Blue Window 2

THIS took 2 days- sorry, I forgot to post it. I've now added the red, green, blue and white. Some was taped off, some free-handed.

Blue Window

WINDOWS intrigue me. They can invite you in or shut you out. They can brighten your day or leave you feeling lonely. From either side they give you a glimpse into another world.
LAVINIA MARIN of Bucharest, Romania shows her photos on Stock.xchng and has graciously given me permission to paint her photograph of a blue window. I love the bright bold paint colors juxtaposed with lace. I am going to paint this on plywood that has been cut to the shape of the window in the Trompe L'oeil style. The overall size is 36" x 48" so it will give the impression of a real window when hung on the wall. I am using 1/2 inch plywood cut with a jigsaw.


I CUT the shape, puttied the edges with Elmer's Wood Filler and then painted with a thinned Nova Color acrylic wash, using various old-wood colors. I then painted on 2 coats of Clear Protector sealer on BOTH SIDES of plywood. I can now paint my picture.

TAKING FROGTAPE, I mask off the most obvious black lines. After painting in the areas black I mask off other obvious sections. I need to section off the parts of the painting so I can see what I'm doing. GETTING BORED with straight lines so I played with the lace for a while. I'm a little nervous about the lace. There's a lot of detail and I have failed with lace in the past. Wish me luck. OOPS! I forgot to pick up my grandson Miklos at school. See you after lunch!

Lorikeet 2

WOW. Sorry folks. I just couldn't get back to this. Actually, I hit a snag when I got to the green feathers and I kept finding other projects to spend time on (running 1st Saturday in Three Rivers and framing 20 paintings for my show in January, to name 2)!
RAINED all day today. So my grandson and I painted at home with the heater on. Nothing like the rain on a metal roof with a 4-year old sharing watercolor expertise. I learned a lot.
I PAINTED the lorikee's head in watercolor. It was working fine. But when I got to the body feathers I quickly decided to switch to acrylic and gouache, first painting solid black, red and yellow areas and then, with a fine pointed brush, painting lines of color. Much better. So this is now a "mixed-medium" painting. Whatever works!

Rainbow Lorikeet -1

I JUST LOVE this photograph of a Rainbow Lorikee. I didn't take it. Sarah Williams (user name MeHere) of Brisbane, Australia did. She is one of hundreds of photographers that share their work on SXC.hu, a leading free stock photo site.

SXC.hu was started in 2001 as an alternative to expensive stock photo sites. The images are free and you can use them for almost anything – web design, artwork, inspiration. They are high-resolution photos and are easily searched by topic. There are some restrictions- in some cases, the artist wants to be notified, and sometimes you need to give them credit. Some just want to see what you did with their image. And it is very simple to contact the artist – a click away. My favorite comment quoted in a photographer's intro came from Asif Akbar (user name asifthebes) from Mumbai, India, who said, "You can use any of my images without permission. Life is short, but there is always time enough for courtesy." Wow.

I ALMOST ALWAYS use my own photographs in creating my artwork. But I am going to paint this bird – because it makes me so happy! And those feathers – I can already see the wet watercolor spreading on the page. Follow me- I'll show you how I do a watercolor.

I LIKE different watercolor papers but I especially like the inexpensive Strathmore 400 series because it lets me pick up color easily, and I think I will be doing a lot of that here. My image is 14 inches by 10 inches. Let's get started.



FIRST, I wet an area with clear water. Using cobalt blue, I drop large amounts of paint in the wet area. I don't have to hurry to remove highlights in the feathers because, with this paper, I can do it easily even when dry. In the upper right area, you can see where I have removed color to look like feathers.

FILLING IN the black is next. I can't wait to see how it will look (and not at all sure how I will proceed) so I leave the blue (which has already started to bore me) and go forward with the black and adding opaque blue on top to make feathers life-like. Yeah- I like it – so now I can go back and finish the blue area. The red beak is pretty straight-forward. Wet the beak with clear water (this keeps the paint in any given area), drop on large amounts of red, then orange and yellow, then pick up white highlights.

1st Saturday in Three Rivers

FOR THE PAST 5 months, on the 1st Saturday, I have invited people into my studio for a free lunch, the recipe from my latest recipe greeting card. As an artist, I need to have a constant flow of creative energy and I get it from many sources- looking at artwork, listening to music, pasting in my "I Love Scrapbook". The main source, however, comes from the people I interact with.

NADI'S TABLE 1st Saturday has been fabulous. What can I say – good food, good people – lots of laughing. (OK– and lots of compliments.) And, sure, I made sales. But, more than money, I need to be passionate. Those who enjoy my studio and my art are all talented people in their own right- and it's that bouncing off each other's ideas that I love. It's such a rush.

THIS MONTH is the kick-off for an event that grew from my little endeavor. 1st Saturday in Three Rivers will start on October 3rd. It embraces the whole down-town. Musicians, dancers, artists, restaurants, even a story-teller– are all joining in, offering specials, refreshments and entertainment. If you want to stay later to enjoy the drum circle, stay the weekend – there will be discount rates at hotels. And of course, don't forget my studio. I will be serving Roasted Oranges and Bell Pepper Soup – free as long as it lasts!

To find out more, click on "1st Saturday in Three Rivers" above.

Nadi

Character Counts! Mural

THIS IS my Character Counts Mural that I just painted at Monson-Sultana School. It is 12' high by 25' wide. Sorry- I meant to show it in progress, but got behind on my schedule. Posters are available for you teachers out there. Just click on the title "Character Counts" above.

Til next time- Nadi

Turkeys!: Day 4, Finished Painting

I BELONG to 2 women's groups, a canasta group of 8 that has been meeting once a month for over 30 years, and a newer group of 9 women that meet to discuss important parts of our lives (WOW- Women of Wisdom). At the WOW meeting last night I realized that we are TURKEYS! In both groups, we are a rafter of non-laying hens that flock together – too old to lay eggs, but with a lot to live for! So this painting is dedicated to all the hens in my life. Thank you ladies – you are my teachers, my support, my friends. I love you!

COLORS are blocked in.


DETAILS are added. I love it! Thanks for joining me. If you have any questions, just ask in the comment section. I'm happy to answer questions.

Nadi

Turkey!: Day 3, Black Lines and more...

I PAINTED the black lines and started filling in color. I am having so much fun with this picture. I am having 8 women for dinner tonight at my house – the food is all cooked and the table decorated so I snuck away to paint at the studio for an hour or so. I hope to finish this tomorrow!

Nadi