Watercolor Reflections

Transparent Watercolor Society of America 36th Annual exhibition

2012-02-17T10:21:00.001-07:00

Great News! My painting, "Shows Over", was juried into the 36th Annual Transparent Watercolor Society of America (TWSA) exhibit. The show will be held at Kenosha Public Museum in Wisconsin from May 5 to August 5, 2012

    The TWSA began in 1976 by Nora Stevens and Sybil Olson and was named the Midwest Watercolor Society. In 2003 the society was renamed the TWSA because they had gone from regional status to national. Famous watercolorists were and are members of the TWSA like: Nora Stevens, Frank Webb, Cheng-Khee Chee, Irving Shapiro, Zoltan Szabo and Phil Austin.
    The TWSA mission statement says, "From its inception, the purpose of the Transparent Watercolor Society of America has been to advance the stature and foster appreciation of watercolor as a major medium."
    The TWSA show only juries in paintings that are done completely with transparent watercolor. No other medium can be used and even the pencil lines must be minimally visible. If you would like to see paintings from other recent TWSA exhibitions, click this link http://www.watercolors.org/ and scroll down on their home page until you get to the Recent Exhibitions section. There are some amazing watercolors!
    If you would like to see how my painting, "Shows Over", came into being, I posted the demo from February to March in 2011 to this blog and here are the links:
http://lorrainewatry.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-newest-adventure.html
http://lorrainewatry.blogspot.com/2011/02/adventure-continues.html
http://lorrainewatry.blogspot.com/2011/02/painting-silver-adventure-home-stretch.html
http://lorrainewatry.blogspot.com/2011/02/painting-silver-adventure.html
http://lorrainewatry.blogspot.com/2011/03/abstractions-in-silver.html
http://lorrainewatry.blogspot.com/2011/03/painting-silver-in-watercolor-finale.html

Watercolor Video of a Garden Scene

2012-02-13T06:19:00.008-07:00

I have a 2 new YouTube videos, part 1 and part 2 of a Garden Scene that I am demoing for a class. I took the photo of this scene at the Denver Botanic Gardens. There are some large pots tipped over and some are half buried with flowers and grasses growing around them. This painting is being done on Arches 140lb. cold press paper and I have stretched it and stapled it to Gator Board. After I finish the demo for the class, I will upload the rest to YouTube. Thanks, please let me know what you think. To watch this video on YouTube, click this link: http://lorrainewatry.blogspot.com/p/my-videos-on-you-tube.html
or you can watch the video on this blog from My YouTube Videos Tab.

Color Wheel For Watercolor

2012-02-09T16:33:00.001-07:00

Whether you are just starting out in watercolor or you have been painting for a while, it never hurts to take some time and make yourself a color wheel. A color wheel for the beginner is necessary to understand the relationship of the three primaries - red, blue, and yellow and all of the colors that can be made from them. For the more advanced watercolor student, the color wheel can help remind you that there are many more colors to be made than just the ones you have on your palette.
Here is the nitty-gritty of any color wheel.
Primaries: There are 3 colors that all other colors can be made from. They are Red, Blue, & Yellow.
Secondaries: There are three secondaries. Secondaries are made by mixing two of the primaries together. Red & Blue make purple, Yellow & Red make orange, and Yellow & Blue make green.
Tertiaries: These colors are made by mixing a secondary color and a primary color together. For example: Yellow and orange make a yellow-orange. There can be many many tertiary colors.
Complimentary Colors: These are the colors that sit across from each other on the color wheel. There are 3 sets of complimentary colors. They are Blue & orange, Red & green, and Yellow & purple. By mixing the two complimentary colors together you get a more neutral or grayed down mix. These neutral colors can be wonderful colors in a painting and can make great grays and browns that have some life about them.

The color wheel you see in this post was painted by me with three primaries: French Ultramarine, Permanent Rose, and Lemon Yellow. Please feel free to print this image so that you can use it to do your own color wheel.

For the more advanced watercolor student - this watercolor wheel was done using 3 "cool" primaries, but it can also be done using 3 "warm" primaries. Three colors that are considered "warm" primaries would be Phthalo Blue, Winsor Red (same as Pyrro Red - Daniel Smith or Permanent Red - Daler Rowney), and New Gamboge Yellow. However, I don't care for the "warm" primaries color wheel. You will get less vibrant colors. Also, definitely try some complimentary mixes and see all the wonderful neutral colors you can make.

How to Stretch Watercolor Paper

2012-01-20T11:33:00.002-07:00

You may have heard the term "Stretch Your Watercolor Paper". This does not mean: you will make your paper last longer, nor does it mean you are grabbing it's little paper arms and helping it stretch. :) (Sorry for my little bit of humor there.) What stretching your paper means, as most of you may know, is to wet it and attach it to a surface to keep it from buckling when you paint on it.

Why, you ask, do I need to stretch my watercolor paper? The answer is, you don't. It totally depends on what weight paper you use and whether the paper buckling while you paint bothers you. I use 140lb. Arches, cold press paper for most of my paintings and this weight of paper or lower will buckle if it gets really wet. So, since I like a smooth surface to paint on, I stretch my paper. As I said depending on the weight of the paper, you don't need to stretch it. If you don't want to mess with stretching the paper, try 200lb. or 300lb. paper.

The Stretching Process: It used to be, in order to stretch your paper that you had to use a paper tape that you wet and a masonite board to attach it to. This was a messy process and it didn't always work that well. Then someone decided you could stretch your paper by stapling it and things improved a little, but you couldn't use masonite because you couldn't staple into it. So, I used a heavy piece of board that I had to seal with polyurethane to keep it from warping and the staples didn't always go in easily. Now, however, they have come out with a surface called "Gatorboard". Gatorboard has a foam core interior with a hard exterior surface on the front and back that can be easily stapled into. Gatorboard can be used over and over and you can use both sides of the board. It doesn't warp and it is light weight. You can even cut it down to make smaller surfaces.

Here is my process:

1. I do my drawing on a piece of drawing paper. This way I can work at a comfortable size and I can erase and make all the changes needed before putting it on the watercolor paper. I then take my finished drawing and use a black ink pen to go over the lines to darken it. If I want to do a large painting, I can take this drawing and enlarge it at a copy store or scan it in at home and print it out in sections.

2. The next step is to use my light table to get the drawing on my watercolor paper (Arches 140lb. cold press). If you don't have a light table you can place your drawing in a sunlit window and then tape your watercolor paper over it. You will be able to see the lines of your drawing, if they are dark enough. You can even use this drawing transfer method on 300lb. paper. When I am transferring the drawing, I make sure to draw lightly on the watercolor paper because I don't want dark lines in my finished painting and after the paper has been stretched the pencil is not as easy to erase.

3. I then take the watercolor paper with the drawing on it to the sink. If the paper won't fit under the kitchen sink, I use a wallpaper tray from the hardware store to soak it. I use warm water and begin wetting both sides of the paper. One caution, don't touch your watercolor paper to any of the sink or faucet surfaces while you are soaking it. If there is any soap or other residue on these surfaces they could transfer to your paper and act as a resist when you go to paint. I will continue to wet both sides of the paper for 5 to 10 minutes.

4. Now that the paper is thoroughly wet on both sides, I take it over to the table and place it on my gatorboard. You can purchase gatorboard in 16"x24" or 24"x32" sizes. Check with your local art store or order online at sites like: www.aswexpress.com or www.cheapjoes.com Then I open out my stapler and start on one of the longest sides, if it is a rectangular piece of paper. I staple about every 2 inches. I may place more staples if it is a larger piece of paper because as the larger paper dries, it tends to pull more. I staple all the way around the watercolor paper. Do not pull on the paper as you staple.

5. After you have stapled the paper down, if you feel like it needs a little more water, you can spray it with a spray bottle. The paper will have some buckling, which may occur even while you are still stapling it. Do not panic, as the paper starts to dry it will shrink a little and most, if not all, of the buckling will disappear. Now is the time to be patient and let the paper dry fully. You can set your board in a sunny window or outside on a good day to help speed up the drying time. When you think the paper is dry, touch the paper with the back of your hand (the front of your hand could leave oils on the paper). If the paper is cool to the touch, it is still wet and needs to dry some more. If, however, you are planning on doing a soft, out of focus wash, you could do this before the paper is completely dry. Experiment on a smaller piece of paper before attempting this, so that you know the right conditions to start painting. Once the paper is completely dry you can apply masking if you are using it. Do not apply masking while the paper is wet because it can pull off the surface of the paper when you go to remove it.

Hope this Stretching Paper Tutorial helps. If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will get back to you.

Have You Ever...A Look into the Everyday Life of an Artist

2012-01-06T11:34:00.002-07:00

It has been a while since I posted a "Have You Ever", so I have decided to post three. I would love to hear your art related "Have You Ever's".

Have You Ever... been at an event where something else is going on besides art and started thinking about what colors to use to paint what you see?

Have You Ever... waited until the last minute to finish a painting, take pictures, and enter a juried show? (Now, in this day of digital entries, I have a quick way to enter a show... even if I have waited until the last minute!)

Have You Ever... forgotten to do the laundry, make dinner, or change out of your p.j.'s because you are so involved with the piece you are working on?

Watercolor Video of Longs Peak, Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T15:58:00.002-07:00

On this day, the 31st of December - 2011, I want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year filled with family, friends, and art! I have spent part of the day painting a watercolor on canvas of Longs Peak. I plan on ringing in the New Year by painting again tomorrow. I hope this inspires me to re-focus on my art and be less distracted by other things. I have attached a small part of the video I am shooting for the Longs Peak painting. Happy Painting to All!

My Watercolors, Palette, and Brush

2011-12-29T09:45:00.003-07:00

    Some of my students asked for a list of the watercolors that are on my palette. So, I made up this image to show the colors I use and the brands of paint. I use 4 different brands of paint, but they are all professional artists grade, not student grade. The student grade paints have fillers in them. These chaulky fillers affect their look on the paper; they won't be as transparent as professional grade paints. Also, you may pay less for the student grade paints, but you tend to have to use more paint than with the professional paint. The key for the brand name abbreviations, under each paint name, is at the bottom of the image. (HINT: you can see a larger version of the image by clicking on it.)
    When I first set up my palette, many years ago, I used a book by Hilary Page - Guide to Watercolor Paints (see Amazon info). This book has information on each pigment and the brands that make them. It lists five factors: quality, reliability, lightfastness, handling characteristics and mixing potential for each of the paints. These can all be very important factors, especially lightfastness, when choosing your paints.
    I use a Stephen Quiller palette (see ASWexpress store). They come in plastic and porcelain and small (for travel) and large (for the studio). I like the large center well for mixing and the ability to set the paints up like a color wheel. I don't have my paints exactly as Mr. Quiller suggests, but it works for me.
    The brush that is pictured is the main brush that I use for most of my painting. It is a Golden Fleece Brush from Cheap Joes (see Cheap Joes store) and is a size #38. I have really liked this brush; it has a nice point for small areas and holds a lot of paint and water. This is not the only brush I use, but it is my favorite!

Watercolor Classes 2012

2011-12-21T11:27:00.001-07:00

If you are in the Colorado Springs area and interested in taking a watercolor class, I have set up new classes for January to February. These classes range from beginner to intermediate/advanced. Please see the link to my website for class information. Watercolor Classes with Lorraine Watry.

Watercolor Project - Aspen on Watercolor Canvas

2011-12-05T11:54:00.002-07:00

I have finished the aspen on watercolor canvas. The following is a description of the final steps and the finished image. You can see the start of this painting at my post on November 11 - Watercolor Projects on Yupo and Watercolor Canvas.

If you have not tried watercolor canvas, it can be a fun surface to work on with watercolor because it is very easy to lift color back off. I also work a little faster on canvas because you have to be a little more direct with your colors and values. You can layer, but the previous layers might lift off if you are too vigorous with your brush.

I decided to mask out my foreground, large leaves because I wanted them to have clean hard edges. I could have gone back and lifted any errant color back off the leaves, but they would have had softer edges then and they may not have been as free of color as I wanted them. I finished up the shadows on the tree trunks before removing the masking on the leaves. For the distinct markings on the aspen trunks, I used a mix of French Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna, and Quinacridone Magenta. These three colors can be mixed to give gray blues, browns, and purples. I used these same colors on the small branches of the trees. I left the white of the canvas as the white of the trees accept for a very subtle brushing of a yellowing green in a few places to give the whites a "touch" of color.

The Demo7 image shows the completed painting. I used three shades of yellow and some green and orange to paint in the leaves. Sometimes while a leaf was still wet I would float in a second color to give interest to the leaves. I also left some leaves very pale so that they had the look of sunlight hitting them. The finishing step was to paint some purple/blue shadows on some of the leaves to give the painting more depth.

In the Demo6 image you can see the side of the canvas. I decided to paint the edge a dark brown with acrylics. Right now this painting is hanging just as it is with a brown edge and no frame. Some patrons like this look. So, I will leave it this way for a while. My other options are to frame it like an oil painting with a linen liner and a frame with no glass or you can get a frame that is specifically made for floating a canvas without a matt. (Here is one link to American Frame so that you can see what a floater frame looks like.) http://www.americanframe.com/search.aspx?prodtype=Frame&keyword=floater+frames

In the Demo8 image you can see the edge that is now painted brown and the whole canvas was then sprayed with 3 or 4 coats of acrylic matt sealer. This will protect the watercolor from ruin if it should get wet.

Watercolor canvas works with masking and salt if you like those techniques and probably many other techniques. I have decided that instead of buying the pre-stretched watercolor canvases, I like to buy big rolls of the watercolor canvas from online stores and then stretch it to the dimensions that I want to work with. Also, I have found that the roll of canvas has a slightly different feel that allows for an easier time working with it, while some of the pre-stretched canvases almost resist the paint. Note: canvas is still not as widely accepted by the buying public because I think some are unsure if it is an original painting or a reproduction. Some shows you enter may not allow canvas, so read the prospectus carefully.

Watercolor Projects on Yupo and Watercolor Canvas

2011-11-11T11:26:00.002-07:00

Do you have too many projects lying around? It becomes difficult to focus with a lot of unfinished projects. I just finished teaching a class series focusing on aspen trees and now I have 4 demo paintings in various stages of completion that I need to finish up. I also taught a snow scene class earlier in the year with the idea that one of these paintings would become my Christmas card painting for this year. However, I never completed the painting. So, now that it is almost time to send Christmas cards, I am feeling the pressure to get this painting finished and printed. So, while I am in the process of cleaning up my studio and completing projects, I thought I could use these paintings as a blog demo. The following is a description of where I am in the process of painting.

This is my snow scene for my Christmas card. This painting is on Yupo (a plastic that is used for printing in some magazines). Working with Yupo for snow scenes is great because the paint sits on the surface and remains very vibrant and the whites are brilliant. I have a lot of this painting completed. I started by painting in the sky with a mix of cobalt blue and manganese and then I mixed a purple gray for the back ground trees. I wanted these trees to feel like they were in the distance and thick with branches. I then painted the green pine needles, the trunks of the foreground trees, and the shadows on the snow. I used masking on the snow that is hanging on the branches. It is very easy to lift with Yupo, so I could have forgone the masking, but this will give me cleaner edges. I like making my Christmas card scenes quiet and peaceful. Sometimes I will add an ornament to a tree to spruce the scene up a little and give the idea that someone has been there, without actually showing a figure. This scene lent itself to a trail of ornaments that invite the viewer down the path in the snow. My next step will be to soften some of the edges of the snow on the pines and put some shadows on them. Then I will finish up the trunks of the foreground aspen trees and I think it will be finished. I will post the finished painting, hopefully soon.

This is one of the aspen paintings that I need to finish. This painting is on watercolor canvas. I stretched a piece of watercolor canvas around 12x20 inch stretcher bars to get the proportion I wanted of a long narrow painting. I then did my sketch directly onto the canvas and masked the foreground leaves to protect them while painting in the background and shadows on the tree trunks. I decided to use very strong sunlight in this scene and the white of the canvas is the white of the trees on the right side. The background sky and leaf foliage was painted in first. I painted the leaves in while the sky was still wet so that they would have a soft edge. Next I started putting in the shadows on the left of the trees and the branches. For the purposes of my in class demonstration, I skipped some steps and took some off the masking of the foreground leaves to demo how I would paint them (the shiny spot on this photo is some of the masking that still needs to be removed).

In this close up, you can see the foreground leaves and a variation of color in some of them, to give more visual interest. I have also started to paint some of the darker markings that are found on aspen trees around the branches and on the trunk.

I will post more steps as I work to complete these two paintings and hopefully get some clutter out of my studio and off my mind!

National Watercolor Society 91st Traveling Exhibit

2011-10-30T20:56:00.001-06:00

Here is the schedule for the NWS 91st Traveling Exhibition 2012
There are some amazing watercolors in this show and well worth a little travel time if these locations are not local.

Feb 5-Mar 18 Fallbrook Art Center, Fallbrook CA

Apr 1-May 3 Kerr Arts and Cultural Center, Kerrville, TX

May 17-Jun 17 Grapevine Art Project Gallery, Grapevine, TX

Jul 2-Aug 4 Community Fine Arts Center, Rock Springs, Wy

Aug 17-Sep 28 Bloomington Art Center, Bloomington. MN

Oct 12-Dec 7 Zanesville Museum of Art, Zanesville, OH

Tips on Entering Juried Watercolor Shows

2011-10-02T10:15:00.001-06:00

I know it is now October, and I am really behind in posting to my blog. I am still trying to catch up from a very busy summer and start of marching band season for my son. I am the new bookkeeper for the band and now to the end of October a lot of my time will be given over to this duty. As a proud band parent I have to brag that they took 2nd place in a competition last night, moving up from 4th in preliminaries!
Back to art, though. I was looking around at other blogs and saw this link about entering juried art shows. I think Deb Ward does a good job of describing the process of the entry from the show organizers stand point. http://debwardart.blogspot.com/2011/09/entering-art-shows.html
Something I would add to this is, when choosing your pieces to enter, try to see them from a jurors perspective. For most juried shows there are a lot of entries and the juror only has a few minutes to look at each entry. Make sure your values are strong and you have a good composition. Also, when photographing your artwork, only take a photo of the art, never send an image with frames, matts, or any kind of background in the image. You don't want anything distracting from your star - your painting!

New Signature Member National Watercolor Society

2011-09-22T21:41:00.000-06:00

I received word last week, while at the grocery store, that I am now a Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society. I was so excited!! I would have jumped around and cheered, but I think the other shoppers would have thought I was loony! I have aimed for this honor for many years now and it is still a little hard to believe! My painting also received the Holbein Award and will go on the traveling show for 1 year. If my memory serves, when my painting went on the traveling show in 2008, I think it stopped in about 5 different cities during the year. When I know the cities locations for this year, I will publish them.

If you don't know the process of getting into the National Watercolor Society show and receiving Signature membership, here it is: The National Watercolor Society along with the American Watercolor Society and the Transparent Watercolor Society of America are some of the top US watercolor shows. As it says on their website, the National Watercolor Society began life in the 1920's as the California Watercolor Society. To enter this national juried show, you send 1 image. This one image is then juried along with about 1,000 other images by three nationally known watercolor artists. These three artists cannot talk during the jurying process. They look through all of the 1,000 images the first time without voting, then they begin the first round of voting. Each of the three artists says yes or no anonymously to each image and generally it takes quite a few rounds of this before they have selected the 100 images out of the 1,000 that will be included in the show. This year was different, though, in their long history, this was the first year that all 100 paintings received 3 votes in the first round of voting! So, it should be a very strong show!

Most watercolor societies have a tiered structure to their membership. In most, anyone can be an Associate member, at any level of their watercolor abilities or someone with just an interest in art or the watercolor medium. The next level is Signature Member. A signature member has to complete the societies rules for attaining Signature membership and these requirements vary from society to society. Once an artist has a painting selected for the National Watercolor Societies Annual Exhibition they can apply for Signature membership. To apply the artist must send 3 matted paintings, separate from the piece juried into the show. Then 3 jurors, separate from the 3 previous jurors and also nationally recognized watercolor artists, look at the 3 matted paintings that the artists sends. They are looking for a consistent high quality of watercolor and ability to repeat this high quality. All three jurors must agree in awarding the artist Signature Membership. If you see a watercolor where the artists signature includes the initials, NWS, you know the process they had to take and the honor it is to achieve this level.

Watercolor Classes

2011-08-12T21:19:00.000-06:00

Quaking Aspen ©

My new watercolor class listings are available for September through October. I will be teaching a beginning/intermediate class and an intermediate/advanced class. We will focus on Aspen trees in both classes. For more information click here.

National Watercolor Society 91st Exhibit

2011-08-09T17:59:00.000-06:00

GREAT NEWS! I found out this week that my painting, Stained Glass Waterlilies, was juried into the National Watercolor Societies 91st Annual Exhibition. It was one of 100 paintings selected out of 1,000.
The show will run from October 22 to December 3, 2011 at the NWS Gallery - 915 South Pacific Ave., San Pedro, CA.

Watercolor Workshop with John Salminen

2011-07-14T21:59:00.000-06:00

     I just had the best three days taking a workshop with watercolor artist, John Salminen! You can see John and myself in the photo along with my workshop painting of a New York scene in Time Square.
   My painting isn't finished yet, but I took on a very challenging scene for a three day workshop! I think the next workshop I take, I will pick a less intense piece.
   I would highly recommend taking a workshop with John Salminen. John worked with everyone, no matter what level you are at in your watercolor ventures. We learned some great tools to enhance our paintings and there were a lot of demos by John and one-on-one time for help. John's wife, Kathy, was an added benefit to the workshop. She was there all three days to assist John and help and encourage the participants. She also worked with us on using a mouth atomizer, one of John's tools to adjust the values in his paintings. I have had an atomizer for many years, but couldn't make it work and after learning from Kathy the proper way to use one, I had no problems with it! I plan on experimenting and using this valuable tool in the future. If you would like to see more of John's artwork or workshop listings, see his website: http://www.johnsalminen.com/

Watercolor of Waterlilies Final

2011-07-09T13:02:00.002-06:00

Stained Glass Waterlilies ©L Watry

Original Waterlily Photo ©L Watry

Yeah! I have finished my waterlily painting in time to enter it in this years National Watercolor Society Annual juried exhibition! I finished up by painting in the lilies and lily pads. I also adjusted the water darkness in a few places where I felt it was too light. Below you can see the original photo and how I adjusted it for the final painting. When I get a chance, which may not be until August, I will finish up the editing of the video I took while painting the waterlilies and place the videos on YouTube again.

Watercolor of Waterlilies Stage 3

2011-06-29T11:46:00.001-06:00

Stained Glass Waterlilies ©L Watry

I have finished the water on my waterlily painting. Though, I do still have a few of the cream/peach reflections to put in. I will also clean up all of the edges where I removed masking before I finish putting the color on the reflections. The next step is to start the purple waterlilies and lily pads. I am continuing to take video, but I won't upload these to YouTube until I am done with the painting. I am entering it in the National Watercolor Society Annual and it has to be done by July 9th.

I have also included a close-up around the waterlilies. You can see some of the variation of the colors in the water. Some areas of water I painted wet-into-wet and some are hard edged.

Watercolor of Waterlilies Stage 2

2011-06-14T17:47:00.003-06:00

Image 1

I began posting about this watercolor painting demo of waterlilies on April 29th with Stage 1 (see link). Since then I have posted several times with videos taken while painting. These videos can be seen on My Videos Tab. I will be adding more videos as I have them ready, so check back.

To walk you through the steps seen here I began with the upper background water. This water had a reflection of something creamy and a peachy, orange pattern on that (Image 1).

Image 2

In the second image, I have started working on the darker parts of the background water. I looked for the changes in the values and color in these areas. Parts of the painting are still blocked with masking, that I will remove later. I have also started painting some of the blue sky reflections. I am trying to paint this background water in one pass, so that it remains fresh.

Image 3

In the third image you can see how far I am on this full sheet painting (this was actually several weeks ago). I continue to work only on the background water and reflections. I will save the waterlilies and lily pads for later. In between painting, I take the painting around to different parts of the house. While I am busy doing other things, I can look over at the painting and evaluate where I am at.

In the bottom two images (Image 4 & 5) you can see that I have started working on the lower blue reflections. I mixed a film case full of cobalt blue, permanent rose, and a touch of manganese. I stopped working on

Image 4

the darker water and went to the blue sections so that I could make sense of the puzzles pieces that make up the water. I continue to look for parts of the water that look wet-into-wet and for sections that are more hard edged and bold.

Please check back for the next stages and if you have any questions leave a comment and I will answer them on this blog.

Image 5

Have You Ever...a look into the everyday life of an artist

2011-06-10T09:22:00.000-06:00

Have You Ever...known an artist who didn't want a painting to sell, enter it in a show and place a really high price on it, and the painting sells? I read about one instance of this happening and I was at a show opening where this happened to another artist and she didn't know whether to be happy or sad!

Watercolor Demo of Waterlilies Video Part 1

2011-05-20T22:17:00.000-06:00

   I have a new video on You Tube - Watercolor Demo of "Stained Glass Waterlilies" Part 1.
This video walks you through the beginning of my new full sheet watercolor painting of waterlilies. I will continue to post new videos as I have them available. Please follow along as I walk you through this very detailed and colorful waterlily scene.


    If you have questions about my process please leave me a comment and I will try to answer it here on my blog.

   The link for the original post about this painting is here: http://lorrainewatry.blogspot.com/2011/04/watercolor-of-waterlilies-stage-1.html

Have You Ever...a look into the everyday life of an artist

2011-05-20T20:54:00.001-06:00

Have You Ever...finished a painting, taken your photos, cut mats, framed the piece, and upon placing your title tag on the back of the paper backing, turned the piece around to find out you forgot to sign it? I have done this a couple of times throughout my 17 years of framing my paintings. It is not a lot of fun framing the same piece twice in one day!

Watercolor Demo Paintings

2011-05-13T13:09:00.003-06:00

I have taken some time to finish up a few of the demo paintings that I started in the classes I am teaching. There is a varied subject matter amongst these four images, but they all have in common: good composition, strong values, and vivid colors.

Have You Ever...a look into the everyday life of an artist

2011-05-13T12:51:00.000-06:00

Have You Ever...set up a plein-air workshop an hour from your studio and realized upon arriving that you left your demo painting back in your studio? I set up a plein-air (French meaning - "in the open air") workshop at the Denver Botanic Gardens, an hour from Colorado Springs. I brought everything else I needed, but I forgot my demo painting that I had drawn and ready to go. So, instead of starting with the demo, I had the workshop participants go take photos and familiarize themselves with the gardens and I quickly drew a new scene that I could demo. I was a little frazzled to say the least, but I think the day turned out OK.

Painting Silver in Watercolor

2011-05-04T21:39:00.001-06:00

Great News! My painting "Shows Over" was juried into the Pikes Peak Watercolor Society's, International Watermedia 17. It is 1 of 90 paintings juried in, out of 494 entries. John Salminen was the juror. The show will be held at the Cottonwood Center for the Arts, 427 E. Colorado Ave., Colorado Springs. Dates are: June 24, 2011 to July 23, 2011 and the opening reception will be June 24th from 5pm-8pm, with a separate awards ceremony on July 8th from 6pm-8pm.

To see this painting in progress click here for the first posting starting on February 18th and follow it through to its completion in my March 5th posting.

Cards and Prints are available. Please contact Lorraine to inquire.