Holiday Shop and wash #81 #82 #83

This has been a very busy couple of weeks getting ready for our Holiday Shop.  Five of us local artists and friends combined our various crafts and had a fun, very successful shop.  The day was beautifully frosty and sunny, and people from all over town stopped by and left with lots of great local gifts for themselves and others.  Many thanks to our friend Betsy who let us use her wonderful farmhouse for the day. It has so many perfect rooms that all flow together-it was a perfect showcase.

 Above: Carly Bakes' cookies, Betsy's recycled tin jewelry, and my paintings and notecards.

Above: Betsy's fabric pins-they look great with everything. Below, lavender products by Karen of Lockwood Farm. Pictures to come from Jan's Pottery and Martha's candles.

 #81

#82  I felt a bit rusty doing these washes-it had been 2 weeks since picking up a brush and warming up definitely took longer. Also, the 4" x 6" size doesn't lend itself to looseness for me. bigger is better to get the flow going!

#83 I liked doing this one better. I used Kosher salt when the colors were pretty wet and the crystals really spread. When dry more brush strokes were added. An overall abstract-y look that's fun to do.

Christy Lemp wash #78 #79 #80

Time is flying as the holidays draw near!  I'm busy painting some small scenes to offer at a local holiday shop in a couple of weeks. 

 Close-up of an owl in progress-this feather theme grabs me this month.

 Barn next door-always so picturesque in winter!

No reference for this one-just a memory of a lake scene in town. It looks a little bare, but things are starting to look that way as winter approaches.

Christy Lemp wash #76 #77

I guess the rooster from last week inspired me to try some more feathers. This is a peacock feather; they have so much punchy color but are so delicate at the same time.

 Painted from the outside in towards the center. The colors kind of ran in together and the yellows got a bit muddy.

 Painted this from the center outwards this time and went for some brighter colors, including winsor green (blue shade), winsor blue and violet, brown madder.

Here is Mr. Rooster altogether and finished from last week.

Christy Lemp wash #73 #74 #75

Another week has flown by and holidays are pushing their way into everyone's already busy schedule. Time to schedule, prioritize, and take time for yourself a little bit.  I loved doing this little painting-after a year of having this little tree and its reflections in my head, and many swipes at capturing it, I think I have what I was envisioning.  I better paint some more while the technique is still in my brain.

the next two are close ups of a rooster that  I chose to use for my painting class.  I was desperate for a subject as it was 9:30 a.m. and class was at 10:00.  I trolled thru my photo captures and remembered this rooster from a nearby farm.  He is a beauty. I always hesitated doing this animal because so many artists already do them so well, but I'm glad I jumped into this one. He was so pretty, and the brush seemed to be painting him without much help from me!  I'll post the completed picture next time.

100 Washes: #71 #72

Continuing on with my 100 washes challenge on this blog, so here goes: these are two more in my pursuit of night time reflections.

This is all wet in wet, painted several stripes of light yellow and then prussian blue and winsor violet in between. This let each color float into each other just a bit.
Masked out little spots of light, which I haven't removed yet. Very wet all over, dropped in violet and crimson in the tree, then prussian blue around the tree but leaving space around the tree for the color to float in. I like the glow this created.

Candles or Pumpkins?

The days are getting shorter and candles are getting lit on the mantle again for dinner. I needed a subject for painting class, and I'm still obsessed with capturing nighttime reflections, so decided to try these. However they also look like pumpkins and that's fitting since Halloween is next week! Will let this rest and decide later what they want to be. what do you think?

Fall Swoop

Who can resist such beautiful fall scenery; everything in a gold wash from the sun last weekend. For a couple of hours I was in heaven sitting on my beach chair, just painting things on my front porch. Rich colors are such a boost, especially today; a week after all this beauty it's pouring rain and windy! It's cozy to paint indoors too though, and soup is simmering in the crockpot. I cannot complain!