workshop with Ratindra Das

I learned some different ways of working with paper and color with Ratindra Das during a 4 day workshop recently.  New to me was applying lots of water with a big brush to both sides of the paper as opposed to soaking in a tub or starting dry. It was calming to begin this way, and the paper laid flat the entire time with no need for clips or tape. Next was to wash the entire sheet with color-I used quin gold and opera rose-and lift where you want the white to remain. It was a very freeing way to begin and a nice change of pace!  This is a scene I've always wanted to try from an Amsterdam visit of boats in the canal.

Notecard Contest

Some cool news to share: my painting of a blue indigo bunting won a notecard contest sponsored by the AAUW (American Association of University Women). It was one of 6 finalists out of 150 entries!  They printed them up with matching envelopes and sent them to all of the members in the USA.  What a nice feeling to be picked!

Wedding Map

This is a really cute idea a future bride and her mother commissioned me to do for the upcoming wedding.  They were inspired by a version of this concept and asked if I would be willing to do it-I was so excited I had a sketch ready that night.  It is a wedding "map" of all the places in town that are meaningful to the couple, matted so the guests can sign it at the reception.  It will be a really nice keepsake for them!

Rockin' Robin

Above are the colors I played with having a robin in mind. I think the abstract version is exciting! Maybe I'm on to a new style!

Woody Woodpecker

Not sure why he is called a red bellied woodpecker when it's his head that is red, but a thrill to see all the same. The contrast of colors in these birds always makes them fun to look at. Painted on 300# Bristol hot press; it's really great paper if you want to wipe out an area and correct or start over.

Need Flowers

We were very lucky to have a getaway to Florida to warm up a bit this month.  Talk about instant gratification! It was 0 degrees here and 80 degrees there! They have the most beautiful orchids everywhere just thriving in that climate. 

 The centers were a starting point with Alizarin Crimson, cad yellow pale and winsor violet, then painted some of the negative spaces around the petals. I think I could have left it this way, unfinished and somewhat charming.

But I went on to finish-they were a pale yellow color and I was quite enjoying the painting time on a nice warm porch with ocean breezes. Sigh....back to cold weather but the flower images help cheer things up!

Brusho workshop

It was a very successful Brusho workshop, organized by our local art guild that I'm a member of.  It was my first teaching this and was a little nervous only because I wanted everybody to have at least one nice sample to bring home after spending a whole day exploring this new medium.  Turns out no worries-everyone had a great time and we learned so many ways to use it from each other. Lots of inventive ideas were played with and each as individual as the person doing it.  I just showed them how it works and we spent the morning playing around with it. After lunch I did a  couple short demos, including how to mask off tree shapes and create winter birch trees and cardinals, but emphasized it could be any kind of tree or season. One lady did a beautiful fall scene background with birches, and another did just abstract colors behind the trees. Fantastic!

Proud participant with no previous                        A row of engaged students.

painting experience!                               

                           

                                                                                   

This person does journaling and taped a little Brusho sample to her entry. She also had a butterfly stencil and made little Brusho butterflies with it. (shown next to journal here)

Flowers were a favorite, so nice and bright. I can't even show all the great things people came up with! Someone did a batik style fish using wax resist, another did a frog that somebody else bought!  And when all was done, everyone went home happy and many ordered their own Brusho to play with to continue the fun.


The group and I were also interviewed by the local paper!  You can see the article and pictures in the link below:

http://auburnpub.com/skaneateles/news/bit-of-excitement-skaneateles-artist-christy-lemp-introduces-brusho-watercolor/article_728cd883-9b02-5390-b9a2-11d8ce67a2e1.html