparently hunting them. Haven’t seen more than a couple here and there since last summer.

Posted in home, nature, picture a day | Tagged bird watching, California, home, nature, postaday | 2 Comments

Picture a Day #63 – Welcome to North Carolina

Posted on March 3, 2012 by joanienaz

I’m back to my travelogue! When we left the Rocky Mountains on our trip across the country, we made a beeline for North Carolina, to visit my husband’s brothers. We dodged some severe weather, and had a very speedy but easy trip.

This box turtle gave us a lukewarm welcome to the southeast. It looks a little the worse for wear, but the roadside rest area may not have been an ideal spot to hang out.

Posted in nature, picture a day, travel | Tagged nature, North Carolina, postaday, travel, turtle | 2 Comments

Picutre a Day #62 – Another Art Project

Posted on March 2, 2012 by joanienaz

Anyone who attempts to follow my train of thought knows that I hop around like…well, someone who gets more ideas than I can follow through on in any given moment. I make a lot of lists. Right now I have several art projects in the “hopper”.

It is often necessary for me to start on something before I lose my train of thought, and then go back to it when I am ready. Sometimes this takes a very long time. The evidence is hiding in my art closet.

A still life collage emerged from the closet this morning to glare at me. There are two colored pencil still life drawings waiting for watercolor enhancement. Now I have today’s topic. It popped into my head yesterday morning as I was gazing at the corner of the ceiling before I dragged myself out from under the covers into the chill morning air.

I have found myself gazing at the corners of ceilings before, studying how the light bounces off the surfaces. As a math teacher, it was often my task to help adolescents “see” three-dimensional images on the two-dimensional page. It has always fascinated me.

So now I have decided to do a series of “corner studies” along with my “fruit studies.” I may combine the two, as I am attempting to combine Prismacolor pencil sketches and watercolor. I also have plans to go in another direction with my corners. The bent corners are an attempt at artistic humor. Who knows what will happen next?

Posted in art, DIY, picture a day | Tagged art, corners, education, hobbies, inspiration, painting, postaday, watercolor | 2 Comments

Picture a Day #61 – Colored Pencil and Watercolor

Posted on March 1, 2012 by joanienaz

I thought I would try something a little different. I did a number of colored pencil drawings a while back, and now I am working on watercolor. What if I combine the two? The term “crayon resist” comes to mind…something I haven’t done in a very long time! Not sure how this will turn out. Here is my first step, foreground only so far: