#64 thru 73 / 100 Day Project

Watercolor & pastel

Charcoal - "Enough" News overload:(

Charcoal sketches

Watercolor & pastel

UNfinished - Watercolor
The white spot on her cheek needs to be softened & tinted, and some complementary color added.

Watercolor & charcoal

Sketchbook experiment - wondering how to get rid of the hair

Well, as usual, my ideas are all over the place, 

and there is less than a month to go in the challenge.

What I've gained from the project is discipline in doing artwork everyday,

 but I still haven't tightened up my focus on one thing, one medium.

I've accumulated a small pile of unfinished pieces

which is getting uncomfortable.

And now I'm sitting here dreaming of doing landscapes (I haven't finished the class), 

mid-century designs covered in resin (I have finished the class),

and abstract paintings (I have finished the class).

I think I'm taking too many classes.

I haven't even started some of the portrait classes I've signed up for.

But then, these are not called problems, are they?

They're called blessings.

#55 - 63 / 100 Day Project

55 thru 63/100 Day Project

As usual, this past week's artwork included a mix
 of drawings, paintings and a couple of photographs (on those busy days).

I'm looking forward to finishing some of the pieces this summer
so they can be separated into a few small series.

The end date of the project is July 15th.

#49 thru #54 / 100 Day Project

We've been busy with typical springtime home & garden projects,
so there's not much time to paint.

I'm thankful that the challenge is filling the sketchbook.

Wishing you a very happy week!

#44, 45, 46, 47 & 48 / 100 Day Project

44 / 100 Daily Project - Rocky / Watercolor

45 / 100 Day Project / Graphite & watercolor

46/100 Day Project - Conte crayon over watercolor
A conte crayon is compressed pigment mixed with wax or clay.

47/100 Day Project - Lion Watercolor Batik (5X7)

48/100 Project - Incognito / Watercolor batik on rice paper (8X10)

It's hard to believe this project is almost half-way thru.

I remember doing a couple of challenges where you'd have to do 30 paintings in 30 days,
and it always seemed so stressful.

With this project, though, nothing really has to be "finished;"
the object is to do something creative every day,
even for 5 minutes.

I post everyday on Instagram to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Fingers crossed for life cooperating in the second half.

#40, 41, 42, 43 / 100 Day Project

40 / 100 Day Project /  Watercolor

41 / 100 Day Project / Watercolor

42 / 100 Day Project - Watercolor

43 / 100 Day Project - Watercolor

These last few sketches have been very relaxing.
They took me back to painting with my first watercolor teacher,
artist Shirley Hathaway.

I took private weekly lessons at Shirley's house for a few years when we lived in Michigan.
She loved painting on wet watercolor paper, allowing the colors to flow and mix,
and always encouraged us to use huge flat brushes to swipe away hard edges.

I'm enjoying painting this way again,
and hope to do a few more of these.

Hope your week got off to a good start:)

#34, 35, 36, 37, 38 & 39 / 100 Day Project

34 / 100 Day Project

 More drawing on plaster with graphite.  

Unfortunately, I later mucked this one up with watercolor paint.

The plaster surface is so porous and absorbs the water so fast 

that it's impossible to lift color.

Once you put the paint down, there it stays:(

The next drawing of a tiger came out better anyway, 

35 / 100 Day Project

but then I was afraid to muck it up, too.

So I decided to follow the original plan to draw an animal a day for a while 

and paint them all at once.

36 / 100 Day Project

Then came the giraffe.

I was feeling the need for color, so I just went ahead and painted him.

I mucked him up.

37 / 100 Day Project

Then I got the bright idea to put two swipes of color on the plaster first, 

let it dry, and draw.

This is what I got...

38 / 100 Day Project

He looks a little surprised that I did that.

It finally occurred to me to just practice 

painting with watercolor on paper for a little while

to get over the fear.

And so along came the camel.

39 / 100 Day Project 

He looks kind of smug, doesn't he?

#30, 31, 32 & 33 / 100 Day Project

30/100 Day Project - Watercolor

31 / 100 Day Project - Watercolor & graphite

32 / 100 Day Project - Sketch - Watercolor & charcoal

33 / 100 Day Project - Watercolor over plaster on cradled birch panel

A few months ago, I prepped lots of cradled birch panels with plaster,

so I'll go back to them for a while.

The only problem is that when the plaster gets too saturated

with repeated layers of watercolor paint, it tends to rehydrate.

That just means most of these paintings will be in progress (drying)

as they're posted.

And that's good because it takes the pressure off of having to complete

 a finished painting every day.

There are three in progress so far;

 a wolf & another lion from the beginning of the project and this lion.

When a dozen or so are finished, I'm hoping to reopen my ETSY shop.

It was officially "Closed for a Short Break" - 5 years ago:)