Take Off: A New Take in my Series

As I've worked on the series of abstracted florals using watercolor, collage and acrylic, I've thought about using different subject inspiration. I had a great photo of a Great Blue Heron from one of our summer raft trips. I decided to use a left white shape to show off the bird.

You can see that I continued with the collage on top of watercolor layers. With this one, I used pen and ink as well as a small amount of acrylic paint for some added drama and movement.

Another way this is different is that it is small. Other pieces in this series have been on a full sheet of WC paper-- 22 x 30 inches.

 

Take Off 10 x 13

Cherry Blossoms: the Progress of a Painting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cherry Blossoms 21 x 29

Fun Art, not Fine Art

I've been wanting to take another go at the Western dancers that took to paper in Rodeo Nights. I sketched the dancers on watercolor paper again and decided to trace them on my new bigger tracing paper. Now I have the images ready to go for another try after this. Plus it was less paralyzing to start painting since I knew I had an easy start on a redo.

 

I thought about patterns and decided to go to the original rose boots I'd used in Rodeo Nights but abandoned when they became too dominant. This time I decided to use roses throughout the figures. I remembered back 50 years ago when my parents were square-dancers. My mom always made Dad a shirt and herself a dress or skirt in matching fabric. I also decided to go to the desert with this one and put prickly pear cactus in the painting.

 

Here are the invisible dancers!

I thought I'd worked out all the problems and had a decent painting at this point, but looking at it closely, the female's right foot is too small and her face just isn't quite right.

 

So I went back to the studio to enlarge the right boot which I could easily do since it was a white background. I simply added to the roses and leafy areas until the foot was a better size. The face was more of a challenge. I had to lift it out, yikes! I sacrificed the surface of the paper a bit, but I think it worked out. I'm happier with the face now.

 

Prickly Pear Polka 22 x 18

So it is not fine art, but I think it would make a great poster. Anybody know of a Western Dance poster contest?

But it may not be done...Now I'm wondering if the guy's hair is too dark.