A Couple Watercolor Sketches and some Workshops

I have been starting up again my once a week plein air watercolor sketch outing.  My goal is to user a larger sketchbook and get quicker with the drawing and looser with the painting.  I'm using a 9" x 11" Stillman & Birn, Alpha Series sketchbook.  I am really liking this painting surface.  A few of my other books have hand-made khadi paper which I also like, but I'm loving how the color is popping off the page with this smoother paper!   The Alapha Series paper is thinner than their Beta Series paper.  The advantage to that is you get more paper in the book and I'm able to watercolor sketch on both sides of the sheet with no bleed through.  That's how nice this paper is.  It's a little more like a hot press surface than a cold press paper, if you were to compare it to watercolor paper, but not as smooth and slick as some hot press papers are.

Watercolor Sketch, in a 9 x 11 Stillman & Birn Sketchbook

The main reason watercolor is my preferred medium at the moment is for my love of sketching in watercolor.  Once I did this for a number of  years I had the desire to try my hand at larger works!  My sketchbooks are like my little children, complete treasures.  I love looking through them to remind me of the memories of the places I have traveled.

If you are interested in sketching in watercolor, documenting your travels or your daily life, I will be teaching a "Sketching in Watercolor: Plein Air" Workshop" at the Winter Garden Art Association.  One this fall, November 14 & 15 and one this spring, April 11 & 12.  Leave me a comment or send me an email if you would like to register for the spring class.

My complete workshop schedule is on my web site here.

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Day 4 of the Facebook Three Paintings in Five Days Challenge

DAY 4 of the Three Paintings in Five Days Facebook Challenge…More Asian inspired works from my time traveling there. “Odd Man Out.” was recently judged by an artist I greatly admire, Thomas Schaller, for the Kansas Watercolor Society Exhibition. Thank you Thomas! It evolved from a plein air sketch I did on Peel Street in Hong Kong. I love this painting because it takes me right back to the memory of doing the sketch.  I did a blog post about it here.

Lotus Nocturne

$175.00

Price Includes Shipping

Limited Edition Archival Giclée Print Signed and Numbered, Edition of 300

Original painting is SOLD.

Image Size:  Half size from original, 19.5" x 9.25," (23.5 cm x 49.5 cm)

Shipped flat with backing board.

Quantity:

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I adore the Lotus plant which I saw all over Thailand, Japan, and China. “Lotus Nocturne” is a self-reflective painting for me. From a previous post here, you can read about the symbology of this beautiful plant.

I had to paint the “Kyoto Tanuki" seen all over Japan because he is so darn cute and mischievous. You can read about the symbology of the Tanuki on from a previous post here.

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Day 3 of the Three Paintings in Five Days Facebook Challenge

Pak Tai Guardian

$3,500.00

Watercolor, Framed

30” x 22.,5” (76 cm x 57 cm)

Framed Size 42.5" x 35," price includes frame

Selected for the 41st Annual Florida Watercolor Society Exhibition 2012 at the Mennello Museum of American Art .

Selected for the 2nd Annual Women Painters of the Southeast Exhibition, 2013, at the Imagine Gallery of Fine Art, Franklin Tennessee.

This painting was inspired by an intriguing statue I saw on my many visits to the Pak Tai Temple in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island.

Email me for purchase information.

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Pak Tai Guardian Lion

$3,500.00

Watercolor, Framed

30” x 22.5,” (76 cm x 57 cm)

Framed Size 42.75" x 34.75"

This is the second painting in a series of temple pieces inspired by a Chinese Lion statue I saw on my many visits to the Pak Tai Temple in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island.

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Purchase

DAY 3 of three paintings in five days Facebook challenge... When I lived in Hong Kong one of my favorite things to do was visit and sketch at the myriad of temples. The two dragon paintings evolved from sketches I did at the Pak Tai Temple in the Wan Chai district. One was my first try, and acceptance into a major exhibition, The Florida Watercolor Society. Thanks to juror,  Nicholas Simmons for choosing it!

Since we moved to Hong Kong during Chinese New Year, I wanted to commemorate that time with "Lion Dance". It’s my largest painting 36” sq. and I wanted to capture the excitement of the acrobatic dance with a colorful, “in your face,” statement!

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Day 2 of the Three Painting in Five Days Facebook Challenge

DAY 2 of the 3 paintings in 5 days challenge…I postedthree watercolor sketches from my travel journals. I use two sizes of books 8 x 6 and a 10 x 7, one brush, sometimes two, a large round and a flat,  and a small Windsor & Newton travel palette. If you want to know more about my sketching set up you can read a previous post here. Keeping these journals resulted in my passion and path to painting in watercolor!  These mean more to me than any photo I have taken and looking through them occasionally brings back so many fond memories.

Chedi Beach, Phuket Thailand, Watercolor Sketch

Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia, Watercolor Sketch

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Odd Man Out Accepted to The Kansas Watercolor Society National Exhibition

My painting Odd Man Out has been selected for the 2014 Kansas Watercolor Society's National Exhibition at The Wichita Center For The Arts.  I'm so honored to be in this show. Thank you to juror Thomas Schaller, whose work I greatly admire, for choosing this piece.

I have such a connection to this painting inspired by a plein air sketch I did on Peel Street in Hong Kong.  Some of my happiest moments were sketching, painting and exploring that city and for me it's even more poignant that this piece was chosen for this show with all the political unrest that's happening in Hong Kong right now.

For all my artists friends out there who enter competitive shows, DON'T GIVE UP! The selection process for any show can be very selective and can be greatly influenced by the taste of the judge.  This painting has been rejected from two regional shows, only to be accepted into this national show!  A painting isn't bad, or you are not a terrible artist because a work is declined for a show.  I look at it as a golden opportunity for it to be available somewhere else.  If this painting had been juried into a current regional show, I would not have been able to enter it for the Kansas show!

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Opening Reception for "Pick Your Passion" 127 SoBo Gallery, Winter Garden, Florida

It was a great opening reception last Thursday, well attended by about 100 people. Thanks to everyone who came and supported the gallery and me!  It has been very exciting and an honor to be featured, and especially to see my larger watercolor paintings framed and hung together!

I will also also be doing a workshop at the gallery October 16 & 17.  Teaching is something I have been interested in doing for quite some time and I'm really looking forward to it!  The workshop is called "Bold & Dynamic Watercolor."  I plan to talk about my techniques for creating my work as all as some general information about watercolor in general: papers, brushes, pigments, and ratio of pigment to water.  I will also cover how I go about designing my paintings, touching on design and composition. I welcome beginners and intermediate painters.   If you are interested click here for more information and here to sign up at the Winter Garden Art Association's web site.  If you don't live in the area, and would like to come, there is a quaint bed and breakfast inn, The Historic Edgewater Hotel, right downtown.  The hotel and the gallery are in the heart of the historic district of Winter Garden.

After all the excitement from the show, I have made some progress on the painting I am doing for Hope City Orlando to benefit victims of human trafficking.  I will post some more work in progress photos this week and maybe even the finished painting!

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Featured Artist at the 127 SoBo Gallery in Winter Garden Florida

I have shared everywhere else, Facebook, Newsletter, etc. that I am going to be the featured artist this month at the 127 SoBo Gallery in Winter Garden, Florida, but haven't shared on my blog!!  I helped hang the show yesterday at the gallery with some wonderful fellow volunteers at the Winter Garden Art Association.  The  theme for this months show is "Pick Your Passion" and is only open for members to exhibit.   The collection of work I've put together for the show represents two of my passions, painting and travel.

Although it has been a few years since I've lived there, I am greatly influenced by my time living in Hong Kong and France and traveling throughout Asia and Europe for many years. I have thousands of reference photos that are a never-ending source for inspiration!  I just wish I could paint faster!

If you are in the area, the opening reception is Thursday night, August 7 from 5:30 to 8:00. The address of the gallery is 127 South Boyd Street, in Winter Garden Florida.   The show will be up the month of August, if you can't make the reception and would like to see it.  The gallery hours are Wed. through Sat. 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

I was getting my work framed which is such a nice feeling, not only to see it all framed which feels like the icing on the cake but to protect it as well.  I posted this photo on Facebook of Odd Man Out with yours truly standing next to it to give an idea of scale.  Many friends have commented since seeing it they had no idea it was that big!  It's really difficult when we see work on websites or in Facebook without a human standing next to it, to judge the scale of one's work.  Many of my paintings are quite large.

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Accepted into the 35th National Georgia Watercolor Society Exhibition

I’m thrilled, my painting Waiting in the Wings was chosen for the 35th National Georgia Watercolor Society’s Exhibition!  This is my second year in the show.  Last year my painting Hong Kong Happy Hour was chosen.  It’s always a great honor for me to be juried into shows, and to have my work included with some of the most talented watercolorists in the nation for national shows and from all over the world for international shows.

If you enter a few shows a year whichI do, the logistics of keeping track of it all can be tricky!  Some show dates conflict with each other.   Therefore a careful review of your inventory is necessary to decide which paintings will be submitted where.  Some will accept three paintings for the judge to see, some accept two, and some only accept one.  But usually only one paintingis juried into the show.  Many shows are going on at the same time, therefore if you submit three paintings for one judge to review for a particular show, those can not be submitted for other shows because any one of the three could be chosen and you don’t know which one it will be!

You always want to submit your best work, but usually out of the two or three you submit, you have a personal favorite that you feel is the strongest.  But, your favorite may not be the favorite of the judge, and he or she will choose their preference!  Judges are different from show to show.  Therefore, if a piece is rejected one year, from one organization, doesn’t mean it will be another time from a different judge!

If you are interested in submitting work to juried shows, keep your brushes moving so that you have a good inventory to choose from.  Only submit you strongest work that you are most proud of.  Keep careful records so that you don’t submit the same painting that may be tied up in another show, sold, or not be shipped back to you in time for the other deadline.  Most of all don’t give up!!! Rejection is all part of the process which doesn’t mean you are a bad painter or your work is bad either.  The way I look at rejection from shows is, the judge’s taste just didn’t lean toward my work, and now I have a painting that is available as consideration for another show, where the judge’s taste might lean in my direction!

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Happy Chinese New Year... Year of the Horse

After living in Hong Kong, I’m always aware of the Chinese New Year!  So, Happy New Year... Year of the Horse!  I lived there during two Chinese New Years and they were my favorite holidays observed there.  Based on the lunar calendar, the fifteen day celebration started yesterday and ushers out the year of the water snake and in the year of the wooden horse.  Feng shui masters say the year of the horse may be tough for any negotiating because people stand firm in their beliefs and convictions. If this is true, I guess Congress won’t be getting much work done this year either!

Reward, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 6" x 6"

The decorations are spectacular,  we always had the most beautiful pink flowering plum trees in the lobby of our apartment building. Flowers are an important part of the New Year Celebration.  Plum blossoms symbolize courage and hope, narcissus, good luck and fortune, and tangerines and oranges are displayed as a sign of wealth and luck.  Flowering plum and mandarin trees adorn many homes, businesses and temples throughout Hong Kong.

Everyone is the the holiday spirit similar to the Christmas spirit here.  The celebration lasts for many days and has different phases, where different customs are observed.   One is the ever popular Lie See envelopes.  These small red envelopes you tuck money inside are adorned with symbols for good fortune and luck, and sometimes have cartoon characters because it is a tradition to give them to children.   Work colleagues or people in business relationships give them to each other too.  As is the custom, to not forget all the service people that help you throughout the year.

The parades, Lion Dance and acrobatic performances and fireworks are spectacular, and are not to be missed!  All around a beautiful, festive, fun time of year.

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Sketch Page from the Musée Guimet in Paris France

I’m in design and sketch mode right now on a commission, which I can’t share yet. So I thought I would share more sketches today from the Guimet Musée, in Paris.  I miss this place!!  This page shows sketches of statues from Vietnam, Tibet, and a Noh mask from Japan.

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